Picher Oklahoma OK Warrant Search

Picher, Oklahoma Picher is a ghost town and former city in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was formerly a center of lead and zinc mining. The population was 1,640 at the 2000 census. Discoveries of ground contamination and the possibility of a cave-in of mines under the city have prompted all of its population to evacuate, and the nearby town of Cardin is following suit. The city is within the boundaries of the Tar Creek Superfund site. History In 1913, as the Tri-State district expanded, lead and zinc ore was discovered on Harry Crawfish's claim and mining began. A townsite developed overnight around the new workings and was named Picher in honor of O. S. Picher, owner of Picher Lead Company. Incorporated in 1918, by 1920 Picher had a population of 9,726. Peak population occurred at 14,252 in 1926 followed by a gradual decline paralleling a decrease in mining activity, to 2,553 by 1960.The Picher area became the most productive lead-zinc mining field in the Tri-State district producing over $20 billion worth of ore between 1917 and 1947. More than fifty percent of the lead and zinc metal used during World War I were produced by the Picher district. At its peak over 14,000 miners worked the mines and another 4,000 worked in mining services. Many of these workers commuted by an extensive trolley system from as far away as Joplin and Carthage, Missouri. Mining ceased in 1967 and water pumping from the mines ceased. The contaminated water from some 14,000 abandoned mine shafts, 70 million tons of mine tailings, and 36 million tons of mill sand and sludge remained as a huge environmental cleanup problem. The area became part of the Tar Creek Superfund site.On April 24, 2006, Reuters reported that Picher had been scheduled to be closed and all residents removed. Due in large part to the removal of large amounts of subsurface material during mining operations, many of the city's structures have been deemed in imminent danger of caving in.The city's pharmacist, Gary Linderman was featured in the May 28, 2007, issue of People magazine in the Heroes Among Us article 'Prescription for Kindness'. He vowed to stay as long as there was anyone left who needed him and to be the last one out of the city.On May 10, 2008, Picher was struck by a tornado. There were eight confirmed deaths, possibly including one child, and many other injuries. The tornado first touched down near the Kansas-Oklahoma border in Oklahoma southwest of Chetopa, Kansas, and tracked eastward. It then slammed into Picher with devastating results. Twenty blocks of the city suffered extensive damage with houses and businesses destroyed or flattened. The damage in Picher was rated at 'EF4'. At least 150 others were injured in Picher alone. The tornado continued eastward, passing just north of Quapaw and Peoria before crossing Interstate 44 into Missouri. This was the deadliest tornado in Oklahoma since the South Oklahoma City F5 tornado on May 3, 1999, which killed 36. The federal government also decided that there would be no aid given to rebuild homes, but the buyouts would continue as previously scheduled and people will be assisted in relocation.Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry sent National Guard troops as well as emergency personnel to assist the hardest hit area in Picher; twenty blocks which suffered major damage including several destroyed structures. Damage was reported in Peoria and Quapaw.Loss of power from the tornado forced the city to go on a boiled water notice. Staff from the Oklahoma Rural Water Association arrived to assist, since the utility's testing equipment was destroyed by the storm. With an emergency generator to supply power, rural water staff had the system running normally only two days after the tornado struck. Closure In April 2009, residents voted 55–6 to dissolve the Picher-Cardin school district; it graduated its final class of 11 in May. By 2009 the district's enrollment had dropped to a total of 49 students from approximately 340 three years prior. Remaining students will attend Commerce and Quapaw school districts.The city's post office was scheduled to close in July 2009 and the city ceased operations as a municipality on September 1, 2009.By June 29, 2009, all of the residents had been given federal checks to enable them to relocate from Picher permanently. The city is considered to be too toxic to be habitable. On the last day, all the final residents met at the school auditorium to say goodbye. As of November 2010, it was reported that Picher still had 'one business and six occupied houses.'The people of the adjacent city of Treece, Kansas, would like to see the government carry out a similar relocation program in their city, too. On October 29, 2009, Congress voted to allow the EPA to fund the relocation of the remaining citizens of Treece. Geography Picher is located at 36°58′58″N 94°49′58″W / 36.98278°N 94.83278°W / 36.98278; -94.83278 (36.982824, -94.832777).According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²), all of it land. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 1,640 people, 621 households, and 417 families residing in the city. The population density was 734.0 people per square mile (283.9/km²). There were 708 housing units at an average density of 316.9/sq mi (122.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.13% White, 13.78% Native American, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 0.12% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 8.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.40% of the population.There were 621 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.20.In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.The median income for a household in the city was $19,722, and the median income for a family was $25,950. Males had a median income of $22,321 versus $15,947 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,938. About 21.1% of families and 25.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 30.9% of those age 65 or over. Documentary film Picher was featured in the PBS Independent Lens film The Creek Runs Red discussing the connection of the people and their desire to leave or stay in the city. Picher was also featured in the Jump the Fence Productions film titled Tar Creek. The film, which was written, directed, and narrated by Matt Myers, features music from Blues legend Watermelon Slim.Picher was featured in an episode of Life After People: The Series on the History Channel.The aforementioned tornado was also featured on an episode of the Weather Channel's Storm Stories. Notable residents Joe Don Rooney, country pop musician with the bandRascal Flatts.