The beautiful new building pictured here is the Osage Title VI building/ Osage Community Building. It is open five days a week from 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Below in my candidate statement that will be published in the March, Osage News. I believe that it is time to honor our elders in Hominy and Gray Horse/Fairfax by providing the same senior services that we offer in Pawhuska.
The Osage Nation has provided excellent facilities for our seniors in Pawhuska. A circle of senior housing is next to the Osage Community Building were meals are served through the Title VI program. It is time to extend these services to our seniors in Hominy and Gray Horse. We need to build similar senior housing and community centers in both villages and expand our Title VI program to ensure good nutrition for our elders there. Until these facilities are built, we need to revive the proposed shuttle program with Cimarron Transport to provide seniors there access to the Pawhuska programs. In addition to this we need to provide appropriate exercise classes to challenge their bodies and interesting classes to challenge their minds.
A few nights ago, I had a nice long talk with Jeff Irons and he told me that some time ago the tribe had attempted to partner with the United Community Action Program in Pawnee to create a shuttle service between Fairfax, Hominy and Pawhuska. Sadly this deal fell through. This morning I called the UCAP and talked to Sara Ott, who is the contact person there and she gave me some exciting news! Today, December 14, 2011 is the first day of their expanded service to Fairfax. Right now they are only transporting from Fairfax on Thursday @ 12:00 P.M., but in the future, they want to go there five days a week. For service call 1-800-789-7314 In addition to this, she said that their goal is to service Hominy and Pawhuska too! We spoke about my plan to station vans in Fairfax and Hominy to deliver seniors to the Title VI program in Pawhuska and then drive on to Bartlesville for shopping before returning to their bases and she thought this is something that we could work together on. I did explain to her that as a candidate that I have no decision making power but she was very happy to see that we are interested in the same goals. After the 1rst, I will contact her again and see if we can get the vans rolling.
After talking with the Cimarron Public Transit, the Pawnee United Community Action Program and Jeff Irons (who worked with them on this project), I am sorry to say that everything was in place to create a shuttle program for Fairfax and Hominy. There was a grant written that would have covered the cost of the program and Cimarron Transit and the Pawnee United Community Action Program were ready, willing and able to put this service into action. At some point, the Executive Branch stopped all contact with them on the subject and did not return their calls when they tried to reach them about this matter. If the administration would have gone forward with this program, the shuttles would be up and running now and the people of Fairfax and Hominy would have access to public transportation today. Our seniors in Hominy and Fairfax would have free access to the Pawhuska Title VI program, Fitness Center and other available programs and all Osage would have transportation available at a nominal fee. This is especially sad for our Fairfax people in light of the mess that our Osage L.L.C. has made of the Palace grocery store and the resulting hardship they endure because of it. If I am so fortunate as to be elected, reviving this program will be one of my first goals. It is unfair for us to borrow as much as 27 million dollars at a variable interest rate for casino construction and then disregard a public transportation project that is needed so badly in the Heart of the Osage. Where are our priorities? Do we care more about money, or our people?
