Osage County Emergency Manager Jerry Roberts was at Monday's commissioners meeting giving an update on the COVID-19 pandemic to let the public know how the county is faring. Roberts says he is beginning to see a slight uptick in cases.
Ten Osage County residents have now died because of the coronavirus. Just as case numbers are beginning to rise, Roberts says the CDC is changing its guidelines for those who have tested positive for the virus. The commissioners opted to take no action regarding policies and procedures for the public entering the courthouse and other county-owned buildings. The Board of Osage County Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at the fairgrounds in Pawhuska on Monday morning to make a number of important decisions.
Osage County Emergency Manager Jerry Roberts informed the commissioners that the county had suffered a tenth death because of COVID-19 on Friday. Roberts also said the CDC has changed guidelines, allowing for workers to come back to work after 10 days of a positive coronavirus test. Hunter Hansen and Tara Hendren with Help Works Inc. talked to the commissioners about the county possibly donating property to the company. They need this donation so that they can own commercial property and continue to operate as a not for profit organization. The commissioners said they would need time to review their request. The commissioners took action on signing a corrected schedule of expenditures of federal awards for the fiscal year 2018 and 2019. The commissioners also signed interlocal agreements between seven towns in district one. District one commissioner Randall Jones alerted the public that the treasurer’s roof is leaking and he will be working to fix it as soon as possible. There was one utility permit signed at the meeting. The next regularly scheduled meeting will take place next Monday at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending. The Osage Nation Education Department will be hosting a free training session on basic rights and Individualized Education Plans, otherwise known as an IEP. This is set to take place via zoom at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11th. You are asked to register in advance.
The purpose of this workshop is to describe State and Federal laws that affect special education across the State of Oklahoma. Parents will also gain an understanding of their rights and responsibilities. The Unites States Department of Education and Oklahoma State Department of Education both helped fund this workshop. Information and Training Specialist with the Oklahoma Parents Center, Amy Synar is the presenter and for more information about the session, you may contact her at 918-240-8557. At last week's city council meeting in Pawhuska, members from Help Works Inc. went to the council in hopes of getting a lease on a parcel of land to expand their operation. Help Works Inc. is a non profit organization within Osage County that helps those with intellectual disabilities. Hunter Hansen, an employee at the facility explains the predicament they are currently facing.
Hansen said the organization is always trying to be a face in the community when possible by volunteering at different events and doing a lot of community fundraising. He said even with that, they still need help, hence the reason they were at the meeting. Help Works Inc. owns property out by the Beavers Lodging area in Pawhuska. To become a commercial property, they are hoping to purchase the land across the street and putting pods on the property. Hansen explains in further detail. The Pawhuska City Council approved this item and now the Board of Osage County Commissioners will review their request on Monday. The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet for a regularly scheduled meeting at the fairgrounds in Pawhuska this Monday.
Members of Help Works, Inc. will be at the meeting asking for a donation of property in Pawhuska acquired by the county at the treasure’s resale. This is a not for profit organization. There will be continued discussion regarding the temporary wall between the Bighill Furniture Store and the Robert Clark Family Health Clinic next door. The commissioners will continue to re-visit an item regarding the possibility of making amendments to the current procedures for the public entering the courthouse and other county-owned buildings. The commissioners will also sign interlocal agreements with several cities, including Burbank, Barnsdall Shidler and Avant. The meeting begins at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending. It was recently announced that all school supplies will be provided for students who attend Pawhuska Public Schools. Superintendent David Cash is grateful for everyone's generosity.
If you would like to donate, you can write a check to the First United Methodist Church of Pawhuska and put “school supplies” in the memo. Checks can be mailed to the Church at 621 Leahy in Pawhuska. The Oklahoma State Board of Education met for a special called meeting Thursday morning to discuss the best way to go about re-opening schools across the state. With a 4-3 vote, the board opted to recommend, but not require individual school districts to follow certain guidelines such as wearing masks, switch from in-person learning to distance learning and how each school should proceed with extracurricular activities. Superintendent of Schools for the State of Oklahoma, Joy Hofmeister says she trusts local school districts to make the correct decisions, but she wants to remind everyone that things are changing rapidly.
The board did put in place a five-tier color coded system for each county, similar to the per capita system the Oklahoma State Department of Health has in place. According to the data, of the 77 counties across the state, only six of the counties fall in the lowest alert level, but no county falls in the highest alert level. Hofmeister says the goal is to get all schools in the green category because this would mean COVID-19 is on a downward spiral, but she goes through the other four tiers and what that would mean. All tri-county area schools would fall into the yellow area, which is the second highest tier. In this case, all school districts would be expected to offer in-person learning. Masks would be required for teachers, staff members and students in the fourth through twelfth grades. Limited gatherings would also be recommended under this area. Three defendants will be back in Osage County Court on Friday afternoon for a motion hearing in relation to an October 2018 murder.
Daniel Keene, Maurice Kent and Toby Bighorse are all being charged with the alleged first degree or second-degree murder in the alternative of John Adkins on October 1st, 2018. The four were believed to be traveling in a car north of Pawhuska when they began to argue and Adkins was then stabbed and killed. His body was found 17 days later, approximately one mile north of Pawhuska. The Defense has argued that the stabbing took place on Tribal Land and because the three defendants have Native American blood, the trial should be turned over to the United States Attorney’s Office. The State was able to prove that the crime didn’t occur on Native American land, thus it will move forward in Osage County District Court. The motion hearing is set to start at 1 p.m. Financial assistance for those within the Osage Nation who are struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic is available on a first-come basis.
To be eligible for this assistance, one must be a registered member of the Osage Nation on or before July 1st, 2020. Members must also be able to show hardships they have been going through since the pandemic began. Those aged 65 and above will be eligible to receive up to $1,000 and others will be eligible for $500. In order to complete the application, go to osagenation-nsn.gov and click on the member services tab. For any questions, you can call the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department at 918-287-9745. At Thursday afternoon's Bartlesville Redevelopment Trust Authority meeting, Director Chris Wilson gave an update regarding the historic preservation of what was once known as Hotel Phillips in Bartlesville. The City of Bartlesville submitted a grant that would allow for the hotelto be on the National Register of Historic Preservation.
Hotel Phillips was built in the 1940s and construction on the building was completed in the 1950s. Hotel Phillips is currently being transformed into apartment complexes. The board members decided to renew Wilson's contract for the coming year and they also accepted the financial report from the month of June. |
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