OKC FRIDAY Vol. 57 No. 47• One Section • 14 pages • April 12, 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
See Spring Fashion with looks and trends from Lela Rose and Pearl by Lela Rose, Krista Anne’s Boutique and the Women’s Health Boutique, Page 13.
Village race draws light turnout, taps Banks and Allen By Eric Oesch Staff Writer A light voter turnout in The Village elected two new City Council members to the five-person board last week. Braxton Banks, 37, was elected to represent Ward 4 while John Allen, 45, is to represent residents of Ward 5. There
were no other seats up for election. Banks bested his opponent Donna Rice-Johnson, 59, garnering 62.4 percent of the vote with 469 votes to RiceJohnson’s 283. Allen won his race over opponent Kara Tam-Walts, 46, with 56.3 percent of votes cast, 404 to TamWalts’ 314.
The Ward 4 election drew 752 voters while the Ward 5 race drew 718 voters. The city has approximately 9,321 residents who are represented by council members from five wards. Banks currently sits on The Village Planning and Zoning Commission. He and his partner have lived in The
Village since 2015. He is a small business owner, operating a hair salon in Oklahoma City, and is a barber instructor at a local hair school. Allen has lived in The Village since 2015 and has served on the Planning and Zoning Commission for six years. His experience is in
project management and process improvement. Banks and Allen are to be sworn into the office at 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 6 at City Hall. The public is invited to a meet and greet with the two new council members and a farewell for outgoing council See VILLAGE, Page 7
MITCHELL’S SHADE
Community tree giveaway set for Saturday By Rose Lane Editor
Casady middle schoolers run Redbud Casady Middle Division students joined approximately 1,700 people who hit the streets of Nichols Hills and Oklahoma City on Sunday to compete in the Redbud Classic. From left: James Blakewell, 22nd place; Ben Currie, 27th; George Holt, 30th; and Maggie Holt, 22nd among all women. For more photos, see Pages 2 & 3.
Love Family Women’s Center open at Mercy For the first time in 50 years, Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City welcomes babies and care for women in a new women’s center on its campus. The Love Family Women’s Center opened last Sunday, offering a host of new services for families and women of all ages. Nearly half, or $43 million, of the $98 million project was funded by philanthropy, including a $10 million donation from the Tom and Judy
Love family, making Mercy’s decade-long dream a reality. The hospital’s labor and delivery and postpartum services have been at capacity for years, limiting Mercy’s ability to serve more patients. The Love Family Women’s Center has 15 large labor and delivery rooms, seven antepartum rooms, 47 postpartum rooms and three cesarean section rooms with pre- and post-operative recovery rooms. The additional space allows Mercy to
increase from 4,000 to 6,000 births annually. An obstetrics emergency department staffed by obstetricians who can address urgent pregnancy-related concerns are open 24/7. This ER is the first of its kind in Oklahoma City. “Pregnancy is such a vulnerable time for women. We know those sudden onset symptoms can be scary, and patients want to be seen quickly to be sure
OKC FRIDAY: Fabulous at 50
Paper helps grow small businesses By Cindi Shelby Lela Rose Collection Pearl by Lela Rose Stylist OKC FRIDAY has meant so much to our community and to my business for as long as I can remember. It has provided me consistent contact with my clientele for years. It is a proven, straightforward method for sharing my “brand” and products. I value this traditional marketing method which also supports our community in so many meaningful ways. FRIDAY always helps to promote fundraising for the arts and
non-profits, providing a constant source of information about local events. It offers a solid, tried-andtrue bookend to the social media messaging which inundates us daily. The FRIDAY team is always professional and responsive. It is a big plus to me that FRIDAY is a local publication assisting me to be successful in this tremendous city we call home. Congratulations on the past 50 years with many more to come. Have a special memory or favorite FRIDAY story? Email those to rose@okcfriday.com.
Scissortail Park and the Burns family of Oklahoma City announce a new community tree giveaway to honor and remember Mitchell Burns taking place on Saturday, April 13, at 9 a.m. Mitchell Burns loved shade trees and parks. As a member of Youth Leadership Exchange in his junior year at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School, Mitchell had the opportunity to work with local government officials on the creation of Scissortail Park in Oklahoma City. The Burns Family, and indeed the world, lost Mitchell’s bright joyful light far too early. His loving family could think of no better way to honor his legacy than to establish Mitchell’s Shade, a community program designed to bring people together to celebrate life, honor a loved one and put a bit of color and oxygen back into our world through a tree giveaway. “Mitchell loved trees and parks. He also loved the human landscape of a park,” his See TREES, Page 14
NHills marks Arbor Day By Rose Lane Editor The City of Nichols Hills invites residents to celebrate Arbor Day on Saturday, April 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The events take place on the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Sherwood Lane,
See MERCY, Page 12
FRIDAY’s Dog of the Week Meet sweet Gussy Moreland! He is the 10-year-old Labradoodle whose family is Jason and Paige Moreland. He loves cuddles, snacks and neighborhood walks. His idea of a perfect day includes sleeping until 9 a.m., a nice big bowl of kibble, a treat or six during the day and watching his little sister Lily play at the park after a lap around the lake to feed some ducks. Email Dog of the Week, Baby of the Week and Cat of the Week submissions to rose@okcfriday.com.
See NHILLS, Page 7