Published: November 06, 2008 10:55 am      

Waurika Council gets distressing news

Longtime fire chief has stroke

WAURIKA — WAURIKA — City Manager Chuck Brown had good news about several projects, but he also began a managers report with distressing information Monday night.

During a regular meeting of the Waurika City Commission, Brown informed city officials that Waurika fire chief and longtime firefighter Johnny Berry had suffered a stroke over the weekend, and was hospitalized in serious condition.

“Johnny Berry had a stroke and is in a Wichita Falls hospital. It happened on Friday, but they discovered it Saturday,” Brown told the commissioners gathered at City Hall. “He’s doing OK, but he’s got blockages in both carotid arteries that will need to be fixed with surgery.”

Brown later said Berry had 95 percent blockage in one carotid artery and 75 percent blockage in the other, and that surgery would be performed this week.

Assistant Fire Chief Dave Morris will handle Berry’s duties until his return.

After city officials expressed concern for Berry’s condition, Brown was able to move on to more positive information on four city projects, including one involving the Waurika Volunteer Fire Department.

Earlier this year, the Fire Department worked out a truck-swapping agreement with the Lawton Fire Department, which would enhance Waurika’s fire vehicle pool. In Monday’s meeting, Brown said, “The new fire truck we got from Lawton is on line and ready to go.”

“It’s a $10,000 truck, so we made a good trade,” Brown said. “We’ll use the truck as a backup, and it will also help our ISO rating, because the truck will be certified.”

The City of Waurika recently announced rate increases on water and sewer utilities, which were meant to help the city make headway in paying off nearly $2 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program. The loans had been used to pay for construction of the Waurika Water Treatment Plant on U.S. Highway 70 in 2001.

The Office of Rural Development had twice recommended the city increase its water use rates and city officials have been concerned the federal department would eventually step in and mandate rate changes. Hoping to make a gesture of good faith, the city recently approved a new rate schedule, which was then sent to the USDA.

Monday night, Brown said, “I’ve talked with Ronnie Jones of Rural Development, and they will approve the water rate increase up to July 2009. They won’t go beyond that date, yet, but we did get approval for the rate changes up ’til then.”

Brown also said the city was going to receive a long-anticipated $100,000 check that will be used to fund a street repair project on East D Street. Those funds were apportioned by the Oklahoma Legislature, with assistance from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Waurika Chamber of Commerce President Brad Scott and other city administrators were to obtain the check Tuesday.

In addition, Brown said, the city received word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that it would provide $42,000 in funding that will be used to repair flood damage incurred in 2007 at the Waurika Golf Course.

In another matter concerning the Waurika Volunteer Fire Department, city commissioners voted unanimously to approve an interlocal agreement transferring a 1972 Chevrolet pump truck from the Waurika fleet to the Addington Volunteer Fire Department.

Brown noted that the Addington department had been without a pumper for some time, and that although the ’72 truck had not been certified for “two or three years,” the Addington department would be able to make repairs that would turn it into a functional vehicle.

In other action Monday night, the commissioners approved:

• Renewing a provider agreement for the Waurika Ambulance Transport Services with Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

• Raising the mileage fee per mile on ambulance runs, after being advised by Treasurer Gail Kelley that Blue Cross and Blue Shield were going to increase mileage fees, and that the Waurika service should “go up uniformly.” The mileage fee for transporting patients will rise from $10 per mile to $12 per mile.

The motion included a request that City Attorney Jim Frieda seek information and offer an opinion on the EMS District increasing rates for runs made outside the district.

• The following purchase orders: $5,566.55 from the General Fund; $6,081.25 from the GO Bond Fund; $79 from the Library State Aid Fund; and, $50.80 from the Literacy Fund.

• Treasurer Kelley’s report for October.

• Minutes from an Oct. 6 regular meeting.

An item calling for action on renewing insurance on city vehicles was tabled.

In a brief meeting Monday, trustees of the Waurika Public Works Authority approved:

• A lease purchase agreement with High Tech Office Systems for a copier at City Hall. The trustees agreed on a 48-month contract calling for $126 in monthly lease fee and $45 per month for supplies and service.

• Purchase orders totaling $16,334.33 from the WPWA Fund.

• Treasurer Kelley’s report for October.

• Minutes from an Oct. 6 regular meeting.

Like the commissioners, the WPWA trustees also tabled action on vehicle insurance.