The Times Record - Fort Smith, Arkansas

The Times Record - Fort Smith, Arkansas: "POTEAU -- The Literacy Council of LeFlore County will use a state grant to continue to fight the high illiteracy rate of southeast Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Department of Libraries has awarded a $10,000 grant to the literacy council, state legislators announced Tuesday.

'Many Oklahoma adults perform at the lowest level of literacy and this program enables them to enhance their reading and writing skills while also providing them with a greater sense of self-confidence," state Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, stated in a news release. 'I am very pleased with the services this program provides and am also pleased that LeFlore County was fortunate enough to receive such beneficial grant from the Department of Libraries.'

Gail Gilpin, director of the literacy council, said the group has received the grant each year for five years. The grant provides the council with about one third of its annual budget."