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The Child Advocacy Center of Central Oklahoma Executive Director KC Campbell takes a few minutes to speak to the guests at the Shootin' & Scootin' for Justice event Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Rockin' R Arena. She asks the crowd, "What does justice mean to you?" She then explains how and why her view of what justice looks like has changed over the last few years. Photo courtesy of Rachael Melot

The Child Advocacy Center of Central Oklahoma Executive Director KC Campbell takes a few minutes to speak to the guests at the Shootin' & Scootin' for Justice event Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Rockin' R Arena. She asks the crowd, "What does justice mean to you?" She then explains how and why her view of what justice looks like has changed over the last few years. Photo courtesy of Rachael Melot

Justice is built together

Saturday night, more than 160 people came together for the inaugural Shootin’ & Scootin’ for Justice, proving that protecting children isn’t the responsibility of one person or one agency—it’s the responsibility of an entire community.By the end of the evening, that community had raised $50,303 for...

Community Calendar - Aug. 6-13

Thursday, 6Vision Meeting for Farrall Park - 11 am or 7 pm (same agenda). Community Center, 804 S. Park, Shawnee.Shawnee Lions Club noon at Santa Fe Cattle Company (Shawnee Mall)Back to School Bash 6:15 pm -7:30, Shawnee BancFirst.
A line of hot air balloons light up on Aug. 9, 2025 - including "Milky Way," which is shaped like a cow, and a new llama-shaped balloon - during the FireLake Fireflight Balloon Festival at the CPN Festival Grounds. File photo

A line of hot air balloons light up on Aug. 9, 2025 - including "Milky Way," which is shaped like a cow, and a new llama-shaped balloon - during the FireLake Fireflight Balloon Festival at the CPN Festival Grounds. File photo

Balloon Fest to feature new petting zoo, musical acts, drone show, Aug. 7-8

The Ninth Annual FireLake Fireflight Balloon Festival is right around the corner, Aug. 7-8, at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) Festival Grounds.It will return with hot-air balloons from across the country, including the morning balloon launch, balloon glow and tethered rides.
Avedis grant boosts early childhood literacy

Avedis grant boosts early childhood literacy

Avedis grant boosts early childhood literacy

Avedis Foundation has awarded a $15,000 grant to Reach Out and Read Oklahoma in support of the Strengthening the Impact of Early Relational Health & Literacy in Pottawatomie County program.This grant will support Reach Out and Read Oklahoma’s evidence- based early literacy program at SSM Health...
Twins Elise Whitney and Ella (Whitney) Gardner and their mother, Hope Whitney, volunteer at the Mission Tecumseh Back to School Bash, held at the Tecumseh High School W.P. Wood Alumni Center on July 25. Photos by Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun

Twins Elise Whitney and Ella (Whitney) Gardner and their mother, Hope Whitney, volunteer at the Mission Tecumseh Back to School Bash, held at the Tecumseh High School W.P. Wood Alumni Center on July 25. Photos by Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun

Back-to-School drives pop up around county

Twins Elise Whitney and Ella (Whitney) Gardner and their mother, Hope Whitney, volunteer at the Mission Tecumseh Back to School Bash, held at the Tecumseh High School W.P. Wood Alumni Center on July 25. Photos by Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun
Earlsboro High School 2022 graduate Ryan Long dunks the ball, as SHS graduate Chevis Sharp, Jr. (hidden) and Bethel High School 2023 graduate Si Foreman watch, during the First Annual Hoops for Hope on July 25. Photos by Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun

Earlsboro High School 2022 graduate Ryan Long dunks the ball, as SHS graduate Chevis Sharp, Jr. (hidden) and Bethel High School 2023 graduate Si Foreman watch, during the First Annual Hoops for Hope on July 25. Photos by Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun

First Annual Hoops for Hope raises money for ACS

In 2020, Isabella McCoy’s best friend, J-Lynn Haymond, was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer after having her son, “Baby” Jordan Haymond, Jr. When she was in remission, Haymond was told she probably couldn’t have any more children.That was before she had twin girls, Halo and Heavenly, and...
Science Museum Oklahoma Educator Calen Cavallaro holds half of a 3D-printed skull belonging to the Acrocanthosaurus, Oklahoma's State Dinosaur, at the "Dino or Not? The Ultimate Prehistoric Showdown" program at Tecumseh Public Library on July 16. In addition to looking at replica and real fossils, kids could choose paper body parts and create their own dinosaurs. Photos by Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun

Science Museum Oklahoma Educator Calen Cavallaro holds half of a 3D-printed skull belonging to the Acrocanthosaurus, Oklahoma's State Dinosaur, at the "Dino or Not? The Ultimate Prehistoric Showdown" program at Tecumseh Public Library on July 16. In addition to looking at replica and real fossils, kids could choose paper body parts and create their own dinosaurs. Photos by Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun

Summer learning at the libraries

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Kelley Metcalf, Director of Caring Collective - Photo provided

Kelley Metcalf, Director of Caring Collective - Photo provided

Filling the gap; no one should age out alone

Twenty years ago, the gates to the Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center (COJC) opened, and a young man walked into a world he had never known as a teen.Imagine entering the facility as a 13-year-old and spending the next five years living by a strict schedule, with others making your decisions,...