The Osage Board of County Commissioners will meet Monday morning for a regular scheduled meeting at the courthouse in Pawhuska and it looks to be another long day.
Barbara Albritton, of the Indian Nations Council of Government, will be at the meeting to discuss the possibility of creating a community development block grant program for 2019.
Joni Nash, the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce Director, will be on hand to talk about the OK Free Wheel, a bike race, coming through Pawhuska in mid-June.  
Denise Ward of the American Therapeutic Riding Center will talk to the Commissioners about rental fees at the fairgrounds for the Roy Clark Memorial Rodeo in April and the Run for Special Needs in October.
The Commissioners will also vote to go into executive session to discuss various items.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. for those interested in attending.  

Farah Warsame and Tadesse Deneke, the two men who were driving a semi truck full of hemp or possible marijuana through Pawhuska in early January, have had their charges dropped. The two men were facing charges of aggravated trafficking.
Pawhuska Police arrested the two men because officers believed Warsame and Deneke were hauling nine tons of marijuana from Kentucky to Colorado. Attorneys for the two men said it was legal hemp.
According to the News on 6, the Defense Attorney continues to pursue charges against Andrew Ross and David Dirksen, the two men who work for Patriot Shield, a security detail company that was escorting the load. Their preliminary hearing is set for August 7. 
We will have more on this story as updates become available. 


Photo Courtesy of The News on 6. 

The Roy Clark Memorial Rodeo is taking place Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska. Event Coordinator Denise Ward says this is a great event to be a part of.


This is the first year that the Clark name will be associated with the rodeo.


The Clark family always worked hard to raise money for children with special needs. When the Clark's weren't touring, they enjoyed going on car rides together, including trips to Pawhuska. They knew what the town had been through historically and prayed that a brighter future was on the horizon.


Barbara Clark, the wife of the late Roy Clark, had planned on taking a year off after his passing last November, but when hearing what the benefit was for and where the event was taking place, she knew it was important to help.


100 percent of the funds raised at the rodeo will go toward benefiting the children of equine therapy at the American Therapeutic Riding Center in Sand Springs. For more information, call 918-246-9450.

A 2006 rape case in Osage County, which has never been solved, continues to move forward with new leads.
A warrant has been issued for Alex Agbonze, who had a rape charge in the case dismissed just last month. 
According to the News on 6, Agbonze was arrested in 2016 after DNA connected him to the 2006 rape. One such issue was that the nurse who took the DNA sample had passed away and was unable to testify about the proper handling of the evidence.
The Osage County Defense Attorney’s Office says those issues with the case forced them to offer Agbonze a plea deal.
The rape charge was dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea of stealing the victim’s car. Agbonze got a five-year suspended sentence and didn’t oppose a protective order being issued against him.
The Defense Attorney’s Office says he did oppose the protective order, so they are hoping the judge will revoke the sentence and send him to prison.  

The Osage Nation Head Start is beginning the enrollment process for the 2019 fall semester.
There are locations in Pawhuska, Hominy, Fairfax and Skiatook. Transportation is provided to and from school at the Hominy and Fairfax centers. Transportation will also be provided for field trips, physicals, dental, vision, hearing and any follow-up visits.
Services offered include Osage language and cultural activities, nutrition education and meals and they follow nationally accredited education standards.
Visit the Osage Nation website for a recruitment application and parent handbook. 
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This year marks the 30th annual Operation Clean House, a free event to help Washington County residents get rid of hazardous household and automotive goods without harming others or the enviornment.
The event will take place on April 13 between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Residents will have two areas to drop off unwanted items in the county. In Bartlesville, you may drop them off at the Phillips Parking Lot just off Adams Blvd. west of the railroad tracks.
Items accepted at this location include electronics and hazardous household waste such as cleaners, yard care products, oil based paints, pharmaceuticals and fluorescent bulbs.  
Dewey residents can drop off unwanted items on Ninth Street, two miles east of U.S. Highway 75.    
Items accepted at this location include motor oil, antifreeze, automotive batteries, tires and appliances.
For more information on this event and a list items accepted for recycling or disposal, go to www.cityofbartlesville.org. You may also contact the Washington County Commissioners at 918-534-1170. 

Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles gave a news conference Tuesday morning regarding Jerry Lee Kelley Jr., a former Captain of the Bartlesville Police Reserves and Explorers program. Kelley’s arrest warrant states he will have four counts of embezzlement to answer to.    
Kelley had been a Bartlesville Reserve Police Officer for 16 years and was the highest ranking of the Reserve Officer Unit for more than 10 years. The Reserve Unit had funds to use, but they allegedly refused to use that money in the proper way.  
Roles went on to say that this is still an ongoing investigation, but says that no Bartlesville Police Staff members are involved in the matter.
There are still three Reserve members on the Bartesville Police Unit. The Police Explorer’s Program is currently under suspension. 
Kelley was in court Tuesday afternoon and posted a $5,000 bond. His next court date is scheduled for May 3. Kelley is being represented by former Washington County District Judge Curtis DeLapp.   
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For the past couple years, the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce has been helping put together a Ranchers Plaza in downtown Pawhuska next to the China Cafe. This recognizes ranches across the area and Chamber Director Joni Nash says there are several ranches that have bought brands and now they are beginning to hang them up.


Nash added that there is more to come when working on the Ranchers Plaza, but they are getting closer to the finished product.


Space for your brand is limited, but Nash says there is still time to participate if you would like to be a part of it.

The Board of Osage County Commissioners met with AT&T several weeks ago about how the company had been breaking permit violations and creating road damage across the county. After not hearing from AT&T since that last meeting, District Two Commissioner Kevin Pasley felt it was important to bring that up with his fellow commissioners.


Pasley says it is important to hold these utility companies responsible because County Emergency Manager Jerry Roberts has seen utilities going through unsafe places such as drains and pipes. This also deteriorates roads and causes extra expenses.


District One Commissioner Randall Jones disagreed with AT&T's stance at the meeting they attended more than a month ago.


The Commissioners will continue reaching out to AT&T.
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The Board of Osage County Commissioners met Monday morning at the courthouse in Pawhuska and Kelly Bland, the Executive Director of the Tourism Oversite Committee, was on hand to give a report on how well things have been going in the county.
A month ago, Bland had just finished making a trip to the Wichita Tourism Conference where she got to interact with several different women from across the midwest. Bland did something similar this past weekend in Rogers Arkansas.
Bland added that Osage County will be very fortunate to hold the first annual Roy Clark Memorial Rodeo during the last weekend of April. It will take place at the Osage County Fairgrounds and benefit the American Therapeutic Riding Association.
Bland recently went to a state tourism meeting in Oklahoma City that Lieutenant Gov. Matt Pinnell was at. Pinnell said he is looking at making a fishing trail across the state. Bland says that would benefit Osage County greatly.
The County Commissioners approved various funding requests to assist in tourism across the county including $6,000 to help promote Cavalcade and $2,250 to help better advertise the Tallgrass Music Festival in Skiatook. 

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