Silver Lake Road Extension Eminent Domain Vote on Monday — Why? — Because We Can, But Should We?

Thanks to Sharon Hurst for the heads up on this, I plan to let my city councilman know my thoughts on the matter.  Hope you will do the same.  Here is Sharon’s email to me just received:

On Monday, the City Council will vote to exercise its power of eminent domain and take property from Evans Nursery in order to construct the Silver Lake Road extension.  I don’t know about you, but I find it extremely disturbing to see our city government using power to seize private property.   This is the kind of thing they do in Connecticut or California… not in Oklahoma!  Yes, we know there may be some rare instances when eminent domain is absolutely necessary.  But is this road really such a necessity that it requires the City take property from people who don’t want to sell?  I think any of us would be hard pressed to say it is.  Especially when we remember this has nothing to do with diversion of traffic and everything to do with easier access to Robinwood Soccer Fields.  Don’t forget — this Silver Lake Road extension was originally part of the 2007 Park Proposal.  I’m also curious… is it legal for the City to exercise its power of eminent domain over property outside the City limits?  Two parcels of land fall in Washington County – not within the City (or at least that’s the legal description from the Resolution in the City Council packet).

 

Let’s hope these City Council members, who have professed themselves to be such avid private property rights advocates, hold to their principles when it comes time to vote on Monday.  Why not send them an email or call them, and let them know what you think?  Or better still, come Monday night at 7pm and tell them in person.

 

Tom Gorman, tagorman@aol.com, 918-333-2244 ext.100

Ted Lockin, ted.d.lockin@gmail.com, 918-333-6692

Mike McGrew, mikeslock@sbcglobal.net, 918-440-2715

Dale Copeland, copeland4bville@aol.com, 918-333-4488

Erin Tullos, eetullos@gmail.com, 918-213-4240  [However, I believe Erin is on extended maternity leave and no longer attending Council meetings. Is this true?]

Sharon M Hurst

=========================================================

 

The excerpt from the E-E article is reproduced below.

 

City plans to condemn property

By Jessica Miller

jmiller@examiner-enterprise.com

Steps to condemn property in the path of the Silver Lake Road extension are expected to be taken by the Bartlesville City Council during a 7 p.m. meeting Monday.

According to a resolution that the council will consider during the meeting, employees and agents of the City of Bartlesville have been unable to acquire certain tracts of land necessary for the construction of the roadway extension — between Frank Phillips Boulevard and Tuxedo Boulevard.

City of Bartlesville Director of Engineering Terry Lauritsen said Friday that the land to be considered for condemnation is located on the very north end of where Beck Drive ties into Tuxedo Boulevard. He said the city is looking to square up where the road ties into Tuxedo to make it more perpendicular to Tuxedo.

If approved, the resolution states that because the land cannot be acquired by negotiation or purchased at Fair Market Value, the city attorney is authorized and directed to institute necessary legal proceedings to acquire the rights, title and interest to the land “by the exercise of the power of eminent domain and to take such further action as may be convenient or necessary to acquire the identified property interest.”

The resolution also states that an emergency will be declared to preserve the public peace, health and safety “by reason of which this resolution shall be in full force and effective immediately from and after its adoption by the council and approval by the mayor.”

 

Related article from 2010 here >>>

Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

OKGrassroots

Preliminary Returns Indicate that Fiscal Sanity has Reigned In Bartlesville BISD Spending — For Now!

Fiscal sanity reigns in Bartlesville — both bonds failed to achieve 60% margin to ‘pass’; there is still much work to be done to get our house in order so that all levels of government learn to live within their means. The school board needs to make some operational changes and listen to the people or they will need to be replaced in the days ahead.

Detail returns available here: Bartlesville voters say ‘no’ to school bond propositions | Examiner Enterprise, Bartlesville

Bartlesville voters say ‘no’ to school bond propositions

By Abigail Singrey

asingrey@examiner-enterprise.com

The community rejected both Bartlesville Public School District bond propositions, while Copan’s proposition passed with overwhelming community support.

Voters told the Bartlesville Public School District to go back to the drawing board on its plan to build a new sixth and seventh grade center and reconfigure the grades at the secondary levels.

According to unofficial election results, only 49.54 — 2,531 people — percent voted for the $48 million proposition, while 50.46 percent — 2,578 people — voted against the proposal.

School bond proposals require a 60 percent majority to pass.

The community also voted down a proposition that would have allowed the district to spend $1.5 million on transportation, including new buses. Over half of the voters — 54.36 percent — voted for the proposition, but it still fell shy of the 60 percent approval rate needed to pass it.

.

Thank you to an ever vigilant Bartlesville Community and Grassroots Bartlesville for keeping the facts in front of the people.  It will require much work to force all levels of government to make cuts and shrink the size and scope of government so that the private sector can thrive and grow.

I also recommend two specific changes which would dramatically improve the process:

1)  Support and pass the legislation being recommended by Rep Josh Cockroft to force this type of elections be voted on when other matters are already scheduled and on the ballot.  We should follow Rep Josh Cockroft’s recommendation that we combine these types of school bond elections with other more major elections so that they come under more scrutiny from more voters.  We could also avoid the expense of a ‘special’ election attended by low voter awareness and turnout. If everyone is going to end up paying more in taxes, then let’s make sureeveryone gets an opportunity to vote at a time when they normally do so on other matters.  Rep. Josh Cockroft of McCloud says he believes changing the date of the elections would increase voter participation. Cockroft says if schools are to improve, the entire community should be involved in their futures.  Currently, school board elections are held on the second Tuesday in February or on the date of the presidential primary.

More about this legislative recommendation were here >>> (this link is no longer active)

New link with bill numbers here >>>

2)  Enable/require public utilities in the area to provide public service release(s) of ballot wording well in advance of ALL elections.  No taxing entity should be able to even attempt to pass tax increases with only certain segments of the tax base being made aware of the changes impacting everyone in the area.  Openness and transparency in government is needed at all levels.

Related articles:

Vote Reminder: Just say NO on BISD bond election on Tuesday February 14th and save taxpayers a cool $50 Million! « Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Washington County: Let’s Say No to Proposed School Bond on Feb 14th and Send Board Back to the Drawing Boards « Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Cross-posted with OKGrassroots

Getting Ready for our Precinct Meetings! Here is the Oklahoma Republican Party Platform and Rules for Easy Reference

Washington County Precinct Meeting February 7 at 7 PM

The Washington County Republican Party will hold a precinct meeting Tuesday, February 7, 7 p.m. at Arvest Bank, East Side Branch, 4225 SE Adams Rd. The purpose of this meeting is to elect delegates to the county convention and to develop the county platform.

All registered Republicans are invited to attend and participate with other members of your precinct!

If you live in another county, check with your county leaders for details on your local meetings.

Note: Most precinct meetings occur the week of February 6th around the state in Oklahoma.

 A list of GOP County Chairmen is located here >>

Oklahoma GOP website (you can sign up for email online)

From the About page on Oklahoma GOP website:

History: Since 1906, the Oklahoma Republican Party has been working to make Oklahoma a better place for families and businesses to prosper. The OKGOP represents the values of most Oklahomans. We are the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal empowerment, and individual responsibility.

The Republican Party has grown to become a powerful force in Oklahoma today. During the 2008 election cycle, the McCain-Palin ticket won 65.4% of the vote in OK, the highest percentage in the nation, thereby giving Oklahoma the title of “Reddest State in the Country.” In 2010, the OKGOP had the most successful election cycle for Oklahoma Republicans in state history- sweeping all eight statewide races, including Governor, and expanding majorities in both the state house and senate.

As Ronald Reagan put it, “A political party is a mechanical structure created to further a cause. The cause, not the mechanism, brings and holds the members together. I believe the Republican Party can hold and should provide the political mechanism through which the goals of the majority of Americans can be achieved.”

Statement of Principles:

We believe in limited government, individual liberty, and personal moral responsibility.

We believe Oklahoma should be a place of opportunity where people who work hard and abide by the rules can pursue their own dreams with a reasonable expectation of success.

As Republicans we believe:

1. Our rights of life, liberty, and property are natural rights granted to us by God and protected by the Constitution.
2. In the right to worship as we please without government intrusion or interference.
3. The federal government’s power is constitutionally limited, yet responsible for protecting our sovereignty, establishing justice under law, and securing our liberty through a strong national defense and effective law enforcement.
4. God is the Author and Creator of life and that all human life, both born and unborn, should be protected.
5. In traditional marriage consisting of one man and one woman.
6. It is the private sector and free market principles that best stimulate economic development rather than government subsidies or programs.
7. Taxes collected at all levels of government should be used only for legitimate government functions, and those functions carried out efficiently so that tax rates may be kept as low as possible.
8. That government closest to the people governs best and is preferred to centralized control.
9. It is the right of every parent to act in his or her children’s best interest including choosing the form of education, whether public school, private school, or home school.
10. We should welcome immigrants who want to legally seek freedom and opportunity, who want to work for a living and who will embrace our values, learn the English language, and respect our national sovereignty.

Click here to read the OKGOP platform

GOP Platform as adopted 050711

Click here for the OKGOP Rules

GOP Rules (as amended August 27, 2011)

Scribd documents uploaded and shared in several collections online for easy access; always verify with OKGOP website for the most updated information!

 

View this document on Scribd

link to downloadable document for the rules if Scribd fails to embed properly in your browser: http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/80346891?access_key=key-1115ivhg9i6rtqc357sy

link to downloadable document for the platform on Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/80348792?access_key=key-25gowhfya9ws73connff

Additional links added for reference (02/06/12):

OKGrassroots Resolutions Recommendations for 2012 (one is specific for Washington County)

View this document on Scribd

link to downloadable document for the rules if Scribd fails to embed properly in your browser: http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/80466080?access_key=key-1rjxu66qstr89x2r0rtc

OKGrassroots Collection of Documents on Scribd (more great information and prior year resolutions recommendations also)

Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Cross-posted with OKGrassroots

Washington County: Let’s Say No to Proposed School Bond on Feb 14th and Send Board Back to the Drawing Boards

A resolution authorizing an election for Bartlesville Independent School District was passed on December 8, 2011. It set an election date for said propositions for February 14, 2012. Here is a copy of that resolution:

View this document on Scribd

In case the embed code above doesn’t work in your browser here is a link >>>Link to Resolution on Scribd

I am of the opinion that we need to just say no to this entire bonded indebtedness authorizing lots more money to be spent in a time where we should be trimming fat and living within our means. It is not the time to be spending more of the taxpayers hard earned money rather than simply using existing resources. I agree with Angel Box in her comments below that we need to send the board ‘back to the drawing boards.’ Please read her comments, write a letter of your own, and be ready to just say no at the polls on Feb 14th.

I also recommend that we follow Rep Josh Cockroft’s recommendation that we combine these types of school bond elections with other more major elections so that they come under more scrutiny from more voters.  We could also avoid the expense of a ‘special’ election attended by low voter awareness and turnout. If everyone is going to end up paying more in taxes, then let’s make sure everyone gets an opportunity to vote at a time when they normally do so on other matters.

Rep. Josh Cockroft of McCloud says he believes changing the date of the elections would increase voter participation. Cockroft says if schools are to improve, the entire community should be involved in their futures.

Currently, school board elections are held on the second Tuesday in February or on the date of the presidential primary.

Quote source and more about this legislative recommendation here >>>

We need to tell the school board over and over again to get budgets in order and quit asking for more money in a time where most of us are reducing expenditures and cutting back!  It doesn’t take more money to educate children.  It requires better management of existing resources.

Please consider writing your own letter and visiting with friends and neighbors about this important issue.  We just spent a bunch of money on an unnecessary roundabout.  Let’s make sure all options to reduce costs in a declining economy are being considered and our families are not being saddled with debt levels that are unsustainable.  It just makes good common sense.  That is the way my household functions and I am sure yours does to.  I am reducing costs at present, not increasing them!

__________________________

Send them back to the drawing boards on Feb 14^th

Every fifteen or twenty years our school board comes up with a bond that needs to be voted down. This is one of those years! There are a few good ideas in the bond, like replacing the portables at Kane, but many more bad ones.

Why we should vote ‘no’ on February 14th

*  the grade configuration. Two of the massive changes in configuration are not in the best interests of the students

* the future. Building a new larger school at the Madison location will lock us in to this problematic configuration (see below).

Bad ideas in the bond

*  closing Central to students – and spending $2.5 million to retrofit Central for administration.

*  consolidating  all the 6^th and 7^th graders in a new larger building at the Madison location

*  consolidating  all  8^th and 9^th graders at the Mid High building

Why these are bad ideas:

The Mid High (the current 9^th and 10^th grade center) has never worked well because there are too many students – nearly a thousand – of similar ages in one place. This bond gets rid of that arrangement but replaces it with two more! A 6^th and 7^th grade center and a 8^th and 9^th grade center. We’ll be doubling the “Mid High effect”.

We lament that our children grow up too fast and yet we keep pushing them.  First they took the 6^th graders out of their small neighborhood schools and sent them to the larger middle schools. Now they want to send the 6^th graders to an even larger school which, for half of them, is much farther from their homes (increasing busing distances and costs).  Studies show that the younger the child, the better he or she does in smaller schools closer to home. This is especially true of the disadvantaged. A parent from the west side said once “our kids do fine through Central but we lose them when they are sent over to the mid high.”  …and these were 9th graders.

Less expensive options that get rid of the problematic Mid High configuration:

*  use Madison as a 9^th grade center for the time being. We would have a more manageable number of students (half) coming together for the first time from both sides of town. We could tear down Madison and build a new smaller 9^th grade center there in the future unless we decide to build the 9^th grade center at the High School campus. There is room there.

*  move the Madison students into the Mid High building

*  move  the 10^th  grade into a new wing at high school location. (this is a plan conceived by Marta Manning twenty years ago)

*  move administration to the Mid High building – plenty of room there

The Board can come back with a better bond within months.

For now……send them back to the drawing boards!

Special thanks to Angela Box for her thoughts above on the upcoming ‘Annual School Election’ set for February 14th.

__________________________

For more information on School Bond and Tax Elections in Oklahoma.

Information on Annual School Election from State Election Board:

Annual School Election	February 14, 2012
Annual School Runoff Election	April 3, 2012

Board of Education Filing Packet
Contains the required Declaration of Candidacy form, filing instructions and more
Proof of Identity for Voting
Facts about the law, acceptable forms of identification

Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Cross-posted with OKGrassroots

OK-SAFE Says Repent and Stop Health Care Reform Legislation and Tells Reps Why!

Amanda Teegarden from OK-SAFE to

____________________________________________________

Joint Legislative Committee

on 11-03-11

Health Care Reform –

IT, Security, Privacy Issues/Concerns

In the beginning of the presentation, Amanda made the critical point,

“He did not give man dominion over man….”

The powerpoint presentation is available on scribd for reference and for sharing in it’s entirety. There is a link below and then ideally the presentation should be embedded here. If not refresh your screen and if it is still not showing as embedded, click on the link to see the power point presentation via scribd’s website.

OK-SAFE, Inc. PPT – Joint Committee on Health Care Reform Law 11-03-11

View this document on Scribd

The research will show you what has been done in legislation to bring us to this point. It also documents the many policy concerns with this level of information sharing and why we should not be permitting it to be done nor being asked to pay for it and ‘forced’ to implement it in our states. Study the presentation and talk to your friends about it. We must be able to tell people why we do not want to share our data and why it should not be being collected and retained. We must understand that if collected it will be shared with/without your ‘permission’ because ‘they’ can. Once shared, there is no way to put the genie back in the bottle. What will happen to your identity if you no longer ‘own’ it?

In closing, Amanda gives the joint committee seven recommendations which we hope will be heeded by ALL of our elected officials and representatives who are charged with the public trust in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

1.Repent – not kidding here
2.Do not establish a state-based Health Insurance exchange – it will be the same as the Federal government’s version
3.Allow people to escape HIT/HIE system without penalty; do not penalize providers who opt not to adopt EHRs or participate in this system
4.Repeal state laws that prohibit individuals from seeking alternative health care services, i.e. homeopathic medicines or non-traditional treatments
5.Terminate the Oklahoma Health Information Exchange Trust
6.Audit the Oklahoma Health Care Authority – expenses outweigh benefits
7.Adhere to the OK Constitution – work to restore liberty

VIEW OK-SAFE’S PRESENTATION HERE

Go to www.okhealthcare.info for information on this and past joint committee meetings.

Visit OK-Safe website for more information. Become a member today to stay informed and help keep this group’s influence growing and keep yourself and your friends informed by signing up for the newsletters and alerts on the website.

For a Nebraska perspective on Health Care Reform from Shelli Dawdy of Grassroots in Nebraska see  10 Untold Truths About Health Care Law State Officials Hope You Miss.

Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for OKGrassroots and R3publicans

Nov 4, 2011

Tonight on AxXiom For Liberty Live with Kaye Beach and Howard Houchen-

PRIVACY OR PANOPTICON?

Listening info

Special Guest:

Amanda Teegarden, Executive Director of OK-SAFE will present to us the same information she revealed to lawmakers on Thursday at a joint committee hearing on the federal health care reform about what will happen to our personal health information under the federal health care reform law.

Do Not Connect the Dots USA via GiN: Keystone XL Pipeline will Increase Gas Prices!

TransCanada Trojan Horse: Keystone XL Pipeline Will Increase Gas Prices

Grassroots in Nebraska via Shelli Dawdy

As we’ve noted here, more than once, our primary interest in the Keystone XL pipeline project was the conduct of Nebraska’s elected officials at both the state and federal levels, and serious concerns about property rights. We did not have an overall position on the project and we did not recommend any particular action. Our simple purpose was to expose, as widely as possible, the truth according to all of the information that we had available so that Nebraskans would learn who is representing them (or not) in office.It was our analysis that Nebraskans’ primary concern is the property rights issue; people are particularly repulsed that a private foreign company has the power under our state laws to invoke eminent domain.

We did not call for a special session of the State Legislature because:

• Too many legislators who had previous opportunity to act chose not to; they were either deliberately obtuse, at best, or actively worked to bury information about the State of Nebraska’s ability to exert its sovereignty.

• The eminent domain problems within Nebraska’s statutes have not been mentioned by any legislators expressing concern, or by the Governor, so it was unlikely to be dealt with by them during the special session.

• We were concerned that legislators would create or expand a state commission with appointed or hired members not accountable to the people of Nebraska, which would result in yet another morass of bureaucracy. In addition to poor stewardship of taxpayers’ money, elected officials would be provided “political cover”. Ultimately, we feared, it would prove ineffective now and in future.

Nebraska’s officials have already placed the State in an intractable position…

• No action meant no fix for the property rights problem, no exertion of state sovereignty, inadequate reimbursement to counties for expenses caused by project, etc., and continued concerns about the pipeline’s placement through Holt County, which arguably, is a point of vulnerability along the route.

• Action as proposed still meant no protection for property owners, high potential for running afoul of the Constitution (ex post facto¹.  and “special legislation”²), and delays resulting in a costly lawsuit filed by TransCanada (bad faith³) and now, reportedly, potential lawsuits filed by other states in the line of the project.

Prior to this past weekend, at most, we would’ve recommended concerned Nebraskans focus on a “Hail Mary” effort to impact the eminent domain problem during the special session of the Unicameral. But, in researching some questions associated with this, we discovered some very disturbing information. It’s been difficult to absorb.

Our research is ongoing – what we know so far leads us to the following conclusions:

The TransCanada Keystone Xl pipeline project will result in increased gas and diesel prices in 15 Midwestern States – to the detriment of those states’ citizens and economies.

The project, led by TransCanada, was apparently designed by a cartel-like group of interests, essentially, as a market price manipulation tool.

TransCanada’s own documents confirm the purpose of the project; a 2009 permit application submitted to the Canadian National Energy Board lays out the facts. In addition, a group researching questions regarding TransCanada’s claims of “job creation”, allege the company made similar statements in shareholder presentations; but we have not had time to confirm as of this writing.

The permit application document includes the following points⁴

• Bitumen projects (tar sands oil) are cheaper to develop than synthetic crude

• New export markets are needed to handle increased heavy crude output

• Keystone XL Pipeline provides a line for getting heavy crude to new markets now – option to move synthetic crude in future

• PADD III (see map, below) is the largest untapped market for western Canadian crude oil producers

• The U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC), within the PADD III region is the stated target market for the Keystone XL Pipeline

• TransCanada has binding long term contracts with shippers in the USGC which are not fully available for public viewing

• The fifteen state Midwest region, PADD II, is oversupplied with Canadian heavy crude and currently receiving “a discount” (translation: selling for a lower price)

• Keystone XL will “strengthen” (translation: increase) prices for Canadian producers by removing oversupply

• Keystone XL provides additional benefit for transport out of any synthetic crude oversupply in Midwest (PADD II) “to mitigate a price discount” (translation: avoid price reductions)

• All Canadian producers should benefit from resulting price increases (estimated at $2 – $3.9 billion)

Market analyst Philip Verleger projected a $.10 – $.20 increase in cost per gallon as a result of the project, in his editorial entitled, “If gas prices go up further, blame Canada“, in the March 13, 2011, edition of theStarTribune.

Energy Information Administration U.S. Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD)

We do not claim to be the first group to point out the purpose of this pipeline, but it’s clear that the most important aspect of this issue has gotten completely lost or was never considered. Our research shows that several national news outlets and a U.S. Senator have attempted to draw attention to the market manipulation issue. See Footnote⁵ for a couple of examples.

Several groups in Nebraska have included, at one time or another, passing references to the fact that the pipeline will increase gas prices, but we have only seen it included in a general list of concerns, and it is always overwhelmed by a long list of environmental rhetoric.

One story on the subject did appear in the Lincoln Journal Star in February of this year, but for no explicable reason, this information has not appeared in any of the recent articles or editorials we’ve seen. Since the entire project is predicated on the concept of “national interest”, any coherent analysis of the subject would necessarily include concerns about negative impact.

The pipeline project undermines America’s sovereignty, erodes energy security, and decreases the likelihood we will tap our own oil.

Read the rest of the article on Grassroots in Nebraska here >>>

Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Cross Posted OKGrassroots