 It's Taco Time, prepare yourself for the Award-winning 12th annual National Indian Taco Championship this Saturday. The popular event features freshly cooked Indian tacos, interesting vendors and traders, competitions, music, American Indian dancing, and a variety of entertainment.
According to event chairman, Patricia Counts from the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce, huge crowds are expected for the annual event which will feature new vendors and competitions from across the county. The event is scheduled for October 1 from 10 until 4 in downtown Pawhuska. Counts says they are still accepting sponsors, contestants and non-food vendors until Friday, September 30. There is a $50 charge to apply and electricity is an additional $15. Non-food vendors will be accepted -- $30 without electricity and $50 with electricity. To apply contact the Chamber of Commerce at 918-287-1208. T-Shirts will be available for the event visit the National Indian Taco Championship Facebook for design and details. Sponsors for the event include the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce, Enbridge Energy, Osage Casinos, Grand Lake Casino, Osage County Tourism, the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, the Osage Nation, and Tribal TV. Photo Courtesy Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce  Friday, October 14, will be the last day to apply for voter registration in order to be eligible to vote in the November 8, 2016, General Election, Osage County Election Board Secretary Andrea Conner stated in a press release.
All persons who are United States citizens, residents of Oklahoma, and at least 18 years old may apply to become registered voters. Residents who have never been registered to vote before or who are not currently registered in the county, and persons who are registered but who need to change their registration information may apply by filling out and mailing an Oklahoma Voter Registration Application form in time for it to be postmarked no later than midnight Friday, October 14 The Osage County Election Board responds in writing to every person who submits an application for voter registration. The response is either a voter identification card listing the new voter's precinct number and polling place location or a letter that explains the reason or reasons the application for voter registration was not approved. Any person who has submitted a voter registration application and who has not received a response within 30 days should contact the County Election Board office. Oklahoma Voter Registration Application forms are available at the County Election Board office located at 630 Kihekah Ave, Pawhuska, and at most post offices, tag agencies, and public libraries in the county.  Tuesday the Barnsdall Chamber of Commerce met for their second September meeting. During the meeting the chamber discussed Barnsdall School Sports, New Officer Elections, the Upcoming Enbridge Tour, and planning Christmas in Barnsdall.
At the last meeting of the Chamber of Commerce officers were nominated and Tuesday the new officers were elected. Russell Hayman will replace Claud Rosendale as Chamber President, Rosendale will now serve as Vice-President, Sandra Cox will serve as Second Vice-President, Jason Byers will replace long serving Paul Overholt as Treasurer, and Betty Fowler will continue to serve as Chamber Secretary. Officer changes will take place at the next meeting in October. Following the next meeting, several members will travel to the Enbridge Energy Cushing Terminal for a site tour. The tour was initially discussed when representatives from Enbridge provided a presentation to the Chamber earlier this year and chamber members were offered a private tour of the Cushing facility. Approximately eight members from the Barnsdall Chamber will take the tour. Chamber President Claud Rosendale briefly discussed planning for Christmas in Barnsdall, scheduled for December 3, but further planning will be reserved until the event is closer. The next scheduled meeting of the Barnsdall Chamber of Commerce is October 11 at noon at the Barnsdall Community Center.  The City of Barnsdall in Osage County along with surrounding rural residents continue to experience water disruptions as service continues on the aging Water Treatment System. Last week Barnsdall Mayor Brock Moore told Bartlesville Radio that they would be experiencing some outages and the city was working diligently on rectifying the situation. However, the service outages were only suppose to last through last week. Many of Barnsdall's residents including the Public Schools continue to experience outages, but the City continues to work to remedy the situation and asks residents for patients.
During the past few months Osage County has had it's fair share of water disruptions and boil orders. Much of the disruptions and boil orders are attributed to the dated systems which are slowing being replaced throughout Osage County, but until the systems can be replaced or repaired residents, especially in Hulah Rural Water District will rely heavily on bottled water.
Osage County Emergency Management Director Jerry Roberts announced last week that they had began to run low on cases and bottles of water. The shortage came as a surprise considering earlier this year Emergency Management held a water drive and accumulated thousands of bottles, most of which were distributed to the Rural Fire Departments. However, all Roberts had to do was reach out and support came in the form of 17 pallets from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center. The 17 pallets of water equates out to nearly 36,000 bottles of water for the residents of Osage County, and Roberts said that it would not have been possible without the support of Osage County District 2 Commissioner Scott Hilton, for the storage and unloading, and Mike Cromwell from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center for the donation. To find out how you can help contact the Osage County Emergency Management Office at (918)287-2285.  The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond will be opening her Pawhuska Mercantile on October 31st. Drummond broke the news on her online blog Thursday morning.
Drummond says the opening is later than she wanted at first, but the extended date will give everyone the time to make sure that every detail is right before they meet their first customers. She goes on to say that work has been ongoing since March. The mercantile is located in a 100 year-old building in Downtown Pawhuska and the Distribution Warehouse is in the former Wal-Mart store.  Governor Mary Fallin has approved and set dates for the Filing Period, Special Primary and Special General Election for District 1 Commissioner for Osage County. The request was submitted when District 1 Commissioner Bob Jackson announced his retirement from the Osage County Board of County Commissioners; Jackson officially resigned July 31.
Anyone wishing to file for the seat will have the opportunity December 5,6, and 7 after which, if there is a contested party race, a Special Primary will be held February 14, and a Special General Election will be held April 4. In the event a Special Primary is not necessary the Special General Election will be held February 14. Those wishing to file as a candidate for District 1 Commissioner will need to file at the Osage County Election Board Office in Pawhuska, and any additional information may be requested by calling (918) 287-3036 or at the Election Board Office at 630 Kihekah Ave.  This week at the first if the bimonthly meetings of the Barnsdall Chamber of Commerce, the chamber welcomed special guest for Samaritan EMS, Osage County Sheriff Candidate Lou Ann Brown, and State House of Representatives Candidate Cathy Ross.
During the meeting the chamber also announced the first group of Students of the Month for the 2016-2017 school year. Students from the Barnsdall Junior High Bryce Shores and Hannah Hatfield, along with High School Students Wesley Yarber and Taylor Robinson were all nominated and awarded for their cooperation skills. Samaritan EMS discussed with the chamber their current statistics since beginning service in Osage County in July. Through the month of August and the first two weeks of September Samaritan has serviced 39 patients, with an average age of 69 years-old and predominantly male. Brett Selvidge from Samaritan also highlighted that the service has cut their response time to 15 min and 41 seconds on average, a substantial improvement from four months ago when many call took more than 45 min before EMS would arrive. Selvidge also discussed their partnerships with the Cities of Barnsdall and Avant for membership along with several of the rural water districts, he also stated that Samaritan will offer an open membership to those living in the coverage area but outside of city limits. Sheriff Candidate Lou Ann Brown addressed the chamber and provided a short biography of civil service including 18 years with the Osage County Sheriffs Department. Brown mentioned she has held a wide variety of positions including deputy and Special Victim Investigator, and is excited for the opportunity to continue serving Osage County as Sheriff. State House of Representatives Candidate Cathy Ross only had a short message for the chamber which was encouraging everyone to get out and vote in November, regardless of who they are voting for. The Chamber will meet again, September 27 at noon in Barnsdall at the Community Center.  This week at the meeting of the Osage County Commissioners, a lengthy discussion brought about changes on how the County handles rental and usage of County property. The changes will come as a benefit to nonprofits and the County, specifically regarding renting the facilities and equipment at the Osage County Fairgrounds.
Several weeks ago the nonprofit organization Run for Special Needs approached the Commissioners for a donation, in the form of free use of the Clarence Brantley Arena at the fairgrounds. However, the commissioners are not legally allowed to donate the facilities for the purpose of fund raising. The Commissioners along with the nonprofit came to an agreement and the nonprofit will pay the rental fee for the arena but at a discounted rate. The issue arose again Monday morning when Marlene Mosley from the Preservation of the Arts asked the commissioners if they could borrow or rent the tables and chairs from the fairgrounds. The County has never rented the tables and chairs to a nonprofit before and after a brief discussion the Commissioners agreed, but would need to draft a contract in order protect county assets. The Commissioners will meet again next Monday at 10am at the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska.  The Commissioners approved bids for Road Oil, Concrete, Asphalt, Sand, Oil, and Lubricants Monday during the weekly meeting of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners. Additionally the Commissioners discussed two actions for the Osage County Fairgrounds, first was a request for donation of the facilities, for a non-profit fund raiser, and second the continued discussion of receiving bids for the caretaker's house roof; both items were tabled until next week.
The Commissioners also continued a discussion regarding a Health Department overage for a previous bid. The County has been charged $1,173 for a generator installation for the Osage County Health Department. The charge is from the company who installed the generator as part of bid #16-14 however, according to the site foreman they had to move the generator away from the original location due to the possibility of erosion. The company did not submit a change order, notify the County of the additional charge, or abide by the original bid cost and therefore the the Commissioners voted to not pay for the overage. At the end of the meeting District Attorney Rex Duncan asked the Commissioners if the County had experienced any damage due to the recent earthquake, District #3 Commissioner Darren McKinney stated the Belford Bridge did receive some minor damage but not enough to make it structurally unsound. The Commissioners will meet again next Monday for their regularly scheduled meeting. |
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