The Okmulgee County Board of Commissioners met for their first regular meeting of November, approving a new suicidal persons policy for the Okmulgee County Sheriff ’s Office.
The policy aims to streamline responses and avoid unnecessary dispatch of emergency services in situations involving suicidal individuals.
According to Sheriff Eddy Rice, the policy will provide clearer guidance on when the Sheriff ’s Office should get involved versus when situations should be handled by services like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. “Basically, it’s just a standard of – if it meets certain criteria – then we get involved. If it doesn’t meet that criteria, dispatch would need to forward them to 988 [mental health hotline]. Or if EMS has already encountered someone, we may need to step up and go,” Rice explained.
The board also approved the minutes from the Oct. 28 meeting, two utility permits for District 1 (one for Triple G and one for Beggs Telephone) and reimbursement claims for the District Attorney and Election Board Secretary’s salary. They additionally approved the 2025 holiday calendar and two employee forms for District 1.
Approved blanket purchase orders included: $500 for the Health Department to Muscogee Creek Nation for x-rays, $5,000 to Amazon, $1,500 for General Government to Cookson Hills for legal publishing, and $100 for District 1 to Dollar General for cleaning supplies.
Following recent discussions, the board approved capping the price of the 457 plan for county employees. They also approved engaging the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office to conduct a financial audit of the county for fiscal year 2023.
Later, the board heard the quarterly opioid grant report, which stated that the county was within budget for the grant. They also received the weekly report from Emergency Management and the inventory report from the board’s executive assistant.
Okmulgee County Emergency Management Director Jeff Moore provided his weekly update on recent activities, including responses to wildfires and severe weather operations. He also emphasized the importance of monitoring weather conditions this week.
As for the county’s inventory efforts, Executive Assistant Jamie Steph reported that most fire departments had submitted their inventory, with a few exceptions, including the Fair Board and Court Clerk, which were still being finalized.
Under new business, Commissioner Erik Zoellner announced an upcoming emergency management preparedness event at the Pinkston Gym in Twin Hills on Nov. 19 from 6:30-8 p.m. and County Clerk Tonya Day announced the resignation of Jim Hall from the Fair Board after 15 years of service.
The meeting adjourned following an executive session.
