July 25, 2020 Issue, Page 1 of 8

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Serving Western Oklahoma Saturday, July 25, 2020 Chamber to move into new building Suspect sought in By Don Munsch, Editor The Elk City Chamber of Commerce will have a new cited” to be in a new home, Wyatt said. “We can’t wait to have a permanent home and to be in a Hammon robbery home soon. place that will give us better access to downtown,” she said. Chambers headquarters, currently at 609 S. Main St., will The new building will have larger space, especially for move down the street into the First National Bank of Elk meetings, and its new location will provide easier access to City building at 102 S. Main St. The chamber should be in downtown for parades, block parties and other events the its new digs the first week of September, said chamber Presi- dent Angi Wyatt. chamber hosts. The bank donated the building to the chamber, said First “This the perfect answer,” Wyatt said. National Bank President David Atkinson. Staff and equip- She said the chamber thanks the Thurmond family, First ment from the bank will move to the bank’s other Elk City National Bank, Sandy Werner and David Atkinson. location on West 3rd Street. The current chamber headquar- “They're a blessing to the community and chamber and ters are in a rented space in the strip mall on Main Street. we appreciate them,” she said. The descendants of the Thur- The rent space is owned by Hutch’s. mond family own the building. ‘Wyatt said the chamber has been looking for a new home Atkinson said no one at the bank would lose his or her job. since the city ended the contract for the chamber to be at the Elk City Convention Center a few years ago. A relocation “We just thought it was a great fit for Elk City to have committee was formed at that time and committee members the chamber of commerce downtown, especially now that have looked at multiple locations. they’re looking for a place to go,” Atkinson said. “This particular deal with First National Bank has been in The chamber will take possession of the building on Sept. the works for the last few months,” Wyatt said. 1, but a transition period of a week could occur, as the bank The relocation committee looked at multiple locations might still be relocating some items, Atkinson said. He ex- downtown and thought the chamber needed to be in the busi- pects the chamber to probably do some remodeling to its ness district of Elk City. Bank located in Hammon. Photo courtesy of new space. “That was ultimate goal, but nothing seemed to work out Roger Mills County Sheriff Darren Atha‘s “We're just excited for them,” he said. “We just think it’s or come together,” Wyatt said. “And then this opportunity Facebook. presented itself a few months ago and it was almost like a such a great thing for our city to have that historical building By Don Munsch, Editor miracle.” and have the chamber of commerce right down in the heart Authorities continue to look for a man they say robbed Chamber employees and board members are “beyond ex- of the Elk City. We're pretty stoked about it.” the Security State Bank in Hammon Wednesday morning. All employees were unharmed, Roger Mills County ODOT official discusses final Sheriff Darren Atha said on the sheriff’s office Facebook page. Atha said on Facebook Wednesday that more informa- phases of bridge construction tion would be released soon, but as of press time Thurs- day, no new releases were distributed to the media. The News left messages with Atha and the sheriff's office. KFOR Television-Channel 4 in Oklahoma City report- ed that the bank was robbed around 9 a.m., with the rob- ber demanding money from employees while showing a firearm. “The suspect received an undisclosed amount of money and fled the location heading southbound,” KFOR report- ed. Multiple media reports said the man was a black male between 25 and 40 years old and was 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall. The man wore a black dress, a black wig, surgical face mask and sunglasses, those reports said. Atha said people may call 580-497-2417 if they have any information about this individual. People can also call the FBI at 405-290-7770 or can give anonymous tips online at tips.fbi.gov. OBA: Banks, small . Crews are close to finishing the bridge work businesses need coins at the Highway 6 bridge over Interstate 40 in Elk City banks doing OK, though Elk City, including the traffic signal poles, shown right. The bridge will have a sidewalk, By Don Munsch, Editor left, for pedestrians and bicyclists. Staff Brother [or sister], can you spare a dime? photos by Don Munsch. Or even a quarter, nickel or penny? ‘Your banks need your change, a state banking organization said. The Oklahoma Bankers Association, based in Oklahoma By Don Munsch, Editor and Altus [under construction],” Almquist said. “And we've City, is calling on people to empty out the piggy banks to Work will wrap up soon on the diverging diamond in- been working on this since the early 90s. So it’s taken that help small businesses. terchange in Elk City, making traffic move in a smoother long to get that long stretch [done].” Oklahoma banks are asking consumers to deposit their manner for travelers in all four directions at the Highway 6 Almquist said he likes the teamwork being done on road- spare change at their local bank or coin-cashing machines as bridge that runs over Interstate 40. way projects, from the city to the county to the state. the pandemic-related shutdowns have created a coin short- Brent Almquist, division engineer with Oklahoma Depart- When discussing the I-40/Highway 6 interchange, he age, the OBA stated in a release. ment of Transportation who is based in Clinton, told the Elk pointed out this is a combination project with a bridge — “When COVID-19 restrictions went into place, establish- City Rotary Club last week that the roadway will be done North Fork Red River Bridge — being done south of Sayre. ments like retail shops, bank branches, and laundromats - the by September. He also talked about other roadway projects The $28.6 million being spent here is for both projects. typical places where coin enters society - closed, it si in the area, including the Highway 6 work being done south “The DDI is actually costing us maybe $12 million,” cantly slowed the normal rate of coin circulation,” the re- of Retrop. Almquist said. “So what we’re spending here on the inter lease stated. “That’s the last piece of State Highway 6 between Elk City See ODOT page 2. See Coins page 2. Weather Vol. 118, No. 65 Mail delivery View online «LEAMA tomorrow 7 92 / 75 cents, 8 pgs. 580.225.3000 elkcityoknews.com