County commissioners Cargill, Turner unseated
Comanche County Commission Chairman Alvin Cargill and Commissioner Gail Turner were unseated this year.
Cargill, a business owner who sought his second term on the commission, lost to business owner and former Lawton Police Department detective Josh Powers in the Republican primary election in June.
A 24-year veteran of the commission, Turner faced challengers Charlie Hale and John O’Brien in the primary election. Hale finished last in the primary, leaving Turner and O’Brien to square off in the August runoff vote.
O’Brien won the runoff election and will represent District 1 on the commission. Powers, who will represent District 3, and O’Brien will join the commission in January.
Elgin Council fills
two vacant seats
Elgin residents Nettie Evans and Kevin Mitchell were named to fill two vacancies on the Elgin City Council.
Evans replaced former Ward 2 Councilman Eric Bradford, who resigned in January. Mitchell is the successor to former Ward 4 Councilman Joshua Thoma, who stepped down earlier this year.
County approves ARPA grants for towns
The Comanche County Board of Commissioners approved grants for several towns, including Elgin and Medicine Park, in July.
The grants came out of the county’s pot of American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The county received about $23 million under ARPA, a federal law that provided financial assistance for local governments coping with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Roughly $2.3 million of that amount was divided among several communities.
Cache and Elgin each received $487,500, while Indiahoma and Faxon got $100,000 apiece. Chattanooga, Geronimo, Medicine Park and Sterling each received $225,000.
Lawton was not on the list because it received its ARPA allocation directly from the federal government.
Kirk’s EMS puts ambulance in Elgin
Kirk’s EMS, an ambulance service based in Lawton, set up shop for one of its ambulances at the old Elgin police station in 2022.
Kirk’s primary response area is the city of Elgin, but the ambulance service also responds to any call requested by the Comanche County Dispatch Center.
Kirk’s also provides emergency and nonemergency transportation within the city limits and assist the Elgin Fire Department on all calls.
The ambulance service is a great community partner, said Elgin Mayor JJ Francais.
“I am very thankful for their continued participation and leadership in Elgin,” he said.
Disabled vets reminded to register with state database
Disabled veterans could lose their sales tax exemption if they fail to register with a state-sponsored database by July 1, 2023.
Oklahoma offers 100% disabled veterans with service-related disabilities a sales tax exemption, which includes city- and county-imposed sales taxes. Those veteran may qualify for an exemption of up to $25,000 a year.
The state also offers the benefit for surviving spouses of deceased eligible veterans, but that exemption is capped at $1,000 a year.
A 2021 state law requires new applicants for the exemption to register with the Oklahoma Veterans Registry to verify their eligibility. Veterans and surviving spouses who qualified for the exemption before Nov. 1, 2021, must sign up for the registry by July 1, 2023, to stay eligible.
Veterans who miss the deadline will lose the exemption at some point, said George Keck, chairman of the Comanche County Veterans Council.
“I don’t know how quickly they will drop the hammer on those that haven’t registered, but it’ll happen sooner or later,” he said at an Aug. 20 council meeting at Bingo Country in Lawton.