OKC FRIDAY Vol. 58 No. 18 • Two Sections • 32 pages •September 6, 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
Village library is staying put Updated lease approval expected in September By Eric Oesch Staff Writer After having a lease proposal by The Village rejected two months ago by the Metropolitan Library System to operate The Village Branch Library for another year, City Manager Dave Slezickey says the city has achieved acceptable terms of mutual benefit to continue the operation of the facility. He expects an agenda item to be placed before the City Council for approval during its Sept. 9 meeting. Slezickey said both parties had productive and cordial meetings to finesse language to meet the needs of both The Village and the
Fridayland teams kick off football season Above photo, PC North’s Milton Alford looks for running room during a preseason scrimmage against Norman. Fridayland teams kickoff the 2024 season this Friday. Also, check out OKC FRIDAY’s annual pigskin preview in this week’s edition. Sports, Page 4
Metropolitan Li-brary System (MLS). “We are both very different operations and terminology has different meanings, so clarifying language is crucial,” said Slezickey. Slezickey says the MLS does not pay a lease fee, and the agreement with them is not a traditional tenant landlord lease. The city subsidizes a lease payment in return for the benefits residents receive from the programs the library offers. The Village Library first opened in 1966 inside a rented Casady Square storefront where the current Walmart Neighborhood Market is found. See VILLAGE, Page 3
Heat hot topic of summit
Women’s Hall of Fame to induct six
By Rose Lane Editor
The Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women (OCSW) has selected six women to be inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame (OWHOF). The women are to be honored at the induction ceremony on Friday, Sept. 27, at the Omni Hotel and
It’s been a long, hot summer and it might not be over yet. In response to recent triple-digit temperatures, the City of Oklahoma City and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration hosted an interagency exercise in August to better understand heat, heat risk and the populations most at risk when a heat wave occurs in OKC. “We have seen how a prolonged heat wave can negatively impact See HEAT, Page 3
Ballet to collaborate with Flaming Lips Oklahoma City Ballet is to present a world premiere ballet featuring the music of Oklahoma City legends, The Flaming Lips, to debut May 9-11, 2025 at the Civic Center Music Hall. This world-premiere work, created by Oklahoma City Ballet Artistic Director Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, is the first time a professional ballet company has utilized music by The Flaming Lips. The world premiere is part of “Shorts,” a collection of three short ballets, all presented in one program. In May 2025, “Shorts” feature a wonderful variety, including “Otra Vez,” an AfroCuban ballet by Stephanie
Martinez; “Divertimento No. 15,” a neo-classical ballet by George Balanchine; and Jolicoeur-Nye’s world premiere featuring eight songs spanning several decades by The Flaming Lips. “As a longtime fan of The Flaming Lips, this is like revisiting my childhood, marrying two things I love: rock music and dance. I want to juxtapose typical ballet stereotypes and rock and roll stereotypes and hopefully congeal them in a way that changes how one thinks of OKC Ballet,” said Jolicoeur-Nye. See BALLET, Page 7
Resort in downtown Oklahoma City. The inductees are Dr. Nancy Anthony, of Oklahoma City; Marilyn Mauer Hugon, of Duncan; Edie Roodman, of Oklahoma City; Jane Semple Umsted, of Durant; Crystal Stovall, of Tulsa; and Molly Wehrenberg, of
FRIDAY’s Cat of the Week This is Ranger. He was an abandoned cat and rescued, Ranger loves to climb and grab at your feet and drink your sodas, specifically Dr Pepper. Ranger loves to rub your face to his and loves his squeaky toys. His parents are Dani and Chris Wallace. Email Dog of the Week, Baby of the Week and Cat of the Week submissions to rose@okcfriday.com.
Edmond. To be eligible for the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame, nominees must live in Oklahoma or be a former resident of Oklahoma. Inductees were nominated because they have made enduring contributions to See HOF, Page 12