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HomeHealthON Communities of Excellence successfully pushes smoking ban in Pawhuska parks

ON Communities of Excellence successfully pushes smoking ban in Pawhuska parks

By

Benny Polacca

By August’s end, the Pawhuska Skatepark and Splash Pad will be smoke-free thanks to a new smoking ordinance passed by the City Council Monday Aug. 1.

The smoking ban ordinance, which passed by a unanimous vote, targets most city parks, including Ben Johnson Park where the Skatepark and Splash Pad are located. Gail Boe, director of the Osage Nation’s Communities of Excellence program, proposed the smoking ban after her office started receiving complaints about smoking in the park near the two amenities.

One mother told Boe she “had to leave the park because her child had an asthma attack. Litter is another complaint.” Boe said she told the complainants she would ask the City Council to consider the smoking ban.

Boe suggested the five-member council should consider making the ban a law versus a policy so people would be mandated to follow it.

Pawhuska city attorney Jesse Worten drafted the smoking ban ordinance, which passed Aug. 1 with the council’s unanimous approval.

According to the law: smoking and smokeless tobacco is banned in all city-owned parks and recreational areas. However Bluestem Lake is exempted from this ban, Worten said.

Violators of the smoking ban will be charged with a misdemeanor and will be subject to a fine of between $50 and $200.

Pleased by the vote, Boe said the Communities of Excellence would be working on the no smoking signs for the parks and would deliver them to city officials. A “Tobacco-Free Parks Celebration” is also being planned for Aug. 12, she said.

The Splash Pad and Skatepark were both built with supporting grant or donation funding from the Nation’s government or casino enterprise.  

The smoking ban takes effect Aug. 31, which is 30 days after the mayor and city officials signed the ordinance, according to the City Clerk’s office.

The ON Communities of Excellence offers education on smoking cessation, and secondhand smoke dangers. The program is funded through the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.

Location

Pawhuska, OK PawhuskaOK

United States


Original Publish Date: 2011-08-04 00:00:00

Author

  • Benny Polacca

    Title: Senior Reporter

    Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

    Instagram: @bpolacca

    Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

    Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

    Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

    Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

    Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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Benny Polacca
Benny Polaccahttps://osagenews.org

Title: Senior Reporter

Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

Instagram: @bpolacca

Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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