Pawhuska City Councilwoman Jourdan Foran has resigned from her position on the city council.
Foran has found employment in the City of Bartlesville and has moved to Bartlesville, hence the reasoning for her resignation. Foran was elected to the Ward Two seat in April, 2019 when she defeated the incumbent, Steve Holcombe. The council will now seek to find a replacement for Foran. That term will be up in April, 2022. The COVID-19 has affected many areas of business, but it could be argued that the travel industry has been hit the hardest. As we approach this Thanksgiving weekend, things are beginning to improve, but Public Information Officer for the Tulsa International Airport Andrew Pierini says they are continuing to struggle.
Pierini says that Tulsa International Airport is doing all it can to keep its passengers safe, including following the City of Tulsa's mask mandate. Pierini says the overall number of passengers on planes has increased from the summer months. An administrative order handed down on Friday states that the Osage County Courthouse will be suspending certain hearings effective Monday, November 23rd due to COVID-19 concerns. The administrative order has these measures in place:
All in-person dockets will be canceled through February 1st2021. All in-person civil dockets are eliminated through February 1st.Civil in-person hearings will be reset after February 1st. District attorney Mike Fisher explains exactly what this means. Effective immediately, misdemeanor out of custody cases, traffic cases, compliance docket and payment dockets will be suspended through April 1st, 2021. This doesn’t apply to in-custody defendants or other threats involving acts of violence. All preliminary hearings will be continued through February 1st and after as set by the judge. Pre-preliminary dockets may be conducted in-person only for the purpose of disposition or waiver of a preliminary hearing. All other pre-preliminary hearings are suspended through February 1st. All jury trials are suspended through March 1st. The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet for a regularly scheduled meeting at the fairgrounds on Monday to discuss a number of items.
District Judge Stuart Tate made the decision to close the courthouse through February 1st, so the commissioners will have to discuss that decision and what it means for the county employees working in that building. Tourism Director for Osage County, Kelly Bland will give a report and let the commissioners know how things are going economically for the county. Glen Quimby with the Green Country Fire District will have discussion about getting invoices and receipts to help disinfect community centers, nursing homes and town halls. This would come from the CARES Act Funds. There will be discussion and possible action to increase the amount of COVID-19 sick leave for county employees. The commissioners will also consider advertising for the job of commissioners assistant. The meeting begins at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Commissioner of Health Lance Frye gave a press conference at the State Capitol on Thursday afternoon days after mandating that bars and restaurants must close at 11 p.m. and tables must be spaced apart by six feet.
On Thursday, Stitt said the main goal is to protect the health and lives of Oklahoman's and keep the schools and businesses open safely. Stitt says he is doing all he can to meet those goals. The mayor of Oklahoma City made a plea to his residents to pause in-person gatherings for the next 10 days, which includes the Thanksgiving holiday. When asked to respond with what he thought of that request, here is what Stitt had to say. There were just under 3,000 COVID-19 cases reported across the state on Thursday. When Pawhuska Superintendent David Cash took the job just over two years ago, one of the first things he noticed was that maintenance crews were battling roof leaks throughout all buildings in the district. The school made the best of a bad situation in the short term by putting sealant over the roof and using buckets down below. Cash is now taking it a step further.
Cash says other repairs are being made across campus as well. There is no time line on when these projects will be complete, but crews will begin work shortly. Many schools have begun to take actions to be proactive in dealing with COVID-19. One step Pawhuska Schools has taken is making protocols for indoor sporting events, including checking temperatures at the gate and the requirement of masks.
Currently, the school is seeing a rise in cases, forcing middle and high school students to work remotely. This is something Superintendent David Cash is concerned about, but is also prepared for. Students at Pawhuska Schools have been required to wear masks throughout the entire year. Monday’s Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting was rather routine, but a few things were discussed in relation to COVID-19, beginning with how a few of the county-owned buildings wish to proceed allowing the public to enter their building. District one commissioner Randall Jones explains.
Jones says COVID-19 numbers are rising nationally, and even statewide as well, but at the local level, the numbers are remaining steady and it is important to stay as safe as possible. Jones also said there was a fee reduction for a benefit held at the Osage County fairgrounds on Saturday, November 7th. Osage County is beginning to get reimbursed for some of the money they have lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are expecting to receive around 1.8 million dollars and district one commissioner Randall Jones says they have seen a return of approximately two thirds of those dollars. At a recent meeting, the commissionersallocated those funds in accounts that have been hit the hardest.
Jones goes on to say where this money is coming from. Jones says the county should be getting the rest of those dollars in the coming weeks. The City of Pawhuska continues to grow and with that growth comes the need to regulate those who may be coming into the city to sell their goods. At Tuesday evening's city council meeting, councilors discussed the need to make adjustments to ordinances dealing with food trucks and itinerant merchants. City Attorney John Heskett gives more detail on what these ordinances entail.
Many other towns already have ordinances such as these in place. The difference is that Pawhuska forces food trucks to pay a fee each time they visit and these other towns allow them to pay a yearly fee if they wish. Sandy Henley with the utility department says this is a disappointment to some of those that apply. The council tabled the item regarding food trucks so that they could get more information on how to best move forward with the situation. They did approve the resolution regarding itinerant merchants. The approval of this item expands the area in which itinerant merchants can set up in Pawhuska. This zone will be close to the historical district of Pawhuska, but if they wish to set up in the downtown area, they must get aproval from the council first. |
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