A place the Lively family called home for nearly two decades is gone
(KOKH) — Four dogs are dead after a fire that prompted evacuations in Wellston
A family home of 17 years is also a complete loss
The Wellston Fire Department tells Fox 25 this happened around 12:45 Friday afternoon
They’re still investigating find out how it happened
the information was that the structure was fully engulfed already," Fire Chief Todd Beesley said
Firefighters were able to contain both the grass fire and the structure fire within just a few hours."
The Lively family says they don't know how the fire started either
"We know there weren't any heaters," Isaac Lively said
Seeing the cloud of smoke the whole way here
Knowing that was everything we had was definitely devastating.”
The place Lively called home for nearly two decades is gone
They spent their whole life in this house."
Lively says they were around four to eight years old
So far we’ve only been able to recover one
"We're going to have to find somewhere to go
I don’t know what our next step will be as of yet
It's definitely going to be a hard road."
The American Red Cross of Oklahoma has already been offering their assistance
"I'm grateful for anybody's help
It's awesome that they made it out here so fast
and are willing to help out with anything they can."
Lively says they’re staying with family tonight
We're taking care of our two grandchildren
Emma Hancock was found guilty of two counts related to inappropriate behavior with students
1.) Guilty on one felony count related to sexual messages she sent to the 15-year-old student
2.) Guilty on one felony count for showing eighth-grade students videos of herself kissing a woman and pretending to perform oral sex
1.) Two counts of “lewd or indecent acts to (a) child under 16."
2.) One count of “soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology.”
Court documents show the alleged abuse lasted for months
Investigators say Hancock sent nude photos of herself to that 15-year-old
Evidence obtained by police shows text messages where Hancock asks the student if they are sending half-nude pictures
ending the conversation by asking if the victim was trying to get her to lose her job
Hancock also showed inappropriate videos of herself to eighth graders
who says they hope the judge gives her concurrent sentences
A jury has recommended she receive a 3-year sentence
Hancock is also facing a civil lawsuit filed by the victim's family
While the bill is not directly linked to this case
it shows the magnitude of just how many inappropriate situations like this have taken place In school districts
1.) Two counts of “lewd or indecent acts to (a) child under 16.\"
and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox
OKLA (KOKH) — Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded to a fatal car collision Sunday evening near State Highway 66 and State Highway 102 in Wellston
was driving a Hyundai Tucson at the time of the crash
Leafty was pronounced deceased at the scene and transported to the medical examiner's office
was driving a Ford F-350 at the time of the accident
Henry was transported to a nearby hospital in good condition
The cause of the collision is under investigation
For more local news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.
(KOKH) — Evacuations are underway as a wildfire burns in Wellston along 3310 from the Turner Turnpike north to 930 Road
Residents in the area are asked to evacuate to the Wellston Senior Citizen's Center
The Wellston Fire Department is responding to a structure and grass fire on 3310 South of Hwy 66
but crews are still on scene conducting mop-up operations
People in the area are asked to follow first responders' instructions and avoid the area
Lincoln County officials report it started as a structure fire around 12:45 p.m
The first then spread from the building to the grass and into the trees
According to the Wellston Fire Chief Todd Beesley
Beesley says the structure was a house that six people lived in
and the Red Cross is on its way to assist them
Wellston Fire Department thanked the neighboring departments for their assistance:
Authorities responded to a grass fire near Wellston in Lincoln County Thursday afternoon
This was one of many fires across the metro today
The Oklahoma City Fire Department says year-round
the wildfire risk is becoming increasingly common
The department says human activity is the number one cause of these fires
To stay safe and prevent fires the OKCFD recommends:
Lincoln County District Court Judge Sheila Kirk sentenced Emma Delaney Hancock to four years in prison
The following article remains in its original form.)
CHANDLER — After three days of testimony from two dozen witnesses in the trial against former Wellston Public Schools substitute teacher Emma Delaney Hancock
a Lincoln County jury found her guilty Wednesday on two felony counts of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology
She faced an additional charge for showing two eighth graders inappropriate videos on her phone
Her trial began Monday and concluded Wednesday afternoon
Jurors found Hancock guilty on one count related to sexual messages she sent to the 15-year-old student and on another count for showing the eighth graders videos of herself kissing another woman and pretending to perform oral sex on someone at a Halloween party
Hancock was found not guilty on three counts
two of which were “lewd or indecent acts to (a) child under 16,” and one of which was “soliciting sexual conduct or communication with (a) minor by use of technology.” Each of those counts dealt with Hancock’s actions with the 15-year-old student
whose name NonDoc has chosen not to print because he is still a minor
Hancock received a moment to say goodbye to her family
which includes two children she has with her husband
On the two counts for which they found her guilty
the judge could choose to accept the jury’s recommendation or impose a different sentence
The judge will likely also make a decision about whether the two counts’ sentences should run concurrently or separately
Billy Coyle
said Wednesday evening he will likely appeal the jury’s verdict
although he planned to discuss options with Hancock and her family first
and I’m proud of her for standing up and going all the way to jury trial with it,” Coyle said
“It takes a lot to maintain your innocence.”
Coyle acknowledged the evidence against his client even though she testified Wednesday that the things being said of her were untrue
“She maintained her innocence throughout trial
I represented her to the best of my ability
but I’m not naive in saying that it was a tough case
There was a lot of witnesses that were against her,” Coyle said
“I thought the theme of the case was punish a woman as hard as a man
there was just a lot more going on with this case than that
I respect the jury’s verdict (…) and so I just hope we’ll continue to fight our case.”
With early voters packing the Lincoln County Courthouse for much of Wednesday
jurors began deliberations around 3:30 p.m
Hancock is also facing a civil lawsuit filed by the high school student and his father in June
Their petition alleges nearly identical facts to those alleged in this week’s criminal case
all of Tuesday and Wednesday morning listening to the 20 witnesses who testified on behalf of the state
Those witnesses included the student who accused Hancock of the illegal activity
the two eighth graders and four law enforcement agents
who is now 28 and who goes by her middle name Delaney
She denied the existence of a relationship between herself and the 15-year-old student and said they never sent each other sexual messages
She also said she did not show the eighth graders the videos
saying instead that they simply looked over her shoulder as the videos played
In addition to being married to Wellston’s police chief
Hancock is widely known around town and to WPS students as the daughter of Wellston Mayor Paul Whitnah
who was recently removed from the volunteer fire department for not wearing protective gear
The state’s witnesses all laid out the story of an alleged relationship between Hancock and the student that began on Snapchat
lasted a few weeks in October and November 2022 and consisted mostly of sexual messages
Snapchat is a mobile messaging app that typically deletes messages after they are sent and received
an OSBI agent repeatedly referred to Snapchat as “not very law enforcement friendly.”
Although the jury acquitted Hancock of charges related to physical contact accusations
he and Hancock had “aggressive make out” sessions in empty classrooms during school which featured Hancock rubbing his genitals over his clothes
The student said he also touched her “body and butt” during those times
The relationship allegedly ended when a few students reported what they had heard about it to a teacher and the school notified the student’s parents
Those students also testified during the trial
Although the 20 witnesses for the state discussed the alleged relationship in detail
jurors were never shown specific messages between Hancock and the student
something the defense attempted to emphasize while cross examining witnesses and during closing arguments
“They don’t have any evidence at the end of the day,” Coyle told jurors Wednesday afternoon
Hancock’s defense team attempted to cast doubt on prosecutors’ case by pointing out the numerous times the student told his friends of his relationship with Hancock
Although multiple students told jurors Tuesday that the student had flaunted his relationship with the substitute and showed them pictures and messages she had sent him
the student testified Monday he did not tell anyone about his relationship with Hancock until his father confronted him about it after a meeting with the Wellston High School principal
On Wednesday, Hancock’s defense team recalled the student to the witness stand to emphasize his conflicting testimony to the jury. Jurors were told to consider all of the statements as possible “impeachment evidence.”
the student was clear on the stand about his relationship with Hancock
he looked in Hancock’s direction while being questioned by the attorneys
The student told jurors he gave Hancock his phone number in the fall semester of 2022 so she could send him information about an assignment
he said they became friends on Snapchat and began sending each other messages that were not sexual in nature
the student said he sent a shirtless picture of himself to Hancock from the baseball locker room
Coyle asked why he decided to send the photo
‘Are we sending half naked pictures?’”
Coyle asked if the student was “surprised by the response.”
she would have told me that she wasn’t OK with that,” the student said
the student said the relationship turned sexual
He described a picture Hancock sent — either that same night as the shirtless picture or the next night — where she was supposedly lying in bed with a blanket covering the bottom half of her breasts and her hair pulled forward covering the rest
The student asked Hancock to turn the flash on for the picture and to move the blanket
The student said she then sent a picture fully exposing her breasts
the student said Hancock sent multiple nude photos and videos to each other including a photo of his erect penis and a video of Hancock masturbating
Hancock denied that such images were shared
and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents said no files were able to be recovered from Snapchat
Although the student said it makes him uncomfortable to talk about the things that happened
he offered detailed descriptions about the timeline of events
such as when his father was called to the school and informed of the allegations
The student said his father asked him about Hancock when he arrived back home
at which point he told his dad “everything that happened.”
“I was embarrassed and shaking really bad,” the student testified Monday
“I just was embarrassed because I was letting my dad down
The student and both of his parents told jurors he transferred from Wellston High School to Epic Charter Schools for the rest of his sophomore year and the entirety of his junior year
Both parents said the events had a major impact on their son
“He gets depressed,” the father told jurors
“He decided he was going to go back to [Wellston High School] this year
and he says it’s not the same.”
Facebook | X | Text or Email
Assistant District Attorney Rachel Thompson walked over to the defense table and told Hancock and her counsel that the prosecution had just found out about another alleged inappropriate incident between Hancock and a student
one of the students set to testify that day had revealed that she was once asked to accompany Hancock to get her nipples pierced
After a short back-and-forth between the lawyers
the judge ultimately barred the prosecutors from bringing the alleged incident up in front of the jury
Prosecutors said they had wanted to use the situation as further evidence that Hancock lacked boundaries with her students while substitute teaching
seemed to agree with the defense attorneys
who argued that the incident was outside the scope of the case and that it should have been brought up earlier if prosecutors wanted to present the allegation
Prosecutors called seven of the student’s friends to testify Tuesday
All said they saw him and Hancock exchange Snapchat messages
and a few said they saw pictures Hancock had sent him
One witness said he saw a message Hancock sent saying she wanted to dress up as a stripper for the student for Halloween
OSBI agents testified that they were able to confirm the existence of multiple messages between the student and an account with the name “Delaney,” but they were unable to gain the content of those messages
an investigator with District Attorney Adam Panter’s office
testified about his experience asking Snapchat to preserve the relevant data and eventually sending a search warrant to the company
Holasek said he attempted twice to recover the content from Snapchat’s servers
but owing to the app’s default design to automatically delete opened snaps from the server
he said was unable to recover any snaps from either the student’s account or Hancock’s
That allowed Coyle to cast doubt on whether the content being sent was explicitly sexual
He pointed out that even though the jury had heard about naked photos and videos Hancock had allegedly sent
there was no physical evidence that the communications included any content pointing to an “inappropriate relationship.”
The last two witnesses to testify Tuesday were the two eighth-grade females to whom Hancock showed inappropriate videos
Prosecutors showed jurors the videos they had recovered from Hancock’s phone
“I remember we were sitting in the classroom
and we were in the kitchen area of this classroom
and she started laughing at her phone,” said one of the students
and [Hancock] showed us a video from a Halloween party
and it was a video of her pulling a girl’s pants down and sucking on a fake penis.”
Both girls said they reported the incident to their principal after news came out about Hancock’s actions with the high school student
jurors heard from four witnesses called by the defense
including a friend of Hancock’s who attended the Halloween party
“She looked me dead in the eyes and said
I believe that there’s nothing there,” Alfred Hancock told jurors
Hancock herself took the stand as her own final witness
“The only explanation I have is he was using a vape pen — which I was in the wrong for — and the story got blown up into something it wasn’t,” Hancock testified
Assistant District Attorney Kelly Trimble pressed Hancock on her claim that all of the witnesses against her were lying
“I feel like there were a couple of inappropriate instances but I don’t think that defines who I am as a person or a teacher,” Hancock said
(KOKH) — The eastbound outside lane of Turner Turnpike near Wellston is shut down due to a semi-truck fire
Wellston Fire Department said a Hobby Lobby trailer caught on fire
The cab was not affected and no injuries were reported
The driver pulled over when he noticed the fire
Jacktown and Chandler Fire Departments are also on the scene to help with cleanup
the outer lane of eastbound Turner Turnpike was still impacted
For more local news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.
News 9 storm trackers Val and Amy Castor found storm damage early Sunday Morning in Wellston
People were seen searching through the damage with flashlights northeast of Harrah
There are also large trees down in this rural area
The driver of a semi-truck was able to escape a fiery crash that happened Tuesday night near Wellston
The Wellston Fire Department said all eastbound lanes of the Turner Turnpike were closed for three hours while firefighters worked to control a fire that began after the semi-truck collided with a barrier wall
Authorities say that a construction truck was also damaged in the wreck because a worker was on the scene to repair a damaged concrete barrier from a crash earlier in the evening
All lanes of the Turner Turnpike have since been reopened
and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation after a loaded gun was brought into the jail
Wellston Police confirmed that the officer involved has resigned
Video released by the sheriff's office last week shows a DUI suspect pulling out a loaded weapon during the booking process
Wellston police responded to a single-vehicle accident near the intersection of 3330 Road and U.S
officers arrested the driver on DUI complaints
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office
Jerry Lorenz was brought in for booking when he pulled a gun
“It was a North American mini revolver 22 magnum five-shot,” said Sgt
the arresting officer asked Lorenz if he had “any guns
or dangerous instruments.” And Lorenz answered “no,” court documents show
the sheriff’s office released the surveillance video of the incident
you can see after the detention officer removes the shackles from Lorenz
he quickly turns around and points the gun at him
Bennett says the suspect pulled the trigger at least twice
“There were a couple of times he was pointing the pistol at our jailer’s head and neck area from pretty close range ultimately it could have been very bad,” Sgt
The gun never went off and the jailer is okay
The suspect’s extended family says they weren’t surprised by the incident
“He already knew what he was going to do,” said Dennis Morris
Morris says his wife’s cousin is Jerry Lorenz
The family lives next door and Morris says was constantly causing problems
“It's just one thing after another,” Morris said
“Shooting guns close to us when my kids are playing outside.”
As he deals with his legal battles with the family
he's now concerned for his town after viewing the video
“I just want to make sure our police department is trained and can handle stuff that's coming down the line,” Morris said
Wellston Police said in a statement that the “suspect threatened jail staff in an attempt to escape the facility.” The statement also noted the officer attempted to “radio for help,” and then
“stood by while the detention officer and suspect continued to struggle.” The statement continues to say
“The reluctance to engage when confronted by a hostile suspect during a critical incident is not within the policy
or expectations of the Wellston Police Department.” Police say the officer involved was placed on leave on September 4 and has since resigned
Lorenz now faces other charges including assault with a dangerous weapon and attempt to kill
The full statement from Wellston Police can be read below:
and received her journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma
Deanne Stein became a reporter at News 9 in 2023 after working in Clarksburg and Charleston
OKLA (KOKH) — A Wellston substitute teacher was found guilty of two counts of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor by use of technology
began a sexually explicit string of conversations over Snapchat with a 15-year-old student
A search warrant obtained to search Hancock's Snapchat account revealed videos related to the incident
Hancock reportedlykissed and touched the student during lunch break while hiding inside classroom closets or pantries
she was found not guilty of two counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16 and one more count of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology
For more local news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience
Ohio (WOUB) – The Trimble Tomcats (2-1) hosted the Wellston Golden Rockets (3-0) in a tough-fought nonconference game
but after a 3-and-out from the Trimble defense
they forced the Golden Rockets to kick it away
a bad snap left the Tomcats sitting close to midfield
This was enough to get the Tomcats in the endzone of a keep from quarterback Brady Jajczyk
Trimble opted for the 2-point conversion and got it with running back Owen Sikorski Tomcats up 8-0
The Golden Rockets took off on the ground behind running back Seth Lambert
but they were unable to score due to some calls and missed connections through the air
with both defenses making critical stops in the red zone
and Trimble was able to stack multiple strong runs and put another one in with running back Trevor Gowen
this time with a sweep and a run from Mathew Moyer
using running back Seth Lambert to push the Golden Rockets up the field
After getting some nice field position quarterback Johnny Scott had a beautiful pass to Kale Faught who brought it in for a touchdown
it wasn’t meant to be with the Golden Rockets unable to convert Trimble leading 16-6
the Tomcats returned to their Bread and butter with the run
Trimble was able to find the edge time and time again
making defenders miss and spinning in for the touchdown
Gowen got the score up for the Tomcats with the 2-point conversion 26-6
Scott tried to switch the momentum for the Golden Rockets before the half ended
but a pick by Ashton Kochis would bring Wellston’s offense to a halt
Trimble would attempt some hurry-up offense and the Tomcats would secure the win over the Golden Rockets 38-18
Trimble will take their momentum to Worthington Christian against the Christian Warriors (1-3)
Wellston will go home preparing to host the Alexander Spartans (2-2)
Ohio (WOUB) — The Vinton County Lady Vikings (13-8; 6-6 TVC-Ohio) and the Wellston Lady Golden Rockets (5-17; 2-10 TVC-Ohio) met in a TVC-Ohio showdown where the Vikings prevailed 64-25
Vinton County’s defense was ferocious as they pounced on every possession Wellston had
This forced many takeaways and low percentage shots for the Golden Rockets and they did not let up throughout the game
This was backed up with a hot start from Morgan Davis who got their first nine points from long range
This combination led to a 15-5 Vinton County advantage at the end of the first
the offense for the Vikings would gain more spark with Norah Martin and Emma Leaming hitting some shots in the paint
Leaming would go on to hit her last four shots in a row
and Vinton County would have a 31-13 lead at halftime
Things only got better for the Vikings as they fully took control as the game went on
Morgan Davis had herself a night as she was their leading scorer with 18
hitting six of her nine attempts from three
But players such as Olive Booth and Trinity Williams were just as important with their performances
The pressure of the defense consistently worked wonders
and seven of the eleven Vikings who entered the game grabbed at least two rebounds and had at least one assist
After the game we asked Vinton County Girls Head Coach Brett Jones about his team’s offensive chemistry
We feel we have a bunch of different people that can do different things
and we feel that we can share the basketball and compete
The westbound lanes of the Turner Turnpike are reopened near Wellston after a collision Thursday morning
Officials have not released details about the crash or whether anyone was injured
Brooke Cox is a Digital Producer at News On 6
where she has been part of the team since August 2024
(KOKH) — Wellston Firefighters responded to a semi-trailer fire early Monday morning on the Turner Turnpike
Officials arrived near Mile Marker 152 around 1:37 a.m
and found a car hauler with vehicles on fire
The fire was brought under control around 3 a.m
The semi driver was not hurt and was able to disconnect the tractor from the burning trailer
Storm tracker Val Castor is tracking damage near Wellston
Near 177 and Interstate 44 are down tree branches and leaves scattered across the road