Equipment was the name of the game at the Monday morning meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners. First on the agenda was the open and awarding of bids for a used dump truck year 2000 or newer, this item was rebid as bids failed to meet specifications previously. The dump truck is for use in District #3 and the commissioner's received bids from Boxer Construction Equipment and Premier Equipment . The Commissioners accepted all bids for tabulation.


The next equipment item on the agenda was the approval and signing of lease purchase agreements with Yellowhouse Machinery for one 2018 John Deere backhoe loader and a hydraulic breaker. The backhoe loader is for use in District #2.


Lastly, the final equipment purchase was for three brush hogs from State contract for District #1. The state contract would have the brush hogs purchased from Jensen Tractor Ranch in Bartlesville.


The next meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners will be Monday at the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska

Pawhuska’s Judge John Kane ended the three-day filing period unopposed for election to his office as District Judge for District 10 in Osage and Pawnee Counties.  The District 11 District Judge’s office is a 3-way contested election.  Incumbent District Judge Curtis DeLapp is opposed by current Bartlesville City Councilman Alan Gentges and by Linda Thomas.  All of the candidates are from Bartlesville.

Associate District Judge for Nowata County Carl Gibson of Nowata, Associate District Judge Stuart Tate of Fairfax, and Associate District Judge for Washington County Russell Vaclaw are all unopposed.

Judgeships are non-partisan elections and will be elected during the June Primary Election.  If no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote then the top two candidates would advance to the August runoff election.
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District Attorney Kevin Buchanan is unopposed in his bid for re-election as District Attorney.  Incumbent District 10 District Attorney Rex Duncan is opposed by Republican Mike Fisher of Skiatook.  The winner of a Republican primary will face Bob Buchanan of Pawnee who filed as an Independent.

Osage County voters will have a choice in their election for assessor.  After the first day if fillings, Republicans Ed Quinton, Jr. and Natasha Yancey of Pawhuska filed for the office.  So did Democrat, LIsa Taylor, also of Pawhuska.
 
In other races, Democrat, Sally Hulse of Pawhuska filed for County Treasurer.  Democrat Darren McKinney filed for the District Three Commissioner's seat.  Republicans Randall Jones  and Democrat Jerry Howerton filed for the District One Commissioner's seat. 

​Osage County voters will have a choice in their election for assessor.  After the first day if filings, Republicans Ed Quinton, Jr. and Natasha Yancey of Pawhuska filed for the office.  So did Democrat, LIsa Taylor, also of Pawhuska.
 
In other races, Democrat, Sally Hulse of Pawhuska filed for County Treasurer  and Democrat Darren McKinney filed for the District Three Commissioner's seat.  No one filed for the District One Commissioner's office on the first day.
 
The filing period is open through 5 o'clock on Friday.

Statewide election activity begins officially at 8 am Today, Wednesday, April 11, 2018, when the official candidate filing period opens, Kelly Chouteau, Secretary of the Osage County Election Board, said today.


Candidates for state offices file with the Secretary of the State Election Board in Oklahoma City. Candidates for county offices file with the Secretary of the County Election Board.


Chouteau said that the following county offices will be filled this year:
County Assessor
County Treasurer
County Commissioner District #1
County Commissioner District #3


For more election-related information, call the County Election Board at (918) 287-3036 or email OsageCounty@elections.ok.gov, visit www.elections.ok.gov or visit our website at www.osage.okcounties.org.

​Four men have been arrested and more than 5 pounds of methamphetamine were recovered following a drug bust coordinated by the Osage County Sheriff's Department Monday night. Veng Xiong, Ken Lee, Xiongkou Her and Kosh Kash Cannady Lor have been booked by the County Sheriff's Department under charges of trafficking in illegal drugs and use of a firearm in the commitment of a felony offense, the suspects were found armed with an AK-47, several handguns and shotguns and in possession of 5 pounds of methamphetamine which holds a street value of more than $100,000.


The arrests were made possible by the coordinated efforts of the Osage County Sheriff's Department along with Osage Nation Police Department’s Drug Task Force, and in coordination with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Pawhuska Police Department and The Hominy Police Department.

Barbara Albritton from INCOG provided a presentation to the Osage County Commissioners Monday morning during their regularly scheduled meeting, discussing INCOG grants for the Rural Water District #21 project. The Commissioners approved the application for the REP Grant to repair the water districts storage tank. The repairs would include a new shore well with 95 GPM submersible pump, a 20 foot concrete presedimentation basin, a new in line mixer, and chemical feed system. Albritton recommended the RWD project as it would be the most likely to be approved for grant funding.


Additionally, during the meeting of the Osage County Commissioners, Sheriff Eddie Virden discussed a new phone system which the department wished to install in the jail. The new phone system would come at no cost to the county, and would regulate visitation at the County Jail, limiting it to only physical interactions with attorneys. Instead inmates would have access to video calling at regular interval. Video kiosk would be installed in the stalls so that inmates could contact family at their home, or if the family wished to travel to the County Jail they could use the kiosks in the waiting room to speak with inmates. The kiosks have proven to reduce risk of contraband, especially cell phones, coming into jail systems where video calls are available.


Lastly, the Commissioners wished to send prayers to Osage County Clerk Shelia Bellamy and her family. Bellamy lost both her mother and mother-in-law Monday morning.

​A joint investigation by the Osage County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Exposives has resulted in a Federal Grand Jury indictment of 37 year-old Thadeus Horn of Pawhuska.  Horn is charged with possession of firearms after a felony conviction.
 
U.S. Attorney Trent Shores announced the indictment on Thursday.   If he is convicted, Horn could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.