Jenks Tribune, Digital Issue 37 - April 24, 2020

TALKS OF RE-OPENING FIRE UP ACROSS STATE JENKS COULD BEGIN RE-OPENING PHASE I SOON TULSA FITNESS SYSTEMS FOCUSED ON KEEPING CLIENTS HEALTHY JHS CLASS OF 2020 HAS EXPERIENCED ROUGH SPRINGS

Phase I Of Re-Opening Could Come Soon For Jenks

By Kyle Salomon Last week, the City of Jenks extended its “Shelter In Place” order through May 8, but left potential for an earlier opening if circumstances allowed for one.

If the peak remains 45 on April 3, Shrout is “tentatively” planning on having a special City Council meeting early next week to approve the “phased-in” approach to reopening the City of Jenks to the public.

That possibility looks to be more promising by the day.

Monday, the City Council met again virtually and one of the items discussed was the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jenks Fire Chief Greg Ostrum said the Phase I opening will be a light opening with heavy restrictions still in place.

There will be groups of no more than 10 people allowed to attend dine-in restaurants, entertainment venues, retail stores and fitness centers and social distancing must be practiced.

City Manager Chris Shrout said Monday during the meeting that he has spoken with the Jenks Police and Fire Chiefs, Assistant City Manager, City Attorney and Communications Director and sifted through President Donald Trump’s “phased-in” approach to re-opening the country.

Shrout said that according to the President’s plan, communities that have reached their peak can open back up two weeks later.

As of Tuesday, Tulsa County peaked April 3 with 45 new cases of the Coronavirus. The Tulsa Health Department predicted this week would be the peak for the county, but with the numbers of new cases being so low through the first part of the week, Shrout said he is optimistic the numbers won’t shoot up above 45 by the end of the week.

In the Phase I plan, bars will still not be allowed to be open to the public. Each phase in the re-open plan will last at least two weeks depending on how the COVID-19 case numbers are tracking.

Those 65 and older will still be asked to stay home and practice the “Shelter In Place” policy. Shrout concluded the topic by saying the City of Jenks would like to be aligned with Governor Kevin Stitt and the State of Oklahoma in their re-open policies.

The Jenks Tribune will continue to update this situation as it evolves.

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2020

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Teacher Walkout, Historic Flood, Pandemic … These Jenks Seniors Have Been Through A Lot

By Kyle Salomon When it comes to spring semesters, the Jenks High School Class of 2020 has gotten the raw end of the deal since they were sophomores.

Jenks senior Alysa Symsack was sitting in class last May on the final week of school studying for a final when her teacher informed the students that the remainder of the school year had been cancelled due to the enormous amount of flooding going on in the Tulsa area.

The Historic Arkansas River Flood of 2019 was creating havoc among communities along the river front and Jenks Public Schools was forced to make the decision to call off school a few days early.

“There was a lot of talk between teachers and students about taking home our textbooks and Chrome books because we didn’t know if we would be returning. I thought we might be out for a couple of weeks, then to hear we wouldn’t be retuning at all, was really saddening.”

Symsack said after dealing with the Teacher Walkout in 2018, the flooding in 2019, she and her friends thought they would get to have normal senior spring in 2020.

“We were all pretty disappointed in that because we were really looking forward to this year,” Symsack said. “Distance learning has been pretty good. Some teachers are doing some interesting things to help us deal with it. I do still feel like I am getting stuff out of our distance learning”

“It was very last minute, so no one knew,” Symsack said.

“We were all told it was pretty much pointless to keep studying for finals because we weren’t going to have to take them.”

A year earlier in the spring as sophomores, Symsack and her fellow Class of 2020 classmates were forced to miss time in school because of the Teacher Walkout that lasted from April 2 through April 12.

“During the Teacher Walkout, it wasn’t quite as scary because we only sophomores, but not knowing if we were actually going to return to school was pretty different,”

Symsack said. “After the flooding happened, a lot of my friends and I talked about how we never got to have an actual spring semester without missing any school. We were all hoping our senior year would be different.”

Unfortunately for the Jenks Public Schools lifer and the rest of her 2020 senior classmates, it is not. Jenks Public Schools entered Spring Break week March 16. It was during that time COVID-19 was tightening its grip on the country and locally.

The school district decided to extend spring break through April 5 and on April 6, “distance learning” was commenced through the remainder of the school year, which ends May 15. “When we left school for Spring Break, we did wonder if we would be coming back,” Symsack said.

Jenks Public Schools will have a virtual graduation on May 18 and is tentatively planning on a traditional graduation June 26 at the Mabee Center at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa.

“It is disappointing to have to have a virtual graduation because I feel like graduation is what every high school student looks forward to,” Symsack said. “Getting the chance to wear your robe and walk across the stage is something we all have been excited about for a long time.

Not only do we not get to have a normal spring semester, we don’t get to have a normal graduation.”

The Jenks senior said she is excited about the possibility of the June 26 traditional graduation.

“It would mean a lot to my family and I if we did get to have a traditional graduation,” Symsack said. “It would mean a lot to all my classmates and their families.”

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Life Is Full Of Decisions, Most Are Fun, Some Are Gut-Wrenching

By Kyle Salomon It was a little more than a year ago when I decided to test out my entrepreneurship skills and start my own business.

I was sitting at my desk at the Yukon Review talking with my co-worker Hayden Tucker.

We were discussing different jobs and goals in life when the idea was tossed around about starting my own newspaper in my hometown of Jenks.

Hayden looked at me and said, “Kyle, I will go with you if you want to do it.”

Eight months later, Hayden and I welcomed our inaugural edition of the Jenks Tribune. Both of us had tears in our eyes the first time we laid eyes on it.

The countless hours and amount of energy and effort it took for two guys to do something like this all sank in at that one moment and all of it made sense.

Now, we are another eight months down the road, and nothing makes sense. This country is entrenched in a war against an indivisible enemy. COVID-19 has taken this world and turned it completely upside down. On top of killing thousands of people, it is killing the nation’s economy and in turn killing the local economy.

All small-business owners are being forced to make tough decisions and for me, I just had to make the toughest decision of all.

On the night of April 12, I had to look Hayden in the eye and tell him, I couldn’t pay him anymore after May 15.

Eight months prior, that was the last thing on my mind. I envisioned us being partners in this company for a long time.

As I was going through the numbers, I was exhausting all my options and when I realized I had no choice, my heart sank into my stomach and to be honest, I am not sure it has come out yet.

I wasn’t just going to have to tell my employee that I couldn’t keep him, I was going to have to tell that to my friend, the one I always call my younger brother.

Hayden and I had a long talk that night of April 12. He handled it well. We had a good conversation. We sat there for hours talking about old times and revisited some old stories from our days together in Yukon and Mustang.

I sat there thinking to myself, trying to come up with any way that we could make this work, but it wasn’t there and facing that harsh reality is what has kept me waking up several times every night since April 12.

Hayden is a talented and skilled young man. He has a great future ahead of him with whatever he decides to do, but it is hard to imagine doing this without him.

I keep thinking to myself that is just a bad dream and we are all going to wake up soon and everything will be normal, but that is not reality.

The reality is, life is full of decisions, most are fun, some are gut-wrenching. This one tore my heart out.

Sincerely, Kyle Salomon ksalomon@jenkstribune.com

Founded, owned, operated and published by Hyperlocal LLC 329 S. Elm Street | Suite #201 Jenks, Oklahoma 74037 Phone: 918-528-7272 | Fax: 918-528-5605 | jenkstribune.com

Jenks Tribune Staff

Kyle Salomon Owner Hyperlocal LLC Publisher: Jenks Tribune

Hayden Tucker Director of Media/ Sports Editor Jenks Tribune

Jinger Wiesman Creative Director/ Advertising Executive Jenks Tribune

Office | 918-528-7272 Mobile | 918-231-0787

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Jenks Tribune Mission Statement “We are the Jenks community’s hometown source for hyperlocal news, sports and information that the people of our community need to know.”

Tulsa Fitness Systems Fights Coronavirus Through Health, Exercise

By Kyle Salomon As businesses across the state are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tulsa Fitness Systems is taking steps to ensure their clients stay healthy.

Tulsa Fitness Systems’ Founder and Owner Clint Howard said obesity is one of the highest predictors of people dying from the Coronavirus.

“The workouts are obviously a big part of it for sure, but we want to make sure we are checking in with people and making sure they are okay,” Howard said. “What we are doing gives our clients a way to connect with others rather than just doing it on their own. That is just as important as the workout itself. People haven’t been able to get out and interact with others, so giving them that opportunity is important.”

Howard said the live video workouts are going well and “It makes sense because people that are obese have their clients are thankful for what TFS is doing. weakened immune systems,” Howard said. “We are “Life is not about what happens, but about how you exposed to viruses all the time. There are germs respond to what happens,” Howard said. “It’s about getting everywhere. It’s not the fact that we are exposed to these up and staying positive. We are going to come out of viruses, just most of the time, our bodies are strong enough this stronger than we were. These are times when people to fight them off.” learn and grow. You can’t let this derail you. You can’t just sit at home and watch Netflix. You need to do something Howard and his staff have been working daily to try and productive.” make sure their clients at Tulsa Fitness Systems have the opportunity to still get trained throughout the week.

Howard said having a positive mindset throughout this Daily workouts Monday through Friday run at 5:30, 6:30, time could be the difference in succeeding through it or 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. failing.

“Be thankful for what you do have and that you have this life to live,” Howard said. “There are millions of people in the world that would love to have our problems. Mindset is everything. Make sure to find some time in the day where you can meditate and “People have to be healthy right now,” Howard said. “We clear your mind of all negative thoughts. We will get are in a war with this virus. We have to be able to fight it off if we are exposed to it. We can’t be isolated forever. It is through this together.”

TFS is keeping those same times, but they are utilizing Zoom to do live workouts, which allows their clients to tune in live or watch a recorded video and do the workouts when they choose to during the day.

so important to be healthy right now. We need to be eating right, getting plenty of sleep and exercising. Now more than ever, if you want to live a longer and healthier life, these are things you need to be doing.”

If people are interested in signing up with Tulsa Fitness Systems, they can do so by calling 918-296-7418.

Howard said his top priority right now is sharing information with people and giving tips on how to keep their immune systems strong and to stay healthy.

“Now is more important than ever that people need to be exercising to not only be able to fight off illness, but because people are stuck at home, they are eating and drinking more and not moving around as much,” Howard said. “The stress of this situation is causing people to eat more and if you become unhealthier as a result of that, you have a better chance of getting sick.”

Tulsa Fitness Systems is also allowing its clients to rent equipment, so they can do the workouts from home.

Clients can either come by and pick up equipment they need, or they can have it delivered to their home.

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Jenks Tribune Cutting Staff Due To Covid-19 Impact

Staff Reports Jenks Tribune Director of Media Hayden Tucker will no longer be on staff following May 8.

The Jenks Tribune is an advertising-based income business, and with advertising revenues down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tribune is cutting expenses to the bare minimum.

Those expense cuts include salary money, which is the reason Tucker is moving on from the Tribune.

“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make,” said Kyle Salomon, Owner and Publisher of the Jenks Tribune. “Hayden (Tucker) took a chance and came to Jenks with me to start our own newspaper. I could not have done this without him.”

Tucker moved to the Jenks area in June of 2019 from the Oklahoma City Metro to help launch the Jenks Tribune.

During his time with the Tribune, Tucker’s responsibilities included covering news and sporting events, design of the newspaper, taking photos, record and edit video and manage the website and social media accounts.

The Jenks Tribune will continue to operate as is for the time being with weekly e-editions and daily content posts on the website, www. jenkstribune.com and social media pages to make sure people are informed on what is happening with the Jenks community pertaining to the COVID-19 situation and more.

“This is a tough time for everyone,” Salomon said. “Our mission is to keep working hard to keep our community informed. Hayden did an incredible job for this company and I know he has a fantastic future ahead of him.”

The Jenks Tribune will release more information this summer on its future beyond the Coronavirus epidemic.

Marker Funeral Homes Finds Way To Connect Loved Ones Amid Pandemic

By Kyle Salomon

COVID-19 has changed life for many people and small businesses and the funeral industry is no different.

The opportunity for families and friends to grieve and celebrate the lives of their loved ones, who have passed, is one of the most important services a funeral home can provide.

When the City of Tulsa and communities in the Tulsa Metro began to slide down the ladder that eventually led to “Shelter In Place” orders, Mike Marker and his staff at his three funeral homes and cremation services met to discuss how to handle the Coronavirus situation.

“We made the decision to shift to live streaming the services when the requirements came down from the government,” Marker said. “That combined with a lot of fears from people, we had to step back and think about it a little bit.”

Marker is the Co-Owner of the Hargrove-Marker Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Jenks. Marker co-owns the funeral home with long-time Jenks resident Ken Hargrove.

Marker is also the Co-Owner of the Leonard-Marker Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Bixby and Dowdy-Marker Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Haskell.

“For the families we are serving, their loss is no less significant than any one else’s during any other time,” Marker said. “We just didn’t feel comfortable telling those families, ‘Well sorry, the timing was just bad.’ But we also didn’t want to immediately say we are not going to abide by the rules and not give it the respect it deserves.”

Marker and his staff decided to start providing services with live streaming and only open the physical attendance of the services to immediate family members.

“We were blessed and fortunate that some of our staff we already had here are very tech savvy,” Marker said. “That was definitely a God thing. We began to talk about it, and we said if we are going to do this, we need to make sure and do it well. We jumped right in and it took us about three or four days to get everything we needed and figured out. It has worked well. We are still learning every time we do a live-streaming service. We have a discussion after everyone one we do, and we talk about what worked well and what we need to improve.”

Marker said this opportunity may open doors for more live streaming even when everything reopens.

“It has been interesting,” Marker said. “This is not something we would have chosen to do or wanted to do, but it has been rewarding and we all feel like we are learning something new. We are looking into the possibility of continuing to pursue live streaming our services to help families and friends of loved ones who may not be able to travel. It gives us a chance to reach more people. In the end, it will be a positive.”

According to Marker, the feedback from families who have had to utilize the live-streaming service, has been positive.

“We have received a lot of feedback from family and friends that is very positive,” Marker said. “We have encouraged people, who are watching the live streaming to leave comments, so families can see that people were showing their support. Instead of being able to give them hugs and show them support in person, the family can see the nice comments that were made.”

According to Marker, Marker Funeral Homes and Cremation Services will follow the state guidelines on how they are going to reopen their services to more than just immediate family members when the economy is opened back up.

Sew It Alterations Donating Masks To First Responders, Hospital Workers

Sew It Alterations in Jenks is making masks for hospitals and are donating masks to Jenks Police and Fire Departments. The small business is also donating masks to other first responder agencies across the Tulsa Metro.

Any first responder or hospital worker with I.D. that comes into the store located at 807 E. A St. Ste 123 in Jenks will receive a free mask. Masks are also available for the public to purchase as well.

For more information on how to purchase a mask, visit www.sewitstudiollc.com.

Deadline For Senior Salute Pictures Set For May 11

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2020 JENKSTRIBUNE.COM

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Carson, Salomon Announce Engagement

Kristen Carson and Kyle Salomon are happy to announcement their wedding engagement. The two will get married Oct. 4 at Spain Ranch in Jenks. Carson is a native of Stilwell and resides in Tulsa, while Salomon is a native of Tulsa and lives in Jenks. The happy couple met at First Baptist Church in Jenks. Photo/Courtesy Destiny Burk

Church Directory Beaver Street Baptist Church 102 W. Beaver Street Service times: 9:30am Sunday 10:45am Sunday 6pm Sunday Crossroads Church 2525 W. Main Street Service times: 10:30am Sunday 6pm Sunday 6:45pm Wednesday Dove Ministry 2833 W. Main Street Service times: 10:30am Sunday 6pm Sunday First Baptist Church 11701 S. Elm Street Service times: 8:30am Sunday 9:45am Sunday 11am Sunday First Christian Church 308 E. Main Street Service times: 9:45am Sunday 10:45am Sunday First Jenks United Methodist Church 415 E. Main Street Service times: 8:45am Sunday 10am Sunday 11:15am Sunday

Jenks Bethel Baptist Church 11808 S. Elm Street Service times: 11am Sunday Jenks Bible Church 708 W. Main St Service times: 10am Sunday 6:30pm Wednesday Jenks Church 1015 W. Main Street Service times: 10am Sunday Kirk Crossing 11420 S. James Avenue Service times: 9am Sunday 10:30am Sunday Life Church Jenks 890 W. 81st Street Service times: 4pm Saturday 5:30pm Saturday 8:30am Sunday 10am Sunday 11:30am Sunday 1pm Sunday 4pm Sunday 5:30pm Sunday 7pm Monday

Newspring Family Church 2907 W. 108th Place South Service times: 9:30am Sunday 10:30am Sunday River Oaks Christian Church 300 N. Elm Street Service times: 9:30am Sunday 10:30am Sunday 6:30pm Sunday St. James Presbyterian Church 11970 S. Elm Street Service times: 10:30am Sunday The Church at Jenks 2101 W. 118th Street 9am Sunday 11am Sunday The Connecting Co. 1737 W. 81st Street Service times: 10am Sunday

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