OKC FRIDAY Vol. 58 No. 35• One Section • 12 pages • December 27, 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
Irish win state! The Bishop McGuinness pom squad competed at OSDTDA in Tulsa and won state in the Class 4A Jazz and Hip Hop divisions. The squad is coached by Tasha Hinex and Grace Sanchez. Members of the squad are: seniors, Julia McCasland, Peri Mossman, Mackenzie Gunter, Cali Williams, Micah Krausz and Evey Atchison; juniors, Ava Lemmon, Libby Chansolme, Bea Ward, Ale Grella, Kathryn Ison, Ashley Watts and Savannah O’Neal; sophomores, Derica Allen, Brittan Bollenbach, Katelyn Guadalupe, Madeline Hopper and McKenzie Mandes; and freshmen, Ashtyn Nguyen, Brooklyn De La Garza, Emma Brown, Eva Beasley, Halle Horton, Milan Gonzalez, Morgan Corey and Peyton Braly.
Let your tree live on by having it turned to mulch Instead of leaving your live Christmas tree at the curb, turn it into free mulch with OKC Parks. OKC residents can drop off their natural Christmas trees Dec. 26 – Jan. 15 for OKC Parks to mulch at one of two locations: • Will Rogers Park, 3600 Pat Murphy Dr., in the parking lot at the center of the park south of the OKC Tennis Center and on the south side of Pat Murphy Drive. • Wheeler Park, 1120 S Western Ave., in the parking lot on the west side of the park next to Western Avenue. All trees must be free of lights, ornaments, nails and stands. The trees must also be unflocked, meaning they cannot have fake snow or dust on the branches. Mulch can be picked up from dawn until dusk in designated areas through Jan. 15. Residents must bring their own shovels and containers. Residents who drop off a tree don’t have to take mulch and those who pick up mulch don’t have to drop off a tree. Donating your tree for mulching helps reduce landfill waste and mulch benefits gardens by conserving water, maintaining soil moisture,
and keeping tree and plant roots warmer during winter. The mulching program is open to all Oklahoma City residents. Bulky waste Residential Oklahoma City Solid Waste customers with curbside trash and bulky waste services may set their natural or artificial trees at the curbside for collection with other bulky waste no later than 6 a.m. on their assigned monthly bulky waste date. Do not put bulky waste next to obstructions such as mailboxes, trees, shrubs or vehicles. Do not cover your water or natural gas meter with your bulky waste. Bagged trash set outside of Big Blue trash carts or alongside bulky waste is not accepted. Need an extra Big Blue cart? To order one, visit okcutilities.com or call (405) 297-2833. For residential customers with more than two Big Blue carts, there is a small monthly fee (per additional cart). Visit okcutilities.com or okc.gov/mytrashday to see when your next bulky waste day is. For bulky waste setout guidelines, visit okc.gov/trash.
FRIDAY’s Cat of the Week This is Mia! She belongs to Hays Nichols and is a very sweet cat. She is a 4-year-old domestic longhaired cat who loves looking out the windows, head scratches and relaxing in anything warm and fuzzy. Email Pet of the Week submissions to rose@okcfriday.com.
The Year in Review
Fundraising campaigns break records Compiled by Rose Lane Editor January The 77th annual Charity Ball hosted by the Bachelors Club of Oklahoma City raised $40,000 for the local nonprofit Pivot, a Turning Point for Youth and presented 20 debutantes, according to tradition since 1945. City leaders in The Village are monitoring their relationship with EMSA as Edmond and Oklahoma City leaders are looking at changes to the emergency medical services they provide to residents. Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby is named OKC FRIDAY’s OKCityan of the Year. Robert B. Fields, Edie Roodman and David Rainbolt are to be honored during the United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Snowflake Gala. February With its Centennial
United Way Campaign tops $17 mil From left: United Way Centennial Campaign CoChairmen Robert Clements and Natalie Shirley, President and CEO Rachel Holt and Board Chairman Shane Wharton celebrate the campaign total.
Campaign, the United Way of Central Oklahoma raises $17,060,864 for its 52 partner agencies. The wait is nearly over for the completion of the Civic Area project located along Vineyard Boulevard near the intersection of Hefner Road and Penn in The Village. City residents are already using the out-
door plaza area while city officials anticipate a grand opening ceremony toward the end of the month. The NCA awarded the Bishop McGuinness performance cheer team a national championship at the competition in Dallas. Drivers along Hefner See 2024, Page 12
OKC FRIDAY: Fabulous at 50
Paper helps to connect neighbors By Mark Stonecipher OKC City Councilman Ward 8 As OKC FRIDAY celebrates its 50th anniversary, subscribers, business leaders and community members honor the newspaper’s incredible legacy. I think my favorite thing about reading FRIDAY is its timely news on local events in our community. While global news matters, over the years I’ve learned that what truly impacts my life is what hap-
pens here at home. I have always enjoyed the opinion pages, the reporting on our students’ academic and athletic accomplishments and the reporting on our local arts and culture. Each week, OKC FRIDAY connects us to our neighborhoods, schools and businesses with unmatched dedication. Every year OKC FRIDAY recognizes local role models and leaders. However, today we See 50, Page 7