At Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting, District Two Commissioner Kevin Pasley brought attention the fact that pipes underneath the Osage Prairie Trail are becoming rotted out. This lies in the flood plain and after the heavy rains last spring, Pasley says they will need to be replaced soon.


Pasley says he has consulted the district's on-call engineering firm to see what they would recommend, but he says if that area were to receive up to three inches of rain, major problems could ensue.

A Tulsa man has been convicted of methamphetamine distribution and firearms violations in U.S. District Court, this according to United States Attorney Trent Shores. Veng Xiong has been sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Osage County Sheriff’s Deputies set up a drug deal with an individual who agreed to sell 33 pounds of methamphetamine for $500,000. On April 9th 2018, the parties met at a location in rural Osage County to exchange the methamphetamine for cash. Xiong, along with three other co-conspirators, arrived in two separate vehicles.
At that time, the Osage Joint Tactical Response Team conducted a takedown and arrested the four suspects, including Xiong. Deputies found multiple firearms and more than five pounds of methamphetamine.
Xiong was also convicted on two previous counts of trafficking in illegal drugs as well as convictions of possessing a firearm while in commission of a felony and for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The Osage County Sheriff’s Office, Osage Nation Tribal Police, Pawhuska Police Department, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics worked this case.   

The Osage County Tourism Board has some advertising dollars left over for this fiscal year and Executive Director Kelly Bland is looking for a smart way to spend that money. At Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting, she wished to spend $15,000 on strategic digital advertising.


Bland said there is a lot of great Osage County advertising in the print medium and on television, but she believes the new digital advertising should help the area greatly.


The commissioners approved Bland to use that $15,000 on advertising dollars.
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​The Board of Osage County Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at the courthouse in Pawhuska Monday morning and got a lot of things ironed out.
 
Bill Heald from FEMA was at the meeting and let the commissioners know that dollars are becoming available for those living in districts one and two. Heald says they are still waiting to see that money for those living in district three.
 
There was discussion regarding the appropriate action to take regarding the Bighill Furniture Store in Fairfax. There is a thought that filmmakers for “Killers of the Flower Moon” might assist in rebuilding the structure. If this doesn't happen soon though, the retaining wall holding the structure up could collapse. Firms have put in bids to demolish and dispose of the buildings. The commissioners opted to table the item until they could get more information.
 
The commissioners agreed to approve a $15,000 funding request from Osage County Tourism Executive Director Kelly Bland that will go toward digital advertising. Those dollars will better attract people to visittheosage.com when online.
 
There were also two utility permits signed at the meeting.
 
The next regularly scheduled Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting will be next Monday at 10 o' clock in the morning.

The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet Monday morning for a regularly scheduled meeting at the courthouse in Pawhuska.
Bill Heald of FEMA will give an update on how things are going across the county. The commissioners will also consider signing interlocal agreements with FEMA.
The commissioners will consider awarding a bid to remove and dispose of the Bighill Furniture Store in Fairfax. They will also consider approving a tourism funding request.
The commissioners will consider approving the installation of a video security system at the elevator entrance to the district attorney’s office. They will also talk about flooding and permitting in the city of Pawhuska.  
The meeting starts at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending. 

There are many projects going on downtown Bartlesville and Executive Director for the Bartlesville Redevelopment Trust Authority, Chris Wilson, gave an update on said projects. He started by sayinghow well things are going at Weeze’s Café.
Wilson added that the new brewery coming to town, Cooper and Mill Brewing Company, is also coming along nicely.
Wilson added that the Rolling Pin on 2nd Bakery and Deli should be open by January.

A grant has allowed the City of Bartlesville to submit what was known as Hotel Phillips to be a part of the National Register of Historic Preservation. Executive Director for the Bartlesville Redevelopment Trust Authority, Chris Wilson, is quick to say they are only in the review process, but the opportunity is there.


For now, Hotel Phillips is being transformed into apartment complexes and Wilson says they are coming along nicely.


Hotel Phillips was built in the 1940s and construction on the building was complete in the early 1950s.

A bunsen burner caught fire Thursday morning at Pawhuska high school causing students to evacuate for a short time. High school Principal Lauri Lee said all protocol was followed and things are now back to normal.
Lee said there was no damage to the school or the room in which the burner caught fire.    

Pawhuska football fans will be talking about Friday night's 34-26 road win against Stroud for years to come. Trailing 26-0 at halftime, the Huskies raced back to beat Stroud 34-0 and advance to take on Ringling this Friday in the round of eight. 


Hennesy said it was an all around team effort for the Huskies to get the come from behind victory. 


The Huskies fell just short in a comeback attempt against Pawnee earlier this year. Hennesy said his team wasn't going to let that happen twice. 


The Huskies will now take on an 11-1 Ringling Blue Devils team Friday night from Ormond-Beach Memorial Stadium. The Blue Devil defense hasn't allowed a point in 10 weeks. We will have more on that game throughout the week. Coverage can be heard on Sportstalk KPGM FM 99.1. Pregame will start around 6:50 p.m. and kickoff is scheduled for 7.

Congrats to our two Osage County high school football teams, as both Pawhuska and Barnsdall have moved on to the Class A quarterfinals with wins this past Friday.
Both will play at home this Friday with a chance to go to the semifinals.
Pawhuska rebounded from a 26-0 deficit to battle back and top previously unbeaten Stroud 34-26. The Huskies reeled off 34 unanswered points to grab the victory. After the road win, Pawhuska will host Ringling on Friday night in the next round.
A contest we will carry for you on 99.1 FM – KPGM. Your home for Huksy football throughout Osage County.
Elsewhere, Barnsdall is going to the quarterfinals for the first time in 40 years, as the Panthers held on to top Gore 29-26. Barnsdall did this in the fourth quarter without its senior quarterback, Joe Cole, who was ejected after a questionable targeting call on defense.Barnsdall head coach Kylee Sweeney.
The ejection could mean that Cole will not be able to play in this Friday’s game. Barnsdall will appeal the suspension this week and will find out Cole’s status in a matter of days. The No. 1 team in Class A, Cashion, will have to come to Barnsdall on Friday night.
That contest will air on KRIG 104.9.
More on both those games throughout the week