Local news

Ok, so I know I said I was going to refrain from commenting on the situation concerning the recent arrest of our County Treasurer for drug possession but somebody wrote into Off the Cuff (which is sort of an anonymous opinion column dedicated to the thoughts and concerns of our citizens) the other day with a real humdinger that I just have to share. Don’t bother looking for it on their website, they’re always behind a few days. As it turns out, two more county employees have been arrested in connection with the drug case. See full story here.

An additional piece of background story is needed to fully appreciate this particular comment. For the past year, the community has been divided on issues concerning the raising of taxes (something about a bond issue…I don’t know…I don’t keep up) in order to build a new county jail. Apparently the one we have now is in pretty bad shape. I don’t think the issue was so much the money as it was what the money was going to be used for. We have a “vibrant” young professional movement growing in town who would like to see more money used for community development, ie. soccer fields, water parks and such. A lot of opinions were expressed in Off the Cuff during the time, most of which was of the “you’re too old and don’t like change vs. your too young and want to change too much” type of discussion.

So, back to the wisecrack who wrote in the other day concerning the new arrests in Stevens drug case, which at this point, after all this explanation doesn’t even seem that funny anymore but I’ve bothered to write this much so just read and at least giggle a little for me:

“All I want to say is they better hurry up and get that new jail built because of our officials all being busted.”

Yeah, so. I don’t know. I guess you kind of have to live here and know this place to really get it.

Despite all, Bartlesville is a nice place. There’s a great little pond we take Liam to all the time to feed the ducks, and hey, there was a yoga class advert in the paper the same day this article ran so it’s not so bad. Just don’t read the paper on a regular basis, or get involved in city politics, or express too much of your slightly more to the left opinion out loud and you’ll do fine. Just kidding. Really. It’s not so bad. Do I sound convinced yet?

I guess you could say Bartlesville simply represents a smaller version of any place in America. Although, I’m not sure how many cities have a drug ring operating in their county commissioners office. That might be considered kind of a unique thing.

Although it would be fun to blog about how our county treasurer was recently arrested for drug charges last weekend, especially after I just sent him a check for thirteen hundred dollars to pay off my land/property tax, I’m going to refrain and simply say that the whole thing is a very sad situation.

Instead, I’m going to tell you about Alison Jay, who illustrates children’s books. I just discovered her. Her illustrations are simply a delight. We have two of her books checked out for Liam right now. It took me forever to realize that each page has an image subtly placed that is then exhibited in a larger form on the next page. It’s kind of like a Where’s Waldo book, but far more intriguing and finer artwork. You can buy her illustration in poster format on an online “boutique” called Oopsy Daisy. Her books are definitely going on my wishlist.

The Great Flood of 2007 has come and gone. It was a little rough finding routes to work for a few days but other than that…nothing major. However, our local SPCA had to move all their animals to the county fairgrounds because they were flooded out. We stopped by yesterday to drop off some money and the guy I handed the check too said they were “fixin” to move to another temporary location. I can’t imagine having to move all those animals.

Here’s a shot Mike took from one of the more flooded areas in town.

Bartlesville is experiencing a little bit of excitement at the moment. Apparently we’ve had so much rain in the past week that it’s effected our water supply. Now, before you read what I just wrote and decide I sound stupid, I guess it has to do with the excess water diluting the alkaline levels. Here’s an article about it from our local paper. According to the Water Plant Supervisor:

“What’s happening is that we’ve had so much rain, the alkalinity has been driven to a level that our coagulant will not react with it,” Jinkens said.

The solution? Injecting caustic soda into the water supply. Yummy. Don’t you just love knowing about all the crap that goes into our water in order to make it drinkable.

According to our city manager, Ed Gordon, everything is moving along quite swimmingly although it will take a few days before the entire supply has been treated to its entirety. Meanwhile we should feel perfectly safe drinking our water. Yeah right.

Officials say safety is not an issue, as untreated water has not been allowed through the system.

“The water we are now using and drinking is safe. It is a technical malfunction only and does not affect the quality of water,” Gordon said.

Gordon said the Oklahoma National Guard has been notified in the event that help is needed, and that several cities have offered to help Bartlesville through the ordeal.

“The City of Tulsa has said they will bring water tanks if we need them, and Copan Water Plant has offered to help,” Gordon said. “A crisis brings out the best in people.

This whole ordeal created quite the hoopla yesterday. I even had a friend text me on my phone to tell me that we may be without water for two or three days and another telling me to hurry up to Wal-Mart because they were about to sell out of water. I was about to go to Wal-Mart to stock up but called Mike who filled two canisters up and stuck them in the fridge (I imagine he was probably shaking his head with a chuckle as he was doing this…that nutty wife of mine). It’s crazy how the idea of being without water can send people into to such a tizzy.