Reaction to Terry Nichols trial moving to McAlester

Tuesday, September 9th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

With the trial being moved, what does that mean for the city of McAlester? Some McAlester businesses are already preparing for the impact of the trial, and the influx of people and dollars.

Within hours of the announcement, owners of the building across the street from the courthouse started getting calls about leasing office space. But will moving the highly publicized case 130 miles away make that much of difference? Former DA Jim Miller, "the difference would be that this jury pull would be a little bit further removed from the impact that Oklahoma County has."

Tulsa resident, Bill Rath, "I think most people in Oklahoma have kept up with it, it's been in the news a lot, and the fact that it's just being moved 100 miles, I don't know if it makes that much of a distinction."

The judge who made the decision is a resident of McAlester. Some say that may have played a part in the decision to move the trial there.