The one in the helicopter was Cathy Jones, Ch. 4. The other one was in a car accident, also on Ch. 4, but I can't recall her name.




If my memory serves me right was there two female news casters that were killed a short time apart. One being killed in a helicopter and another on NW 36th and Walker?

The one in the helicopter was Cathy Jones, Ch. 4. The other one was in a car accident, also on Ch. 4, but I can't recall her name.
Lee Evans, the info is above.

The one in the helicopter was Cathy Jones, Ch. 4. The other one was in a car accident, also on Ch. 4, but I can't recall her name.Cathy Jones was not in a helicopter; it was an aerobatic plane doing a simulated dogfight, as a promotion prior to an Air America show.

Was that the crash at or near the Cimarron River, maybe near Dover?

Yes it was. As I recall, the plane went into the river bank after failing to completely pull out of a dive...

Speaking of Bob Thomas (Prunepicker), he still turns up in old, old footage of weather reports where they wrote on the map with chalk. What innovative times, indeed.

Also on Channel 4, Jim Williams.

Rick Tasetano was the weatherman at KTOK for years.So was Gene Collett. Gene preceded Rick as KTOK meteorologist. Both were former military meteorologists. I worked with both of them. Both were fine gentlemen.

Well, I'm chuckling over Mike Morgan and his references to hail as, not golfball size, quarter size, baseball size, etc. No, he's simply saying "golfballs", "quarters", "baseballs", etc. He was doing this Sunday night and again tonight.

Not a problem for me, but you gotta wonder about people traveling through the state and hearing him on the radio for the first time.

You go, Mike!

Mitch Jelniker (sp?) was an anchor on channel 9, I think. He married another anchor on the station. He now is in Denver still doing the news.KMGH Channel 7 in Denver (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/215899/detail.html).

Dan Threlkeld is now the Chief Meteorologist at KTUL Channel 8 in Tulsa. I have the NewsOn app on my ROKU and was curious about the news in Tulsa. I streamed the 10 pm newscast & was startled to learn that Dan is back in the television weather business. Congrats to him. Here's channel 8's link:
https://ktul.com/station/people/dan-threlkeld

Dan Threlkeld is no stranger to Tulsa. He's a native Oklahoman with decades of experience forecasting the quirky and sometimes deadly weather patterns in our state. He's also a veteran Channel 8 watcher, dating back to his days as a kid watching our legendary first chief meteorologist, the late Don Woods.

"Don Woods was and still is my hero," said Threlkeld. "There will never again be anyone quite like him."

While Dan is all about state-of-the-art science and technology, he's looking forward to adding a new chapter to KTUL's legacy as a premier weather station. When he left the TV business a few years ago to become director of Health Care Marketing at OSU's Center for Health Sciences, Dan carried part of that "8's the Place" legacy with him -- a full-color "Gusty," drawn especially for him by Don Woods. It hangs on Dan's office wall today.

Dan worked briefly with meteorologists Clint Boone and Molly McCollum during the height of this year's storm system. Clint and Molly put in countless hours during the worst of storm season, and they are a big part of why Dan has chosen to join Tulsa's Channel 8.

"I'm so excited about working with Clint and Molly," said Threlkeld. "They're great weather professionals. Very deep in their knowledge while also being great communicators. And both are just great people."

Please help us welcome Dan back to TVs across Green Country!

The one in the helicopter was Cathy Jones, Ch. 4. The other one was in a car accident, also on Ch. 4, but I can't recall her name.Except that the crash that killed Cathy was not a helicopter; it was a conventional plane, participating in a mock dogfight as promotion for an upcoming air show. Turned out later that the pilot, who also died, was not qualified or licensed to do such things, and his firm had no connection to the air show. A tragic situation all around!

Speaking of Mike Morgan. Always amused by his predicting something (as an example) for
"9:00 AM tomorrow morning." Rather redundant. To be fair, almost all the weather folks do this but Morgan is king.

I remember that well. The tv station kept running and running the video over and over again of the place crash. It was a very sad thing to see.

KFOR just announced that former News 9 Pilot Mason Dunn has joined the team.

Lance West land somewhere else? He still around in Oklahoma. Used to see him at Thunder games not sure if they were his tickets or the stations but haven't seen him there this year.

Yes that was Lee Evans....she was also on a local am station before moving on to KFOR. The wreck happened around nw 36th and walker and i believe a drunk driver was involved. Not sure what happened to the drunk driver.
Very tragic.

She was killed as a result of two cars drag racing with one of them blowing through a stop sign and striking her vehicle.

Ralph Combes did NOT go straight from TV down to Texas, where he passed away. He worked with us as our newsguy at KXY, until Nate Webb joined us a year or two into our show. Ralph was hysterical, and knew everything! Sadly, he was also the most pesimistic man we'd ever met, and didn't care what he said to those in power. With all he'd been through, can't say as I blamed him, either! We loved him, but every day became an excercise in negativity!
One day, Ralph called me in the afternoon, and said, "Somebody stole my lawn!!!".
He lived over by 122nd and May, and sure enough, while he was at work with us and nobody was home, somebody had backed their truck up in his driveway, and proceeded to roll up the fresh turf lawn he had just paid to have installed a few days before!! All he had left was a dirt front yard!!
And no, Gary England never worked at KTOK, another place I worked at...and we worked closely with Gary for years, before he decided he didn't want to wake up early anymore. I STILL miss working daily with Gary, and he's not only brilliant, but a really nice guy, too!

Lol it's funny what you miss when you don't track old threads. I was browsing this old thread and saw this post wherein someone claimed Gary England never worked at KTOK....

Since I'm bored here early Saturday morning, I guess I'll necrobump this for nostalgia's sake. Obviously this post is wrong; England was on KTOK just before he took the KWTV gig. He was replaced on KTOK by Gene Collet, who later retired and was replaced by Rick Tasetano. Gary took his "thunderlizard" gag he started at KTOK and did it for a while at KWTV; he even stuck a green, stuffed toy lizard to one of the big old rotating forecast boards they had in the waaaay-pre-computing era one day.

KTOK had changed a lot by the time Tasetano retired, and I don't think they replaced him with a dedicated staff meteorologist. They moved to contracted or TV-affiliated forecasting....

She was killed as a result of two cars drag racing with one of them blowing through a stop sign and striking her vehicle.

Correction: It was a traffic accident that killed her. The driver of the other car was drunk.

England was on KTOK just before he took the KWTV gig.It may not be general knowledge, but much of the original KWTV staff came straight from KTOK -- including the station manager. I believe that the Griffins were involved with both stations at that time.

My wife livd right acros Main from KTOK while going to junior high and high school, and spent much of her free time at the station becoming well acquainted with the staff. My eldest son is, in fact, named for Dick Kirschner, who was a night announcer and had helped Jo with her math homework. Chief Engineer Harold Phillips and his wife Becky were instrumental in getting Jo enrolled at Classen though she was firmly in Central's district. I met Harold and Becky soon after Jo and I married, and we attended Harold's funeral (and used Jo's knowledge of internal station communications to notify Dick Kirschner, by then a producer for ABC, of Harold's dath). It was actually a small but cohesive coummunity in those days!

It may not be general knowledge, but much of the original KWTV staff came straight from KTOK -- including the station manager. I believe that the Griffins were involved with both stations at that time.

My wife livd right acros Main from KTOK while going to junior high and high school, and spent much of her free time at the station becoming well acquainted with the staff. My eldest son is, in fact, named for Dick Kirschner, who was a night announcer and had helped Jo with her math homework. Chief Engineer Harold Phillips and his wife Becky were instrumental in getting Jo enrolled at Classen though she was firmly in Central's district. I met Harold and Becky soon after Jo and I married, and we attended Harold's funeral (and used Jo's knowledge of internal station communications to notify Dick Kirschner, by then a producer for ABC, of Harold's dath). It was actually a small but cohesive coummunity in those days!

And then, Chester Grubbs, who worked for them for many years as chief engineer. The single most optimistic man I have ever met. (RIP, Chester) “Dynamic!” he would say when asked how he was doing.

Hearing Kfor got sold and Eli Roberts is out. What is going on with that station?

Hearing Kfor got sold and Eli Roberts is out. What is going on with that station?

Yes, and yes. KFOR and KAUT were sold to Nextar, and from what I've heard, his contract wasn't renewed. Knowing how Nextar operates, I suspect this will not be the last you hear of impending changes...

Clean house and bring in new people. Place has been going downhill since Dan Threlkeld quit/fired/left. :cool:

Anyone remember Bill Beebe? He was on Ch. 9 from the 60s until the late 70s. He had a morning show with Lola Hall I think. I'm not sure why but he's not remembered in any of the state's broadcasting history like she is. Considering how long he was on the air, it seems strange. He died in his late 40s in 1979 and I've wondered what happened. There doesn't seem to be any info about him leaving Ch. 9 or an obituary in the Oklahoman archives.

Does anyone know what happened to Alex Housden on KOCO? Seems she has disappeared.

not sure how this double posted. I must have hit some button.

Does anyone know what happened to Alex Housden on KOCO? Seems she has disappeared.

Weird, she's not listed on the KOCO website anymore and I had followed her on Instagram but the account seems to have been deleted. Now that I think about it, I do remember last fall she referred to one of her black co-anchors as a baby gorilla and she apologized profusely. I wonder if that has anything to do with her disappearance from the news and social media.

Does anyone know what happened to Alex Housden on KOCO? Seems she has disappeared.

Friday, March 13 she announced she was leaving KOCO.

Thanks for the replies. I thought she was a good newscaster. As I was "googling" her I did come upon the gorilla affair. Too bad, I know she was prob just joking.

Does anybody know more details to the departure of Grant Hermes from KWTV? I remember that he recently got engaged. Looking for a job at this time would be really tough. TIA.

His Facebook page said he's moving to another city and staying in news, but he wasn't at liberty to say where just yet.

Is Kerry Robertson still alive and living in the NW OKC area??

His Facebook page said he's moving to another city and staying in news, but he wasn't at liberty to say where just yet.

Normally, the "can't say where" comment implies a dead period when changing stations in-market. Be it he's leaving OKC...seemed like a nice guy but maybe was looking for a chance with some better possible upward mobility (?)

Is Kerry Robertson still alive and living in the NW OKC area??

Yes she is. She and her husband are close friends of my wife and I. She's doing great.

Does anybody know if Mecca Rayne is still working at KOCO? I remember her getting engaged. I haven't seen her on the air for about a month now. TIA.

Tough work environment. Hopefully she's doing good.

She is still on their website...I also hope she is well.

Maggie Carlo is leaving KOCO. I wonder who will replace her?

Maggie Carlo is leaving KOCO. I wonder who will replace her?

More than likely:
https://www.koco.com/news-team/a899c3e9-8158-42df-8df6-233a7d758f67

Alejandra Briones has been on the morning team a while, it would make sense for her to co-anchor along side Jason Hackett.

Doesn't always work out that way.

Does anybody know if Mecca Rayne is still working at KOCO? I remember her getting engaged. I haven't seen her on the air for about a month now. TIA.

KOCO reposted her FB post saying she has been sick with Hyperemesis gravidarum, an illness associated with pregnancy. She's been in and out of the hospital the past month and didn't share the news because she was bracing for the worst. However, she mentioned the baby will be okay. :D

We moved to Washington state for a few years. Shortly after we got there, I recognized Gary Horcher, a local TV news guy. I emailed him because I recognized him from TV in OKC. He worked at Channel 9 from the late 1990's to 2003. He never answered my email but apparently kept it on file. The night of the 2013 Moore tornado, he called me. He was calling because they were trying to find people from Oklahoma who might know someone affected by the storm - someone we couldn't contact, were worried about, etc. As I realized a little later, they were trying to play up the drama of it all. But the best thing he said that night...apparently his TV station carried the Channel 9 broadcast for a couple hours early in the storm. He said that because he’d been here during the 1999 and 2003 tornados, just hearing Gary England's voice gave him PTSD!

Lacey Lett is leaving KFOR at the end of the week. A lot of turnover in the local TV market.

Will miss Lacey and look forward to seeing the great things she'll do with Goodwill. I do hope KFOR finds someone to continue her A Place to Call Home series.

Will miss Lacey and look forward to seeing the great things she'll do with Goodwill. I do hope KFOR finds someone to continue her A Place to Call Home series.

They are going to continue it and Lacey wants to remain involved in the cause as well.

That early morning routine is an incredible grind and she had been doing it for years.

With Lacey Lett's upcoming departure, and KFOR advertising for WGN's News Nation; Is KAUT converting to the new WGN News Nation? Just curious. :headscrat

With Lacey Lett's upcoming departure, and KFOR advertising for WGN's News Nation; Is KAUT converting to the new WGN News Nation? Just curious. :headscrat

To my knowledge, no. NewsNation will be a nightly three hour program on WGN which is also now owned by KFOR and KAUT's parent company, Nexstar. From all indications I have, KFOR will continue the Rise and Shine program on KAUT since it can be sold to local advertisers.

I hated to see Lacey leave. We only recently discovered Rise and Shine and it's really fun, not trying at all to be a "hard news" show and putting a light spin on things. Wish her well. She seems like such a nice young lady...

I hated to see Lacey leave. We only recently discovered Rise and Shine and it's really fun, not trying at all to be a "hard news" show and putting a light spin on things. Wish her well. She seems like such a nice young lady...
I’ve always liked her. Since I would think she’ll be doing public interface type stuff for Goodwill I probably would have seen her a few times a year if I hadn’t stopped volunteering for United Way.

What happened to KFOR's Taylor Addams?

What happened to KFOR's Taylor Addams?

I believe that she is now the official spokesperson for OESC assisting Shelley Zumwalt.

KWTV's Kelsey Kernstine is leaving to join the Chicago market. I wonder who her replacement will be?

KWTV's Kelsey Kernstine is leaving to join the Chicago market. I wonder who her replacement will be?

You knew she wouldn't be here long. Movin on up.

KWTV's Kelsey Kernstine is leaving to join the Chicago market. I wonder who her replacement will be?

She was pretty good in "Hell Bent for Leather".

KWTV's Kelsey Kernstine is leaving to join the Chicago market. I wonder who her replacement will be?

Not sure. Will they replace her? I don't know about other morning shows on other channels but it seems that KWTV went overboard on hiring their morning show. 2 meteorolgists on the morning show saying the same thing over and over seems to be a little overkill. And it seemed like Kernstine was basically the traffic person, and let's be honest, traffic is not that big of a deal here.

Not sure. Will they replace her? I don't know about other morning shows on other channels but it seems that KWTV went overboard on hiring their morning show. 2 meteorolgists on the morning show saying the same thing over and over seems to be a little overkill. And it seemed like Kernstine was basically the traffic person, and let's be honest, traffic is not that big of a deal here.

She was a fill in on the morning and noon news. I agree on the traffic, KFOR got rid of their traffic reporter, only KOKH has a dedicated traffic person.

She was a fill in on the morning and noon news. I agree on the traffic, KFOR got rid of their traffic reporter, only KOKH has a dedicated traffic person.

KOCO has a dedicated traffic reporter flying around in a helicopter Monday through Friday at 6 am until around 7 am.

Emily Akins (KFOR) has announced that she is leaving KFOR. Don't know what her next move is.

Emily Akins (KFOR) has announced that she is leaving KFOR. Don't know what her next move is.
Noooooo!!!!!!!!

Emily Akins (KFOR) has announced that she is leaving KFOR. Don't know what her next move is.

She is moving to north Texas near where her fiancee lives, apparently with a wedding in the near future. She said on Rise n Shine this morning she really hadn't made any big announcement about it.