A bond issue that was passed a year ago this month has allowed Barnsdall Public Schools to make several upgrades to their athletic facilities, including a state of the art press box, that will also serve as an EF 5 FEMA rated tornado shelter.
New locker rooms, a new weight room and a wrestling facility is also included. Football coach Kylee Sweeney says progress is coming along smoothly.
 To accommodate for work being done at the school, Sweeney says busses and other traffic will be re-directed for the next week or two. Sweeney adds that the parking lot by Joe Gilbert Fieldhouse will be closed as well.

​(Photo courtesy: Barnsdall Public Schools)

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The Skiatook Chamber of Commerce invites you out to the third Thursday in the park on May 16 at the Central Park. Food trucks, vendors and live music will all be a part of the fun.
This will also be an opportunity for area businesses to network and promote their products. If you would like to participate as a vendor or volunteer, contact the Skiatook Chamber of Commerce at 918-396-3702 or email [email protected].  
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The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet Monday morning for a regular scheduled meeting at the courthouse in Pawhuska.
With the Roy Clark Memorial Rodeo coming to the County Fairgrounds next weekend, Scott Trotter will be at the meeting asking if it will be possible to give helicopter tours during the event.
The County Commissioners will also consider signing the interlocal with the city of Hominy to help fund their Emergency Medical Services. That cost is nearly $2,000.
County Commissioners will also consider advertising bids to improve the Clarence Brantley Indoor Arena at the Osage County Fairgrounds. Improvements would include entrances to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act, shower remodels and the removal of some toilets.
The meeting begins at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending.  

This year marks the 110th year for boy scouting in the Pawhuska area, making this the oldest troop in the United States. To celebrate, Scout Executive Phillip Wright says many events are scheduled to take place throughout the year starting with the Roy Clark Memorial Rodeo next weekend.

The golf tournament is at Adams Golf Course here in Bartlesville. There is a $135 entry fee, but that includes green fees, a cart, prizes and lunch. Wright also says his team is already preparing for a special camp-out marking the 110 year anniversary of the troop. That camp-out will take place in September.

The event will take place at Camp McClintock off of highway 60 on the way to Pawhuska. 

A Caney Valley School bus was involved in an accident Wednesday afternoon. The bus was rear-ended, but all students are safe and accounted for at this time. There is no report on the condition of the other party involved in the accident. ​

A biennial mandated check on voter registration by the State Election Board has resulted in the removal of more than 3,000 duplicate voter registrations and just over 88,000 inactive voters.

Duplicate registrations that were deleted matched newer registrations by the same person at a new address. Inactive voters were those who failed to confirm their address in 2015 and haven't voted since.

State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax says the law that mandates voter list maintenance has been in place for decades and includes clear guidelines for which voter registrations need to be removed. In addition to these updates, county election boards are always removing voters who are deceased, voters who have registered in another state or county, or who have been convicted of a felony.

For more information, go to elections.ok.gov or contact your local County Election Board.
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District Two Board of Osage County Commissioner Kevin Pasley had the opportunity to go Washington D.C for a National Association of Counties Conference back in March and says he learned a lot from the event.
Pasley got to talk to, and hear from, a number of people who make Washington their home, including Oklahoma Senator James Lankford and United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson.
One of the things dearest to Pasley’s heart is fighting the opioid epidemic in Osage County. He enjoyed brain-storming with others on how to fight this problem. With marijuana laws changing across the country, Pasley also enjoyed discussing these issues.
It was Pasley’s first trip to Washington. Pasley said while the conference kept him very busy, he did get to go see some of the monuments around the area.  

Frank Eaton, otherwise known as Pistol Pete, may have passed away in 1958, but his stories will live on forever. Education Coordinator of The Bartlesville Area History Museum.

Betty Keim, depicted the type of life Eaton led and the impact he left on the area Tuesday afternoon. Eaton's father was shot and killed at a young age. It was his goal to find the six people responsible for his death.

In the 1920s, Oklahoma State University students saw Eaton and his horse in an Armistice Day Parade. This is when students first believed Eaton would make a great mascot for the college.

Eaton was from Kansas, but moved to the Osage County area by the time he was 10 years old. Eaton lived in the area for many years before passing away and being buried in the Perkins area. 

The Board of Osage County Commissioners met Monday morning for a regular scheduled meeting at the courthouse in Pawhuska.
A couple came to the meeting from the city of McCord complaining about water drainage from the Osage Casino landing in their yard. As a result, they haven't been able to put out a garden in seven years. District One Commissioner Randall Jones says before the casino was built, that was farm land. He said problems existed, but they were fixed much easier.
As part of an ongoing project, there are three telephone poles that need to be moved, but the County Commissioners have no control over how or when this occurs. District Three Commissioner Darren McKinney, Commissioners Assistant Kandy Jump and Jones explain.
The Commissioners gave more than $7,000 to the Osage County Tourism Department to update their brochure and make 40,000 more copies. The Tourism Department also got $2,500 to fund the Ben Johnson Memorial Steer Roping Event and $2,500 to fund the Buddy Hartness Memorial Steer Roping Event.
The EMS Advisory Board met for a regular scheduled meeting last week in Hominy and they will meet again on Thursday, April 25.
During citizen's input, Sheriff Eddie Virden alerted the commissioners that his department is having some vehicle issues. Several cars have more than 250,000 miles on them. One needs a new motor and another was recently struck by a deer.
The next regular scheduled Osage Board of County Commissioners meeting is scheduled for next Monday at 10 in the morning. 
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