Bill Haisten

Tulsa World Sports Columnist

Mike Simons

Tulsa World Photojournalist

INOLA — You always hear about it when someone wins a significant lottery payout, but it’s rare that you get a look at what is done with the money.

During a raucous pep rally nine months ago, it was announced that Inola High School was, in effect, a lottery winner — victorious over more than 1,700 other schools in a national “Friday Night 5G Lights” spirit contest sponsored by T-Mobile.

The residents of this Rogers County community — population 1,900 — would have been strained to have funded such extensive upgrades for the Inola High School athletic department facilities.

With its improbable blessing of $2 million, Inola Public Schools prioritized the purchase of new turf that replaced a 12-year-old sur

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