November 16th is the deadline for Osage County commissioners to turn in any new damage reports they may have from the flooding rains they received over the summer. District one commissioner Randall Jones says they are well on their way to turning those reports in with plenty of time to spare.


Jones says while the recent rains have been nothing like the heavy flooding rains over the summer, they have caused delays to projects across the county.

Osage County Court records show that a Fairfax woman has been charged with first-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide with a motor vehicle. This stems from an October 2018 fatality traffic accident on State Highway 18.
According to a police report, 56-year old Kelly Diane Roberts was involved in a crash on October 26th of 2018 three-tenths of a mile north of Fairfax on highway 18. One of her passengers, Jeffery Lunsford, died at the scene and the other was admitted to St. John’s Medical Center in stable condition. The passenger of the other vehicle was not injured.
Roberts said she reached for a drink container just as her car left the roadway and entered the ditch, this according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Affidavit. As she attempted to get back on the roadway, she hit a northbound tanker truck. The report goes on to say that she failed in her legal duty to devote her full time and attention to driving and that caused the sequence of events that led to the death of Lunsford.
Roberts has entered a not guilty plea and a status conference for Roberts is set for Thursday.  

After a 33-8 victory at Tonkawa last Friday, it’s a simple path to the playoffs for the Barnsdall Panthers: Win and you’re in.
Barnsdall plays host to a 1-7 Woodland team this Friday for senior night, but coach Kylee Sweeney knows the Cougars will come out and play well.
Hominy plays Morrison this week and if the Bucks were to win, it would come down to a three way tie for third place in the district.
In the game against Tonkawa, quarterback Joe Cole had more than 200 yards passing and over 100 yards on the ground. He accounted for all five touchdowns. Braden Kelley had an 80-yard reception.
Thirteen seniors will be honored Friday night against Woodland.

Osage County Assessor Ed Quinton Jr. is attempting to find a better mapping service to find property across the county. They currently use LandMark Map, but says he is exploring other options, including Data Scout.


Court Clerk Sheila Bellamy made the point that it is important to see if other county departments would be interested in using the new system as well. It would also be important to see how those departments planned to pay for the new system.


Several department heads in attendance at Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting seemed interested in the new mapping system. The commissioners decided to table the item so that they could get more input from other department heads.

According to a press release from the Osage County Sheriff's Office, two men attempted to burglarize a home in the Wynona area. They got away with a generator and an air compressor.


If you have any information regarding the two men in this photo or have any details relating to this case, contact the Osage County Sheriff's Office at 918-287-3131.

The Clarence Brantley Indoor Arena will soon be getting a new security system installed. The Board of Osage County Commissioners agreed to allow Glenn Security Systems to install the equipment and it will cost just over $3,000.


Glenn Security System also supplies security for the jail, fire department and the courthouse.

The Board of Osage County Commissioners had a choice to make Monday morning regarding choosing an engineering firm to conduct off-system bridge inspections from 2020-2022. They had over the phone interviews with representatives from Guy Engineering, EST Inc. and Walter P. Moore. The commissioners chose to go with Walter P. Moore to conduct these inspections. Brent Bolerjack had the following to say regarding why they were the best fit.
Guy Engineering had been conducting these inspections for around 20 years.

Hominy City Manger Jimmie Ratliff was at Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting asking for assistance in paying for a $5,500 defibrillator. The city of Pawhuska has already lent one out to them and the other two that they have are close to 10 years old. One of those won't hold a charge and the other has already failed once.


Ratliff wasn't asking the county for the full amount, just a portion to assist the city. District Two Commissioner Kevin Pasley asked Ratliff if the city had applied for any grants to help pay for the defibrillator.


District One Commissioner Randall Jones said with so many towns in Osage County, the commissioners must be smart in figuring outwhere funds should be allocated.


The commissioners tabled this item in hopes of finding a grant to save the county money and assist the City of Hominy at the same time. Pawhuska will continue to lend Hominy its defibrillator.

FEMA Representative Bill Heald gave a report to the Board of Osage County Commissioners Monday morning letting each commissioner know how many projects his crew is working on in each district. In the southeastern part of the county, which affects District Two, they currently have six projects in the works. In the northern half of the county, dealing with District One, they have one project. Heald said he is still formulating a plan for District Three so that they can get the wheels in motion to fix the trouble spots. Heald added that it's not to late for the commissioners to turn in damage reports.


The commissioners were sure to thank Heald for everything he has been doing thus far.