Local/Area News
Jason Price was chosen to replace retiring superintendent Dwayne Noble at a special board meeting Dec. 27.Price, the current superintendent at Haworth, has been in education since 1996 when he received his BS degree from East Central University. He is a graduate of Okemah high school.
He received his masters of education administration degree from ECU in 2006 and has served as principal, athletic director and even a coach.
Prior to taking the position at Haworth, he has taught at Butner, Dustin and Fort Towson. He has been at Haworth for the past eight years.
He married his wife, Kathryn in 1995. They are the parents of three children, two daughters and a son. His wife is the career tech computer director and math teacher.
Price is also a licensed minister and author.
“I look forward to coming to Henryetta and working with the school and the community,” he said Wednesday. He said he will be spending some time in the school district prior to his official start date working with Noble.
That decision ended a series of interviews with some 25 applicants over the past couple of months. “We feel we have chosen an individual to lead our school that will have the best interest of our students and community at heart,” said board member Pam Bealko.
Three Henryetta bridges, originally built nearly 100 years ago are going to be replaced at no charge.
The three, each spanning a creek that runs from Main Street to just north of Interstate 40, are being replaced through. Federal program. Approval for the work was given Tuesday night by the city council at the last regular meeting of 2023.
They are located on West Broadway, West Moore and West Corporation.
The three bridges received form work in an earlier program about 10 years ago. That put up ratings and some rip rap around the sides. Now they will be removed and new ones put in their place. No date was given when the work would start.
Council members abated three houses and gave a 90-day extension before abating a fourth.
Receiving a reprieve pending improvements is a house at 1207 North Collins. The owner, Julie Martinellii, said she has the materials to repair the house and will have electrical service restored.
Houses placed on the abatement list include 318 E. Spruce, 510 East Fun and 610 North Third.
During the evening, the council approved a one-time pay adjustment or the holidays for city workers amounting to no more than $250.
The council approved a contract to Quicksilver Utility amounting to $535,000 for construction of a pump station to be built just north of Merrick on Fourth Street. That is part of a project to replace an old water tower.
Also gaining approval was the purchase of $24,000 for fire rescue equipment. It is part of a grant that would result in a reimbursement to the city for the cost.
City manager David Bullard told the council work is underway on the spillway at Nichols Park to prevent erosion from damaging the roadway. He said the city is partnering with the county to help in the project.
A lot of homes around Henryetta are deorated in time for the Christmas season.
Henryetta continues to look more festive as store fronts twinkled, glistened and shined in their Christmas finery.
The holiday decorations have been much admired by local residents and have even drawn favorable comments from visitors in town for the holidays.
Winning the decoration contest this year were The Shack 2.0 in first place; Nail Boutique in second and Burnett Furniture in third.
“We cannot express enough our thanks for the businesses who took time to dress up their buildings for the Christmas season,” said chamber president Jeremy Roberts. “It is a testament to the desire and love for their home town to make our community look better.”
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Republican Party notified the Secretary that it will keep its primaries closed to Independent voters.
The Libertarian Party did not formally send a notification; therefore, by default, the Libertarian Party primaries will remain closed as designated by state law.
More information about political parties is available on the State Election Board website.
Oklahoma is a closed primary state. However, every odd-numbered year between November 1 and November 30, all recognized political parties in Oklahoma must notify the Secretary of the State Election Board as to whether or not they will allow registered Independents to vote in their party’s primaries and runoff primaries during the next two election years.
If a party chooses to open its primaries, the deadline is extended to December 15 for the other recognized parties to respond or change their response.
The State Election Board reminds voters that whether voting in person or by absentee ballot, Independent voters must request to receive Democratic primary ballots. These cannot be automatically issued.
Voters who have already requested absentee ballots for the 2024 election year can update their absentee ballot request online using the OK Voter Portal.
Voters who would like to change their party affiliation should do so before April 1, 2024.
State law prohibits party affiliation changes April 1 through August 31 of even-numbered years. Party affiliation changes submitted during the closed period will be processed on September 1, 2024. Changes can be made online through the OK Voter Portal.