Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Short-term rental license causes discourse in Stillwater Emma Haley and Taylor Carroll O’Colly Contributors
After the City Clerk’s Office received the short-term rental application on Dec. 12, 2023, Stillwater residents Kevin and Amy Carwile were given a short-term rental license on Feb. 7. The city of Stillwater required the Carwiles pay a $100 fee when they received their license. The Carwiles have chosen the Small Lot Single Family Residential Zoning District to house their rental property. This has created discourse in the
community because some neighbors of the property claim properties such as these belong in the business district. The Planning Commission held a meeting on Feb. 6 to hear residential support or objections to having this rental property in their neighborhood. Some residents voiced their grievances to the City Clerk in the form of an objection letter within a Stillwater city mandated 30-day period. “We did not buy our home in a business district, but a single-family residential area,” said Jeff and Sharlene Stewart, Stillwater residents. “And (we) are opposed to living next to a Stillwater business district for obvious reasons.” Some neighbors of the property haven’t reported any issues with the
Carwile rental. Marge Gulick, neighbor of the Carwile rental, hasn’t had any negative experiences since the agreement was finalized. Gulick said she has a friendly relationship with the Carwiles and trusts their screening process for customers. “There’s never a problem, noise wise, mess-wise or anything,” Gulick said. “Any of my experiences around the Airbnb are positive.” The rental property is at 1116 N. Sunnybrook Dr., Stillwater, OK 74077. At the Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 6 the Carwiles presented their statements regarding purpose of their rental. They said they are renting to people and families who want to come into Stillwater for a game on the
weekend. Potential renters are also required to give the Carwiles the reason they want to come into town. This gives the Carwiles the ability to filter through renters who best align with their property rules. The Carwiles were required to provide a signature on the short-term rental application, stating that functional smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers reside within the rental property. The Carwiles declined to give an interview, but their rental property is open for business and their license will expire on Jan. 31, 2025. news.ed@ocolly.com
MS accounting grad Griffith earns Gold Medal from OSCPA Courtesy of OSU News
The Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) presented Oklahoma State University accounting graduate Danielle Griffith with the Gold Medal Honorable Mention Award for her accomplishments on the CPA Exam. The OSCPA Gold Medal award is conferred to the candidate statewide with the highest score on all four parts of the CPA Exam within two consecutive windows. Griffith is the first OSU graduate to receive the Gold Medal since Luke Fillmore in 2019. Griffith recently earned her master’s degree in accounting from the Spears School of Business and has begun her professional career on the assurance staff at EY. A firstgeneration college student, Griffith began her educational journey at Tulsa Community College before transferring to OSU-Tulsa. She commuted from Tulsa to Stillwater to finish her undergraduate and graduate degrees, and maintained a steady job to pay her way through school. “I would do it all over again; I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Griffith. “I never thought any of this would be possible for me, and OSU made it possible. I thought I’d have to be in debt in order to go to college. I feel like the program really sets up people that are more like me, who didn’t grow up with a lot, to change their lives and change their family’s path. To think that I’ve gotten not only a bachelor’s but a master’s degree is crazy, and I couldn’t have done it without OSU and the
professors there.” Griffith credits her time management skills for helping her through a hectic schedule that included up to 30 hours of work each week as an assistant manager at a couple of Tulsa-area Simple Simon’s Pizza and Cheezies Pizza locations. During graduate school, she also served as a teacher’s assistant at OSUTulsa on top of her studies. She meticulously planned every assignment and spent almost all her free time getting ahead on schoolwork. The 90-mile commute from Tulsa to Stillwater carpooling with classmates or on the Big Orange Bus gave her extra time to study. Still, Griffith sees it as preparation for her career. “Some students would wait until the last minute to get assignments done, but with my schedule I didn’t have a choice but to get things done a few days early,” said Griffith. “So, I feel like it kept me from procrastinating, honestly. And now I feel prepared for my first busy season at work. I’ve been through this before and I know how to plan things out and get them done.” Griffith credits the faculty at both OSU-Tulsa and in Stillwater for helping her realize her potential. She spotlighted Rachel Cox for instilling a passion for accounting, while Dr. Angela Spencer and Rachel Domnick were essential in preparing her for the CPA exam and opening the doors to internships. She says that Spencer went out of her way to make sure that Griffith and a classmate got to be a part of a recent CAGLE study abroad trip to Spain, and that it was a dream-cometrue experience. See OSPCA on 7
Marcus Conrad Students were able to make face-to-face contact with potential employers at the All Majors Career Fair on Feb. 15.
All Majors Career Fair ‘casts net’, connects students, employers Jessica Pearce Staff Reporter
is important for students. She appreciated OSU’s Hospitality Days, a career fair tailored for students in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, but said many students can find unexpected opportunities if More than 150 employers converged on Gallagher-Iba Are- they step outside of their comfort zone. na for OSU’s All Majors Career “When you’re in a major Fair Feb. 15, capping a week of like hospitality, it’s important to career fairs for OSU students. have H-Days (Hospitality Days),” Although OSU offers colBennett said. “But a majority of lege and department-specific career fairs throughout the year, students are here for business, marketing, management, finance the All Majors fair, held each or accounting, and it’s good to spring, allows students in every have career fairs like this too. It field of study to explore careers and employers they may have not lets them explore more.” The opportunity to explore considered. This year, the fair atdrew freshman Beau Bradberry tracted banks, graduate schools, to the fair. He said he wasn’t retailers, social service organilooking for an internship or a zations, state departments and job, but hoped going to the fair many other industries. Avery Bennett, a senior in with his friends would help them hospitality and tourism manage- develop professional communicament and an event intern for OSU tion skills. Bradberry, who has not Career Services, said offering declared a major, also said he both general and specific fairs hoped meeting professionals
would help guide him toward a career. “I don’t have a major, and I kind of need to figure out what’s interesting,” Bradberry said. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I’m leaning more toward the business side. There’s a lot of opportunity there.” Like Bradberry and his friends, Sophie Christopher said she often went to career fairs as an underclassman to explore her options, practice speaking with professionals and develop a professional network. Now a senior in marketing, Christopher said she is glad she visited the fairs before she began actively looking for jobs. “It is so important to develop your social skills,” Christopher said. “When I came to a career fair for the first time, I was so scared to talk to anyone in a professional setting at all. I had so many jitters about it, and it freaked me out.” See Fair on 6