Cherry Springs. Photo: cherokeephoenix.org

News Analysis: A review of Cherokee Principal Chief Bill John Baker’s administrative decision to purchase a golf course with additional land for a luxury resort and a second tier outlet mall appears to show yet another lack of regard for Cherokee Law if not insider dealing.

In short; the mode of operation for Chief Baker appears to be if the law restricts – change it – in this case more than doubling allowed expenditures without Council oversight. Question is why and to whom did the benefits flow?

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Visit Claremore will be hosting “Dad’s Day Out” featuring Hemmings Motor News Great Race. The Great Race, the world’s premiere vintage car rally, will bring 120 of the world’s finest antique automobiles to the Claremore Expo Center for this national race. This event will have not only the vintage and antique cars to enjoy and admire, but also a kid zone provided by TTCU as food trucks and concessions, music and more.

The Great Race, which began 32 years ago, is not a speed race, but a time/speed/distance rally. The vehicles, each with a driver and navigator, are given precise instructions each day that detail every move down to the second. They are scored at secret check points along the way and are penalized one second for each second either early or late.

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Illustrations provided

Tulsa County officials and representatives of the county Sheriff’s Office and Mental Health Association Oklahoma gathered on April 20 for the groundbreaking of the Tulsa Jail expansion.

Designed by Dewberry, the 43,000-square-foot expansion includes the addition of a mental health unit containing two pods along the north side of the site and a general population unit containing two pods extending to the northwest. The project is set to begin construction only one year after voters approved the bond.

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Archbishop Ben Kwashi

Archbishop Kwashi will speak in Tulsa at Church of the Holy Spirit Anglican Sunday evening at 6 p.m. and Monday evening at 7 p.m. at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church on persecution and conflict caused by the terrorist group Boko Haram throughout northern Nigeria and how Christians worldwide must witness faith and stand against evil.

In an article published by Christianity Today in November 2014, Kwashi strongly countered the assertion by U.S. President Barack Obama that terrorism is the result of poverty and specifically demanded that the activities of Boko Haram be acknowledged as examples of Islamic extremism – this even before Boko Haram publicly pledged alliance with ISIS.

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A Cherokee Nation residency dispute that resulted in the rejection of Julia Coates’ candidacy for Deputy Chief this month has generated additional questions of propriety in the operation and organization of the Election Commission. Included are allegations that Principal Chief Bill John Baker with partisan cronies have manipulated election districts, micromanaged staff, and mismanaged funds – not to mention doubling the costs to file for office.

Coates will not be on the ballot despite 31 specific items submitted as evidence to the court documenting her domicile in Tahlequah. She is thus punished for teaching Cherokee History part of the year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

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