The contract for Samaritan EMS was amended and re-approved at the Tuesday morning meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners. The Commissioners met Tuesday due to the observation of Memorial Day. The revised contract will allow for Samaritan to collect from the City of Barnsdall for services until a point where the subscription funding is depleted. The County has been paying the operation cost to Samaritan each month since June last year.
General Manager of Stumpff Funeral Home and Crematory Scott Guyman Holz approached the commissioners at the meeting this week regarding cremation services for residents that are indigent. Commissioner McKinney said that the county does have a fund for indigent residents, but the fund is nearly depleted as the county approached the end of the fiscal year. Abuse of the fund is not common and the Sheriffs Office has been brought in to investigate family members who chose not to pay for funeral arrangements. The Commissioners agreed that they would accept bids for county cremation services, but will need to follow the appropriate bids process. The Osage County Board of County Commissioners meets each Monday at 10am at the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska. This weekend is the 64th Annual Big Heart Day in Barnsdall, Oklahoma. Big Heart Day is actually a three day event starting with the Barnsdall Education Foundation Golf Tournament at Adams Golf Course. Friday will also have the Alumni Basketball Games and the Osage Nation Prevention – Movie Under The Stars at 9pm at the Community Center.
First thing Saturday morning join the fishing tournament at 7am at Lake Waxhoma where registered kids will receive a complementary rod and reel set. Chamber of Commerce Vice-President Claude Rosendale sat down with us on KPGM's Talk of the Town last week to discuss the family frendly events including the terrapin race and frog jump. Make sure you stick around for the Big Heart Day Parade at 10:30 with Parade Marshalls Patsy Mitchell and Wilma Hollingsworth. This year the Barnsdall Alumni meeting will be moved to an earlier time to accommodate members. Rather than 3pm the meeting will take place at 1:30pm. Rosendale said the meeting this year will be to honor long time superintendent Rick Loggins. The day will culminate in a grand fireworks display set to patriotic music at 9:45pm. Big Heart Day is organized each year by the Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion Post #227, and the help of the entire Barnsdall community especially Claude Rosendale. The event's major Sponsors include Osage County Tourism, Miller Pump Systems Inc, Amshore U.S. Wind, the Osage Nation, and Zebco. Monday morning at the meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners, Emergency Management Director Jerry Roberts provided his quarterly report and updated the commissioners on an environmental accident which took place last week. While grading county road 2280 near Barnsdall a county employee hit a buried oil pipe transporting crude oil.
The accident led to the release of nearly 100 barrels of crude oil spilling down from the pipe. Once crews were able to identify the owner of the pipe, Sun Oil, they responded and began to work with County employees to control the spill. Roberts went on to say that they were able to contain approximately 99 percent of the spill, but there will be some leakage. Discussion continued regarding the lay of the pipe, as it was not buried the recommended 18in below the surface. Roberts said that the line was closer to 3 inched below the surface in the drainage ditch and they will not fault the operator. Roberts added he was fortunate he had hit the crude oil line. In total the cleanup is estimated to cost nearly $1.3 million. Roberts will provide a follow-up in the near future. The next meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners will be next Tuesday at the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska. The meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners this week was business as usual, with the exception of a discussion regarding the Courthouse during Citizen's Input. During the meeting the Commissioners approved County funds for tourism and the Tourism Oversite Committee for the 71st Annual Cavalcade, 13th Annual Shidler Car Show, the Post Oak Wine and Jazz Festival, and Skiatook Pioneer Day. The Commissioners also reappointed Cliff Taylor to the Osage County Industrial Board, and approved the use of the Osage County Fairgrounds as a staging area for PSO in the event of emergency conditions.
As a last point in the meeting, during Citizen's Input, District Attorney Rex Duncan discussed that the County is currently conducting jury selection for the next 4 weeks. During which time parking will be limited and public safety will be top priority as more than 100 people will be selected to serve on juries for civil and criminal trials. Safety has been one of the primary topics at the recent Courthouse Review Committee public meetings, and Duncan said it should be the primary concern of the public. With no space to separate prosecution or defendants awaiting trial, frequently the two parties must share the same space. The concern for this issue has been addressed and is hoping to be resolved by remodeling the existing Courthouse and either moving administrative offices to another building or building a new annex onto the Courthouse. There is only one more public meeting scheduled for the Courthouse Review Committee and it will be held Thursday in Hominy at the County Inter-local Coop at 6:30pm. The public is encouraged to attend and provide feedback. The next meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners will be next Monday at 10am at the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska. This week at the meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners Samaritan EMS and Hominy EMS provided their monthly service update, the Commissioners discussed and approved juvenile detention agreements, and Charles Hogan of Oakridge Builders provided an update on the OSU Extension Office at the Fairgrounds.
Brett Selvidge of Samaritan EMS provided the Commissioners with their monthly updated, this week Selvidge presented the call numbers and statistics for March. During the month Samaritan responded to 29 calls the majority of which were medical, which occurred with female patients, on Wednesdays. April Thompson from the City of Hominy provided reports for the Months of March and April. In March Hominy EMS responded to 43 calls the majority of which were medical calls which occurred on Thursdays and for the moth of April the service responded to 48 calls, majority medical, on Wednesdays. Charles Hogan from Oakridge reported that due to the inclement weather they have fallen behind by approximately a week. However, Hogan did say that the new building fared well through the tremendous amount of rainfall over the past week and no leaks were observed and the building is 100 percent secured with windows, doors, and locks. Hogan said they are just waiting for dry conditions to lay cement pads. The next meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners will be next Monday at 10am at the Courthouse in Pawhuska. |
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