WELCH—The Welch FFA chapter and the Golden Rocket 4-H club will have their annual pie supper at the Welch Civic Center at 7:00 p.m., Wed., Feb. 15, 2012. The community is invited to the event and encouraged to extend invitations to friends, family, and neighbors. Proceeds from the pie supper will fund premiums for exhibitors at the Welch Livestock Show, Feb. 25, 2012, at the Ag Show Barn.

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WELCH—Junior class parents raise funds each year to provide a safe, wholesome, and relaxed environment of fun activities for prom-goers after the prom itself is over. This year’s after-prom event will be held at the Welch Civic Center, Apr. 15, 2012, from 1:00-5:30 a.m. The group is seeking donations from the community to be used as activity and door prizes for the juniors and seniors at after-prom. In addition, junior class parents have scheduled two fundraisers to benefit this year’s event.

First, there will be a benefit Mexican food lunch at the Welch Civic Center, Sun., Feb. 26, 2012, from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person in advance and $6 at the door.

Also, a garage sale will be held at the Red Barn, Mar. 2-3, 2012. The garage sale will run from 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Fri., Mar. 2, and from 6:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Sat., Mar. 3. The group is seeking donated items for the garage sale. Those wishing to donate quality items for the garage sale may contact Kim Dodson at 918-788-3723, Kelli Biggs at 918-788-3146, Eva Triece at 918-788-3385, or Deann Bruce at 918-788-3510 to arrange drop-off of items.

Junior class parents wish to thank the Welch community in advance for its fantastic support of this very important event.

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WELCH–Welch Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) will be sponsoring a blood drive at the Welch Civic Auditorium on Thur., Jan. 26, 2012, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Walk-ins are welcome, but you also may call to make an appointment. Contact Kristal Chenoweth at Welch High School, 918-788-3319.

Learn more about eligibility qualifications to donate blood from the Red Cross here.

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WELCH—The community is invited to a birthday gathering for Floyd V. Triece, Jr. (aka Strawberry), Sun., Jan. 15, 2012, from 2-4 p.m. at the Red Barn here in Welch.

The event is billed as a come-as-you-are reception, and the family requests no gifts other then cards.

The Red Barn offers ample parking.

You are invited to visit and share a cup of coffee.

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Michael Joe Rice's mug shot

VINITA Okla.–At his preliminary hearing this morning in Craig County District Court, Michael Joe Rice waived his right to a preliminary hearing and pleaded guilty to the charges against him in the rape and murder of his adoptive mother Ruth Rice. Rice was sentenced to life without parole by Judge Gore.

Rice was accused of the Aug. 2, 2011, rape and murder of the elder Rice. He was arrested Aug. 29, 2011, after confessing to the crimes, all on the heels of an OSBI investigation that recovered Rice’s DNA from his adoptive mother’s body, among other evidence.

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Pat Hankins

WELCH—The year 2012 will begin a new era for Gateway Church. Sun., Jan. 8, 2012, will be Pat and Trudy Hankins’ final Sunday as senior pastors of Gateway Church here in Welch.

In July 2011, pastors Pat and Trudy Hankins gave notice of their resignation as senior pastors, providing the church’s official board and congregation approximately six month’s notice. Although resigning was an extremely difficult decision to make, pastors Pat and Trudy told the congregation “We are confident the church is fully equipped to continue serving our community without us as senior pastors.” Six weeks later, Gateway unanimously voted for John Dorsey to follow Pat and Trudy Hankins as senior pastor.

The Hankins’ tenure at Gateway has been a time of tremendous change.

June 11, 2000, was Pat and Trudy Hankins’ twelfth wedding anniversary and it was also their first Sunday as senior co-pastors at Gateway (at that time known as First Assembly of God). During the past eleven years, changes at the church have included relocation of the church’s physical property, a name change, and building of a new facility in 2005-2006, with the ribbon cutting held in October 2006.

Trudy Hankins

Under the Hankins’ leadership, Gateway has emphasized community service through various means. Congregants have been encouraged to contribute, both individually and corporately through the church. Gateway Church members have painted bleachers and offices; cooked meals for teachers, football players, and cheerleaders; provided support at the school during unexpected tragedies; cleared roads and driveways during the ice storm; helped fund community efforts to rebuild the ABC park and purchase the generator at the Civic Center; and supported many other community focused activities.

Gateway also started a daycare facility, The Gate Learning Center, in October 2005. It is now a three-star facility offering quality childcare to the parents and children of the Welch community.

Another significant change at Gateway has been the number of staff members who have been added over the past eleven years. Pastors Pat and Trudy first added John Dorsey as youth pastor in 2002. Then in January 2003, Lynda Rice was added as children’s pastor. Michael and Katie Nair were named youth pastors when John Dorsey was made associate pastor in early 2006. Completing the pastoral team, pastors Pat and Trudy added Charlie Rarick and his wife Elaine as music/drama pastors in February 2007.

Since the majority of the staff is bivocational, including Pat Hankins, having a large staff in a small church has been extremely beneficial in improving the church’s ability to reach all ages, rather than relying on a single pastor who would be able to reach fewer persons.

Pastors Pat and Trudy said, “We are so thankful for the commitment each of our staff have made through the years. Being in the ministry requires a lot of sacrifice, and on top of that, many of them have been or are currently bivocational, which means their sacrifice is even greater because they work two jobs.”

As the new senior pastor, John Dorsey says he is planning to continue “to maintain the focus of community service as well as maintain all current staff. It’s a pleasure to follow Pastor Pat and Pastor Trudy; they have done an excellent job serving our church and our community.”

The Hankins now begin a new venture, a coaching and speaking business called Unique. They also plan to continue attending Gateway Church and continuing to be an active part of the Welch community during this new phase in their life.

If you are interested in the Hankins’ new enterprise, check it out at  www.patandtrudy.com. Pat and Trudy noted,“We are thrilled for Pastor John and fully support his transition to senior pastor. He will do an excellent job, and we are looking forward to even greater things happening at Gateway Church in the near future.”

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WELCH—WelchOK.com is ringing in the new year with a bang! Tired of boring watch parties? Wanna have fun without dodging drunks? Wanna party down with your friends and neighbors while helping WelchOK.com out? Then our “Out with the Old, In with the New, New Year’s Swingin’ Eve” party is just what you’re looking for. Come join us!

We’ll kick things off at the Welch Civic Center at 8:00 p.m. For the first hour or so, SongWood will be performing. Many of you heard Jason Hargrove sing at Harvest Days this year. He is an extremely talented musician, and SongWood is a group of Hargrove and friends from the Tulsa area, including Jacob Tankersley, who wrote the song ”See You Soon,” in memory of Hannah Christian and Cassidy Rotramel, who were killed in a car wreck in Sand Springs in October 2010. The group will play a variety of music, from classic county tunes to original compositions.

After a brief intermission to get equipment switched out, you can put on your dancing shoes and cut a rug to tunes from across the years as we work our way up to midnight. But a WelchOK.com party is more than dancing. We’ll have fun and games, trivia and contests, and an all-around good time for everyone, even if you’re not fond of the dance floor. Also, the Lions Club meeting room will have table set up and board games and cards available for those who’d like to play.

Junior class parents will be selling drinks (pop, coffee, tea, hot chocolate) and the Welch Round Up Club will have nachos, Frito pies, and hot dogs available for purchase throughout the night. We hope to firm up more concessions this week.

Our big party is open to all, and it’ll be a family-friendly event, so bring your whole family and have big fun as we say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. Entry is by donation to WelchOK.com, and we suggest a minimum of $5 per person (and we certainly welcome larger contributions).

Check out our event page and RSVP on Facebook!

Just a couple points:

• Absolutely, positively no alcoholic beverages on the premises.
• Kids of all ages are welcome, but those under 16 must have a responsible adult (doesn’t have to be his/her parent specifically) with them to enter (i.e., you can’t drop your kids off for us to babysit while you go party elsewhere).

Special thanks to Amber Webster, of the Blossom Shoppe, for providing balloons and Jeane Wynn for decorating.

If you’re a local vendor and you’d like to donate items to be used as prizes, please email us at info [at] WelchOK [dot] com.

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MIAMI, Okla.—Friends of the late Justin Berry have scheduled a basketball tournament to benefit a scholarship in his memory.

The Justin Berry Memorial 3V3 Basketball Tournament will raise money for a scholarship in his memory for a high school basketball student who exhibits the same qualities as Justin. It will also be a time when friends and family can get together and honor the man that they love and miss.

The tournament will be Wed., Jan. 4, 2012, 4 p.m.-10:30 p.m. at the Miami Civic Center. The entry fee is $15 per person with 4 or 5 people per a team.

Organizers also have t-shirts for sale that will be $5 for participants and $10 for anyone else who wants one. One hundred shirts have been pre-ordered and there will also be order forms available.

Entries are appreciated by Fri., Dec. 30, 2011. Have players’ names and team names ready and call Nikki Mullin at 918-961-1046 to register. High school basketball players will not be allowed to register since their season is underway and organizers don’t want to risk their injury.

Justin’s friends are also going to be selling #JUSTIN BERRY FOREVER bracelets to raise money for his memorial scholarship.

Here’s the Facebook event page for the tourney.

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L-R: Jon Humphrey, VP Rick Scott Construction; Cathey Forrest, board member; Brad Mount, board vice president; George Moore, board president; Clark McKeon, superintendent; Wade Sherrick, board member; and Brian Mooney, board clerk

WELCH—The Welch board of education held a groundbreaking ceremony, Tue., Nov. 8, 2011, for a middle school addition and cafeteria expansion project.

The classroom addition includes construction of six new classrooms to house sixth-eighth grade students.  The cafeteria expansion includes adding square footage to the cafeteria seating area and expansion and remodeling of the kitchen.  The district is employing Rick Scott Construction as construction manager to oversee the project.

Apr. 5, 2011, voters of Welch approved a $2,750,000 bond issue to fund the middle school addition, cafeteria expansion, HVAC renovation, and fluorescent lighting renovation projects.  Over the course of last summer, the HVAC and fluorescent lighting renovation projects were completed in the elementary and high school buildings.

Construction on the middle school addition and cafeteria expansion has now begun and will continue throughout the school year.  This phase of the capital improvement project will be completed by Aug. 2012, in time for classes to begin next school year.

“Welch has a heritage of high expectations and a good school.  The 81% approval rate of the bond issue is proof positive that the voters of Welch consider quality education a high priority,” said district superintendent, Dr. Clark McKeon.  “This is an exciting time at WPS.”

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