A little over a week ago, the City of Bartlesville launched a pilot program, allowing for 75 lime scooters to come to downtown Bartlesville. Community Development Director Lisa Beeman said the City entered into a memorandum of understanding that allows drivers to use city streets and sidewalks, much like a bicycle. Beeman highlights what the data has shown in the early stages.


Beeman had expected the scooters to be used for recreational purposes and that is what the data is seeing thus far. Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles was sure to say that there haven't been any problems with these vehicles yet.


At next Monday's city council meeting, there will be consideration to allow lime scooters on Pathfinder Parkway. Beeman says Bird scooters are also interested in coming to Bartlesville.
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Two Bartlesville students have been named to Oklahoma State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister's Student Advisory Council for 2021.


Elijah Winter and Samantha Simmons are among 97 Oklahoma high school students who have been appointed to the 2021 council. Feedback from the council has helped increase mental health awareness among students and provided teachers more professional development in trauma-informed instruction. Hofmeister had this to say regarding the 2021 Council:


“Students have a lot to say about their education and it is critical that we listen to them. The direct insight we receive from our students is incredibly valuable and each year I am encouraged by the thoughtful reflection and fearless vision of these brilliant young leaders.”


This is the sixth consecutive year a council has been formed to assist Hofmeister and the Oklahoma Department of Education with policy matters. The Student Advisory Council last met virtually in June. They plan to meet in late January.

Monday's Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting marked the final one for district two commissioner Kevin Paslay and court clerk Sheila Bellamy. Bellamy has worked in the county clerk's office for 20 years and Bellamy is looking forward to her retirement, but she has thoroughly enjoyed her time working for the county.


Paslay, who had served as county commissioner for the past four years, wanted to thank everyone for always making his job enjoyable.


Commissioners Randall Jones and Darren McKinney showed their appreciation for the hard work that Bellamy and Paslay have put into their profession.


Robin Slack will be taking over as court clerk and Steve Talburt will replace Paslay as county commissioner for district two.

The Board of Osage County Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at the fairgrounds on Monday morning in what was the final meeting for court clerk Sheila Bellamy and district two county commissioner Kevin Paslay. Both Bellamy and Paslay made mention of what an honor it had been to serve in their respective positions.
The commissioners took no action regarding making possible amendments for the public entering the Osage County Courthouse, but all three commissioners acknowledged they are battling COVID-19 in their county shops.
INCOG REAP contracts were signed to re-surface roads in districts one and two. A resolution was also signed to help prepare for upgrades coming to the E-911 system. 
The commissioners signed an agreement with Totah Communications regarding utility relocations for a project along the Caney River in District One. Two utility permits were signed in district two.    
The next regularly scheduled Board of Osage County Commissioners meeting will take place next Monday at 10 o’ clock in the morning.

Bartlesville Fire Chief John Banks has announced that Captain Adam Butterfield is the 2020 Firefighter of the Year.


Butterfield has been working for the department since 2001 and was promoted to the role of captain in late 2016. He is curently assigned to the Central Fire Station and is Captain of Pumper 11. Butterfield is also a member of the Bartlesville Fire Department Honor Guard. Public Information Officer Bill Hollander nominated Butterfield for the award and had this to say of Butterfield's hard work:


“Throughout the year, Adam has been instrumental and very proactive on training his crew and he continually comes up with innovative training ideas.”

As the fall semester comes to an end and we look forward to the spring academic session, Barnsdall Superintendent Jeff Lay wants to inform families of a slight change to their return to learn plan.


Lay says school faculty members have checked and taken more than 25,000 temperatures since the start of the school year in August. Of that, teachers have only had to send two students home because they had a temperature of 100.4 or higher. Because of that, the school is going to stop taking temperatures at bus stops and upon students entering the building.


Lay says it is important that parents continue screening children in the morning. Parents can find a screening checklist on the Barnsdall Public Schools website under the, “Parent/Student Resources” tab. The same procedures will be followed for isolating children and contact tracing when someone is shown to have COVID-19. ​

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has announced that 13 water systems across the state have been awarded a Water Flouridation Quality Award from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Bartlesville Water Treatment Plant is one of these 13 systems to be recognized.


Flouridation is the adjustment of flouride in drinking water to a level that is effective in preventing tooth decay and this award recognizes those communities that were able to maintain an optimal level of flouride in drinking water in 2019. Director of Dental Health Services for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Dr. Jana Winfree had the following to say:


“The Oklahoma State Department of Health supports community water flouridation and recognizes the practice as beneficial to all who use and drink the water.”


The CDC recommends water flouridation as one of the most practical, cost-effective and safest measures a community can take to prevent tooth decay and improve oral health. ​

The Board of Osage County Commissioners will begin paying a $1.25 fee to a company called Clearinghouse to register all CDL drivers who work for the county. If the commissioners opted not to do this, they would have to pay $2,500 per person and there would be a chance the individual would lose their CDL License. District one commissioner Randall Jones explains how the process will work.


Aside from cost savings to the county, Jones says this will strengthen the drug testing program as well.


This is something that must be submitted by Tuesday, January 5th.

The Board of Osage County Commissioners took no action regarding the public entering the courthouse and other county-owned buildings, but they did talk about how COVID-19 has impacted them over the past week. District one commissioner Randall Jones said one of his employees recently passed away from the virus, making this a difficult time heading into Christmas.


District three commissioner Darren McKinney said he has employees out sick with COVID-19 as well.


Jones says they are doing all they can to keep their employees safe while at work and it is important to keep your guard up, especially during these winter months.

The shed in which district one puts all of its equipment has recently collapsed in Osage County. Commissioner Randall Jones said it is important they find a way to get it replaced and that is why that was a topic of discussion at Monday morning's meeting.


Jones says he had been holding off on replacing the shed for as long as possible, but it can't wait any longer at this point.


After the discussion, the commissioners voted to allow Jones to go out for bids to find a company to replace the shed.