Content about Oklahoma

A request by a Bartlesville, Okla., businessman for a $100,000 incentive to build a new Ace Hardware store in town will be heard by the Bartlesville City Council Monday, according to a report in the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. 

The hearing follows previous discussions by the local businessman, Jeff Potter, and the Bartlesville Development Corp. board of directors. 

Among the top 10 companies on the 2012 Home Channel News Industry Scoreboard, none grew faster than Brentwood, Tenn.-based Tractor Supply. The farm-and-ranch lifestyle provider showed a 16.3% sales increase and an overall ranking of seventh on the Top 300 retailer list.

Rural King Supply of Mattoon, Ill., moved up the list from 25th to 22nd. Also moving up the rankings were Atwood Ranch & Home of Enid, Okla., and Bomgaars Supply of Sioux City, Iowa.

Tool maker and distributor Hilti will end its in-store relationship with The Home Depot, according to an article in the Tulsa (Okla.) World.

The store-within-a-store Hilti departments had been a fixture at Home Depot for about 13 years.

By Ben Gann, director of legislative affairs, NLBMDA

The Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act reforms the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule by restoring the opt-out clause and suspending the rule if the EPA cannot approve a commercially available test kit that meets the regulation’s requirements.

Authorities are investigating a theft ring involving two men -- one who disguised himself as a woman -- who may have targeted Home Depot stores in three states, according to an article in The Daily Oklahoman.

Tulsa, Okla.-based Mill Creek has plans to open a showroom, door shop and truss manufacturing plant in northern Wichita, Kan., according to an article in the Wichita Eagle.

Jeff Dunn, Mill Creek’s president, told the newspaper he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the city and wants to position the company for the inevitable upturn in new-home building.

A new bill that would modify the EPA’s lead paint rule has been introduced into the Senate, promising regulatory relief to professional painters and remodelers. S.2148, the "Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments of 2012," was introduced on March 1 by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Oklahoma City-based Cedar Creek plans to open a new location in Birmingham, Ala. The company said the site is ready, and employees are being hired in anticipation of a Feb. 1 opening.

“We are pleased to further expand our presence in Alabama and the Southeast, in general, as we believe these areas will be on the leading edge of the residential building recovery," said Bill Adams, CEO of Cedar Creek. 

Cedar Creek Wholesale, a building material distributor based in Oklahoma City, has agreed to purchase Wholesale Wood Products of Dothan and Birmingham, Ala. Financial details of the transaction were not revealed.

Wholesale Wood Products serves five southeastern states from two locations in Alabama and specialized in western red cedar and cypress. 

Cedar Creek has 12 locations in 17 states across the Midwest, Mid-south and Southeast.

The Home Channel News editorial project travels to Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania to report on hardware store high performers.