With decreases in reported COVID-19 positive cases across the country, the United Osages of Southern California is hosting its 2022 Spring Gathering at the Carlsbad Senior Center on April 23.
Starting at 10 a.m., the Saturday UOSC event will bring Osages and their families together once again to enjoy a day of fellowship, as well as an opportunity to meet their fellow Osages running for office in the 2022 June elections. The Carlsbad Senior Center is located at 799 Pine Ave.
Greg Clavier, chairman for the UOSC, said the gathering will provide a forum for Osage candidates seeking office in the June 6 General Election, as well as Osage shareholders running for Osage Minerals Council with its respective election also taking place that same day.
“The candidates forum will allow each candidate time to introduce themselves, discuss their individual qualifications and answer questions,” Clavier said in the gathering announcement.
For voters’ consideration, the Nation’s General Election ballot will have the certified candidates running for Principal Chief, Assistant Principal Chief and six opening seats on the ON Congress. In the OMC election, all eight seats will open and the shareholders seeking OMC office will be listed on that election’s ballot. Each of these office seats carry a four-year term.
The last in-person UOSC gathering was held in November 2019 with more than 70 people attending to hear updates from ON officials and department employee presentations. Clavier planned a March 2020 gathering with a candidate forum for those running for Congressional office that year but canceled in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
As of Feb. 28, California’s COVID-19 state dashboard reported 8,381,196 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 84,700 deaths since the pandemic’s start. As for hospitalizations in California due to confirmed COVID-19 cases, the day’s total is 4,233, which is a decrease of 186 from the prior day total. The number of intensive care unit patients due to confirmed COVID-19 cases in California reached a total of 817, a decrease of 22 from the prior day total, according to the state data.
With the pandemic sidelining countless in-person activities and events for a nearly two-year period, Clavier and fellow California Osages planned and held two virtual gatherings on Zoom in 2021.
In his announcement, Clavier also informed voters of upcoming deadlines for absentee voting and noted the deadline for Osages to request absentee ballots to vote in the June 6 General Election is April 22. The deadline for absentee ballot requests to vote in the April 4 Primary Election already passed and the Wahzhazhe Elections Office started mailing out the requested absentee ballots on Feb. 18.
For more information on the ON primary and general elections, to register/ update addresses for voting, and to request absentee ballots, contact the Wahzhazhe Elections Office toll-free at (877) 560-5286 or visit its current website at www.osagenation-nsn.gov/what-we-do/elections
As of March 1, the Osage Minerals Council election office is now open and located in Pawhuska at 813 Grandview Ave., in the OMC chamber offices. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information on the Minerals Council election, call (918) 287-0010.
