The Women's Ranch Rodeo Finals was held in Pawhuska because its normal home, Dodge City, Kansas was dealing with COVID-19 restrictions. City Manager Tonya Bright reported that it was a major success and it is possible they make a return trip to Pawhuska.
Bright added that the Christmas Parade will be taking place Saturday, December 5th and the theme is, “Osage Christmas.” The Salvation Army of Bartlesville held its virtual Red Kettle Kickoff on Thursday evening. Advisory Board Chairman Jonny Akers said because of COVID-19, things will look a little bit different this year, but he says people will still be out leading into the Christmas holiday with the red kettles at various locations.
Akers says they are always looking for volunteers and adds it is important to be there for people at their most vulnerable times. Akers would like to thank all of the support they have received throughout the years and continue to receive. The COVID-19 alert map was released by the Oklahoma State Department of Health on Friday and all 77 counties across the state of Oklahoma are now in the orange, or moderate risk category. Osage, Washington and Nowata Counties have been in the moderate risk category for the last two weeks now, but the numbers have been on the rise.
Washington County is currently reporting 172 active COVID-19 cases. Osage County has 191 active cases and Nowata County is reporting 53 active cases. These numbers have increased from a week ago. There are 2,667 positive COVID-19 cases being reported and 12 additional deaths across the state as well. There are 1,279 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 at this time. The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet at the fairgrounds on Monday for its regularly scheduled meeting.
At the meeting, there will be discussion regarding the sale of scrap metal. The commissioners will also talk about the possible closure of the Osage County Courthouse on January 4th so that county employees can attend the swearing in of newly elected officials. The commissioners will also open and award bids for grader blades, concrete, sand, road, bridge items, state spec rock and non-state spec rock. There will also be discussion on the possibility of reducing the fee for a benefit that a group held at the Osage County Fairgrounds a week ago. The meeting begins at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending. There will be a team roping event this Saturday at the Osage County Fairgrounds and all particapants will have a chance to win a 2020 Calico 16 foot Stock Trailer. This will be awarded to the high point roper.
The Roping will be a ten point. Ropers will be able to enter with a partner and draw two more for 180 dollars. You can enter a total of four times. The roping will be a four head roping and capped at a six. They will not be using elites. Ropers can enter from 10am to 11 am and the roping will start at noon. Come hungry because there will be concession on site serving mouth watering hamburgers and cheeseburgers from home grown beef. There will also be nachos, walking tacos and cookies and brownies on the menu. For more information, contact Shawn Trimble at 620-870-0070. Eagle Scout Amadeus Reeves was at Tuesday evening's city council meeting in Pawhuska explaining his wish to complete a project at Memorial Park. This includes adding a much-needed sidewalk throughout the park.
Park Manager Rick Gibson enjoys it anytime he is able to work in cooperation with the Eagle Scouts. He looks forward to the improvements Reeves will make to the park and hopefully future scouts as well. Reeves says he can complete this by the end of the year. Roads throughout the City of Pawhuska have been getting worse over time and a reason for this is the heavy garbage trucks rolling over the pavement day after day. Waste Connectons of Oklahoma was at Tuesday's City Council meeting saying the new truck they are looking at could help with that problem.
The council approved this contract with Waste Connections and they won't face a price increase until January 2022. The truck should be available for use in 30 days. The Quail Place Tributary Drainage Project started earlier this week and contractors have notified residents that construction will begin shortly. This is a project that was approved in the 2018 General Obligation Bond Election and improvements will be made to the drainage system around Woodland Park. Director of Engineering Micah Seimers explains where the crews will begin working.
“They will begin work downstream of Cherokee Hills and then have to close Cherokee Hills completely while they replace the drainage structure under the road. Once they complete that work, the rest of the work will take place in back yards between Cherokee Hills Drive and Evergreen Drive.” Siemers went on to say that this won't eliminate all drainage issues in the area, but the hope is to eliminate the flooding problems. They hope to complete the project by March, pending weather delays. Pawhuska Superintendent David Cash recently told the school board that there has been significant deterioration with the roof at the high school, forcing it to leak and the same can be said at the elementary school. Other trouble spots across the district have caused concern for student safety and Cash said it is important that the process be expedited so that they can begin fixing these problems.
One of the school board members wanted clarity on what is going to be fixed. Cash said the baseball field lights will also be replaced, as there has been damage to the globes, but a lightning strike also knocked out one of the poles. Cash talked to one of the contractors earlier and said crews could be on the scene fixing the damage in 90 days. Everything will be under warranty. The OSSAA has left it up to each school on how they wish to proceed regarding mask wearing and how many fans are allowed in to watch basketball games and wrestling matches this winter. Superintendent David Cash said the junior high squad was in Dewey on Monday and they were required to wear a mask at all times, unless they were on the court. Cash said that other facilities won't have any mandates, but he laid out what Pawhuska Schools plans to do.
At this time, they don't plan on blocking off rows to encourage distancing from others. If unable to social distance while watching the game, you will be required to wear a mask. |
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