Claremore Daily Progress

Our View

Related Photos

  • Randy Cowling

    7.30-Randy-Cowling7-2010.jpg
August 17, 2010

Gap across the wide Missouri completed

Randy Cowling Managing Editor

CLAREMORE — After much speechifying and positioning the crossing of the wide Missouri Street closure has been completed. Claremore City Councilors unanimously voted to close the street, which is east of the current Rogers County Courthouse, to make way for construction of a new $23 million facility.

Claremore’s Ward II Councilor Mick Weber outlined from his perspective the timeline the council and county have traveled in reaching the closure, attempting to “set the record straight.” Weber, who was critical of Rogers County Commissioner Kirt Thacker, when the county asked for the closure, believes the city has received unwarranted criticism.

He told the capacity crowd at the Monday evening meeting that the city followed its guidelines and the notification of property owners within 100 ft. of the street was to be done by the county. It was Weber’s last shot at the county, who he wants to suggest is the bad guy in this entire public relations debacle.

It’s over and the Claremore City Council and Rogers County Commission should move on — together. Without continued cooperation between the city and county, Claremore and Rogers County cannot become a premiere city in Northeast Oklahoma. This all depends on the attitudes of current city councilors and commissioners.

As long as there is a continuous battle to show who has the bigger stick, this region will be the loser when it comes to economic development. These school yard skirmishes not only give councilors and commissioners a black eye, but they injure the reputation and credibility of Rogers County as a whole.

Now is the time for leadership — open-minded, creative and responsible leadership on behalf of both governmental entities. Our community faces challenges that need attention and sound judgment in bringing creative ideas to achieve solutions to make Claremore and Rogers County a place where businesses will want to bring their headquarters and employees.

Quality of life, great educational resources, easy access to transportation, reliable infrastructure and utilities are essential to attract new businesses and development. However, that all goes by the wayside if Claremore and Rogers County is not a development-friendly community. All one has to do is look 20 miles west and see an example of a municipality that has put the future of its community first to see great results. It didn’t happen overnight, but it did required teamwork of its governmental and business leaders, something that needs shoring up here in Claremore.

It is time to forget about the missed opportunities which other communities capitalized on and begin to work together to build the proper foundation here in Claremore and Rogers County to be prepared to receive the next wave of economic development. It will not be easy. It will not be without more bumps in the road, but it can be without schoolyard skirmishes and blackeyes.

The decision to close Missouri Street was the correction on from the start and should have been done with minimal grief. Hopefully, the council and commissioners can learn from this situation and find ways to work together in harmony in the future.

Randy Cowling is editor of the Claremore Daily Progress. 

Text Only
Our View
  • Randy Cowling Courthouse security applies to everyone there

    District Judge Dynda Post has elevated a serious issue at the Rogers County courthouse — security.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Randy Cowling First looks are just that — first looks

    No one ever gets to make a second first impression.

    February 6, 2012 1 Photo

  • Burrage, sean.tiff Senate review by Sean Burrage

    Hailey Mathis is studying political science and history at the University of Oklahoma. She’s one of a very select group of college students each year who have the opportunity to learn about government and public service through an internship at the State Senate.  

    April 4, 2011 1 Photo

  • BAILEYDABNEY8-2009.tif COLUMN: Napalming the Internet

    Try to remember the Internet before we had websites that host user generated content. No eBay. No YouTube. No Facebook. No Twitter. No LinkedIn. No Foursquare. No product reviews, blogs or personal websites where users comment and post links.

    January 18, 2012 1 Photo

  • SimpsonGameCartoon-012712.jpg Dr. Mosier’s online success

    Dr. Richard Mosier is nothing if not a visionary.  Over 20 years ago he first had the idea of what was then Rogers State College becoming Oklahoma’s first institution of higher education to offer online instruction.

    January 18, 2012 1 Photo

  • New Year

    Looking back on 2011 brings many things to mind.  It was a busy year traveling the state, actively promoting Oklahoma as a competitive state and supporting strong public policy.

    January 18, 2012

  • BAILEYDABNEY8-2009.tif The Veepstakes and unseating an incumbent President

    The Iowa Caucuses are over. Let the Veepstakes begin.

    January 5, 2012 1 Photo

  • Randy Cowling Will Rogers resourcefulness hard to do but necessary

    Finding a resolution to a long-term problem is never easy.  It requires change and adjustment.

    December 18, 2011 1 Photo

  • BAILEYDABNEY8-2009.tif What’s all the GRDA fuss about?

    At the request of Governor Mary Fallin, State Auditor Gary Jones issued a performance audit on December 8 for the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA),  covering a time period from July 1, 2003 through March 31, 2011.

    December 11, 2011 1 Photo

  • GRDA audit appears to be politically motivated

    When I learned a state audit of the Grand River Dam Authority had been earlier this year, I feared the request was made purely for political reasons.

    December 11, 2011