INSIDE TODAY:
Congratulations coloring contest winners!
Sports, Page 4 Community Calendar, Year in Review in photos, Pages 5 & 12 Page 6 Students/Worship, Page 7 Classifieds, Page 8 Editorial, Page 10
For the winners’ artwork, plus the names of our sponsors, see Page 11.
OKC FRIDAY Vol. 54 No. 34 • One Sections • 12 pages January 1, 2021
www.okcfriday.com facebook.com/okcfriday OKC’s only locally-owned legal newspaper with all local news Serving Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills, The Village, Quail Creek, The Greens and Gaillardia for 46 years
The year in review
Dancing the night away
People learn to mask up, stay at home in 2020 Compiled by Rose Lane Editor
Registry Dance Club President Bobby Dorscher dances with George Miller during the group’s Christmas Ballroom Dance at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club. The evening included a cocktail hour, followed by a sit down dinner. Kip Curtis provided the music.
January United Way President and CEO Debby Hampton is named OKC FRIDAY’s CITYan of the Year. With the new year in progress, The Village City Council discusses plans for 2020, which include possible Embark bus routes in the city and solidified TIF project plans. Fridaylander Garrett Mclaughlin is the Houston Dynamo’s eighth pick overall in the first round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Visionary researcher and educator Robert E. “Gene” Anderson, M.D., Ph.D. and community leader and businessman David Harlow are honored
for their contribution to the health and well-being of Oklahomans by the OU College of Medicine Alumni Association. The United Way of Central Oklahoma topped its campaign goal of $7.1 million with $17,501,030 in contributions. February Sunbeam Family Services names Robert J. Ross, chairman and CEO of the Inasmuch Foundation, as its 2020 Aspire Award recipient. Under the leadership of campaign co-chairmen Julie and Mark Beffort, Allied Arts kicks off its 2020 community-wide fundraising campaign to raise See 2020, Page 2
The survey says: OKC is moving in the right direction By Rose Lane Editor Seventy-three percent of residents think Oklahoma City is moving in the right direction. That is according to an indepth survey conducted by the city of 1,500 residents who were representative of OKC’s 650,000 residents. Mayor David Holt said therefore, only 9 percent of
the residents don’t think the city is progressing. “That 73 percent is 25 points higher than the national average and 31 points higher than the national average for large cities,” Holt said in a Facebook post. “And 73 percent is not an anomaly; we’ve had similar results in these surveys for years.” Specifically, the quality of fire service ranked the highest in overall satisfaction
among residents with 91 percent saying they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the service. The quality of trash services was 83 percent. The quality of ambulance service came in at 82 percent, followed by police service at 71 percent and the city water utilities at 69 percent. Those residents who were surveyed pinpointed the top three city services that should
COVID survivors encouraged to take part in antibody research When COVID-19 hit James Richardson, it smacked him hard. Now, the 45-year-old physical therapist is using his experience with the virus to help others. A distance runner who also regularly lifts weights, the Oklahoma City resident didn’t fit any of the traditional risk factors associated with COVID19. But shortly after a work exposure at his clinic in March, the virus had him fighting for his life. Following his recovery, he’s now participating in antibody research at
the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. “It was such a miserable experience. If there’s anything I can do to help others avoid that or experience it less severely, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said. Infected by a patient in his physical therapy clinic, Richardson soon developed a fever of almost 103 degrees and blacked out repeatedly. He was admitted to the emergency room at
receive the most emphasis over the next two years as the condition of city streets, 76 percent; the quality of police service, 41 percent; and the flow of traffic and the ease of getting around town, 38 percent. The survey summary, however, noted that the City of Oklahoma City’s quality of police service ranked 12 percent above the national average for large cities in the
United States. “The biggest takeaway for me is that though we can always improve, you overwhelmingly support the direction we are heading,” Holt said. “You are more optimistic about our future than the people of any other American city, and that makes it fun to be your mayor.” For the full survey, see okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument?id=20135.
FRIDAY’s
Dog of the Week This is Clancy. He is a Chinese Shar-Pei that is 11-1/2-years-old. He spent his first two years in AKC shows and finished as GCH R-Lee Redstar Over Broadway. He is just a 60-pound baby who loves his human Karen Fitzgerald (and her husband Mike) more than anything. He is a grand champion, has been on the cover of two magazines and has done advertising for a local shoe shop. But, that pales in comparison to the love and kindness he gives the Fitzgeralds daily.
Sponsored by Paulette and Leo Kingston of WePayFast.com See COVID, Page 3