David Laughlin
The regular Monday morning meeting of the Stephens County Board of Commissioners was full and lasted nearly two hours. As expected, much of the conversation revolved around the ice storm that turned off power for many county residents. The Board discussed and declared Stephens County to be a disaster area because of the ice storm. Commissioner of District 2, Todd Churchman said declaring the county as an emergency will help the county receive federal aid.
In dealing with the recent ice storm, the Board also executed a letter to the Natural Conservation Service to request assistance in obtaining emergency funding to remove debris next to bridges caused by ice accumulation. Commissioner of District 1, Darrell Sparks provided the NCS representative with a list of bridges with significant tree damage near them. Commissioner of District 2, Dee Bowen said “Mine (District 2) and Todd’s district (3) weren’t affected near as bad as Darrell’s (District 3), but in the spring time when all the rains come in we will be.”
Sheriff Wayne McKinney was on hand, along with other elected county officials, to discuss alterations to the employee handbook. McKinney speaking of the response to ice storm said “There were some glitches, but it’s going to happen. This was a county wide emergency, we are concerned about the entire county, not just Marlow, Duncan and Comanche.” Bowen said “This is the best kind of training we could ever have. I am not going to gripe about my electric bill anymore.”
In other action:
n The Board approved a cooperative agreement with Samuel and Robin West regarding needed conservation works of improvement to diminish erosion and siltation of the right-of-way county roadway along the West boundary of section 17, T2N, R5W. Sparks said he is tasked with building a turn-around in the area so a bridge can be built and the concrete trucks would have a place to turn around, instead of having to back up for a lengthy distance. Sparks said “I had it scheduled for pretty quick, but the schedules changed because of the weather.
The bridge will be on 11 Mile Road, 1 mile north of U.S. Highway 29. Sparks said it is going to be a new 75 foot bridge made of steel and concrete.
n The Board approved a rental and maintenance agreement with Pitney Bowes providing for a digital mailing system.
n The Board and other county elected officials discussed alterations to the employee personnel policy handbook. The Board discussed background checks and shared leave.
— David Laughlin is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 144, or via e-mail at david.laughlin@duncanbanner.com.
