State of Oklahoma to offer Surplus and Save event at historic office building

State of Oklahoma to offer Surplus and Save event at historic office building

OKLAHOMA CITY (June 26, 2023) – On July 7, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) will hold Surplus and Save, an estate sale-style event where the general public can purchase a wide range of items from the Jim Thorpe Office Building.

As the historic Jim Thorpe Building undergoes renovations, an extensive selection of surplus items will be available for public purchase at discounted prices. Attendees will have the chance to browse and buy various items, including office furniture, courtroom furniture, office equipment and supplies, artwork, appliances, storage solutions, TVs and more.

Schlomach: the high duty of elected officials and ways they fall short

The High Duty of Elected Officials and Ways They Fall Short

By Byron Schlomach

With a legislative session starting, it’s worth considering - What is the central, over-arching duty of an elected official? The Oklahoma Constitution’s oath of office requires Oklahoma public officials swear to “support, obey, and defend” the constitutions of the nation and the state, that the official will not take bribes, and will discharge duties as best he or she can.

Every individual acting in a governmental capacity in Oklahoma must act in the best interest of the people of the state as a whole. This high duty, executed as a public trust, is best characterized as a fiduciary duty wherein one puts the people’s interest above one’s own, preserving good faith and trust, with a duty to act in the people’s best interest.

Fiduciaries have the power and obligation to act in a person’s best interest and are held to high and strict standards of honesty, diligence, and responsibility. They must be conscientious, loyal, faithful, disinterested and unbiased. They must be free of deceit, conflict of interest, self-dealing, concealment, bribery, fraud and corruption. Too many elected officials fall short in many subtle ways. For example, elected officials probably aren’t doing their fiduciary duty if:

The Conservative View: Blood From A Turnip

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

 The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Blood From A Turnip

One of the biggest flaws in our political system is the fact that many of the people that we elect to represent us have never had their own money at risk or have run a business of any kind. One of the founding fathers once said that any government is a burden and expense to the citizens. It is our duty as Americans to decide how much burden that we are willing to tolerate. I have head it said that the best way to get someone’s attention is to get into their pocket book first. For those of us who actually pay taxes our government has done a good job at getting my undivided attention. Nothing comes without costs, too many Americans do not seem to be able of comprehend this simple fact. I have noticed that the people that support many of the programs that are draining our national piggy bank pay little or no taxes.

Recently I was told that 47% of the American public doesn’t pay any income taxes. Those people fail to understand the dilemma that is facing our nation. When you look at it objectively the taxpayer is paying his bills and raising his family while all at the same time doing the same for someone else. One thing that our politicians do understand is numbers, what they fail to understand is that there is a limit to the amount of taxes that the taxpayer can pay and have a decent living for himself. My parents taught me that there are limits and you can’t get blood from a turnip.

For all of those people who think it is fine to continually tax the ones who are already paying the bills need to realize that when a certain point comes they will kill the preverbal goose that laid the golden egg. Our friends on the left fail to understand the capitalist form of economics, capitalism is the engine that has built our country. To illustrate the point, several years ago in an attempt to raise tax revenues congress passed a huge tax on the yacht industry. The result was that the yacht industry was driven out of business in the United States. I have been told that we humans seldom learn from history but for the sake of our country we had better start learning from the mistakes of the past or we may be a nation of turnips in need of a blood transfusion.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

Gov 2.0a Conference in OKC

This is an upcoming event that I would like to recommend for anyone involved in government here in Oklahoma.

GOVERNMENT 2.0
Technology Applied to Improving Government

OKLAHOMA CITY – A government of the people, by the people should be for the people, but these days government has lost the personal touch. Now government and community leaders can learn how to better serve the people by getting personal.

The Gov 2.0a conference is focused on applications of technology to government problems. The conference will be a forum to learn about successful Gov 2.0 applications through case studies, to learn about best practices for Gov 2.0 applications, and to network with other professionals from city and state organizations, community groups, non-profits and the private sector who share interest in the application of technology to improve the functioning of our government.

The Gov 2.0a conference will feature state and local leaders who are using technology to better communicate with communities. Speakers will include Alex Pettit, Oklahoma’s first Chief Information Officer; Lt. Governor Jari Askins; Zach Nash, Oklahoma City’s Creative Director; Stephen Nolen, Shawnee Chief Information Officer; and many others.

WHO: Gov 2.0a Conference
WHAT: Bringing government and community leaders together to learn how to use technology to communicate with communities.
WHEN: May 6-7
WHERE: Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City.
WEB: www.Gov20a.com

For more information or to schedule interviews contact Sid at (405) 585-6060 or sid@littlegov.com

Again, if you are involved in government at any level (city, county, state, or federal), or do anything with technology, or just want to be on the cutting edge of government transparency and user-friendliness, this conference is for you!