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...

Observations...

The Eggs and Issues breakfast Friday featuring the two county commissioner candidates, sponsored by the Grove Chamber, has been cancelled due to lack of interest. Not a good sign; either everyone has made up their mind or they just don't care about county government...Downtown Grove is looking much better and the first phase of the Revitalization Project is due for completion in just a couple of weeks; the new light poles should be installed by next week, and the trees will wait until cooler weather in October, say city officials…They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Not exactly. We're tired of seeing our photos and words in print in other area newspapers. First, it's against the copyright laws, and second, it is plagiarism, the ugliest form of journalism. We don't make a dime on this blog but the newspapers doing the copying do. The next time it happens, we're going to sue in court. Our policy is that if we cannot cover the event ourselves, we don't steal stuff from other newspapers…Grove Rotarians were treated to a really bad report card on the general health of state residents by State Senator Brian Crane of Tulsa this week. After dining on a nice lunch of fried chicken, mashed taters and gravy, we were told Oklahomans smoke too much, drink too much, don’t eat right, don't exercise, have abundant heart disease, a shorter life expectancy than the rest of the country and getting shorter, and we rank 10th in suicides. So get out there and eat your five servings a day of fruit, two servings a day of vegetables, give up Chicken Fried Steak and gravy, exercise at least 20 minutes a day, quit smoking, and knock off on the suicides. We Okies need to improve our image…

Observations...

Observations…

Two names have been submitted to serve on the Airport Trust Authority Board, Tom Melton, and Berwin Kock, both pilots, to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Harry Halterman from the board, said Terry Abercrombie, Airport Manager. The Mayor will make the decision shortly…Paparazzi's Restaurant on Honey Creek is closing Sept. 4, said Carolyn Harris, owner, who has sold the three acres of property to Chuck & Victoria Perry for a condo development. Carolyn will move to Norman to join her husband, who works in OKC for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority in information technology. Gee, this is the third restaurant that has closed recently in Grove, where are we going to eat?...Grove's Planning & Zoning Board turned down 5-0 a request by Randall Fidler to rezone property at 9th & Grand from R-1 Single Family Residential to R-3 Multi-Family Residential. Several residents voiced opposition to the project to build eight apartment units on the corner, in a neighborhood of single family homes…Former City Manager Bill Galletly's appeal on his bid-splitting conviction will be heard Sept. 23 in OKC before the State Court of Criminal Appeals…

Observations...

This is the week for golfers, with the PGA of America holding its big event in Tulsa at Southern Hills. This is the cream of the crop of all golfers, who play a different game than most of us. The average golfer has no idea the work required for a club professional to get his Class A PGA Card--two years of school studying accounting, marketing, merchandising, member relations, and passing the dreaded two consecutive rounds of 79 or better; the next level up is the PGA tour professional, 156 of them who are the best in the world and spend years qualifying to play on tour.
So watch it on TV or in person in the heat in Tulsa, either way it is going to be a real treat...Harry Halterman has resigned from the Airport Trust Authority Board and a replacement is needed, apply to City Hall by Aug. 14...This week's rumors: GMSA and the city will sell the natural gas portion to a private company in the gas business, and Mark Morris will be named Police Chief...the Monkey Island Fire Department is so loaded with tax money it has purchased trucks for the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief to drive back and forth to work in...Congressman Dan Boren has recommended a public meeting with GRDA, FERC, the Corps of Engineers and the City of Miami over flooding issues caused by operation at the Pensacola Dam. Seems to us that the last flood, biggest in many years, was caused by Mother Nature and too much rain in Kansas. When Grand Lake stood at elevation 749 for several weeks the flood ceased to exist, even in the park area near Hwy 125 bridge. A system of levees should be given study instead of constantly blaming GRDA over a lake level...Grove has a new newspaper, The Grand Lake Leader, published by Tim Langley, former General Manager for four years at the Grove Sun Daily. The paper is on newstands at area stores this week, free, and will feature loads of color photos, feature stories, and the news covering all of Grand Lake...We've been having frequent power failures from REC lately, two or three a day, which require rebooting the computer, resetting the clocks on the microwave and other digital clocks, rebooting DirecTV, etc. and we are tired of it. So we placed a call to REC in beautiful Downtown Vinita to find out what the problem might be. The answer: "Cain't say." Now there's a nice retort from this investor owned utility. We asked if it was a squirrel, a snake? "Cain't say." We hope someone at REC can read this and find out why all the power surges are occurring in our neighborhood...

Observations...

Happy Birthday to Us. Yes, it has now been two whole years that The Grove Observer has provided in-depth news coverage to Grove citizens, more than 1,500 pages and 600 articles with 60,000 page views on the web, read by people who live around the world. And during this time not one issue has ever gotten wet in the driveway, wrapped fish, or put in the bottom of the bird cage. We thank our 1100 loyal readers, including the ones that disagree with our positions on various matters. Who would have thunk it. Call us crazy (many have). The Editor must be certified nuts to do this, without any pay. Bring on the man in the white jacket. Maybe the time has come to get a real job…or go quietly into the night…What's up with the slow water release from a flooded Grand Lake? Maybe they are giving us a view of what the Wolf Creek project would look like, with water at Grove's front door. Thing is, the water is ruining the city park and Rotary's 1986 pavilion project. It still beats the Cheapo Depo across the street though… Actually, the Corps is keeping the Arkansas River in check and can't add water to it from Grand, Hudson or Fort Gibson...Councilman Gary Trippensee objected to the minutes of the Airport Trust Authority Board meetings being included in the city council's packets and thus they have been stricken. This board does not like the media being in attendance and despite numerous requests The Observer does not get notified or get advance agendas. We say let the sun shine on city meetings…the taxpayers have a right to know…otherwise, take the word "trust" out of their name…We hope the new City Manager will communicate more with the citizens of Grove, adding a new page to the city's website titled "This Month's City Government News."…Latest word on finishing the utility work downtown is the first week of September. Talk about bad timing, the entire summer has been misery for downtown merchants. Hopefully it is like the pain of childbirth…it will soon go away, replaced with a revitalized downtown everyone can be proud of…

Observations...

Our friends at AT&T have raised fees again with guess who paying the most…rural and small town residents. We got hit with a 15.5% increase, effective July 1 (they announced it July 3) while the big city folks in Tulsa and Oklahoma City only got a 4.7% increase.
Reason? Lack of competition in rural Oklahoma. Isn't that special. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission two years ago said it was OK for AT&T to raise rates by $2 a year for five years, a decision which has been upheld by the State Supreme Court. The little guy loses again…Isn't it about time someone raised the possibility of building a new dam on the Neosho River above Commerce? Seems it would reduce the possibility of flooding there and in Miami. The only other dam on the Neosho is John Redmond Dam way up there in middle Kansas…Congratulations to local citizen Ben Hynam on another great July 3 fireworks and entertainment show. A full 30 minutes of fireworks was presented in front of a large crowd at the city's sports complex on 13th street. We look forward to another one in 2008...Our neighbor says he saw a large tree floating down the lake with what looked like a coffin on top, but upon further review, discovered it was a large mattress sized piece of foam. We should capitalize on all of this tree debris...capture one of them and label it the Grand Lake Monster, sort of like the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, which has made millions of dollars over the past hundred years from tourists that come to view it. We could do an entire ad campaign on the Grand Lake Monster and once in awhile, have a scuba diver make it move up and down from beneath to give it a live look. Another use for the tree debris would be to hold Tree Races, kids atop the trunk paddling across a set-up race course. Also, we can't wait for one of those go-fast loud boats to land topside of the tree destroying itself in the process. Only a certified nutcase would be out on the lake in conditions like this. Toto ain't in Kansas anymore, and neither is half their forests...

Observations...

No word yet on who will be appointed to replace County Commissioner Howard Payton, who died this week after a lengthy term of service. He served the northern portion of Delaware County including parts of Grove…The Blue Ribbon Committee will unveil its recommendations Monday at 5 p.m. before a joint meeting with City Council and GIDA. Insiders say the proposals are "excellent" but the group is nervous as to how the Council will receive them…Is this any time to own a car wash?...Did you know that in the past six years Ottawa County's population has decreased by a half percent while Delaware County has increased 8%? Building permits in 2005 totaled 39 in Ottawa County, 144 in Delaware; the median value of housing in Ottawa County was $47,200, $81,900 in Delaware. But Ottawa received $2.8 million in Federal monies while Delaware got $2.0 million…The Grove Police Department is enforcing the city's long established curfew law, with some parents complaining. Look for a statement on this issue later this week...City Council is meeting in Executive Session Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week to interview the final three candidates for the new City Manager... Please Note: There will be no issue of The Observer next week, the Editor will be on vacation.

Observations...

Crickey Mate! The Grove Sun Daily has been sold to the Australians. American Consolidation Media LLC of Dallas, which is wholly owned by Macquarie Media Group of Sydney, a huge media conglomerate, also purchased the Miami News-Record several months ago as well as the newspaper in Columbus, Kan. Jeremy Halbreich is Chairman and President of ACM and Michael Thornberry is Regional VP and Publisher of the Grove Sun Daily. We don't expect any immediate changes in the Sun Daily. The larger the turtle, the slower it moves. Nearly all Oklahoma daily newspapers are owned by media conglomerates, following a trend, with local ownership stepping aside. The Grove Sun was first published in 1889…The Grove Health Care Trust Authority met for about 30 minutes this week to discuss Ordinance 518 pertaining to hospitals and ambulatory surgical care facilities, and agreed to meet again at 1 p.m. Friday, July 6, with renderings, plans, financial information for the planned new Grove Integris Hospital, which will cost about $58 million. The hospital group seeks $1 million from the City of Grove as a statement of interest from the city…An interesting item showed up in City Attorney Ron Cates' monthly billing statement to the city. "Teleconference with Debbie Maviety regarding article in Newspaper on suspended office, regarding City Council members comments made extemporaneously regarding Personnel Issues, Review City Code and State Statutes." State Statutes prohibit city council members from ordering or giving instructions to any city employee other than the City Manager and City Treasurer…Now that the storefronts are exposed following removal of the Bradford Pear trees, we wonder what the net effect of the new Downtown Revitalization Project and Streetscape work will be, considering the awful look of some of the storefronts, which are empty buildings long neglected…

Observations...the new Casino

A new $68 million casino may be coming to Grove but protesters have been out on Highway 59 urging the Seneca-Cayuga tribe to take it elsewhere, not within the Grove city limits. The protesters say the casino will bring on increased prostitution and crime.
So we went to Miami up thar in Ottawa County, home to no less than 11 casinos of various Indian tribes, some within blocks of each other, to test the local climate. We talked to the 'man on the street' and local businessmen to see if their county had encountered such evils spilled over from casinos.

Well, no, they hadn't noticed any increased prostitution. They said it was difficult to sell what was being given away free and no, crime had not increased either. They stated that the casinos had been good for local employment, except for the fast food businesses, which pay minimum wage. A blackjack dealer can make $20 an hour just dealing cards and smiling. A burger flipper makes far less and doesn't smile. The mushroom farm was also hurt, they said. Too bad they aren't smokable.

But overall they had no problems with the casinos and felt they were good for the city. One mentioned that several people had lost their homes since they couldn't pay the mortgage after investing heavily in casino business.

There does not seem to be any variance in the number of criminal charges filed, between Ottawa and Delaware counties. On our last trip out of town, we did notice a druggie shooting up just outside Grove, right on highway 59 near the cable company tower.

Frankly, we are neutral on a new casino, except for the new restaurants it might bring, and eventually a convention center. We would look forward to eating a good steak without having to travel to Monkey Island or Miami. But we can't stand the smoke in the casino itself so we don't go there. The smokers may have the right idea…they will die of lung cancer before they lose all their money.

Observations...

Regarding Grove's new casino to be built on Highway 59 next to the Stonebrook Inn, we've heard that this will be the nation's first "Winners Only" casino. This means that everyone who enters the building, wins, there are no losers. Everyone is guaranteed to win at least $1.00 and lose nothing.
People will be lined up at the doors, even lined up to get across Sailboat Bridge. They will spend their winnings in Grove, of course, flooding city coffers with so much money the city won't be able to spend it. A new swimming pool, civic center, curbs and gutters on every street, new water and wastewater treatment plants, every street laid with new asphalt, new store fronts on every downtown building, a completed Wolf Creek project and even a new steakhouse with great food and service with fine wine. And on top of this, every adult in Grove will receive a brand new car and have their mortgage paid for and everyone will be happy with no divorces and no child abuse and even the crime problem will go away because people will be able to buy drugs instead of stealing money for them. Money will flow through the streets like water.

Imagine.

Oh, sorry, we were just having a nice dream and then we woke up.

But like they say, we can dream can't we?

Observations...

Three new appointees have been made to the Grove Health Care Authority by Grove Mayor Gary Bishop, confirmed at a special Council meeting this week.
They are Rick Miller, local dentist; Randy Hamil, Pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Grove; and Dr. Renee Russell, local physician. Previous appointees to the board include Councilmen Terry Ryan and Gary Trippensee.
Three others were removed from consideration after being appointed, since they did not live in the Grove city limits.
Primary purpose of the trust authority, first created in 1999, will be to assist in the local financial contribution to the new Grove Integris Hospital, which hopes to raise $3 million in city contributions prior to start of construction. The new hospital will cost about $58 million and will be built on 18th street at Shundi...Remember that postage rates go up Monday to 41 cents a letter, so be prepared for longer lines at the Post Office to purchase those two centers to add to your 39 centers...Water continues to pour into Grand Lake from the Neosho River. At Commerce, it is four feet above flood stage as of Thursday afternoon; coming in at 34,112 cfs at Miami. Lake level Thursday afternoon was 746.61 and rising, with 10 floodgates open and full generation, releasing 30,000 cfs...At Miami, the Neosho River was five feet above flood stage Friday morning, with SH 125 closed...

Observations...

An underground leak in a downtown water main was discovered last week and city workers compute that it would come to about 10.5 million gallons of lost water per year. City workers Jack Bower and John Fasano were congratulated at Council meeting Tuesday night by Larry Parham, for repairing the leak late Friday evening after hours. No estimate as to how long the leak had been in existence…The Mayor of Tulsa is not a golfer. She wants to close 27 holes of city golf to save a nickel on a $561 million annual budget…Did you catch the winning quarter design for the State of Oklahoma? We think the voting was somehow rigged. Four different quarter designs received from 15-19,000 each, while the winning quarter of the scissortail bird received more than 76,000 votes. Oklahomans would never agree on anything by such a resounding majority so we think a computer voting system was somehow used…It hasn't been a month since the last city election and its campaign promises, but they've already gone by the board. Named to the Health Care Trust Authority by the city council Tuesday night were two councilmen (remember the campaign promises to appoint only ONE to a board); two campaign supporters of GrovePAC, and only one physician. But Oops! On Wednesday Mayor Bishop was enlightened that three of the appointees do not live inside the city limits and are thus ineligible for appointment, so Council will hold another special meeting Monday at 4:30 p.m. to rescind their appointments and make new ones...That makes three council meetings in a week's time...Mayor Gary Bishop seems to have easily slipped into his mayoral role and handles Council meetings quite nicely. He is as quick to gavel as he is to find a Bible verse, and shut down what could have turned ugly at the last council meeting, on remarks made by Seneca-Cayuga Chief Paul Spicer...Latest update from ODOT on the Highway 59 widening project: Contracts for the $9.6 million project to be let in January with actual construction work to start in Spring '08, asphalt surface, five lanes, curbs and gutters. Will take about 18 months to complete...The new policy on uniformed police officers at city council and trust authority meeting is this: No uniformed police inside the meeting room; uniformed police are to be "in close proximity" outside the room. Wonder what will happen when a Grove city police officer is named Employee of the Month. The new policy came down from Acting City Manager Debbie Mavity last week, at the request of the new council members. Does a uniform make some on the council nervous?
The newspaper headline says "March Sales Tax takes a Dip in Grove...Delaware County Shows Overall Increase." Fact Check: The period was Jan. 16-Feb. 15, not March, and what happened during this period? The biggest ice storm in many years. And in Delaware County sales tax collections were down by $7,516, not up...