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n Vol. 122 n Issue 064 n

n 2 Sections n

Covering Rogers County for the past 122 years

75

www.claremoreprogress.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

Executive session questioned

County Commissioners may have violated Open Meeting Act
By SALESHA WILKEN

AP
2013

GENERALEXCELLENCE
ASSOCIATEDPRESS
NEWSEXECUTIVES

swilken@claremoreprogress.com

The
Rogers
County
Commissioners may have violated the
Oklahoma Open Meeting Act
Monday by meeting in executive session to discuss camera monitoring.
The session, which was listed on
the agenda, did not properly identify
the purpose of the discussion, according to Dr. Joey Senat, OSU Professor
of
Media
and
Strategic
Communications.
The agenda item does not comply

with the Open Meeting Act, Senat

said. All this agenda does is repeat
the statutory authorization. It doesn't
identify the actual item of business.
The agenda language was taken
from an exception added for executive
sessions regarding acts of terrorism,
according to Senat.
When asked if the session
involved an act of terrorism and the
purpose of the session, the board did
not respond, but instead relied on their
attorney to address the question.
The purpose is stated on the agenda, Iski said. I disagree with your

characterizationthat it was listed

under the portion of the act that deals
with terrorism.
The commissioners cannot discuss
what was discussed in executive session, according to Iski.
The private meeting lasted approximately one hour.
The agenda item should have contained sufficient information for the
public to identify the items of business and the purpose, according to
Senat.
Oklahoma courts, as well as
Attorney General Scott Pruitt and for-

mer Attorney General Drew

Edmondson, have issued written opinions addressing this type of issue.
Agendas should be worded in
plain language, directly stating the
purpose of the meeting, in order to
give the public actual notice.
The language used should be simple, direct and comprehensible to a
person of ordinary education and
intelligence, according to the
Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals
1981 decision involving a Haworth
See COMMISSIONERS page 3A

Church fire claims life of unidentified man in Foyil

By MARK FRIEDEL
mfriedel@claremoreprogress.com

A Walk Among
the Tombstones
See Page 7A

Hatcher sparks
Hogs
See Page 1B

A local man is dead following a fire Saturday

night at an old Baptist church in Foyil, located near
the intersection of East Third Street and South
Maple Avenue.
Fire crews received the call around 8 p.m.
Saturday and remained on scene until just before 3
a.m. Sunday, said Foyil Fire Chief Randy Atchley.
The structure was fully engulfed when we
arrived at the location, he said.
Atchley said the church has been privately
owned for years, and had been converted to storage.
Attached to the church was an apartment where a
65-year-old man was living at the time of the fire.
After gaining access into the building, firefighters discovered the man dead in a hallway. He was
the only person inside.
It took some time to get the electricity turned
off and there were appliances being stored inside
that were burning uncontrollably, said Atchley.
We did everything we could. It was a difficult fire
to extinguish.
Chelsea Fire assisted with operations and
PROGRESS PHOTO/Mark Friedel
Pafford Emergency Medical Services was also on
scene.
The fire completely destroyed the former Foyil Baptist church, killing a 65-year-old man who
Atchley said two firefighters were transported to was living in an attached apartment.
the hospital one stabilized for chest pains, later
determined to be from smoke inhalation, and the
The state fire marshal is currently investigating yet confirmed where in the building the fire started.
other for dehydration.
the cause of the fire. Atchley said officials have not No information on the victim has been released.

Autumn arrives

State Capitol lobbyist Bart

McSpadden dead at 46
By MARK FRIEDEL
mfriedel@claremoreprogress.com

Lady Zebras to
host Catoosa

Oklahoma State Capitol lobbyist

Bart McSpadden was discovered having apparently drowned in a hot tub
Friday morning at his home in
Edmond.
Jenny Monroe, public relations
officer for Edmond Police, said
McSpaddens wife called the police
department after she found her husband dead in the hot tub.
We are investigating the situation
as a drowning, and have no reason to
believe there was foul play, said
Monroe. At this point, were waiting
on results from the state medical
examiner and then determine where

See Page 3B

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

The difference between
the possible and the
impossible lies in a
person's determination.
~ Tommy Lasorda
GOOD AFTERNOON
PATRICIA DOYLE
Thank you for subscribing
to the Claremore Daily
Progress!

INSIDE

to go from there.
She said family members indicated that McSpadden went out to the
pool around 2:30 a.m.
McSpadden, 46, of Chelsea, is the
son of Donna McSpadden and the late
rodeo announcer and longtime legislator Clem McSpadden. Bart
McSpadden followed his lifelong
passion for politics, having served as
a lobbyist at the state Capitol.
He struggled with the decision to
go to work with his dad at the state
Capitol, but later told me those years
spent working with him were the best
years of his life, said Herb
McSpadden, Summit Physical
Therapy administrator and first

See MCSPADDEN page 3A

Warranty issues addressed on

Monday by county commissioner

Classifieds................................5B-6B
Comics.......................................4B
Business....................................5A
Obituaries...................................2A
O p i n i o n .................................4 A
Sports..................................................1B-3B

By SALESHA WILKEN
swilken@claremoreprogress.com

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PROGRESS PHOTO/ Salesha Wilken

Fall is almost upon Rogers County and local farm Shepherds

Cross is preparing the pumpkin patch. During the month of
October, Shepherds Cross hosts its annual Pumpkin Festival.

Questions surrounding the completion of warranty repairs prompted

action by the Rogers County
Commissioners Monday. The commissioners questioned Kim Reeves,
architect for BKL, about repairs needed to fulfill the contract.
Reeves, along with a team from
Flintco Construction, worked with a
panel of county officials on the construction of the new courthouse, E911
center and Emergency Operations
Center located in the jail.
Commissioner Mike Helm has led
the effort to get repairs completed

through the warranty agreement.

The board tabled the $285 payment to BKL a week ago in an effort
to resolve the issue.
What I am looking for is the
leverage to see how the issues are
going to get taken care of, Helm
said. How do we get Flintco to
satisfy the warranty issues?
I am happy to help, Reeves said.
He explained the leverage the
county would have is based on providing a referral for the companies.
You hired Flintco and BKL based
on our reputation, Reeves said.
Reeves has reviewed emails
between the county and Flintco.

See ISSUES page 3A