Council Divided on City Attorney Hiring

Grove is still without the services of a City Attorney, at least for the next two weeks. A motion to hire Jot Hartley of the Hartley Law Firm of Vinita was rejected 3-2 at Tuesday's Council meeting and apparently the matter is dead until the next council meeting Oct. 2.

Council went into Executive Session at 6:31 and returned an hour later, then heard the motion by Terry Ryan to appoint Hartley as city attorney. Ryan and Mayor Gary Bishop both voted in favor of Hartley, while Councilmen Mike Davenport, Larry Parham and Gary Tripenssee voted nay.

City Manager Bruce Johnson had devised a formula and point scoring system to judge the city attorney candidates, included in the Request for Proposals to candidates. One source said that Hartley clearly was the winner using the point system, taking emotion completely out of the equation.

Hartley has more than 25 years of Municipal Law experience and currently serves as city attorney for Vinita, Ketchum, Bernice and West Siloam Springs. He received his law degree from OU in 1977. His proposal includes billing at special municipal rates at $130 an hour for Jot Hartley, and $125 an hour for associates. His firm drafted City ordinances for Ketchum and Bernice. The firm has previously reviewed Grove's Municipal ordinances relating to land use and zoning and if selected, would "conduct an immediate and total review of your ordinances," their proposal states.

Logan and Lowry, represented by David E. Jones, is believed to be high on the list of candidates, but does not list any municipal law experience on its resume. Jones received his law degree in 1990 from the University of Kansas. His proposal includes a monthly retainer charge of $1,750 for review of agendas, attendance at regular and special meetings of the City and GMSA. Other work would be billed at an hourly rate of $195 an hour for partners and $150 and hour for associates. His list of clients includes Precision Communications, headed by Troy Kyman, who is chairman of GrovePAC, the political action committee that backed councilmen Parham, Davenport, and Trippensee in April's election.

The formula devised by Johnson is as follows:

--35 points for experience and knowledge of Oklahoma state statutes and Grove Code of Ordinances
--10 points for monthly retainer and hourly rate
--25 points for professional qualifications and communication skills including total years of experience, honors or awards.
--35 points on past performance record.
(total 105 points available)

The previous city attorney, Ron Cates, billed at an hourly rate of $125 plus travel time and mileage from Owasso. Last year's legal services for the city totaled $57,042 including the trust authorities and defending the city against lawsuits.

(Editors Note: Since Tuesday night's vote at least two councilmen have expressed a desire to personally interview the top two candidates before voting again on the matter. What then, was the rush to bring this agenda item up before taking the opportunity to personally interview the candidates? One would think a personal interview would be mandatory before the decision to hire is made).

Editorial...Yes, Yes, and No on New Hospital

The Observer has been accused of being opposed to a new $58 million hospital in Grove. Nothing could be further from the truth so let's say that up front.

We say Yes to a new hospital. It would be a tremendous new asset to the city and area and would bring additional business to Grove, increased staff of physicians, nurses and other employees, and as designed by HKS Architects, would be the most beautiful building in our city.

We also say Yes to the volunteer fundraising effort being undertaken by the Hospital. One individual has pledged $1 million to the effort and his generosity is noteworthy to say the least. We hope many others who have the means will step forward as well. A total of $5 million has been requested by Integris as a sign of "community support."

But we say No to the request for $1 million from the city coffers, payable at $200,000 over five years. This money will come from the City Capital Fund budget, this year at $4.3 million. A $200,000 per year donation will come to nearly 5% of the city's total Capital budget, or $200.00 a year for every man, woman and child in Grove.

In fact, the $200,000 is nearly the largest item in this year's budget, exceeded only by $250,000 allocated to fix the leaking Civic Center roof, which probably isn't enough; $246,000 to complete the downtown storm drainage project, and $280,000 for the new cemetery project.

We have $25,000 budgeted for pothole repairs and $50,000 for asphalt overlay.

At $50,000 per mile for a complete asphalt overlay program, we could pave four miles with just one year's donation to the hospital. Our streets are grinding up tires, wearing out brakes and suspension systems. Bumpety Bumpety.

If put to a vote of the people, (not likely), the issue of a $200,000 per year donation would fail by a wide margin, according to our research. And we don't oppose "in kind" donations by the city, but none have been discussed. These include free tap fees, utility construction costs, land swaps, give backs, etc.

Frankly, we don't know how this suggestion came up in the first place. It appears to have come upon us like a stealthy fog bank.

In the end, our city council will make the decision and that is why they get elected. If the city residents don't like their decision they can vote them out at the next election.

We hope this clears up our feelings on the matter and at least you know. Other media in the area are silent, and are not likely to speak up.

Upgraded Honey Creek Pump Station Approved

Members of the Grove Municipal Services Authority board have approved spending $9,500 to Rose & McCreary for civil engineering services to upgrade the Honey Creek booster pump station. An estimated 200 new homes could be added south of Honey Creek as a result, engineers estimated. Total cost is estimated at $75,000 to $100,000 for the pump and new larger water line.

The board was told Tuesday at its regular meeting that work on utility re-locations along Highway 59 is virtually complete, and Nov. 15 has been set as the final completion date. ODOT says it will let bids in January, begin highway construction in April, and be finished 18 months later.

GMSA also approved a new policy on customer disputes of water or gas bills. The new process involves 10 steps and was put together by City Manager Bruce Johnson. These include:

1. Customer shall notify the GMSA office manager of a problem within 10 working days of the due date printed on the disputed bill.
2. Office manager will review and correct any billing error immediately.
3. If a meter re-read is necessary, it shall be done within 24 hours of the notice.
4. If the re-read shows an error was made or the meter was not working properly, the reading and/or meter will be changed and the bill will be adjusted accordingly.
5. If the re-read shows the reading was correct and meter is working properly, no adjustment will be made.
6. The customer may request a company specializing in such testing to check the meter for accuracy. If testing shows the meter is working correctly, the customer will pay for the testing; if not, GMSA will pay the cost of testing.
7. After researching the disputed bill the Office Manager will make a decision within five working days after receipt of the complaint. If customer is not satisfied the customer has the right to request a meeting with the General Manager within five working days to dispute the bill.
8. After reviewing the bill, the General Manager will make a decision within five working days.
9. If the customer is not satisfied with the General Manager's decision, a written request may be submitted to have the matter presented to the GMSA Board of Trustees for the next regular meeting. The written request must be made within 10 working days of the General Manager's decision or his decision will be final.
10 GMSA will review the request and the board's decision is final.

The new policy grew out of a complaint filed by a homeowner who received a natural gas bill for $2400 last winter.

Council Makes Trustee Appointments

Grove City Councilmen have made three appointments to the Grove Industrial Development Authority board, one to GMSA, and deferred appointments to the Planning & Zoning Board because there were no applicants. Action came at Tuesday night's regular Council meeting.

Appointed to GIDA were Bob Henkle, Ed Hamilton, and Tom Ryan, although Ryan's appointment drew opposition from Larry Parham and Mike Davenport. Appointed to GMSA was Berwin Kock, who had previously applied to the airport trust authority board position which was filled by Tom Melton.

The city will re-advertise the two open positions on the Planning & Zoning board with a cutoff date of Sept. 27. Chairman Bettie Kardos-Bishop has retired and Norma Halterman resigned in August. If member Bill Miller does not return from an extended trip there will not be a quorum for the October meeting.

In other council action:

--a request for the Harvest Moon Cruise Night promotion was made and approved, for Oct. 12-13.
--Larry Parham was appointed as the council liaison to the Grove Airport Authority and he resigned as the liaison to the Grove Chamber of Commerce.
--authorization was given to sign a letter of intent for FAA grant funds and approval given for a fee of $67,000 for engineering work to Garver Engineers for completion of the Property Map and updating the airport layout drawing; completion of the Action Plan as required by the FAA, and engineering work on runway 18/36 for new seal coat and repairs and repairs to the aircraft parking apron. The money will be reimbursed by the FAA.

Grove Beginnings...Part 14

Crittenden Grave

By Rose Stauber

Some things catch your attention and make you want to know the answers. Such a situation is a lone grave in downtown Grove. It took us several years just to get into the overgrown lot where the grave is located. When I finally was taken to the gravestone, it was lying on the ground, but still in great condition.

The engraving on the stone reads: Electa Crittenden Born Dec. 25, 1835 Died Jan. 20, 1879. A verse follows:

"Her gentle ways will ever dwell in hearts of those who knew and loved her well."

For the record, Electa's son James gave his mother's date of death as Feb. 28, 1878, on his Guion Miller application.

Electa died at age 43 or 44, and those years were surely filled with troubles and sorrow known by all Cherokees during that period. I haven't tried to prove it, but she probably came over the Trail of Tears as a young child. She lived in Goingsnake District, probably in the part of that district which is now Adair County. Her maiden name was Hopkins. She married Henry Crittenden and had children. Henry died, likely killed, in 1865 in the violence of the Civil War.

Two sons, James F. and Charles W., and two daughters, Elizabeth and Jennie, would have been quite young when their father died. James gave his date and place of birth as Carey's Ferry, Nov. 15, 1863. The bereft family must have lived in what is now Grove when Electa died in 1879. The custom of the time would be for her to be buried near the home. Who caused the gravestone to be made and placed and when is not known. Did the two sons, barely out of their teens, if both were, have the marker placed? We cannot know.

We do know that the sons left the Cherokee Nation for a period, possibly going to Texas.
In 1880, the two brothers went before the Cherokee Nation Commission on Citizenship and petitioned to regain their citizenship. To explain, leaving the Cherokee Nation was to forfeit citizenship. The Crittenden brothers were again members of the nation. The quality of both parents' families was noted by the commission.

They appear not to have lived near each other after that. Charles told the Dawes Commission of being in the Choctaw Nation working around the coal mines. After his marriage in 1886 he lived in Checotah.

James came back to the home area where his father had owned land in the Grand River Valley. Mentions of James are found frequently in early issues of "The Grove Sun." He seems to have farmed, as did most people in those days, and perhaps had some business interests. He married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of Elowie and Dorcas Landrum Butler. One child was born to this marriage; Electa Crittenden was born Dec. 4, 1889. and named for her grandmother.

Elizabeth died Feb. 29, 1896, and was buried in Butler Cemetery on the south side of Honey Creek. James later married Esther Caudill who died Sept. 21, 1948.

James died May 25, 1953, at a rest home near Miami where he had lived since Esther died. The obituary, which has some errors, says James was survived by "his daughter, Electa Crain of Los Angeles, Calif., and several distant relatives." Nothing else has been found on Electa Crain. James' obituary says that he was buried in Olympus Cemetery, but we have found no monument for him or Esther also said to be buried there.

Jarrell Browning, who owns the property where Electa Crittenden' s gravestone is, grew up in the house on the property. The house, Jarrell says, was a Carey house moved in from the Patricia Island area when Grand Lake was built. Jarrell remembers that a man wearing a dark coat visited the grave over the years Jarrell was growing up. The visitor must have been James Crittenden. Jarrell says there have been no visitors to the grave since he was young.

There are more of these family graves in Grove. One child's stone is near a house in northeast Grove where it is being protected. The gravestone reads "Our Fannie" with no surname. The date of death is early 1870s. So far I have been unsuccessful in identifying what family this child belongs to.

In another case, two children's gravestones are loose near a house in inner Grove. Undoubtedly, other graves may be unmarked in the older sections of the town.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Observations...

According to the Oklahoma District Court Records web site, the trial of John Special, accused of negligent homicide in a boating accident in July 2006 on Grand Lake, will begin Monday at 9 a.m...We made a quick trip to Dallas early this week. As we got away from Grove the price of gasoline dropped steadily all the way, until it reached $2.48 a gallon in Dallas, almost 40 cents cheaper. How is that? We walked through a real grocery store and drooled over the seafood selection; ate a great burger at Snuffer's and stopped in McAlester at the Western Sizzlin Steakhouse. Wish we had one of those in Grove, a great concept...The tour guides at Pensacola Dam this summer gave more than 7,000 visitors a tour of the powerhouse, up 31% from 2006 and 117% from 2004, when professional senior citizens were first used to give tours, says GRDA...City officials are trying to figure out the best trees to plant in the middle of the new sidewalks downtown. They need a slow growing tree with not much root system, so as to not destroy the sidewalks. How about a Japanese Bonsai?...Speaking of downtown, it's time for the city to take on absentee property owners of dilapidated buildings, mostly empty, boarded up, fire hazards. The owners should be forced to repair and rent them out, or take them down...During the budget process last May, Council deleted a request by the police department for a pedestrian crosswalk signal. Maybe they should think about restoring that item now that people will be returning downtown again...

Cobras, Tractors & Archery Highlight Pelican Festival

Area residents can kick off Fall by attending all of the events the region has to offer this weekend. There's fun for everyone with a good measure of hometown pride in all the various events planned.
First off, the grand daddy of them all, Grand Lake Association’s 24th Annual Pelican Festival. The activities and fun will take place on September 21-22 at the Flying Cow Arena on Hwy 59 just 6 miles North of Grove and 5 miles South of I-44 at the Afton exit. Hours for activities taking place at the Flying Cow Arena are 3:00 to 7:00 pm Friday the 21st with the barn dance from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. and Saturday gates open at 9:00 am and again the barn dance will run until 10p.m. Best part of the entire Pelican Festival, there is no admission charge to any of our events.
These are the activities that will greet you at Flying Cow: arts and crafts vendors, tasty food vendors, and live entertainment. Celebrating the new release of her book titled Set Me Adrift in the Sea of Faith, author Judith Ames David will be signing copies of her book which is also available for purchase.
The latest ATV’s and sporting goods will be on display, and you can test your skills to win prizes and trophies in the archery competition which will feature a 3-D shoot with two classifications, youth through 15 and adult. This 3-D archery competition will take place on Saturday, September 22 beginning at 8:00 am and running until 5:00 pm. First place in the youth category will win a bow valued at $300. The adult class first place prize is a Hoyt Vectrix Bow valued at $800. There will be prizes for second and third place too. Entry fee for the adult competition shoot is $20 and for youth only $5.
Also on Saturday, members of the Tired Iron of the Ozarks tractor club will be on hand with a fine display of antique tractors and engines. Tired Iron of the Ozarks is a non-profit educational and historical organization whose goal is to inform and educate the general public about farm life in the early 20th century. All visitors to the display will have a chance to vote for “best of show.” There will be other antique tractors from clubs in Welch, OK and Anderson, MO as well.
The kids can have fun bouncing around on the huge inflatable jumping gyms that will be at the Flying Cow Arena. While Mom and Dad are walking around the arena, we’ll have the kids busy in their own “fun zone” competing for prizes and awards at the games planned for them.
Come evening time there will still be plenty of activities taking place. Both nights you can enjoy live entertainment featuring the very talented Bill Adkins and Marshall Mitchell performing both country and some “classic” rock ‘n roll. Bill and Marshall interact with the audience to bring that special touch of fun to entertainment. Wear your dancin’ boots; kick up your heels and Texas Two-Step at the barn dance.
On Saturday morning at 10:00 am get to Main Street Grove for a parade you won’t want to miss and won’t soon forget featuring the 70 members of the World Famous Marching Cobras Drill Team from Kansas City, MO. They will perform along the entire parade route along with the marching bands from Grove schools and a few others. You’ll have another opportunity to see the award-winning, awe inspiring Marching Cobras perform when they take to the floor at 1:00 pm at the Flying Cow Arena. This is one performance you won’t want to miss.
The parade theme for 2007 is “Oklahoma Centennial ~ 100 years of change.” Everyone is invited to take part and join in the fun. Start building an awesome float to compete in the parade and a chance to win some extra dollars for your group or organization. There is no entry fee to compete for the parade “Best Float”.
When the parade is over, be sure to join the fun at the Community Center at Third and Grand where the Grove Downtown Merchants Association is hosting an Arts & Crafts Fair and Sale.
Then it’s time to travel to Pelican Landing Resort if you want to taste the fare at the annual Hook ‘N Cook-off being held by the Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. They are selling their advance tasting tickets for only $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. This fun runs from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm.
Pelican Landing is located 4 ½ miles east of Ketchum. There will also be arts and crafts vendors and music performed by Lickty Split. For tickets and additional information, call the Grand Lake Area Chamber.
Now it wouldn’t be a fall festival if we didn’t include some activities going on at the Island—Monkey Island that is. Leave it up to the island’s No. 1 Cheerleader, Joyce Duke to come up with something completely “outside the box.” This year they’ve planned “The Old Coots Talent (No Talent) Show” which will be taking place at Big Shots. Doors will open at 3:00 pm Saturday with the show following at 4:00 pm. Monies raised will be divided between DCCSAN, the Humane Society and the favorite charity of the talent contest winner. Sorry kids, this event is for the 21 and older age group.
If you want additional information on any of the activities visit our website at www.grandlakefun.com or call 866-LUV-GRAND or 918-786-2289. The Pelican festival is brought to you by the Grand Lake Association and its members including these fine sponsors; City of Grove, AEP Public Service of Oklahoma, Seneca-Cayuga Tribal Gaming Corp, Tempy’s Sporting Goods, Bank of Grove, Northeast Electric Cooperative, and Grand Bank.