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A Finley man died in an automobile accident Monday at 4:50 p.m. on Highway 3 in Pushmataha County.

Stephen Edward Barnes, 51, of Finley died when the vehicle he was driving was struck by a vehicle driven by Nicholas Deshaun Hopkins, 44, of Antlers whose vehicle crossed over the centerline and struck the vehicle driven by Barnes.

A third vehicle, driven by Andrea Marie Gaston, 55, of Water Valley, Mississippi, was also involved in the accident, but was not injured.

Barnes was not wearing a seatbelt. Hopkins and Gaston both were wearing seatbelts.

The accident was investigated by Trooper Seth Leyba.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorney General Gentner Drummond is warning Oklahomans about a prevalent scam involving fraudulent text messages about unresolved traffic tickets. The message instructs recipients to make payment for the traffic violation to avoid having their driver’s license suspended.

The text claims to come from the Department of Public Safety or the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

“These text messages are scams designed to trick recipients into clicking on harmful links and providing personal financial information,” Drummond said. “If you receive one of these scam texts, do not interact with the message. Delete the message or report it as fraud.”

Drummond said the Department of Public Safety and Oklahoma Highway Patrol do not collect payments for traffic violations. Instead, fines are collected by the court clerk’s office.

Spiro girls open play in the Class 3A state basketball tournament at 10:30 a.m. at the new OG&E Colosseum in Oklahoma City.

Tickets can be bought online HERE. Spiro won an area consolation championship last week over Keys to advance to state with a 22-6 record.

See the whole story HERE.

LeFlore County sports scoreboard for games played Tuesday, sponsored by Colby Addison, Attorney at Law.

Basball

Braggs 14, Arkoma 13

Stigler 17, Spiro 0

Vian 4, Talihina 2

McCurtain 14, Whitesboro 4

Wister 8, Pocola 0

Softball

Poteau 9, Cameron 8

LeFlore 11, Clayton 1

Panama 9, Talihina 1

Pocola 9, Warner 5

Red Oak 8, Wister 1

To make a correction, addition or suggestion, text (918) 649-4712.

STILLWATER – Campbell Smithwick launched a solo home run in the 10^th inning to lift Oklahoma State to a 6-5 walk-off win over Dallas Baptist Tuesday night at O’Brate Stadium. 

The win was the third straight for the Cowboys, who improved to 12-4, while DBU fell to 9-8. 

Smithwick’s homer was his first in an OSU uniform and came with one out in the 10^th. The catcher was one of four Pokes who homered in the contest along with Brock Thompson, Colin Brueggemann and TP Wentworth. 

Noah Wech earned the win on the mound, tossing three shutout innings and striking out a pair to improve to 2-0 on the season. 

OSU starter Kai Fyke faced early trouble in the first inning, with runners at first and third with two outs, but Kollin Ritchie came running into shallow center field and made a sliding grab to end the inning. 

In the bottom of the first, Alex Conover led off with a single, and Thompson provided early damage with a two-run, opposite field home run to get the Cowboys out in front early. The blast was Thompson’s third homer of the year. 

The Patriots got on the board in the second on an RBI single from Cooper Neville and took a 4-2 lead in the third inning on a home run off the bat off Ryan Martin. 

Stormy Rhodes replaced Fyke in the fourth, but DBU added another run in the frame to push its lead to three. 

Down 5-2 in the sixth, Aidan Meola got the inning started with a hit-by-pitch, and Brueggemann lifted a ball over the right field wall, cutting the deficit to one on his fourth home run of the season.

 On the next pitch, TP Wentworth smoked a ball just inside the foul pole in left field for an opposite field home run to tie the game at 5-5. The two lefties joined Ritchie and Meola who went back-to-back earlier this season at Grand Canyon. 

The game went into an hour and half weather delay with two outs in the top of the seventh. After resuming the contest, Brennan Phillips entered the game and struck out the lone batter he faced to end the inning. 

Wech took the bump for the eighth inning and worked around a single to keep the game tied heading into the bottom of the inning. The Pokes threatened in that frame but couldn’t capitalize with a pair of runners on base. 

Wech returned for the ninth and got into trouble by allowing a pair of runners to reach before recording an out. He then induced a 6-4-3 double play that was capped by a great scoop at first by Brueggemann. With two outs and a runner on third, Wech got another ground out to escape the jam.

 Wech worked his third scoreless inning in the 10^th, lowering his season ERA to 0.63 across 14 1/3 innings, to set the stage for Smithwick’s heroics. 

Up next, the Cowboys travel to UCF to open Big 12 Conference play, with Friday’s series opener slated for a 5 p.m. (CDT) start.

Cooler temoeratures coming back Tuesday

Weather forecast for Wednesday is for rain early with cooler temperatures returning overnight  for Heavener and LeFlore County.

The high is forecast to be 67 with a low of 635 degrees.

Sunrise was 7:34 a.m. Sunset is 7:22 p.m.

Calendar of events for the next week for Heavener, LeFlore County, southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The calendar is a free service for our readers. If you know of an event coming up please CONTACT me.

Wednesday

High school basketball: Spiro vs. Alva 10 a.m. at OG&E Colosseum

Poteau Rotary Club meets noon EOMC

Funeral services for Louise M. Akins 

Memorial service for Jack Maxwell

See the calendar for the next week HERE.

Arthur Oscar Middleton Jr. death notice

Arthur Oscar Middleton Jr, 66, passed away on March 6, 2026, at his home in Poteau and was born July 21, 1959, in Wewoka to Arthur Oscar Middleton Sr and Martha Francis (Faughn) Middleton. 

The celebration of life services are pending at this time and will be updated when finalized. 

Surviving family members are his wife, Norma, of the home, his son Jimmy Middleton and wife Hayley of Poteau; his daughter Tammy Jackson of Kansas City, Kansas, six grandchildren Harley, Jimmy, Anastasia, Starla, Jasper and Oriana. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, and four sisters. 

Online condolences can be made at www.holtfuneralandcremation.com