SHOP THE LOOK: Fashion Editor Jennifer Clark helps you shop styles from Cindi Shelby for Lela Rose, Krista Anne’s Boutique and the Women’s Health Boutique. Page 15
OKC FRIDAY Vol. 57 No. 42 • One Section • 16 pages • March 8, 2024 $1 per copy
www.okcfriday.com facebook.com/okcfriday OKC’s only locally-owned legal newspaper with all local news Serving affluent far north Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills and The Village for 50 years
Superintendent search begins By Rose Lane Editor In less than a week, Oklahoma Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sean McDaniel has resigned, a group of school administrators launched a last ditch effort to encourage him
Gourley to retire Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley announced his retirement after 34 years of service. He has agreed to remain employed with the City until his position is filled. Gourley is Oklahoma City’s 50th chief of police, overseeing 1,235 uniformed officer positions and 413 non-sworn employees. During his time as the chief, he led the police department through the COVID-19 pandemic and protests following George Floyd’s death. “I can’t thank Chief Gourley enough for his more than three decades of leadership and service
to stay, the Board of Education accepted the resignation and hired Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA) to lead the district’s national search to select a new leader for the 2024-25 school year. See OKCPS, Page 11
See CHIEF, Page 7
Dr. SEAN McDANIEL
Chief WADE GOURLEY
GoFundMe raises over $50k to pay off school lunch debts By Eric Oesch Staff Writer
care for a bike. The children learn how to navigate their community by bike and connect with local fire and police departments. They ride on local bike paths to museums, parks, mountain bike trails and local places of interest throughout the school year. The Bike Club OKC program focuses on the ABC — attendance, behavior and coursework. Additionally, Bike Club
Six school districts in Oklahoma County have had most if not all of their school lunch debt eliminated due to a grassroots community effort to honor a beloved former Village mayor and councilwoman who passed away last month. The six schools are only the beginning as more schools are set to receive help with their lunch debts. When former Village Mayor Cathy Cummings succumbed to an aggressive form of gallbladder cancer her family asked that instead of flowers those who wished could donate to a GoFundMe page to eliminate school lunch debt. As of press time, more than $50,000 had been raised from over 732 donations. “It’s what Cathy would have wanted,” said her husband of 22 years, outgoing vice mayor of The Village and Ward 4 councilman Sean Cummings. Schoolchildren who attend public school in Luther, Jones, Choctaw/Nicoma Park, Harrah, Mid/Del and Oakdale school districts have had lunch debt eliminated in memory of Cathy. Nearly $20,000 has been presented to the schools to cover lunch debts so far. “We started out by calling schools and asking what the need was,” said Cummings. “Oklahoma City Public Schools are already on a free lunch program for everybody, so we moved to the surrounding area and made random phone calls. “They (school districts) provide documentation and then we go and cut them a check,” he said. “Now we are getting calls from school districts on the other side of the state in very rural areas. As long as we have money coming in, I
See BIKES, Page 2
See DEBT, Page 14
Bike Club members visit The Village Library and meet comfort dog Poppy. Hugging the doggo are (clockwise) Mina Swihart, Izzy Howell, Lai'Lah Jackson, Peyton Byrne, Jammeisha Ford, Poppy, Karen Horton, Faith McBride and Madison Lewis.
Bike Club rolls into Village Library In a unique blend of athleticism and literature, members of Bike Club OKC recently donned their helmets in their quest for bikes, books and puppy dogs as they embarked on an educational field trip to the Village Library. The adventure not only brought the joy of reading to the forefront, but also provided an opportunity for students to share their stories with some furry, four-legged friends. The after school program,
which prides itself on diversity and inclusion, includes 125 fourth, sixth and seventh grade students this year in five underserved communities by creating opportunities the students would not otherwise have. Bike Club OKC is rolling at Del City Middle School, Nichols Hills Elementary, Thelma Parks Elementary, Eugene Field Elementary and Fillmore Elementary. Students spend time, after school, learning how to ride and
OKC FRIDAY: Fabulous at 50
If you didn’t make it into paper, you must have been hiding By Karen Swyden Former FRIDAY Wedding Contributor Reading the FRIDAY Newspaper is always a breath of fresh air! Each week it includes mostly positive news about local fundraisers helping people in our communities and state, touting sport and aca-
demic achievements in our local high schools, highlighting our community volunteers, political candidates and civic leaders, lots of photos so we know who the current “movers and shakers” are! I remember attending a milestone birthday party for See 50, Page 7
FRIDAY’s Dog of the Week Bronx Bomber Eddington is a 10-year-old Labradoodle and currently serves as an intern at Eddington Communications with Christine and Greg Eddington. He is especially skilled at shredding documents, catching flies, and lifting the spirits of everyone he meets. Email Dog of the Week, Baby of the Week and Cat of the Week submissions to rose@okcfriday.com.