Osage County District Attorney Mike Fisher was at Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting sharing valuable information that he learned from the Regional Director for the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Fisher started by saying he learned many people have two common misconceptions as to how the virus is transferred. Fisher explained what the first one is.


Fisher went on to say that the coronavirus can only be transferredfrom Person A to Person B.


Fisher went on to say that spraying yourself with Lysol and wiping yourself down with Clorox wipes will not prevent you from getting the virus. He also warned that health officials are asking the public to avoid taking ibuprofen. 
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After nearly a year of discussion on what should be done with the Bighill Furniture Store in Fairfax, it appears as though the building is finally going to be demolished, as soon as the Board of Osage County Commissioners take the project out to bid for a second time. District Three Commissioner Darren McKinney said he had been getting phone calls from his constituents as to what the commissioners planned to do to the building.


The commissioners will utilize Terry Loftis of JL & Associates to assist with the bidding process, much like they did last time.

The Board of Osage County Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at the Fairgrounds in Pawhuska on Monday and decided it would be best to keep the courthouse, along with all other county-owned buildings, closed until further notice. All public events set to take place on these facilities will also continue to be canceled or postponed during this time. This will be reviewed on a weekly basis by the commissioners.


Osage County District Attorney Mike Fisher wanted to let the public know even though the courthouse is closed, a protective order can still be granted. A security guard would greet the victim at the door and they would be allowed to go to the court clerks office to sign the proper paperwork and the judge would then sign off on the protective order.


Fisher went on to say that he had a regional meeting with the Regional Director for the Department of Health last week. Fisher wanted everyone to know that after the meeting, he learned it can only be spread from Person A to Person B. Fisher added he learned spraying yourself down in Lysol or using clorox wipes can be extremely dangerous to your health.


The commissioners felt it would be best to move ahead with demolition of the Bighill Furniture Store in Fairfax. They will bid this project out again.


There were no utility permits signed at the meeting.


The next regularly scheduled Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting will be next Monday at 10 o' clock in the morning. The meeting will take place at the Fairgrounds.

At Friday's special called board meeting for Pawhuska Public Schools, Superintendent David Cash said his staff is working on a plan in cooperation with the State Department of Education of what the distant learning program will look like when it starts on Monday, April 6th.


Cash says the way students are taught will be different for each grade level. Cash explained how he would like to see things go for elementary students.


Cash went on to say that they will look to make things as interactive as possible for everyone involved.


Teachers will hand out assignments on a weekly basis. They will also be available for office hours via conference call. A mentor teacher will also be assigned to each student in grades 6-12. These teachers will be required to check on the student each day to make sure they are keeping up with their classwork and see what they can do to help.

The Pawhuska School Board met for a special called meeting at the Administration Building Friday morning and granted part time emergency powers to Superintendent David Cash. The reason for this, Cash says, is to help make things easier as we enter this time of uncertainty.


The school board approved an amendment to add the summer food service program to the food management program. Pawhuska schools will continue to serve breakfast and lunch to students through June 19th. There are seven drop-off locations throughout the district where the meals will be dropped off. You may also pick up the meals at the elementary school circle drive.


The school board also approved a policy allowing the meetings to take place remotely if it is deemed they need to be conducted that way moving forward.

There are now 322 reported cases of the coronavirus in the state of Oklahoma with eight confirmed deaths, this according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
There are now nine confirmed cases in Washington County and Osage County has five confirmed positive cases. A positive case has been reported out of Nowata County, but that isn’t being reflected on the State Department of Health website.
There were 248 confirmed cases a day ago and seven deaths across the state. The eighth death is being reported out of Creek County. As the number of cases continue to rise, the State Department of Health asks that the public follow the Governor’s “Safer at Home,” executive order that he issued earlier this week. 

The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet at the Fairgrounds in Pawhuska once again this Monday in light of concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
The county commissioners will make a decision on possibly continuing to keep the Osage County Courthouse closed from the public, along with all other county owned buildings. The commissioners will also discuss the possibility of closing those buildings to all employees, excluding essential workers as defined by the governor’s executive order. The commissioners also have an option to open the buildings back up on Tuesday.
In addition to that discussion, the commissioners will make a decision on whether or not it would be best to continue the cancelations and postponements of all public events on county-owned buildings.
There will also be discussion and possible action taken regarding the demolition and clean up of the Bighill Furniture Store in Fairfax.
The meeting begins at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending. 

In recent years, students wishing to obtain their drivers license had to pass the reading proficiency test in eighth grade. That test will not be given to students this year, as school buildings are closed for the remainder of the year. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has been in contact with the State Department of Education about how to deal with this issue and Pawhuska Superintendent David Cash says this crop of eighth grade students will be exempt from having to pass the test.


All Oklahoma Department of Motor Vehicle centers remain open at this time.

School buildings are closed for the remainder of the school year, but the learning will continue on a distant learning model, as students will use Google Chromebooks to study from home. Pawhuska Superintendent David Cash says the way kids learn will look different,but his teachers are making plans to make the best of a bad situation.


Cash says the school is able to provide a Chromebook for every student in grades 6-12. Cash is currently trying to find a solution to provide for those without internet and for younger students who might not comprehend everything through a computer screen.


Cash says he is working in cooperation with the State Department of Education and local entities to hopefully find internet for those students without it at the moment.


Cash knows it will be challenging, but he believes the school district has a chance to come out stronger on the other side.


Cash says this is something they had been planning for in anticipation of the announcement that was finally confirmed on Wednesday. The new learning model takes affect on Monday, April 6th and Cash says they will continue to get guidance from the State Department of Education.

The north and southbound lanes of highway 75 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction at the Oklahoma and Kansas border beginning Monday and lasting through early 2021.
This is part of an improvement project that the Kansas Department of Transportation is putting on just north of the Oklahoma state line. Drivers should expect short delays in the area.