Local/Area News
Even though the students and teachers were gone on spring break, Henryetta school board members were all present Monday night.
At the short, just under 16 minutes, board members paid their bills and congratulated members of the power lifting and wrestling teams and FFA members for their performances in recent weeks.
The biggest news came from superintendent Dwayne Noble who told the board Leslie Jones has declined the position of high school principal.
She was named to that post at a special meeting last week. Noble said she would remain as assistant elementary principal.
He told the board the search for a replacement for retiring principal Kelly Furer would start again. Furer announced her retirement effective June 30.
Going through the bills, board members were told that teachers are starting to spend the grant monies from the Henryetta Educational Foundation. “If you see something odd in the coming bills that’s what those are,” said Noble.
He predicted the school should have a healthy carryover of funds when the school year ends.
Fundraising requests for t-shirt sales for the elementary and high school track organizations were approved. The high school track fundraiser is to get shirts for the upcoming alumni track meet.
Board members contracted with Bledsoe, Hewett and Gullekson to perform the annual audit. Noble said the school has had no difficulties for several years as a result of the audits.
For the second time this fiscal year, the Henryetta sales tax return was lower than the year before.
According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission Henryetta’s share of the sales tax collection amounted to $250,548 this months. That is a drop of $4,719 from last year. In July the city also received less than the year before. Last July that check was for $259,623 compared to $275,214 in July 2020.
By contrast the city’s share of use tax collections continued to grow. This month the town received $33,968. That was a $9,670 increase from the same month a year ago and was the eighth time an increase was posted since the start of the fiscal year July 1.
Around the area five of eight neighboring communities reported gains in their collections.
They included Dewar up $1,134, Weleetka up $5,968, Beggs up $3569, Checotah gain of $4,510 and Eufaula up $3,245.
Declines were posted by Okemah down $1,485, Okmulgee down $30,565 and Morris down $2,545.
Statewide $163,285,502 was returned to the cities and towns reflecting an increase of $8,129,551 from the $155,155,951 distributed to the cities and towns in March last year.
| Town | 2022 | 2021 | Gain/Loss |
| Henryetta | $250,545.56 | $255,267.94 | -$4,719.38 |
| Dewar | $14,566.56 | $13,432 | $1,134.56 |
| Beggs | $51,559.54 | $47,990.43 | $3,569.11 |
| Checotah | $345,363.82 | $340,853.71 | $4,510.11 |
| Eufaula | $183,952.75 | $180,707.23< | $3,245.52 |
| Morris | $22,530.55 | $25,076.35 | -$2,545.80 |
| Okmulgee | $595,571.07 | $626,136.55 | -$30,565.48 |
| Okemah | $104,272.54 | $105,758.52 | -$1,485.98 |
| Weleetka | $20,721.60 | $14,752.98 | $5,968.62 |
Effective in time for the April 5 Henryetta public school election, the Gospel Tabernacle United Pentecostal church will be the new location for the ballot boxes. It is located at 406 East Spruce.
At the April 5 election, voters will be selecting a member of the Henryetta school board. That choice will be between incumbent James Williams and challenger Shawn Okerson.
Okmulgee County election board secretary Ashley Carnes said the move was required because liquor is sold at the American Legion. That is a violation of Oklahoma Statute Title 26 Section 7-110.
Anyone who has questions about the change should contact Carnes at 918-756-2365 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The County Election Board is located at 314 W. 7th Street, Okmulgee. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
G&H Decoys has new owners following the loss of Dick Gazalski and they pledge to continue the operation here and keep the quality that has been popular with outdoor sportsmen nationwide.
The decoy business was founded as G&H Manufacturing in 1934 by John Gazalski and his father in-law, J.V. Hutton, after the federal government outlawed the use of live ducks for waterfowl hunting.
Gazalski crafted his first decoy for his personal use, but as more hunters learned of the decoys, Gazalski realized the business potential. He applied for a patent and began making the decoys in his Henryetta home. To this day, all G&H products are proudly made in Henryetta with a commitment to conservation and the history and heritage of American waterfowl hunting.
The business continued to grow but always stayed a family operation with John’s son, Dick, taking over in 1966 until his death in 2021. Learning of his passing, an ownership team organized by avid outdoorsman and local lawyer Ray Penny purchased the business in 2021. The once 150-employee strong American manufacturing company was now down to 12 employees.
“This is a piece of American history and we have to try to save it,” said G&H Decoys CEO Penny. “We have a golden moment to reintroduce this iconic brand to the American hunter.”
Under the helm of its new CEO, G&H Decoys is recommitting to the quality and craftsmanship long associated with the G&H brand. Having nearly doubled the staff, including rehiring many former employees, the team is ramping up production ahead of the 2022 waterfowl season.“When every other manufacturer was shipping jobs overseas to save money, G&H was steadfast in their commitment to not only the quality of the product they were producing, but the American worker and the American economy,” said Penny.
Utilizing the same employee built 112,000-square-foot factory in Henryetta, workers will mold, paint and assemble thousands of waterfowl decoys to ship to suppliers or sell direct online ahead of the 2022-23 hunting season.
“Eighty-eight years in business is a long time to gather clutter in the warehouse,” said Penny. “To make room for new growth, space is needed. Thus, a factory yard sale will happen Saturday, March 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the manufacturing facility.
Shoppers can fill a box priced at $25, $50 or $100 with as much merchandise as will fit and take home a piece of American manufacturing history.
As a further demonstration of their commitment to the conservation and history of waterfowl hunting, G&H will also donate two percent of all sales to the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Fund.
“G&H decoys are heritage products. These are decoys passed down through generations because of the quality and craftsmanship, and because they last generations,” said Penny. “We will never be the flashiest product on the market because we’re building on a tradition much greater than that.”
She was moved to that position at a special school board meeting Friday morning following a lengthy executive session that ended with four of the board members voting for the hire. David Bullard cast the lone dissenting vote.
Jones has been serving as the assistant elementary principal since last August.
She will be taking the place of Kelly Furer who announced her retirement in January.
Jones, a native of Okemah, received her bachelors degree in education from Northeastern State University and a masters in education administration from Southwestern.