The Pawhuska Huskies were firing on all cylinders in Thursday night's 77-29 victory over the Preston Pirates.


Pawhuska led 20-4 heading into the second quarter and extended a 16-point lead to 25 by halftime. It was Easton Kirk who led the way for Pawhuska, scoring 22 points. Mason Gilkey, Tell Richardon, and Tre Harper all scored in double-figures.


Thursday's victory automatically advances the Huskies to the area tournament next week, but they will first play against Pawnee this Saturday in Stroud. These two teams have met twice earlier in the season, with Pawnee winning both times. The last game was on Pawhuska's senior night. The Huskies trailed 9-0 to start the game and went on to lose 72-56. Coach Jake Christenson knows that his team must avoid a second slow start in order to win.


Saturday's game will be an 8 o' clock tipoff.

Barnsdall's 66-51 victory over Mounds on Friday advanced the Panthers to Saturday's district championship game against Oklahoma Union, the number one ranked team in Class 2A. Coach Wade Corder knew the Cougars were good, but he told his team as long as they played hard, they would have a chance to get the upset victory. The Panthers led by eight at halftime, but a three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out and gave Oklahoma Union the 67-65 win.


Barnsdall will play Watonga on Thursday afternoon and in order to make the area tournament they will have to win three games in as many days. Corder said it is imperative that his team come out andplay with that high energy level once again.


The Barnsdall Panthers will take the court in Ponca City at 3 p.m. on Thursday. With a win, they would take on the loser of Hooker and Pioneer-Pleasant Valley at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Scott Hilton, a former District Two Commissioner for Osage County, is seeking a protective order violation against current District Two Commissioner Kevin Paslay.
The petition, which was filed in Osage County District Court, alleges that Paslay harassed and stalked him. A statement included in the petition for a protective order alleges that the harassment first started in November 2019 when Hilton asked Paslay about the purchase of a truck during a county commissioners meeting.
Paslay defeated Hilton in 2016 and Tom Teel, who was Hilton’s first deputy as county commissioner, is running against Paslay in 2020. This is why Paslay says this is all politically driven.
A temporary protective order is in place until Monday morning’s hearing.

It is only February, but Executive Director for Osage County Tourism, Kelly Bland, is already requesting funding for events going on this summer. One such event is the annual Cavalcade Rodeo set to take place in July where the tourism board is requesting $6,000. Normally, the most the tourism board allows for advertising dollars is $5,000, but because the Cavalcade Rodeo is such a unique event, they requested $6,000, as they have in years past.


Another event that Bland is excited about is the Tallgrass Music Festival in Skiatook, which will be taking place in June. Based upon last years attendance, the festival qualifies for $1,000 worth of advertising dollars. Bland believes this is an event that can grow.


The board approved all six items that that Bland was requesting funding for.

Judge Stuart Tate was at Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting informing the commissioners that they are in the process of applying for a grant that would allow parts of the courthouse to have Wi-Fi.


Tate gave some specifics as to what they wanted and why they needed those things so badly.


No operating costs or additional maintenance costs would be included in the grant. This is what Tate is hoping the commissioners would be willing to pay for. Tate said they are in the process of applying for the grant. If they get the grant money, this is when the commissioners would make a decision to pay for the operational costs.

Executive Director for Osage County Tourism, Kelly Bland, gave a report to the county commissioners on Monday and said that even more people continue to learn about Osage County. Bland said that when she came on board in 2017, they would send a newsletter to just over 100 people. That has since grown to more than 5,000 people. Bland believes this is thanks in large part to the way she sets up her booths when going to conferences around the country. 


Bland added that the Governor's Office called asking if there was any footage of Osage County that they could show during Governor Kevin Stitt's prayer breakfast last week. Bland thanked the commissioners for allowing Oral Roberts University students to film parts of the county last fall, as that footage would not have been available otherwise.   

Interest rates are at an all time low at the moment. This is why attorney and proponent of the re-construction of a new courthouse in Pawhuska, Jeff Raley, wants to see such a measure put on a ballot for Osage County residents to vote on in June. District Two Commissioner Kevin Paslay also wants to see this on a ballot later in the year.


Skiatook City Manager Dan Yancey said the city of Skiatook currently pays 1.4 million dollars of sales tax to Osage County on a yearly basis. If this proposed measure were to pass, that number would increase to 1.8 million dollars and they would be forced to pay that for the next 20 years. Yancey said he doesn't want to vote on something that he thinks might fail before they even complete construction on the project.


Paslay, who represents the citizens of Skiatook, stands by the fact that he believes an annex is needed and it would be widely supported.


District One Commissioner Randall Jones knows that there is a need for a new courthouse in Pawhuska, but says the funding just isn't there to go about getting one at the moment. He added that with the advancement of technology, he is unsure if an annex in Skiatook is necessary.


District Three Commissioner Darren McKinney opted to table the agenda item so that they could continue this discussion in weeks to come.

The Board of Osage County Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting Monday morning and the possibility of re-constructing a courthouse in Pawhuska and adding an annex in Skiatook continued to be the main point of conversation.  
District Two Commissioner Kevin Paslay wants to see the measure put to a vote in June and he strongly believes it will pass, thanks in large part to the citizens of Skiatook. The City Manager of Skiatook, Dan Yancey, has acknowledged that there is a need for a new courthouse, but says his citizens will be burdened with a sales tax that they don’t need. Yancey voiced his concern for the annex because most small fines could be paid online or over the phone.
District One Commissioner Randall Jones agreed with Yancey saying that there is a need for the courthouse, but there are too many other things the county needs to pay for at the moment. Jeff Raley, who has long been a proponent of this measure, said this is the time to put this on the ballot, as he believes interest rates will never again be this low. District Three Commissioner Darren McKinney opted to table the agenda item so that they can continue discussions in the weeks to follow.
Executive Director for Osage County Tourism, Kelly Bland was on hand giving a report on what has been going on across the county. Bland reported that she is sending monthly newsletters out to more than 5,000 people. When she came on board in 2017, they were sending out 113 of those newsletters. The commissioners gave Bland $6,000 to advertise for the Cavalcade Rodeo coming up in July and $1,000 to advertise the Tallgrass Music Festival in June.
Judge Stuart Tate let the commissioners know they would be going after an equipment grant that would allow them to have Wi-Fi in the second and third floor courtrooms. He said they will keep the commissioners apprised as to how much, if any, grant money they will receive.
The next regularly scheduled Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting will be next Monday at 10 o’ clock in the morning. 

The Osage County Jr. Livestock Show will be taking place next week at the Fairgrounds in Pawhuska and we will be broadcasting live on Real Country KRIG 104.9 on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The fun starts at 3 p.m. on Tuesday with a weigh-in for hogs, goats and sheep. Starting at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, there will be a swine show, swine showmanship, sheep show, sheep showmanship and heifers and steer will also weigh in.
Starting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, there will be a goat show, goat showmanship, heifer show, steer show and beef showmanship.
The judging contest will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday with a BBQ dinner set to take place at 5 p.m. There will then be an awards ceremony and auction.  

The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet Monday morning for a regularly scheduled meeting at the courthouse in Pawhuska.
The commissioners will consider placing the construction of a new courthouse and adding an annex in Skiatook on the ballot for voters to vote on in late June.
A representative from Miller EMS will be on hand to give a report on how things are going in the Barnsdall and Fairfax areas.
Executive Director for Osage County Tourism, Kelly Bland will give her monthly report letting the commissioners know how things are going across the county. She will also be making various tourism funding requests, including $6,000 for the Cavalcade Rodeo in July and $1,000 to advertise the Tallgrass Music Festival in June.
Judge Stuart Tate will be at the meeting to discuss the possibility of obtaining Wi-Fi in the Osage County Courthouse.
The meeting begins at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending.