| Henryetta school board members elected not to act on a request for town hall meetings to be held on school property. The request was made by Howard (Buck) Sheward Monday night. He said those meetings would be held monthly starting this spring. “This request is very vague,” said board member Brandi Brown. “Typically when we allow the use of the facilities it is for organizations I’ve been exposed to or something produced for the betterment of the students. What you are proposing is very vague. I don’t know if it is a positive thing.” |
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| Sheward, who has been the driving force behind petitions seeking a state audit of the city, said he sees it an an opportunity for citizens to get involved in the community. He said he didn’t know if the civic center, “is big enough in the future to hold everyone.” He predicted speakers would be invited from the county and state.” Sheward told the board there was a town hall meeting at the city chambers some eight to 10 months ago. The last town hall meeting that was held was in July when the council chambers was filled with people discussing one of his audit petition requests. “It seems this is unprecedented for us,” said board member Casey Jones. “If you decided not to allow it to happen, send me the minutes and we will move on from there,” replied Sheward. He said the meetings would be, “a change from what has been going on in Henryetta.” He accused the city council of “eradicating” comments of people who speak at the council meetings, “if they don’t like what was said.” He also claimed people were persecuted and harassed if they spoke up. The board voted unanimously to table that request. This was the second time school board members have not approved such a request. Sheward came before the council a year ago and the proposal was turned down. Sheward’s latest petition is currently undergoing a review by the county election board to determine if all the signatures are valid. If successful, the state would be called in to perform another audit, the second one since 2014. That is projected to be at a cost of $50,000 to $70,000 that would have to be paid by the city. |
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