Kingfisher County Commissioners voted Monday to participate in the settlement reached in the state’s litigation against three opioid distributors for their contribution to what was termed the Oklahoma opioid crisis.

Kingfisher County did not participate in the case originally, but District Attorney Mike Fields asked the county to join in the settlement at the request of the state attorney general’s office in order to maximize the amount of relief Oklahoma citizens will receive.

Settlement funds must be used for specific purposes directed at reducing harms from opioid misuse.

Those include drugs to reverse opioid overdoses, treatment and recovery programs; services to pregnant women, new mothers and infants impacted by opioid abuse; prison and jail treatment programs; prevention programs, and research.

Dobrovolny said his thought was that any funds derived from the $22 million settlement could go to the county drug court, which diverts eligible drug addicts from jail or prison if they successfully complete supervised treatment programs and other requirements.

The amount of money each subdivision receives will be determined by the Abatement Board created in the terms of the settlement, but Dobrovolny estimated Kingfisher County’s portion would be about $2,000.

The settlement will be distributed once all political subdivisions identified as “primary subdivisions” vote to participate.

Due to changes made by the architect, commissioners took no action on a project for Chisholm Trail Museum Tuesday at their weekly meeting.

The project involves renovation of an existing metal building into a larger exhibit space and workshop.

Chairman Heath Dobrovolny said a new solicitation for bids will be issued later.

Some of the architect’s project changes were made last week, which would have made it difficult for bidders to adjust their proposals, Dobrovolny said.

The COVID-19 report from the state health department showed an increase of 30 from last week.

Communities with Covid cases included Cashion with eight, down one from last week; Hennessey with 29, down four from last week; Kingfisher with 30, up 12, and Okarche with 19, up 13.

Dover, Loyal and Omega remained Covid free.

A number of county road right-of-way permits were approved for access drives and pipeline crossings, as follow:

• Everette Bower – access drive for a home next to Reeding Elevator in District 1.

• K&J Construction – two 12-inch water lines, one located nine miles east and one south of the Dover- Crescent Road/U.S. 81 intersection, District 1, and one located seven miles east of Dover, District 2.

• Ovintiv Energy – 12-inch permanent poly line located seven miles west and two miles north of Okarche, District 3.

• Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. – power line crossing four miles west and one mile south of Loyal, District 3.

Commissioners approved an offer from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to purchase 600 square feet of the gravel driveway in front of Big 4 Fire Department at a price of $3,150 to facilitate a project adding shoulders to S.H. 33 east of Kingfisher.

Dobrovolny announced at the previous week’s meeting that he had contacted Big 4 Fire Chief Joey Maschino about the proposal and reported also that a small nearby tract owned by Kingfisher County would be needed for the highway project.

District 1 County Commissioner Jeff Moss returned to the board’s weekly meeting Tuesday after missing several meetings while recuperating after open heart surgery.

District 2 Commissioner Ray Alan Shimanek also was present, providing a full board which made unanimous actions on all action items.

Commissioners heard a presentation by Lance Terry, area 911 coordinator, who reported on efforts to improve coordination between the state organization and county emergency calling service.

Also present for the meeting were County Engineer Nik Smith, who announced a county safety meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Kingfisher County Fairgrounds, and County Clerk Jeannie Boevers as official minute clerk.