June 7, 2023 Issue, Page 9 of 18

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USPS 0004097 Volume 35, beckhamcountyrecord.com Wednesday, June 7, 2023 Number 49 Book Signing for Sheb Wooley biographer scheduled for next week By Shonda Little the area for 4 days, and I have programs sched- eral people that I know of say that Sheb saved lives, some through his mentoring, and 3 in the uled for Altus, Mangum, Sayre, and Erick. their life with his mentoring, both in and out- 1940s when the school bus he was driving ran Long before Sheb Wooley was an American 3) How long did you spend writing the side of AA. He is credited with saving at least 7 off the road during a blizzard in the Breaks. music and film icon, he was Beckham County's book? It took me seven years to conduct re- native son. He grew up in the rough-and-tum- search and interviews and then write the book. ble Dust Bowl era. If the Dirty 30s weren’t bad enough, the For five of those years, I was working full-time 0 I wasn’t able to devote all of my attention to Sayre Actor Takes on Con Man in RCCT Production Great Depression jumped in to create a hard- the book. Once I retired, I had the opportunity knock childhood for Wooley and his fellow Er- to finish it. ick classmates. 4) What do you feel are the main takeaways Biographer Suzanne Gould spent years re- from your research on Sheb Wooley? Sheb’s “Mike's a con man. He is the brains of the searching Wooley's remarkable journey from daughter, Chrystie, impressed upon me the operation when it comes to the con men who poor farm kid to pop star to Nashville legend. fact that, first and foremost, Sheb was a very are working together. They work for Lisa their Gould will soon hold multiple book signings spiritual person. He was religious, but non-de- old boss, and we do this job to get a little mon- in the area to share her book with area resi- nominational. He attended the Erick Church of ey. Mike obviously has some kind of heart be- dents. She recently shared an email questions Christ when he was in town, and in the several cause he ends up giving in to Susy at the end and answer session with the Beckham County decades he lived in California, he went to the and wanting to be more of a friend than any- Record related to her upcoming events. Ventura Church of God in Christ. He also med- thing,” Foresman said. 1) What are your feelings/excitement about itated daily, and he liked to watch The Wisdom ‘As he went through the script, Foresman| doing your book signing in the home areas of Channel on ty, especially after his leukemia picked Mike in the audition. He didn’t know] Sheb Wooley? I am thrilled to head back to diagnosis in the 1990s. Additionally, and con- anything about the play, but when he went Greer and Beckham Counties! This is my only nected to that, every person in the music and through the script Foresman wanted to know book tour so far, and SW Oklahoma is definite- movie industries who I interviewed stressed more about the character. ly the most important part of the country for that he was equally respectful of everyone, “It was really cool to find out everything, the book. I've been here twice for research for from the janitor on up. Chrystie attributes that that was going on (in the script). The more we this project, and the people in Mangum and Er- to the childhood influence of his mother, Ora. all learned our characters and actually started ick have been so welcoming and engaged and I also learned that Sheb was very dedicat- acting things out, we found more hidden mean- provided invaluable information. ed to AA after he became sober in 1970, and ings everything had. You're like, ‘What? Oh, 2) How long will you be in the area? I'll be in he remained sober for the rest of his life. Sev- that makes sense.’ We found all the little hid- By Sheryl Ponce den details. I thought it was really neat how, even though he (Mike) is calling Susy the whole ‘The first time on the Red Carpet Commu- time, he actually starts to feel something, like Texas High-Speed Chase Goes nity Theatre’s stage Shaden Foresman will a friendship. I thought that was really cool,” be portraying con man Mike Talman in their Foresman explained. production of “Wait Until Dark.” This is the When he describes the play to friends and family, Foresman tells them how exciting it is Through Beckham County first time he has taken on a serious role that has required him to tone his character down. going to be. The play isa thriller and maybe con- He usually plays a more comic role. sidered scary, but he doesn’t see it that way. “Just getting into the more serious char- “It's not as scary as it is exciting. It is very] Arrest Warrant issued for Delaware man acter, sticking to it and not putting in little suspenseful. It is very dark. The crazy thing] jokes and stuff, has been very hard for me,” about this show is in the lighting. I've never Foresman said. seen a show like this where there’s so much By Shonda Little vestigation. His ability to adapt to the character is technicality to it, because lighting plays such ‘The suspect, Syed Mohammad Zeeshan, has something he has worked on. An arrest warrant was issued in the Beck- been charged in Beckham County with eluding See Actor on page 2 ham County District Court on May 26 for a police and possessing a stolen vehicle. 21-year-old Delaware man following an alleged high-speed chase that originated in Texas and reportedly ended near Beckham County. According to the probable cause affidavit, the investigation began on April 16, 2023, when a pursuit from Wheeler County, Texas, Elk City man held on $100k bond after Multiple law enforcement agencies from both Oklahoma and Texas assisted in the in- came into Beckham County. ‘The Wheeler County Sheriff's Office had officer assault and drug delivery charge reportedly advised of speeds of over 145 miles per hour. on a $100,000 bond in the Beckham County ‘The suspect was reported to have exited I-40 Detention Center after being charged with pos- on exit 7 near the 9-mile marker. session of a controlled substance, drug delivery, Law enforcement eventually lost sight of and assault upon an officer. the suspect’s vehicle. ‘The investigation began at approximately A vehicle matching the description was re- 2:08 pm on May 24 when law enforcement was portedly seen driving in the wrong direction on sent on a welfare check in Beckham County. ‘Ihe call reportedly came from a caller con- 1-40 near the 17.5-mile marker. cerned about a possible domestic dispute. A short time later, law enforcement report- ‘An officer then helped escort a person to go ed a matching vehicle heading south at the 19- stay in a safe place outside of Beckham County. mile marker. A family member was driving the person, ac- Eventually, the pursuit entered Greer Coun- cording to the report. ty, where officers lost sight of the suspect. During that drive, the officer reportedly no- ‘The suspect's vehicle was reportedly found ticed that the escorted vehicle suddenly pulled in Greer County on April 17, 2020. into oncoming traffic, blocking a pickup truck. ‘The suspect was identified as Zeeshan. ‘The officer reportedly learned that Steven Officers spoke with an area taxi driver, who Jason Nidey was allegedly driving the truck this, allegedly said they picked up a male subject and Steven Nidey time. ‘ua 0 a female subject matching the suspect's descrip- Nidey reportedly exited his vehicle and was tion. “non-cooperative and was refusing to be patted ‘The taxi driver reportedly took the two peo- By Shonda Little down.” ple to Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. While searching Nidey’s vehicle, the officer ‘A 39-year-old Elk City man is being held reportedly found drug paraphernalia. No Credit? Having Trouble Getting A Loan? We Can Hela! Loans: $162.55 -$1082.45 4