For the past year, Oklahoma newspapers and the Oklahoma Press Association have been working on a project to compile pages containing public notices. The public has free access to these public notice pages and can find them on the Internet at www.OklahomaNotices.com.
"Oklahoma newspapers have long been committed to printing and delivering information for the taxpayer to inspect," said OPA President Stu Phillips, publisher of the Seminole Producer.
"This country is rooted in government being accountable to the people. It is important for democracy that governments publish these notices in an independent forum that can be verified for years to come, and archived for all to see," said OPA Executive Vice President Mark Thomas.
"Public notice keeps government accountable to the people, and provides warnings when the public needs to know changes that will affect their way of life. Our use of the Internet provides another opportunity for newspapers to keep citizens better informed," he said.
"We believe in Print Power with Internet Ease," Thomas said. "Oklahoma newspapers take this responsibility seriously and are committed to broad dissemination of notices to the public."
The new site offers several search options ranging from searching in a specific newspaper to a county or zip code and date range features allow users to narrow their search.
"Oklahoma now leads the nation in the public's ability to monitor the government that serves them," said Phillips.
Thomas applauded the efforts of the State of Oklahoma's soon-to-be-launched Web site that will track state expenses, but said there is still a vital need for local information in local newspapers.
"That's where people live and work, and they are a vital link between citizens and the government," Thomas said.
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