911 funding is an issue that won’t go away. I was invited to Leflore County's 911 Commission meeting and listened to the rural fire departments' concerns about how the charges for this service were distributed in Leflore County. Oklahoma State 911 Coordinator Lance Terry also attended and had some frank discussions about how these charges were distributed. My House Bill 1950, which went into effect last November, will help alleviate a small portion of this problem. I always will support our local emergency services and rural fire departments.
The Oklahoma Senate is hosting an interim study this week on the value of bringing back the prison rodeo to McAlester. This should help bring awareness to the importance of this time-honored tradition to Southeast Oklahoma. I thought my House Bill 3749 would resolve this issue last session, however, it stalled in the final budget negotiations. I always will believe that what’s good for Southeast Oklahoma is good for all Oklahoma.
The Highway 63 project near Pittsburg seems to finally have been completed. This definitely is a plus on the road that I consider to have been the absolute worst road in our state highway system. The Highway 69 project has some more delays as they await a replacement stoplight pole that was damaged in a recent accident. Hopefully, it will be finished soon.
I had the chance to visit Patriot Hill Ranch again this past week. This is a retreat for veterans and first responders to just go and get away from it all even if just for a few short days. Every time I visit, I’m amazed at the beautiful facility Shane and Meggin Douthitt have created in the hills of Southeast Oklahoma. They hosted a Top Hawg cooking competition, and I was fortunate to have been invited. It was fun and good food and a great event with our veterans. As I have stated before, America needs more people like Shane and Meggin.
As always, thank You for allowing me to serve you. I can be reached at (405) 557-7381 or by email at jim.grego@okhouse.gov.
Jim Grego serves District 17 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Latimer County and part and Pittsburg County.