CC)—The Enid Mayor and Board of Commissioners will meet this evening. During the meeting, commissioners are scheduled to approve the city’s FY 2022-2023 budget, and approve fee changes for building and other construction related permits. Prior to the regular meeting, commissioners will meet in study session where they will discuss the Garfield County Detention Facility’s needs and a possible Sales Tax Election, as well as discuss Parks and Rec’s 5-year plan. The study session will begin at 5:00 p.m., followed by the regular meeting at 6:30. Both meetings will be held in Council Chambers of the City Administration Building on West Garriott, and are open to the public.
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AR)--Enid Public Schools has appointed Angela Rhoades as Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education. Rhoades expressed her excitement to join the EPS team and work alongside district administration and the Enid community to continue bringing opportunities to EPS students. Rhoades began her career as a special education teacher at Woodward Public Schools in 1994, where she also held administrative positions as high school assistant principal, elementary principal, director of special education/federal programs, and assistant superintendent. In 2019 she was hired as the Guymon Public Schools superintendent, a position she currently holds. Rhoades will officially begin her duties with EPS on July 1, 2022. Rhoades succeeds Dr. Dudley Darrow, who will be taking over as the new Chisholm Public Schools superintendent effective July 1, 2022.
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VT)--Three juveniles were taken into custody following a local vehicle theft. Just before noon Monday, police received a 911 call reporting a vehicle being stolen from the 1000 block of Blue Stem Road. Authorities said the victim had run into a home to check on a family member and while inside a juvenile male stole her 2017 BMW X6. Just after the theft, the victim’s husband was passed in the neighborhood by the stolen BMW, which he followed to Tuscana Apartments, in the 5500 block of West Chestnut. According to the report, the husband cornered and detained the driver, but the driver later fled from the scene. During this time, two other juveniles were seen on Blue Stem Road, near where the vehicle theft occurred. The victim attempted to stop the two juveniles but they, too, fled the area. The three juveniles all fled to Pheasant Run Apartments, in the 6600 block of West Chestnut. Officers stopped and spoke with the juveniles. The husband of vehicle theft victim identified one of the three juveniles as the driver of the stolen BMW. All three teens were detained on complaints of auto theft, possession of marijuana and possession of tobacco. Enid Police are asking residents in the area to check their home video surveillance systems in the hopes it captured some of this crime. Anyone who does find video should contact the Enid Police Department at (580) 242-7000.
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DA)--Enid Regional Development Alliance Board of Directors recently approved two funding requests to support existing business growth. Using ERDA’s new support programs, Wako and Jumbo Foods will receive funds to support their respective projects. Wako will receive a $20,000 equipment purchase grant to help buy equipment to increase the manufacturing of their v-blades product line. Wako LLC was established in Wakita in 1962 and is operated by the second generation of the founding family. In 1986 the company moved its headquarters to Enid, where it currently operates a retail store, manufacturing, assembly, heat-treating, warehouse, R&D and farming facilities.
Jumbo Foods will receive $25,000 through ERDA’s infrastructure assistance program to help redesign its loading dock area. The redesign will allow for a smoother process for its trucks bringing in product and not cause traffic congestion on Willow and Cleveland. Jumbo Foods has been in Enid since 1987 and is Enid’s only locally owned grocery store with more than 300 employees.
In other business, the ERDA Board of Directors approved a $35,000 contract with RDG, of Omaha, Neb., to commission a third citywide housing study. RDG will provide a community housing study that will offer more time and detail on community perceptions of housing and physical conditions and develop an atlas of housing issues for Enid. The study will take seven to eight months to complete and include market surveys and analysis, listening sessions with stakeholders, town halls and presentation of findings.
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SA)--Garfield Elementary and Prairie View Elementary will host 10-year anniversary celebrations this week. Student-led tours are scheduled for Thursday with Garfield being at 10:00-11:30 a.m. and Prairie View at 12:30-2:00 p.m. The public is invited to tour the buildings to see how the schools have transformed and grown over the last decade. Thanks to Enid voters, with the passing of a school bond in 2010, a new Garfield Elementary was reconstructed and Prairie View was newly constructed to accommodate the growing district on both the east and west sides of town. Construction was completed in 2012 and the schools were opened to students that year. In addition to two new elementary schools, the 2010 bond plan included renovations to all school sites, technology improvements for every school, and new classroom space at Waller Middle School.
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