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K9 Officer Billy Messner conducted a traffic stop on a Penske truck for traffic violations and expired registration on January 11, 2023, at 5:00 pm near Hwy 99 and Park Heights Road. While speaking with the driver, Officer Mesner noticed a smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle. When the driver was asked about the smell, he handed the Officer a transport license and his itinerary. These documents were found to be fake. The driver was placed under arrest and a search of the truck led to the discovery of 222 marijuana plants. Seminole Police Department continues to prevent illegal drugs through arrests and investigations. Police Chief Jon Withers said, “The department is proud of Officer Messner for his hard work and continued long hours of training to help rid the community of illegal narcotics in the area. We also wish to express our gratitude to the City Council for continuing to support us.” Although K9 Raven was not used in this specific arrest, City Manager Steve Saxon mentions how crucial she is to Seminole. City Manager Steve Saxon said, “Fighting the battle of illegal drugs becomes easier when you have the right tools. K9 Raven and Officer Messner have certainly improved our enforcement within Seminole. I think the message is being sent loud and clear that Seminole isn't a good location for this activity.” Click here to see Kfor's Interview.

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Samantha Stanfill began working for the City of Seminole as a grant writer in August. “I have always wanted a job that would allow me to impact and influence the town where I grew up. I believe grant writing is going will satisfy that desire,” Stanfill said. Stanfill grew up in Little, Oklahoma and graduated high school from Strother Public Schools. She moved away from Seminole for a few years but didn’t stay away. “My husband and I lived in busier cities with more traffic and more stress. We always loved Seminole and decided we wanted to raise our kids in a town that was slower paced,” she said. Stanfill loves City of Seminole for its ‘small town feel’ and appreciates that her two sons attend Seminole Schools. “It has been awesome watching Seminole grow over my lifetime. I am really excited to be behind the scenes to help with its growth,” she added. “Sam has proven herself to be a team player in the office, ready to help wherever and whenever needed. I am proud of her first ‘win’, an $8,000 grant for our Police Department!” exclaimed Community Development Director Sharon Emmitt, “Out of 122 number of applicants only 48 were awarded.” The Justice Assistance Grant Local Law Enforcement (JAGLLE) will provide 8 ballistic vests to 8 full-time Seminole Police Officers in January of 2023. Police Chief Jon Withers said, “We are honored and grateful to be a finalist of The JAG Grant Award. Currently, we have new officers wearing vests that are not tailored for them. Now we can replace their vests and other vests that are near expiration date. The money that would have been utilized to replace these vests can be used to help purchase other items that may need replaced.” “It’s amazing to think that a police officer’s life can be saved because of something I helped with,” Stanfill said, “I am honored to be given the opportunity to work hard for my community.” Some of her next projects will be for funding for a new water tower, water well telemetry and automatic meter readers. “These three grants alone could be worth millions to The City. I have every confidence in her abilities as the Grant Administrator for Seminole,” Emmitt said.

“Our people are paying for the facilities to host these events but not getting the benefits from the dollars being spent on tourism. Our goal is to help the city retain these tourism dollars. The Family Entertainment Center should go a long way to correcting that situation. It will be a win-win for our citizens to enjoy and capture the tourism dollars at the same time,” Mayor, Jeff Griffin stated. The 2022-23 Seminole Youth City Council attended the Seminole City Council meeting Tuesday evening to hear about funding for their project, a Family Entertainment Center. (Watch November's City Council here.) In May 2020, the first City of Seminole Youth Council proposed the idea of a Family Entertainment Center in Seminole. The presentation featured a “hang out” spot with laser tag, an arcade center, a bowling alley, and a restaurant. (Watch May 2020's presentation here.) “We need a place to hang out and a Family Entertainment Center is our solution,” said Maya Carter, Seminole Youth Council 2019-20 member. The Mayor and City Council prioritized this project and tasked the staff continue working with Youth Council to design something special. In November of 2021, The Seminole Community Foundation, a private non-profit foundation, paid for an experienced architectural firm to design a facility for Seminole. “After months of design modifications, they have arrived at something we believe is right for us. It is large enough to create a destination event for surrounding communities and tourists, yet efficient enough for us to afford,” said, Briana Wymore, Youth City Council Advisor. Seminole Mayor Jeff Griffin said “Clearly, the Youth Council did a fantastic job of describing the problem and making a plan. The staff’s job was to find a way to fund it without raising taxes or taking away from critical services.” After that first presentation, several City Council members spoke to Youth Council. “You are to be congratulated on the work you have done,” said Councilman Tim Poplin. “Now it’s our turn to get this project funded.” “This is a great idea,” said Councilman Larry Church. “We’ll find a way to fund it.” On Tuesday, City Council called for an election to EXTEND an existing 1 cent sales tax to build the new facility across from the new high school. Ground was broken recently on a new retail establishment and housing across from the new high school. The property owner, RCL Development, has agreed to trade a sewer line extension for 5 acres of highway accessible prime commercial space for the Family Entertainment Center construction. If the voters approve the 1 cent tax extension, it will stay in place with the same purposes as before, but will add the Family Entertainment Center as the focus. The proposed sales tax extension would allow for the Center’s construction and with any remaining funds other expenditures improvements could be made to parks (Boomtown Playground or swimming pool), water, wastewater, streets, senior center, downtown renovation, and ambulances. The ballot will also allow for the retirement of the remaining small debt that the current sales tax has pledged against it. As recommended by the Seminole Youth City Council in 2020, the City Council is also calling to repurpose the Hotel/Motel tax which was put into place in 1996 to help generate tourism. The Hotel/Motel tax rate for overnight stays would stay in place but the funds would be directed to help pay for the Family Entertainment Center operations and tourism facilities along with key tourism events like the July 4th fireworks. Maya Carter continued in her 2020 presentation, speaking about tourism dollars that leave Seminole. “Seminole has dozens of events like softball, baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, debate, and academic meets to name a few,” she said. “If you talk with these visitors, you find out they are leaving Seminole for recreation and as a result they spend their tourism dollars elsewhere. “Our people are paying for the facilities to host these events but not getting the benefits from the dollars being spent on tourism. Our goal is to help the city retain these tourism dollars. The Family Entertainment Center should go a long way to correcting that situation. It will be a win-win for our citizens to enjoy and capture the tourism dollars at the same time,” Mayor, Jeff Griffin stated.

“When officers are observant, like Officer Billy Mesner, drug enforcement can begin to happen, but it takes city council investing in the proper enforcement tools like K9 Raven to really make an impact. We couldn’t be prouder of the team we have fighting this battle!” said City Manager Steve Saxon. November 9th, at 9:15pm a traffic stop was made on a U-haul truck for defective equipment by K9 Officer Messner and his partner K9 Raven at 4th and Broadway. During the traffic stop the Officer noticed an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. K9 Raven was deployed and a positive alert was given by the K9 on the vehicle. A search of the U-haul yielded approximately 1,722 pounds of marijuana (blackmarket value of $1.3 millions dollars). Two occupants of the vehicle were placed under arrest for aggravated trafficking of marijuana. “Congratulations to Officer Mesner and Raven. They have had many hours of training and bonding and made a huge impact in Seminole,” said Chief Withers. K9 Raven joined Seminole Police Department on May 20, 2021. “The Seminole Police Department would like to express its gratitude to the City Council for approving the budget for Raven. We've already had two significant narcotics busts in Seminole County because to her assistance,” said Police Chief Jon Withers. In April of 2022, Officer Mesner and Raven recovered 22 pounds of methamphetamines that had a street value of $100,000.

Seminole Public Works Department works hard to make Snowman Wonderland enjoyable for all. To achieve the, they must begin the construction in October by putting up the Christmas Tree. The Christmas Tree at Snowman Wonderland is put together over 3 days. It has over 1,000 pieces and is 62 feet tall! If you see a city worker over the next few weeks on the Magnolia Trail working on lights, let them know you appreciate their hard work. The Christmas Tree Lighting will be November 17th. Lights are left on from sunset to sunrise. Please bring your family to enjoy the displays!

There will be a ribbon cutting to celebrate the recent building of new t-hangars at Seminole Municipal Airport (also known as Jimmie Austin Regional Airport) on December 10, 2022 at 10 a.m. "We could not be more grateful to the Congressional Delegation, the FAA and OAC for the fantastic transformation of the Jimmie Austin Seminole Regional Airport. Our City Council has demonstrated their understanding of the importance for this airport for existing and potential business development by appropriating the necessary match dollars. Now, with the recent work on the Runway, Tarmac, Fuel System and the new hangers, we can once again be proud of the front door to our community," said City Manager Steve Saxon. “Working with Mayor Griffin and City Manager Steve Saxon on this project has been an excellent example of the partnership the Aeronautics Commission has with our communities across Oklahoma. This has been the culmination of a 5-year effort to complete this multi-year hangar and taxiway infrastructure initiative that will lead Seminole’s airport into the future and allow for additional growth and development opportunities. With aviation and aerospace as the state’s second-largest economic engine, this community is now positioned for further aero commerce and tourism.” Said Oklahoma Aeronatics Commission Director Grayson Ardies. Community Development Director Sharon Emmitt led City of Seminole in obtaining a $816,000 FAA grant for the design and construction of the hangars. The award paid for all 12 new t-hangars, which will replace older ones that will be demolished. “Since my start with the City in 2005, FAA has granted more than $4.3 million towards improvements to Seminole Municipal Airport,” said Emmitt. In the past 20 years, FAA and Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission have funded many projects at our airport, including rehabilitation of the 5,000 foot runway, new runway lights, construction of a concrete hardstand, two weather observation towers, new T-hangars and many other projects. In the next 5 years, FAA and OAC are making plans for another $7 million in investments, which will include new PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) lights, a new south taxiway, and a new terminal building. Recently, Seminole High School has adopted aviation curriculum, and several of the students are also flight school students at our airport. “To have another generation learning from the ground up is what the aviation industry is about – we are proud to be a part of it,” said Saxon. “None of this would be possible without the leadership of OAC Director Grayson Ardies, and FAA Region 6 Director Glenn Boles. Seminole is fortunate to have Taylor Aviation as management at the airport, and an advisory board who are more than just part of the flying community – as a whole, they bring our airport to life,” said Emmitt.

The Seminole City Council decided to observe city-wide Halloween will take place on October 31st, 2022, from 6pm to 9pm. When trick or treating please remember to: Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult. Plan a trick-or-treating route in familiar neighborhoods with well-lit streets. Only walk on sidewalks whenever possible, or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe. Choose bright costumes, and have children carry flashlights or glow sticks so they are easily visible. (Try adding reflective tape to costumes and candy bags.) Always walk younger children to the door to receive treats. Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers. Teach children to say “NO!” in a loud voice if someone tries to get them to go somewhere, accept anything other than a treat, or leave with them.