Tahlequah Daily Press

Local News

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
December 12, 2011

Donation provides mattresses for youth

By JOSH NEWTON Staff Writer

TAHLEQUAH — While most people in Cherokee County go home each night to sleep in their own beds, many local children aren’t so lucky.

With a little help, local organizations are working to put new mattresses under some of those children who have been sleeping on floors, or in crowded beds with their siblings.

“We had one girl write us a thank-you letter, and said she had never been able to have a girlfriend over for a sleepover because she didn’t have her own bed,” said Linda Ehrhardt, Southern Plains area manager for ChildFund International, a group aimed at helping deprived, excluded and vulnerable children who live in poverty.

Last summer, ChildFund and Kid Connections received 36 new mattresses to give to children in Cherokee, Adair and Sequoyah counties. Regina Martin, director of Kid Connections in Tahlequah, said they devised an application method, at the time, for disbursing those mattresses.

“We asked them to describe the children’s sleeping arrangements,” said Martin. “When we saw the conditions some of our children were living in, we were astonished. Children were sleeping on floors, on pallets, three or four to one bed.”

After seeing the local need, Ehrhardt said they received approval for the donation of 160 more twin-sized mattresses. A semi-truck hauling a 53-foot trailer arrived with those mattresses Friday morning, and students from Talking Leaves Job Corps helped unload the gifts.

“We saw a great, great need,” said Ehrhardt. “These will go to Cherokee, Adair and Sequoyah counties. They’ll be disbursed evenly among the counties.”

To read the rest of this story, check out today’s e-edition of the Daily Press by going to our homepage. You can either buy today’s edition, or subscribe to our paper. Thanks!

Text Only
Local News
  • kp Burger main.tif What’s on the bun?

    Perhaps no other food on the American summer holiday menu epitomizes patriotism more than a good old-fashioned hamburger.

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • Best gifts can be made from scratch

    When hand-crafting gifts to honor loved ones or friends, a fellowship can be born.

    May 25, 2012

  • Injury crash provokes felony charge

    Prosecutors have charged a Tahlequah man for his alleged role in causing a crash that put another man on life support.
    The charges stem from a May 18 crash at the intersection of the State Highway 51 West bypass and Vinita.

    May 25, 2012

  • Testimony in Butcher trial centers on evidence

    Testimony given throughout the day Thursday in the first-degree murder case against Bronson William Butcher centered mostly on the state’s investigation of the case.

    May 25, 2012

  • Oklahoma City man charged with larceny here

    Prosecutors in Cherokee County have charged an Oklahoma City man with grand larceny, second-degree burglary, and larceny of an automobile.

    May 25, 2012

  • Local men’s shelter at risk of closing

    Tom Lewis walked through the semi-completed expansion at Project O Si Yo Thursday, pointing out what services could be provided to area homeless men, if only the funding were available.

    May 25, 2012

  • jn tps cmty meeting.tif TPS officials eye earlier start times

    A handful of Tahlequah Public Schools parents voiced concern Wednesday evening about a potential change in school start-and-stop times for the upcoming year.

    May 24, 2012 1 Photo

  • Food for thought

    With representatives from the Oklahoma Farm & Food Alliance, Sustainable Green Country and Cherokee Nation Healthy Nation Division in attendance, the Tahlequah Food Policy Council on Tuesday shared their ideas on establishing sustainable local food sources for retail ventures.

    May 24, 2012

  • Defense attorney: Witness changed his story

    The defense counsel for Bronson Butcher on Wednesday targeted eyewitness accounts of a man who claims he saw the accused shoot an Oktaha man at a Tahlequah home in March 2011.

    May 24, 2012

  • ra CancerCarnival.tif TMS Cancer Carnival raises funds

    The Tahlequah Middle School Student Council held its 6th Annual Student Council Cancer Carnival Wednesday to raise money for the American Cancer Society. 

    May 24, 2012 1 Photo