Broken Arrow group against gam[bl]ing to meet Thursday

Broken Arrow group against gam[bl]ing to meet Thursday

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - A group of concerned Broken Arrow residents have come together to protest a proposed casino, which they believe would diminish their quality of life.

The Broken Arrow Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming is holding the meeting because they are not happy with the proposed location, which sits near the Tulsa Tech Campus and a site where a new school is set to be built.

Workers have already broken ground on the site where the Kialegee Tribe plans to build the tribal casino at 111th and 129th East Avenue..

Leaders from across the area will be present at the meeting, including Congressman John Sullivan, who plans to discuss the legality of building the casino in town.

The group is also concerned a casino will increase crime in the area and diminish their overall quality of life.

"Why the Indian tribe and/or the backers that are making this all happen would want to not be considerate of the community they are trying to go in," said D'Etta Hughes, member of the Broken Arrow Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming. "There are many areas in Oklahoma in outlying areas that would e reasonable to have a casino but this just seems devoid of reason."

Residents are meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Broken Arrow Assembly at 101st and Olive.

"We are not anti-Kialegee tribe. We are not anti them having business and flourishing and doing well," said Hughes. "We are opposed to how what they are trying to do impacts us negatively."

Also happening Thursday evening, the Tulsa City Council will vote on a resolution to express support for the people in Broken Arrow who are against the casino.

Meanwhile, Tulsa County commissioners on Thursday morning approved a resolution in opposition of the casino in Broken Arrow. All three commissioners had previously individually expressed their opposition to the project.

The resolution was passed during the Board of County Commissioners Management Conference.

The resolution text is as follows:

Whereas,the Kialegee Tribal Town, part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a sovereign and federally recognized Native American tribe based in Wetumka Oklahoma, its tribal jurisdictional area bounded by Hughes , McIntosh , and Okfuskee counties; and,

Whereas, the governance of the Kialegee Tribal Town has begun construction of a gambling casino on property immediately adjacent to the Tulsa Technology Campus of Career Tech and a planned site of a public elementary school within the city limits of Broken Arrow, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma; and,

Whereas, a growing sentiment of opposition to the building of this casino exists among the citizens and community of Broken Arrow; and,

Whereas, the representatives of the citizens of Broken Arrow, Mayor Mike Lester and the Broken Arrow City Council, have signified their opposition by vote and public statement; and,

Whereas, Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, and Congressman John Sullivan have joined in the calls for an alternative outcome in this situation; and,

Whereas, it is the belief of the Tulsa County Commission that the citizens of Broken Arrow would be well served by a higher and better use of the property in question, more in keeping with the zoning and planning conventions of the community,

Therefore, be it resolved that the Tulsa County Commission does hereby voice its well-considered and firm opposition to the currently developing Kialegee Casino, and respectfully requests that the honorable leadership of the Kialegee Tribal Town select a more suitable location within its jurisdiction.

We'll have more on this story throughout the day.