Latest news with #KenDoke
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
County makes disaster declaration for recent storrms
Muskogee County Commissioners made a disaster declaration at a special board meeting Friday. The declaration is for the period April 19-May 19, including the storm that went through Fort Gibson and did damage to buildings, trees and houses. 'Two things — number one it opens us up to provide assistance at the county level in ways we normally couldn't,' said District 1 Commissioner Ken Doke, board chair. 'So we can go on private property and spend money without a proper bid. 'Number two — it's sort of an acknowledgment and sort of starts the process to let them know we had an emergency here, we want to be included in the state's emergency declaration and we'll be providing documentation on what our estimated damages are which will become part of the cumulative total they will use to file at the federal level.' Doke and District 3 Commissioner Kenny Payne said this declaration will not provide financial assistance to residents and businesses. However, it will allow county workers to help with the cleanup process. 'It will allow us to move trees, what we've kind of already been doing anyway,' Doke said. 'The main thing is it's going to start the process so maybe they can get assistance through FEMA.' A county must declare a disaster before the state declares a disaster. The state then sends its findings to Washington where the president has to declare a disaster area before residents can apply for FEMA aid. 'If the feds declare what's called 'individual assistance,' then yes individuals could eventually get assistance from the federal government,' Doke said. 'Businesses in particular get SBAs (Small Business Administration loans) and some individuals, if they make too much money to qualify, they could get SBA loans.' The board also accepted compliant bids for the Okay Road Project to repair the road that runs from Fort Gibson to Okay. Commissioners voted to table awarding the contract to one of the bidders until next Friday, allowing the county to examine and evaluate the bids.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
County makes localized emeregency alerts available
A new emergency alert system is available at no cost to Muskogee County residents. Hyper-Reach provides an emergency mass notification system that sends alerts to phones and centralizes the emergency, says Ken Doke, Muskogee County District 1 commissioner. 'While sirens go off in case of a tornado warning, like what happened Tuesday morning, Hyper-reach sends the warning to your phone,' Doke said. 'You can hear the sirens if you're outside but not all the time inside. This system will alert you anywhere.' Doke said the County was approached about the system shortly after the 2019 floods. He said the system makes sense. 'This is basically Muskogee County's emergency broadcast system that sends alerts, via phone and text, when there are tornadoes and other local emergencies,' he said. 'I encourage everyone In Muskogee County to sign up for this.' Doke said the cost for the service is paid for with county emergency funds. None of that will be passed on to residents. On its web site, Hyper-Reach says 'mass notification technology can notify anyone in harms way and let everyone know the steps they can take to stay healthy and safe.' Typical alerts include: — Emergency weather — Natural disasters — Health risks It also says it provides notifications to schools and universities, businesses and government offices. 'I think this benefits more people in the county and can reach those who might not be notified by current methods,' Doke said. 'And it doesn't cost a penny. Any way to make people safer I think is beneficial.' To sign up for the system go to and click on the link in this story.
