Executive Director for Osage County Tourism, Kelly Bland was at Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting and gave a positive report as to how things have been going. She started by talking about how successful the new advertising campaign has been,which is something the commissioners approved last month.
Bland says Osage County continues to be a draw for those wanting to conduct outdoor activities because the area is so rural and there are many opportunities to conduct those adventures. Bland says the National Finals Rodeo will not be taking place in Las Vegas this year, as has been the normal destination. Some are saying that the venue could be moved to the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, which Bland would love to see. Bland says current advertising dollars are being spent on the wine and jazz festival at the Postoak Lodge over Labor Day Weekend and The Tallgrass Music Festival in October. District one in Osage County is double the size of districts two and three combined. Because of this, district one commissioner Randall Jones has more roads to care for. With the current formula in place, Jones' district gets more money to care for roads. This is something district two commissioner Kevin Paslay is frustrated about. Jones understands the frustration, but doesn't know of a better solution.
Jones says the county as a whole is struggling financially and he has not yet seen the rebound he was hoping to see from the early struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds are generated from oil production, gasoline and diesel tax. Jones says he had to scrap all of the projects he had planned for the year because he had no money to play with. The Board of Osage County Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at the fairgrounds on Monday morning where they heard from a number of people across the county, including Kelli Rader with the Osage County Health Department, Kelly Bland with the Osage County Tourism Board and Brandon Handke with the Oklahoma State University Extension Office.
Rader let the commissioners know that the health department in Pawhuska was open for COVID-19 testing five days a week and turn around times were between 48 and 72 hours. Rader added that the Skiatook branch had opened, but they are only open Tuesday's and Thursday's at this time. She hopes to be getting three mobile testing sites to the area in the coming months. Bland said both the car show in Shidler and the Third Thursday in Skiatook was a major success. She believes this was the case thanks to the new advertising campaign the commissioners approved last month. Handke informed the commissioners he had resigned his post from the head of the OSU Extension Office so that he could become a pastor. Rick Clovis will be taking over and giving a report as to how things are going next week. A memorandum of agreement was signed between Osage County and the Osage Nation for the Bowring Road Maintenance Project. This is a district one project. Osage County Emergency Manager Jerry Roberts ordered walky-talkies for county employees in districts one and three. Those are now ready for use. There was no action taken regarding the public entering the courthouse. Three utility permits were also signed at the meeting. The next regularly scheduled County Commissioners meeting will take place next Monday at 10 o' clock in the morning at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska. A Dewey man was arrested Thursday night and is being charged with possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license and failing to signal.
On Thursday evening, officers observed Horace Alexander near the intersection of 6th Street and Osage. According to a court affidavit, the defendant failed to signal when making a turn and officers initiated a traffic stop. Officers learned that the defendant had a suspended Oklahoma’s Driver’s license and while speaking with Alexander, he pulled out a grey handgun from the vehicle. He told officers it belonged to his girlfriend. Officers then learned that the defendant was a convicted felon. Upon searching the vehicle, officers found a Marlboro menthol cigarette pack, which contained a green leafy substance that was identified as marijuana. Alexander’s bond was set at $7,500 and he is due back in court next Friday at 9 a.m. A Bartlesville man has been booked into the Washington County jail and is being charged with domestic violence and operating a vehicle without a valid driver’s license.
On Thursday evening, officers responded to a complaint at the address of 139 SE DeBell Ave. in Bartlesville involving the defendant, Dusty Forbes. According to a court affidavit, officers spoke to the victim in this case where they learned that Forbes held her down and repeatedly hit her in the back of the head. Officers observed a bruise on the inside of her left arm, close to her armpit. Officers attempted to make contact with Forbes, but he left the scene in a vehicle. The court affidavit goes on to say that as officers were speaking with the victim about an emergency protective order, Forbes drove by the house. Officers then followed Forbes in a patrol vehicle and ran the tag. When conducting the stop, officers discovered his driver’s license was expired. Bond for Forbes was set at $15,000 on the condition that he has no contact with the alleged victim. He is due back in court next Wednesday at 1:30 in the afternoon. Barnsdall students will return to school on Monday and school leaders recently released guidelines that students, parents and guardians need to know so that a safe return to school can occur.
Drop-off and pick-up locations have changed for elementary school students. This will now occur in the parking lot north of the Early Childhood Building. Staff members will take the child’s temperature. If the temperature is over 100 degrees, students will be asked to go home. Buses will now pick up junior high and high school students before picking up those in elementary school as well. Junior high students will enter the building off of Cedar Street. The building will open at 7:30 a.m. with classes beginning at 7:50 a.m. Students will get their temperature checked when entering the building and go directly to their first class. As students get dismissed, classrooms will be sanitized at the end of each period. At the high school level, students will enter in two separate buildings depending upon grade level. Much like junior high, the building will open at 7:30 a.m. with instruction beginning at 7:50 a.m. Lunch will go from 11:30 a.m. to noon. There will be an eight period day instead of seven, but the length of the day will be the same. Classrooms will be sanitized much like they will be in the middle school. Face coverings for students aren’t required, but are recommended. Disposable masks will be available throughout the school. Students are encouraged to bring their own water. The Oklahoma State Department of Health released last week’s COVID-19 alert map on Friday morning, breaking down the risk level for each county across Oklahoma.
This report has been released for seven weeks - And for the first time, Osage and Washington County have gone from the low risk level, or yellow, to the moderate risk level, or orange. Nowata County remains in low risk. The numbers broken down into four categories: the new normal, low risk, moderate risk and high risk. In order to get in the orange, or moderate risk, counties must have more than 14.39 new daily cases per 100,000 people. Washington County sits at 16.08 and Osage County sits at 42.59. One reason for the high number in Osage County is that it accounts for the 100 COVID-19 cases at the Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy reported this past Saturday. Nowata County is averaging 11.34 cases. Twenty-three of 77 counties statewide are in the moderate risk category. There are no counties in the high-risk grouping. There are currently 83 active cases across Washington County. Osage County has 163 active cases and Nowata County is at 14 active COVID-19 cases. The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet at the Osage County Fairgrounds on Monday for a regularly scheduled meeting where they will hear reports from county leaders.
Executive Director for Osage County Tourism, Kelly Bland will give a report on events going on across the area and how many people have been visiting the county. Brandon Handke with the Oklahoma State University Extension Office will let the commissioners know what has been happening with their department. An employee from the Osage County Health Department will let the public know what has been happening there. The commissioners will then make a formal request to get rapid testing equipment for COVID-19 and a mobile care unit for the county. The commissioners will also have the weekly discussion regarding the possibility of making further amendments or procedures for the public to enter the courthouse and other county-owned buildings. The commissioners will also enter into executive session to discuss the full-time fairgrounds position and the district three commissioners assistant position. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. and will take place inside the women’s building for those interested in attending. The Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce confirms that both the Chamber Gala and National Indian Taco Championship have been moved to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chamber of Commerce Gala was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 28th, but they attempted to push the event back to this weekend. The current plan is to hold the gala next March. The National Indian Taco Championship had been scheduled for the first weekend in October. Since March 1st, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission has paid out nearly $2.8 billion in weekly unemployment benefits and they have processed more than 800,000 claims. August unemployment numbers show that they are on a week-to-week decline as well.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt recently applied to FEMA so that the State could give unemployed Oklahoman’s an additional $300 a week through the Lost Wages Assistance Program. They approved that application. Stitt says he can see Oklahoma’s economy grow, even with the COVID-19 pandemic taking place. The $300 a week to unemployed Oklahoman’s could run through the end of the year. |
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