By Conrad Dudderar, Staff Writer
EL RENO – Canadian County is no longer under a burn ban – at least for one week.
Canadian County Commissioners agreed at their weekly meeting Feb. 28 to take no action on a new burn ban resolution.
Outdoor burning had been prohibited in Canadian County for most of the last two months due to an extreme fire danger caused by extended dry, windy conditions.
However, county commissioners determined the moisture created by recent snowfall was sufficient to end a previous one-week burn ban at 9 a.m. Monday.
“Yukon has weighed in on the side of letting the burn ban expire,” Canadian County Commission Chairman Dave Anderson said.
Canadian County’s fire chiefs provided input, with those in rural areas favoring keeping the ban in place.
“One more ‘metro’ department said they are in favor of lifting the burn ban,” Canadian County Emergency Management Director Andrew Skidmore told commissioners. “They have (burn) permits waiting.”
District 3 County Commissioner Jack Stewart said he “agreed with Yukon” that the burn ban should end for this week – but it will be reconsidered next week.
“Keep it on the agenda and we can look at it on a week-by-week basis, depending on what the weather does with the high temperatures, the winds and things like that,” Stewart said.
Chairman Anderson said he’d follow Stewart’s suggestion, declaring no action would be taken on the Feb. 28th burn ban agenda item.
ELEVATOR UPGRADE
The elevator at the Canadian County Judicial Building, 301 N Choctaw, will be getting a long-awaited upgrade.
County commissioners on Feb. 28 approved paying $8,347.03 to Otis Elevator
Service for a service and repair order.
Funds will be used to install new sensors to make sure the doors open and close properly – so nobody is trapped inside the elevator.
The existing door sensors are “five generations behind,” Commissioner Stewart noted.
“It’s time to update it,” Stewart said.
THIS AND THAT …
In other business at their weekly meeting, county commissioners approved:
• Transferring a 2006 Ford Explorer from the county commissioners to the Canadian County Expo & Event Center. Commissioners decided to keep the former Canadian County Emergency Management command vehicle instead of selling it in an auction.
• Seeking bids for a CMS-1PC scrub seal in District 3 to use with a newly acquired distributor truck to repair cracks in asphalt pavement. This treatment will be a “perfect fit” for some District 3 roads, Commissioner Stewart said.
• Renting a Bomag RS360 soil stabilizer from the Van Keppel Co. for District 3 to prep roads for summer “chip seal” work. Cost will be $13,500 monthly starting March 7.
• Declaring 25 two-way radios as surplus in District 2. The equipment will be sold at auction.
• An agreement between the Family Safety Center and the Canadian County Children’s Justice Center for up to 48 youth to attend this July’s Camp Hope America – Oklahoma 2022.
