CC)— The Enid City Commission Wednesday night approved an agreement with Jim Dill of Vector Properties to recruit a department store to The District at Cleveland and Garriott. The agreement will allow Vector Properties to take the next steps to execute a Letter of Intent with a department store. The agreement states the City of Enid will provide the land to the developer and $1.9 million to assist with the cost of tenant improvements for the store. The department store, which will include men's, women's, children's clothing and shoes, along with household goods, will be the anchor tenant on the 7.4 acres initially designated for a movie theatre. The department store will not take the entire acreage, but Dill plans to develop spaces for additional retailers. The proposed department store is expected to generate $7 to $9 million in annual sales. With the addition of other stores on the site, the total sales tax collection will be even higher. Over the past two years, there has been a lot of progress at The District, with the opening of Jiffy Trip, Colton's Steakhouse and Hideaway Pizza and Great Plains Bank under construction.
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NC)--Chisholm Public Schools is joining some other area schools in canceling in-person classes for the remainder of the week. According to Enid News and Eagle, Chisholm continues to see a significant number of students, teachers and instructional and support staff out due to illness or other circumstances, so the school will be closed Friday. This will not be a virtual learning day, and everyone will return for in-person learning on Tuesday.
Other schools districts in the area cite large numbers of staff and students out with illness, resulting in closures or temporary virtual shifts for the remainder of the week. Drummond Public Schools announced Wednesday it would have virtual classes through Friday and return to in-person Tuesday. Medford and Waukomis public schools announced Wednesday that they would cancel classes until Tuesday. All public schools are closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday.
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CN)--The number of active COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Garfield County continue to rise as a result of the Omicron variant. Active cases rose to 524 over the past week, according to Oklahoma State Department of Health on Wednesday. The number of cases over the past 30 days in Garfield County was 751. The majority of the cases have been in Enid. According to OSDH’s Situation Update, the number of active cases statewide doubled again this week, jumping to 66,444 as of Wednesday.
OSDH reported a three-day average of 1,210 total COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide. The three-day average hospitalizations in the Northwest Region, including Enid is 50. Locally, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center reported it had 21 confirmed positive COVID-19 patients with six in the ICU, and Integris Bass Baptist Health Center reported eight confirmed positive COVID-19 patients with four in ICU on Wednesday.
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CN)--Fifty-three virus-related deaths and 10,502 newly confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in the state since Wednesday, according to daily numbers released late this morning by the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Currently, 72,516 Oklahomans are considered active cases in the state, with 1,276 people hospitalized in Oklahoma for treatment of the virus.
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RW)--The intersection of Cleveland and Willow has been turned into a 4-way stop with the traffic control in red flashing signals. This will allow crews to replace the water line under West Willow and is expected to last until next week. Motorists are encouraged to follow posted traffic control signs and to drive with extreme caution in this area during the construction effort.
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KC)—Enid’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration will be held this weekend. High school students in Enid were invited to write a letter to the late civil rights movement leader on how they think his famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered in 1963 has affected the United States. The theme of this year’s celebration, “We Are America.” Awards will be presented at the end of the holiday commission’s week of celebrating King’s birthday, during a ceremony Saturday Jan. 15 at Stride Bank Center. The long-held march in honor of King will begin at 1:30 p.m. outside Stride Bank Center, at 301 S. Independence. The program and dinner will begin inside at 2:00 p.m., with inspirational speakers, music and contest and diversity awards. Food will be provided by the event center. The event would be free and open to the public.
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CH)--In observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the City of Enid Administration offices, Enid Animal Welfare, Enid Public Library, and Recycle Center will be closed on Monday. Additionally, the Enid Public Transportation Authority (EPTA) will not be operating on Monday. The landfill will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday. There will be no changes to trash schedules. Residents can sign up for mobile app notifications to get communication about trash schedules, water outages, and other important events by going to: Enid.org/RequestCenter or by downloading the SeeClickFix app.
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AS)--Advance Soccer Complex donated children’s gloves to area charities Wednesday. United Way of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma will distribute the gloves. The ongoing buy a brick campaign at the complex on West Garland shifted during the holidays, when Advance offered to donate a pair of gloves for every brick sold or gifted at the end of 2021. The entrance of the complex will be lined with bricks that will include the names of local businesses, families and groups. Construction on the Advance Soccer Complex is underway, as ground broke on Aug. 3, and is set to be completed near the end of this year. The soccer complex will feature a 24,000-square-foot clubhouse, seven full-size fields, a playground, water features and practice fields.
Bricks can be bought by visiting https://advancesoccercomplex.com/giftabrick. Small 4-inch by 8-inch brick inscriptions cost $100 and can include up to three lines with 16 characters per line; medium 6-inch by 9-inch inches brick inscriptions are $500 and include four lines with 17 characters per line; and large 12-inch by 12-inch brick inscriptions are going for $1,000 and will have six lines with 23 characters per line.
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CT)--Local hospitals are asking people seeking COVID-19 tests to not go to emergency rooms. As ERs in parts of the country are becoming overcrowded by those in need of COVID-19 tests, both St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center and Integris Bass Baptist Health Center are encouraging people to use appropriate testing sites to allow ER staff to focus on treating urgent medical needs.
Tests for COVID-19 are available at various sites in Enid, including Garfield County Health Department, 2051 Mercer, by appointment only from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; Xpress Wellness Urgent Care, 220 S. Van Buren, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1:00-7:00 p.m. Sunday by filling out an online form; Walgreens Pharmacy, 929 W. Garriott and 3915 E. Garriott, by making an appointment online; CVS Pharmacy, 930 W. Garriott, via the drive-thru by filling out a form online for a PCR/NAAT test; and Enid Live Well, 2111 N. Van Buren, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, by filling out two forms. Integris’ Urgent Care Plus and Urgent Care North both offer testing for COVID-19, as well, though patients need to have seen a provider before getting the test, At-home COVID-19 tests are available at a number of local retail locations.
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BD)--Yet another good reason to donate blood. Blood donors will know more about the status of their immunity to COVID-19 thanks to a new antibody testing method offered by the Oklahoma Blood Institute. The new testing is offered through January 31. Individual results will help donors understand their bodies’ immune response, whether those antibodies come from natural infection or the vaccine and boosters. Previously, Oklahoma Blood Institute’s ability to test for donors’ COVID exposure was limited to a detectable immune response from prior infection. The improved method will also detect if an individual has antibodies from receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine. The testing is free to all donors as a regular part of the donation process.
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