Find the carrots!
Also in today’s edition:
We’ve planted some carrots in today’s edition. Count them up and email your findings to rose@okcfriday.com before the end of the day on Thursday, April 8. If there is more than one correct answer, we will draw for a $100 prize.
• Easter Coloring Contest winners, Page 2. • Sports, Pages 6 & 7. • Business Directory, Page 9. • Summer Camps, Page 14. • Easter Worship Services, Page B1.
Spring fashion Jennifer Clark helps you find out what’s hot in fashion with styles from Balliet’s, CK & Co., Lela Rose and Pearl by Lela Rose, Carwin’s Shave Shop, Rosegold, Boutique One and Krista Anne’s Boutique. Pages 13 & 14
OKC FRIDAY Vol. 54 No. 47 • Two Sections • 18 pages • April 2, 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 47 years
VOTE ON TUESDAY!
NHills and OKCPS races often forgotten This Tuesday, April 6, races for Oklahoma City Council Wards 1 and 3, Nichols Hills City Council Ward 1, and Village City Council Ward 1, will be decided. Also on ballots Tuesday will be Oklahoma City Public Schools Board Districts 1 and 2 and Board Chairman, Putnam City Board of Education Districts 1 and 3, and Deer Creek Board of
Education Office 1. These important races are often decided by a very small percentage of eligible voters. Mayors of both The Village and Nichols Hills are being challenged. Current Nichols Hills Mayor Sody Clements is being challenged by unknown Richard Cornelison. The Village Mayor David Bennett is being
OKC defers mask vote
Flower power
By Rose Lane Editor
Brady and Sophie are tip-toeing through the tulips on a beautiful spring day. Meteorologists have predicted mild temperatures and sunny skies for the Easter weekend. Brady and Sophie are the son and daughter of Alain Le and Elizabeth Phuong Ngo.
Everest secretary of public safety Governor Kevin Stitt announced he has appointed attorney, nonprofit founder and philanthropist Tricia Everest as secretary of public safety. If confirmed by the Senate, Everest will oversee over 55 agencies including the Department of Public Safety, the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Pardon and Parole Board, and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. See EVEREST, Page 14
TRICIA EVEREST
Library hosts Poet Laureate Joy Hargo Join the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System as its visits with United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo as she weaves listeners through her journeys of poetry and music. The first Native American Poet Laureate, and a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Harjo joins the library system on Sunday April 25 at 2 p.m. live on Facebook and Instagram. The author of nine books of poetry, includ-
opposed by Winter Griffis. The race for chairman of the OKCPS Board is within one percentage point. The races for the OKCPS may be even tighter. The future of our cities and our schools depends on these votes. Yet, they do not draw the voter turnout that state and national elections do. See OKC FRIDAY Endorsements on Page 10
ing the highly acclaimed “An American Sunrise,” several plays and children's books, and two memoirs, “Crazy Brave” and “Poet Warrior: A Call for Love and Justice,” Harjo is set to read from her works and her new anthology, as well as hosting a question and answer forum. Harjo has also produced six award-winning music albums including her newest, “I Pray for My Enemies”
(Sunyata Records). Harjo was born in Tulsa, where she currently resides. She is only the second poet to be appointed a third term as U.S. Poet Laureate. The poet laureate of the United States is appointed annually by the Librarian of Congress. During the one-year term, the U.S. poet laureate performs a reading at the Library of Congress and often engages in communityoriented poetry projects.
Oklahoma City is masking up for at least two more weeks as the City Council voted to defer a vote on ending its mandate until its next meeting on April 13. Ward 4 Councilman Todd Stone and Ward 8 Councilman Mark Stonecipher jointly proposed an early expiration, citing dramatically improved local COVID-19 case data. The mask mandate, which has been in effect since July and which has been extended several times, is set to expire on April 30. Stonecipher said that an impetus for an early halt to the mandate comes from the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that any intrusion on individual liberties should be minimized. The councilmen have been working with the Oklahoma City County Health Department to study data on the decline in COVID cases over the past month. “The one thing Todd and I have always said is that this should begin with science and end with science,” Stonecipher said. OCCHD COO Phil Maytubby said that less than 5 percent of the population has tested positive for COVID during the last two-week period. That equates to 10 cases per
100,000. But, he said, councilmen should also look at the rate of vaccination, plus the effectiveness of the shots against variants of the virus. Only about 50 percent of the residents over the age of 65 have received the vaccine. Another 34.7 percent of Oklahoma County residents have received one dose and 18.5 percent have been completely vaccinated. Stonecipher then made the motion to defer the issue for two weeks. Councilman James Cooper posed the question of how long does it take for a completely vaccinated person to reach complete immunity. Maytubby and other health department officials said that would take place two weeks after the second shot. Therefore, he said it could be summer before some people could reach that point. “I will not be supporting the deferral,” he said. The council also heard input from the public. Five residents called in — all of whom were in favor of keeping the mask mandate in place. Joel Nixon said it is the right and obligation of society to determine the correct thing to do. “Be responsible human beings and look out for each other,” he said. “It’s a very small ask — much like wearing pants in public.”
FRIDAY’s
Rescue Dog of the Week Scooter is about 1-year-old and has been at The Village animal shelter for 42 days. He plays well with others and loves everyone, but needs a special someone. Scooter would love another playmate to romp with. He seems house trained and does well on walks. To foster to adopt, call Kadin, animal welfare officer, at 751-9518. Send Dog, Baby and Cat of the Week nominations with complete descriptions to rose@okcfriday.com.
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