By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
EL RENO – An Oklahoma company has been selected for an image scanning and enhancement project at the Canadian County Clerk’s Office.
Midwest Printing, of Sapulpa, submitted the “low bid” to perform the extensive work.
Their price is $1,798,500 to scan the record books on-site at the Canadian County Administration Building, 201 N Choctaw.
It will take Midwest Printing about one year, according to bid documents.
Canadian County Clerk Sherry Murray recommended county commissioners award the contract to Midwest Printing. Commissioners voted 3-0 to follow her recommendation at their Aug. 28th meeting.
A second bidder, Kofile Technology, offered a $3,679,572 price to take the documents and scan them at their plant in Texas.
Clerk Murray wants to improve the quality of scanned images for citizens seeking public documents available through her office.
The goal is to provide the “best quality documents available,” according to Murray.
“A lot of what we have on-line is hard to read; that was done many years ago,” she said. “I’m having them all re-scanned and enhanced.
“About 600 books are what are called ‘photostat’ books, with the black background and white print. We’ll be able to reverse that, and it will make them clearer.”
Scanned copies of the record books will be kept at the Canadian County Clerk’s Office. Originals will be sent to an underground vault in Hutchison, Kan. to help preserve them.
The public can access online records by calling the Canadian County Clerk’s Office to obtain a password.
THIS AND THAT …
Among other business at their weekly meeting Aug. 28, Canadian County Commissioners approved:
- A resolution transferring inventory – 17 “surplus” ICOM two-way radios – from the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office to the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office.
- A resolution allowing the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office to accept a donation of two Taser X26P electrical conductive weapons from Edward Cangiano.
- An agreement with C.L. Boyd to rent a compactor for a road surfacing project in District 2.
- Authorizing the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to pay claims of $20,500 to Michael J. Collins and $2,862.50 to the Whitnah Family Trust for services associated by state projects on permanent rights-of-way in District 3.
- An agreement for Canadian County Rural Water District 1 to improve the area of Jensen Road and Walbaum Road in District 3.
Canadian County Undersheriff Kevin Ward on Aug. 28 presented the weekly county jail report showing an inmate population totaling 222, with 190 prisoners at the El Reno detention center and 32 others housed in contracted counties.
The total count is down seven from last week as 57 prisoners await transfer to state Department of Corrections’ custody.
