Opinion

My father was Paul Alexander, born April 5, 1842 in Mississippi. He was a farmer and stockman. Mother was Elizabeth Coates, born in Mississippi, August 2, 1846. There were eight children in our family. I was born September 23, 1870, in Texas. I came to the Indian Territory in a covered wagon in 1893. I crossed Red River at Brown’s Ferry near Thackerville, and settled three cattle miles south of Ardmore. I lived there four years and moved to Troy in Johnston County. I was the first postmaster at Troy. The mail came from Tishomingo in a cart every day.

Earlier this month on February 12, tax filing for the year 2020 officially opened with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As you begin the process of gathering your tax documents and preparing to file your tax returns, I wanted to share some suggestions and resources to help facilitate a smooth and more timely filing process.

As if our state hasn’t been through enough this past year, historic winter weather threw another wrench in the works, closing schools and government agencies statewide along with businesses. On Wednesday, the governor requested a disaster declaration for all 77 counties from the federal government for the winter storms that began Feb. 8. The president approved the declaration the same day, allowing cities, counties and tribes to be reimbursed for eligible emergency protective expenses relating to mass care and sheltering operations through FEMA’s public assistance program. It will also provide federal resources to help state and local governments with their continued disaster response.