Oct. 19 – A stretch of Missouri Avenue between First and Claremore streets will close on Oct. 29 to make way for early voters.
Early voting for the November 5 general election will take place from October 30 to November 1, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on November 2 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Voters can cast their ballots early at the Rogers County Election Board office, 415 W . First St. in Claremore, or Central Baptist Church, 9001 N. 145th Ave. E. in Owasso.
Julie Dermody, secretary of the Rogers County Election Board, said the line of early voters in 2020 stretched all the way to Missouri Avenue, turned left on Claremore Street and went all the way to Cherokee Avenue.
“It’s not safe,” Dermody said. “There are no sidewalks. They don’t have to be on the side of the road. So my intention is to get everyone close together, use the stanchions that the county has and put some aisles through those tents to just protect them. .”
At the Tuesday meeting of the Rogers County Commissioners, Dermody said the city had already agreed to close about 100 feet of Missouri Avenue. The city will also temporarily designate the alley between the election sign and Farmers Insurance as a one-way street so that people can park behind the election sign.
Dermody said the law offices of Higgins and Marlar down the street from the Board of Elections will lend their parking spaces to voters. She said other businesses in the area will put up signs to let voters know if they can use their parking spaces.
What she needed from the county were three tents to ward off the elements, two vehicles to physically mark each end of the closed stretch of street, and orange traffic cones.
“Anyway, that’s my plan,” Dermody said. “I need you to help it come to fruition.”
District 1 Commissioner Dan DeLozier said he would meet with Dermody to discuss logistics.
Also during the Tuesday meeting, commissioners discussed the possibility of implementing a burn ban in the near future.
Scotty Stokes, director of Rogers County Emergency Management, said several fire departments have called him asking for a burn ban.
The call for a burn ban is in response to dry conditions in Rogers County. According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, 100% of Rogers County is currently experiencing severe to extreme drought.
Stokes said eight of 10 Rogers County fire chiefs have agreed to a burn ban. The other two had not yet responded to him on Tuesday.
Washington County is the only county in northeastern Oklahoma with an active burn ban, Stokes said.
“Hopefully we can continue this next Monday,” DeLozier said.
Stokes also told commissioners that Steve Massey, the assistant director for emergency management, had returned safely from Florida after reporting there to assist with Hurricane Milton recovery efforts.
Oklahoma Emergency Management asked Massey to go to Florida because of his expertise in information technology and communications. He was part of a 15-person response team that included people from other government agencies, such as the Oklahoma City Fire Department and Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Stokes said the damage from Hurricane Milton was less severe than the state of Florida expected. That meant the Oklahoma crew wasn’t needed for long, and Massey returned to Rogers County on Sunday.
“For so many years we have asked for help and received help from other agencies,” Stokes said. “We have now reached a point where we can also provide assistance to other agencies.”
