Volunteer fire chief and wife accused of stealing Muskogee Co. campaign sign

A volunteer fire chief and his wife are accused of stealing a Muskogee County commissioner's campaign sign, then using it to create their own signs against the candidate. The commissioner says he understands the opposition, but it's hard to believe.

Muskogee County District 2 Commissioner Keith Hyslop is seeking re-election and says he spent nearly $7,000 of his own money on campaign signs.

Signs against Hyslop are posted throughout the county, urging voters to oppose him if they value their fire department or home insurance.

The bottom of the backboards indicate they were paid for by friends and family members of the Buckhorn Fire Department, a volunteer department near Webbers Falls. Commissioner Hyslop said he noticed that some of the countersigns were similar to his own.

Hyslop said he received a call from a landowner saying a sign supporting him was missing.

“I kind of had my suspicions because the person who ended up with this probably lives about a half-mile east,” Hyslop said.

Hyslop said he walked into the fire department and found his sign with some letters cut out.

“They actually had a fabulous store inside the fire department,” he said. “They had another sign against me on sawhorses, paint buckets, all the evidence was there.”

Buckhorn Fire Chief Jimmy Webb and his wife, Robin, are both charged with two misdemeanors for carrying the missing sign.

An affidavit states the couple admitted to having the sign and “did not attempt to return the property.” He said: “They deconstructed the sign, damaging it, in order to create a stencil for their own counter-political signs. »

Hyslop knows some people disagree with him and understands he might support other candidates, but he says it's hard to believe.

“It’s completely unprofessional, especially as a chef,” he said. “He should be the leader. It should represent everyone. It's very suspicious.

Webb spoke on the phone with News On 6 and said he had issues with how the money was spent in the county. He referred us to his attorney for comment on this situation, but his law office had no comment.

The Muskogee County Prosecutor's Office also declined to comment.