As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, PSO and Verdigis Valley Electric Cooperative are reporting nearly 100 power outages across Washington County. We have also heard reports of power outages near Bartlesville High School.
Power outages continue to be a major problem across the City of Pawhuska, as crews work to restore electricity that went out earlier this morning. The City of Bartlesville has resumed the issuance of business license renewals, as this came to a pause earlier this year due to COVID-19. All City-issued licenses expire on June 30th and must be renewed immediately following the date of expiration. Community Development Department Director Lisa Beeman says there won't be a late fee for any businesses who have yet to pay for the renewal. She went on to say the following:
“We have received some calls from business owners to confirm that these notices are indeed being delivered by the City of Bartlesville as well as some questions about how to renew. City staff began delivering them this week. We typically deliver these notices earlier in the year, but were unable to due to the pandemic.” Payment can be completed by paying in person at City Hall, online or through the mail. For more information, call 918-338-4244. Due to icy conditions, the signal strength on our FM dial will be weakened for a short time.
Please tune in to KWON AM 1400 and KPGM AM 1500 for optimal streaming quality in the car with those two stations. You can also stream all of our programming on your devices at www.bartlesvilleradio.com or on the free to download Bartlesville Radio app as we work through this situation. With Halloween right around the corner, Help Works Inc. in Pawhuska is hosting an event, “Torment at 219,” this Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at 219 Lincoln Ave. Admission to enter the event is $10 for adults and $5 for those 10 and under. For more information, you can call 918-287-1588.
The downtown trick-or-treat will take place on Saturday evening from 5 to 6. A community-wide trick-or-treating event will take place from 5:30 to 7:30. The Constantine Theater will be hosting a Spooktacular Halloween Walk Through on that Saturday for all who want to attend from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission to attend is free. The Pawhuska Christmas Parade will take place on Saturday, December 5th at 5:30 p.m. in downtown Pawhuska. The Chamber of Commerce recently announced that this year’s theme will be, “Osage Christmas.” To enter, e-mail Reba@Pawhuskachamber.com. As of 10 a.m., there are multiple reports of power outages in the City of Pawhuska. The Osage County Courthouse has closed for the remainder of the day, as have many other county-owned buildings.Emergency Manager Jerry Roberts gives us the latest update.
Pawhuska City Manager Tonya Bright says electric crews are out working to fix the problem. Phone lines at City Hall are also down at the moment. Power outages are strictly confined to the city of Pawhuska at this time, but Roberts says with the temperature sitting at 32 degrees, there is a chance we could see more outages as the day goes on. The Tri County Tech interactive weather radar shows that the precipitation has moved out of the area for Monday, but batches of rain will move back in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Some say upward of four inches of rain could fall before it comes to an end on Friday. Depending upon what model you follow, there is also a chance for more wintry precipitation on Tuesday, something Osage County Emergency Manager Jerry Roberts says could be pretty bad.
As the night progresses, one thing drivers must look out for is black ice. As morning comes, Roberts expects the ground temperature to be well below the freezing mark. This is why he says it is important for drivers to take their time as they are on the highways. For all of the latest weather related closings, go to our website, bartlesvilleradio.com. A Dewey man was arrested late Sunday evening on domestic abuse charges in which he had committed earlier that morning.
According to a court affidavit, officers were dispatched to the Jane Phillips Medical Center to speak to the victim about an assault that had occurred early Sunday morning. The victim reported that his brother, Jesse Kerr hit their sister into a coffee table. The victim then stood up and told Kerr he shouldn't push the sister and called him a coward. Kerr then grabbed the victim by his throat and punched him in his right eye. The two then fell to the ground and Kerr hit the victim several more times. When speaking with the victim, officers noticed injuries consistent with what he described. Officers attempted to make contact with Kerr at the address the victim reported, but they were told he had left the scene. The court affidavit goes on to say that the victim later went to the Dewey Police Station and re-affirmed everything he had said earlier. The victim added that his mother, step-father and brother broke up the fight and that is when the victim went to the hospital. After hearing the story a second time from the victim, officers went back to the address attempting to locate Kerr. This time he was at the residence. Kerr initially denied the incident occurred until he was told he was being placed under arrest for domestic assault. At Monday's court appearance, Kerr was in a wheelchair. Bond for Kerr was set at $15,000. It is always smart to have a plan in place when dealing with snowy and icy conditions. This is what the Board of Osage County Commissioners are working to do when making a decision to open or close the courthouse due to inclement weather. District three commissioner Darren McKinney said it is important to get an updated contact list so that everyone knows what is happening.
The decision to open the courthouse is left up to the Board of Osage County Commissioners. District one commissioner Randall Jones attempts to contact all of the elected officials as soon as they make a decision, but they will have further discussion on this at next weeks meeting to hopefully make the process smoother than it currently is. The National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning for Osage County on Monday morning. Emergency Manager Jerry Roberts heard reports of slick roads in Kay County earlier in the morning and said things have continued to worked its way east.
Roberts expects this storm to continue moving southeast as the day progresses. Roberts says it is important to drive slowly, leave a few minutes early and turn their lights on. Bridges and overpasses are the most important places to watch for these trouble spots. The Pawhuska Board of Education signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pawhuska Hospital to receive telehealth services. Superintendent David Cash says this is a free service the hospital is offering to the school in which students can get medical care without leaving the building.
Cash thanked the staff at the Pawhuska Hospital for making that agreement possible. |
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