McCurtain County commissioner resigns

McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings resigned, effectively immediately, according to a handwritten note he submitted to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Office.

“I will release a formal statement in the near future regarding the recent events in our county,” he wrote.

Several other county officials have resisted calls that they resign after reporters at the McCurtain Gazette-News published a story and released audio recordings in which a county commissioner, the sheriff and two county employees allegedly discuss knowing hit men while talking about two local reporters.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday confirmed it has opened an investigation into the situation in McCurtain County following a request from Stitt.

In its reporting, The Gazette-News identified Jennings as telling other county officials he knows “two or three hit men” out of state in a discussion about the newspaper’s publisher, Bruce Willingham, and his son, Chris Willingham, a reporter for the publication.

Jennings also allegedly said, “I know where two deep holes are dug if you ever need them.”

The former county commissioner also appears to complain about not being able to hang Black people, according to the recording from the Gazette-News.

A special election will be held to fill Jennings’ seat on the McCurtain County Board of Commissioners, said Stitt spokeswoman Kate Vesper.

The local newspaper named McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix and Sheriff’s Office Investigator Alicia Manning as the other parties in the recorded conversation.

They have not stepped down from their positions despite the governor and other local officials calling on them to resign.

State Sen. George Burns, R-Pollard, said he is continuing to pressure Clardy, Manning and Hendrix to submit their resignations.

Burns, who lives in McCurtain County, stressed the recorded comments don’t represent the heart and spirit of local citizens.

“When the words of public servants are so vile that they’re hurting the people they serve, they should no longer hold those positions,” Burns said in a statement.

A post made this week on the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page alleges Gazette-News officials illegally recorded the conversation between county officials. The post went on to say that the Sheriff’s Office believes the audio recording had been altered, although an attorney for the newspaper denied that allegation.

Bruce Willingham previously said he left his recorder behind in a County Commission meeting room in the hopes of getting evidence that county officials were holding an illegal meeting.

The recordings made available by the Gazette-News match its reporting but the Tulsa World could not independently verify the identities of the people speaking.