Downton Abbey
Annie Oakley Society
Lee and Todd Ward hosted a trip to see the premiere of the hit movie, followed by a cocktail party in their home. Page 8
Co-founders Lynn Friess, Cathy Keating and Judy Hatfield welcome guests to the annual luncheon. Page 2
OKC FRIDAY Vol. 53 No. 26 • Two Sections • 18 Pages • November 1, 2019
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 45 years
Oklahoma Cityans love their hometown
Art Inspires Conservation Misi goes to party, above left. Jack Hanna’s Ambassador Cheetah Misi is so used to going to parties she doesn’t need her dog, Cash, to travel with her anymore to keep her from being startled. She owns the room the minute she walks into it. Dick Sias hosted the Meetah Cheetah party in his home this year to raise money for the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. Founder and CEO Dr. Laurie Marker came from Namibia to attend, as did two international wildlife artists. D. Arthur Wilson, of artgonewildstudios.com, donated an original pastel on European Suede and a charcoal portrait done live of Misi, while she greeted guests. Successful British artist Layla Andrews, laylaandrews.com, came from London to donate a painting for the auction and attend the OKC event. Above right, District Judge Natalie Mai visits Misi for a photo opportunity with the cheetah and Columbus Zoo’s Jen Dew and Katie Stevens. Next week: More photos from the gala by Fran Kozakowski and Misi’s story.
Overall, Oklahoma City residents are happy with their hometown. The only real point of contention is the streets. Resident satisfaction ratings with Oklahoma City as a place to live are among the highest in the U.S., according to this year’s Citizen Survey. “We’re proud of the way residents feel about Oklahoma City,” said City Manager Craig Freeman. “We’ll use the resident feedback to focus on where we need continued improvements. With the leadership of our City Council, we’re working to maintain the city’s momentum and our residents’ support.” Nearly nine-out-of-10 residents think Oklahoma City is an “excellent” or “good” place to live. The national average for large American cities (population 250,000+) is about
half of the residents. Street conditions have been the city’s top challenge almost every year. Only about 11 percent of residents are happy with street conditions, the same as last year and up 2 percent from 2017. About four-in-five residents list it in their top three priorities for the next two years. The voter-approved Better Streets, Safer City program is under way now to address those concerns and more. Most of the $1.2 billion infrastructure investment program is dedicated to streets and related projects. Visit okc.gov/BetterSafer for maps, lists and more. Chris Tatham of ETC Institute, delivered the survey results to the City Council. The full survey is available at okc.gov/satisfaction.
Holocaust survivor to share story of triumph at OCCC By Vicki Clark Publisher
EVA SCHLOSS
One of the few Holocaust survivors still living is coming to Oklahoma City to tell her story. She has a strong message. On a phone call from London, she shared insights into her lecture on Nov. 21 at OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center. “Wars are the evilest. We have to uplift each other.” Eva Geiringer Schloss, age 90, is a Jew born in Vienna. Shortly after the
annexation of Austria by Germany, her family fled to Belgium then to the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, she met and became playmates with her stepsister Ann Frank. Betrayed by a double agent in the Dutch underground, Eva and her family were captured by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz. Her father and brother died there. Eva and her mother were barely alive when they were freed by Soviet troops in 1945. “In the camp, I never
Oklahoma women join together to end Alzheimer’s Two-thirds of those living with Alzheimer’s disease are women. Two-thirds of Alzheimer’s caregivers are daughters. There is no denying that women are at the forefront of the Alzheimer’s crisis, which is why Karen Delaney has joined the Alzheimer’s Association in the fight to find a cure as the 2019 Alliance of Women for Alzheimer’s Research and Education (AWARE) Luncheon co-chairperson. Karen’s journey as an Alzheimer’s caregiver began eight years ago when she noticed her
mother, who was living out-of-state at the time, started mismanaging her finances. Since then Karen has moved her mother into a memory care facility nearby, but still remains her primary caregiver and advocate. This devastating disease places an unbalanced burden on women at work and at home, forcing them to make unwanted choices about their careers, relationships and other life decisions. Karen has had to postpone her personal retirement plans
gave up hope that I would survive,” she said. For years, Eva could not talk about the horrors she had witnessed. “I knew I had a story, but I didn’t want to talk about it,” She said. “Nobody wanted Jews in America, Canada everywhere … nobody would let Jews into their country when Hitler wanted to get rid of us.” “(Even today) the world doesn’t want refugees. They are not welcome.” After Anne Frank’sdiary was discovered and
released, Eva started writing her first book. Then she began her international lecture tours. Eva’s story is sensational and difficult to imagine, yet her insightful message reminds us that life is precious and fragile. The creative spirit is stronger than fear, the power of good is immeasurable and love makes a difference. Her lecture “A Story of Triumph” will be Nov, 21, 7:30 p.m., at OCCC. Tickets start at $18 and are available at tickets.occc.edu.
FRIDAY’s
Dog of the Week Bentley is a West Highland White Terrier who is 10-years-old and dressed up in his Halloween costume. His human is Pam Patterson. Email Dog of the Week, Baby of the Week and Cat of the Week submissions to rose@okcfriday. com. Submissions are used in the order they are received.
Sponsored by Paulette and Leo Kingston of WePayFast.com See ALZHEIMER’S, Page 2