OKC FRIDAY Vol. 54 No. 51 • One Section • 14 pages • April 30, 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
Bike Club takes a road trip
- Photos by Rose Lane
Members of the Bike Club OKC rode their bicycles from Nichols Hills Elementary School to Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler where they were welcomed by Mayor David Bennett and Rick Haynes. The students were treated to Johnnie’s signature burgers, onion rings and fries. Council member Cathy Cummings introduced the students to the crown jewel bike path that runs parallel to Britton Road, while the Village Police Department ensured safe crossings across Penn and Britton Road. The Village Fire Department brought out a rig for an up-close view. Fire fighters jumped in the photo above. In the photo are: Tom Kilpatrick (volunteer), Alyssa Lutz (Bike Club OKC program director) Hallie Looney, Everly Halley, Cathay Cummings (Village City Council), Jimmy Tirrell, Kolton Peters, Zaniah Stanford, Harmony July, Janet Gonzales Galindo, Julie Hall (volunteer), Ne’Veah, Davis, Kyra Hawkins and Daymon Perrine, with fire fighter Andrew Bowman and Darrod Banhak, left, and Jonathan Willman and Ben Melman, right. Bike Club members not pictured are: Sammie Herbert, Brooks Koehn, Jaxon Randolph, Kolby Austin, Arianna Engmann, Heamen Teshome, Melita Willis, Kelton Hamilton. In photo left: Lutz leads the way. For more on the Bike Club, see Page 12.
Tricia Everest receives U.S. Department of Justice award Tricia Everest was one of 12 individuals and one organization across the nation to receive a National Crime Victims’ Service Award from the Office for Victims of Crime, a component of the Office of Justice Programs for the U.S. Department of Justice. Everest is the chairman of the board of See EVEREST, Page 2
TRICIA EVEREST
The Village approves park funding By Eric Oesch Staff Writer The Village City Council has unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to purchase additions as part of the 2020 Phase II Park Improvement Project. The approval continues the council’s effort to upgrade all seven city parks in The Village. The improvements, totaling nearly $73,000, include new backboards for tennis courts at Bumpass, Duffner and Harrison Parks priced at
OKC Ballet details 21-22 season Oklahoma City Ballet has announced plans for the 2021-22 50th anniversary season. After an abbreviated season due to the pandemic, Oklahoma City Ballet is excited about the year to come, Artistic Director Robert Mills said. The season begins with “Ballet Under the Stars,” a free community performance at Scissortail Park on Sept. 10. “Ballet Under the Stars” was created during the pandemic, as a way to perform for the community in a safe, outdoor venue. But after seeing the 3,000-plus in attendance, Oklahoma City
Ballet plans to make this an annual event. “When I saw so many families come out, and so many children dancing along to the performance, I knew we would have to do this every year,” Mills said. Ballet Under the Stars will feature excerpts from classical and modern ballet performed by both professional dancers and pre-professional students. New this year are pre-performance dance classes for young children and anyone new to ballet. Bring a blanket, your picnic basket, family See BALLET, Page 12
approximately $15,000; pickle ball striping for the tennis courts in Harrison and Duffner Parks priced at $2,000; additional water fixtures for the splashpad at Bumpass Park totaling nearly $21,000; and LED lighting systems for tennis courts in Bumpass, Duffner and Harrison Park totaling approximately $35,000. “We have city parks in four of the city’s five wards,” said Bruce Stone, city manager. “Out of the 2.56 square miles of The Village, we have 12 acres devoted to city parks.”
During a 2018 special election, residents of The Village adopted a measure authorizing the city to incur indebtedness by issuing the City of The Village General Obligation Bonds Series 2018 in the sum of $8.5 million for street improvements and in the sum of $1.88 million for parks and recreational facility improvements. Currently, unobligated park bond funds remain available for expenditure in an amount estimated at $185,000. See VILLAGE, Page 3
FRIDAY’s
Dog of the Week This is Bentley Jo. Bent is a Toy Aussie and she loves greeting everyone with lots of love. She enjoys cuddles, peanut butter bones and having her tongue out like she’s Jordan. Her human’s name is Daniele Tarango. Send Dog, Baby and Cat of the Week nominations with complete descriptions to rose@okcfriday.com. Submissions are used in the order they are received.
Sponsored by Paulette and Leo Kingston of WePayFast.com