The County Commissioners in Osage County are beginning to make decisions on which health insurance plans they think works best for their county employees. One of these options is OPEH&W. Blane Wood was at Monday's commissioner meeting explaining what his company had to offer. Wood said their insurance company would save the county nearly $300,000 annually and that 32 other counties use OPEH&W. That company does only offer a PPO plan, but Wood says they offer several services under that specific plan.
There are some elected officials across the county who have been unable to see what Wood's company can offer to the county employees. This is why District One Commissioner Randall Jones wants to be patient before making any irrational decisions. District Two Commissioner Kevin Pasley says he has researched the company and he is willing to make a move at any time. Pasley believes this will be a better deal than the one they currently have in place. The county currently operates on four separate health insurance plans. Things went from bad to worse for the Dewey Bulldoggers, as they traveled north of the border Friday night and suffered a 79-42 loss to the Caney Valley Bullpups. Caney Valley got out to a 10-0 lead and led 44-23 at halftime. This opening possession of the second half for the Bulldoggers is what coach Lance Knight will want to see from his team moving forward.
Hayden Thorton led the way for Dewey, scoring 17 points. Trey Richey, Camden Melceori and Jace Kaminska all scored in double figures for Caney Valley. The Dewey Lady Bulldoggers defeated Caney Valley 51-34. Dewey will next be in action on Monday, Jan. 6th for a home game against Pawhuska. The Bullpups will host Sedan on Tuesday, Jan 7th. Pawhuska basketball coach Jake Christenson has stressed that winning regular season tournaments are very important to him, as he believes those are all about getting his team ready for the playoffs come late February. The Huskies took care of business last weekend by winning the Agra Tournament and Christenson said his team had to overcome some adversity to do so.
Christenson has said multiple people will see the floor for the Huskies this year. Christenson made that clear when talking about how his team made a transition to zone defense in the championship game. The Huskies got a 61-34 victory over Hominy on Tuesday and will finish the semester on Friday with a homecoming game against Barnsdall. Christenson knows this will be a tough homecoming test. Coverage of that ballgame can be heard on Sportstalk KPGM FM 99.1 beginning at 8 o’ clock Friday evening. The Barnsdall Panthers fell to Nowata Tuesday evening by 25 points, but this doesn't mean Coach Wade Corder wasn't pleased with the effort his team showed. The Panthers are still making the transition from football to basketball and it began to show in the second half of play.
Christian Warford was responsible for over half of Barnsdall's points last season, but Corder says someone that nobody talks about is the loss of post player, Ely Reece. The Panthers close the semester with a road game at Pawhuska. This is a game that Corder says his team is looking forward to. Coverage of that Barnsdall and Pawhuska game can be heard on Sportstalk KPGM FM 99.1 starting at 8 o' clock Friday evening. The Bighill Furniture Store in Fairfax is meaningful to many people across Osage County. It has been damaged by a tornado and is need of repair or else the county commissioners will be forced to demolish the building. None of the commissioners want to see the building get demolished, but they all disagree on the best way to salvage the building. District One Commissioner Kevin Pasley believes there is great potential in the building, but there first needs to be thorough research done on the building.
District One Commissioner Randall Jones says if the county is to assume responsibility of the building, it opens them up to liability issues and will cost money that they don't have. Fairfax resident Carol Conner believes the commissioners should properly research a way to satisfy everyone involved. Terry Loftis of J&L Associates wanted to remind the commissioners that at the end of the day, the retaining wall holding the structure up is only meant to last for six months. Loftis said we are nearing that six month limit. The commissioners decided to hire an engineer to make an assessment of the building and see what kind of shape the building is in. That assessment will cost $1,000 and he should be able to start by Wednesday. The bid packets that the commissioners opened for engineering firms to demolish the building were rejected. The Board of Osage County Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at the courthouse in Pawhuska and the main point of contention revolved around the Bighill Furniture Store in Fairfax and what they should do with it.
The commissioners have the option to demolish, sell, donate the building to the town or they can keep it and continue to maintain upkeep of the building. All three commissioners want the building to be salvaged for historical value, but they disagree about how to do that. Because of safety concerns, the building will have to be demolished at some point so the commissioners will have to make a decision on what to do very soon. At the meeting, the commissioners decided to table the item and have an engineer come in and see how sound the barrier wall is that is holding up the building. That assessment will cost $1,000. Blane Wood of OPEH&W was back at Monday’s meeting asking the commissioners if they had any questions about their health plan. Wood repeated that they offer a PPO plan only, but there are more choices within that option. District One Commissioner Randall Jones said he didn’t want to rush into selecting Wood’s firm because there were some department heads that hadn’t yet seen a presentation from Wood. Therefore, no action was taken. The county commissioners signed an interagency agreement between the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and the Osage County Health Department and Osage County to install antennas on the health department facility. There was also one utility permit signed for district two. Pawhuska's Public Works Department is getting ready to make the city much brighter. City Manager Dave Neely explains.
Neely adds that overgrown tree limbs are beginning to get torn down and potholes will be getting fixed in the near future. The Constantine Theater in Pawhuska will host the Nutcracker Ballet this weekend. On Saturday, the event will start at 7:00 p.m. and an encore performance will take place on Sunday at 3:00 in the afternoon on Sunday.
The Dance Maker Academy puts on the event and will feature many children in the community, the youngest one being six years old. This is the third year the event has been put on and the first year The Dance Maker Academy has partnered with Pawhuska Public Schools. Tickets can be purchased at dancemaker.net. Adult tickets are $15 and student tickets cost $15. The Dance Maker Academy is a non-profit organization. On Friday, Dec. 27th and Saturday, Dec. 28th, Kyle Dillingham and Horseshoe Road will be performing at the Constantine Theatre as well. After making its deepest playoff run in 40 years, the Barnsdall Panthers made a quick transition over to basketball. The Panthers suffered an opening night 42-39 loss to Tulsa CHEF. Coach Wade Corder says his team must get used to playing with one another.
The Panthers hosted Caney Valley Thursday night before finishing the semester with back-to-back road games at Nowata and Pawhuska. Corder is looking forward to seeing how his team will stack up against that quality competition. Next Tuesday's game at Nowata can be heard on Real Country KRIG 104.9 FM. The Board of Osage County Commissioners will meet for a regularly scheduled meeting this Monday at the courthouse in Pawhuska.
There will be continued discussion regarding the handling of the Bighill Furniture Store. Citizens in the Fairfax area are attempting to raise money to renovate the building, but the commissioners also have the option to demolish the building. The building is currently being held up by a barrier wall and will soon be an unsafe structure. Blane Wood of OPEH&W will also be back at this weeks meeting. He will make an argument for his health insurance company to be selected for county employees to choose their agency when picking a health insurance plan to start the new year. The commissioners will also enter into executive session to interview applicants for the part time fairgrounds position. The meeting begins at 10 o’ clock in the morning for those interested in attending. |
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