FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11 , 2020
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GOLDEN LOHRS Grant Lohr Joins Father, Uncle In Championship Legacy By Kyle Salomon When the game clock hit all zeroes Saturday in Edmond, Jenks senior Grant Lohr and the Trojans won their 17th state championship in program history. However, Grant was not the first Lohr to bring home the gold ball. Grant’s father, Jason Lohr and uncle, Brandon Lohr won multiple state titles in the late 1990’s. Jason won two and Brandon won three making it six total state championships for the Lohr family. “It’s pretty amazing. It’s pretty cool to join my dad and my uncle,” Grant said. “I don’t think you can say often there are three people in a family, who have won state championships with the same high school. It’s something we all three worked to achieve, so it’s pretty amazing.” Grant’s father, Jason, said it was surreal watching his son win a state title because it seems like yesterday when he was winning a couple himself. CONT on pg 6...
JENKS FAMILY COMPE TES ON ABC’S REALITY SHOW, ‘THE GREAT CHRISTMAS LIGHT FIGHT ’
Ben Sumner, of Jenks, was featured as a contender on this year’s television show, “The Great Christmas Light Fight”. Decorating their homes to the extreme for Christmas, families across America competed to win a cash prize and the coveted Light Fight Trophy on Season 8 of ABC’s, “The Great Christmas Light Fight”. All six of the one-hour episodes featured four families with unique displays competing against one another for the coveted Light Fight Trophy and a $50,000 cash prize. The Sumner family, of Jenks, was chosen through an extensive nationwide search, based on previous elaborate Christmas light displays, incredible choreography and over-the-top designs. The show aired Wednesday evening. The Sumner family lives at 12520 S. Date Pl. in Jenks.
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‘TIS THE SEASON Jenks boy showcases holiday spirit with National Lampoon’s ‘Christmas Vacation’ outfit “Cousin Eddie” is back at it in 2020. This young Jenks resident is celebrating the Christmas season in “Christmas Vacation” style. Clark W. Griswold would be proud. Photo/Courtesy
SANTA CLAUS SE T TO DIVE AT OKLAHOMA AQUARIUM Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s bringing his scuba gear. Santa will be scuba-diving at the Oklahoma Aquarium from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and again December 19-20. The North Pole native will swim with his fish friends in our Polynesian Reef exhibit. Photo/Courtesy
JENKS, TULSA EXTEND LOW-WATER DAM DEADLINE
By Kyle Salomon Citizens of Jenks and Tulsa voted yes in 2016 to a low-water dam being built across the Arkansas River connecting the two cities. The money allocated by the two cities was designed to build and construct the dam, but there would have to be another fund secured before construction could begin. A maintenance endowment fund had to be agreed upon and the deadline was set at Dec. 31, 2020. According to the ballot language, the City of Jenks would be able to use that designated money for the dam on other capital-funded projects if it chose to, while Tulsa would be required to use their money for other projects. However, due to the year 2020 being much-engulfed by COVID-19, both cities have come together and agreed to extend the deadline to 2022. “We have communicated with the City of Tulsa and we don’t have a deadline like they have. We can use the money for something else after Dec. 31, 2020,” Jenks City Manager Chris Shrout said. “Tulsa must have full-funding, or the money will be re-allocated, so there is nothing the City of Jenks has to do other than continue to hold the money for the dam, so we plan on doing that. Tulsa plans to extend its deadline to 2022. The ballot language states we can use the money for other infrastructure projects, but we have had no discussions internally, with council, or the public because we expected this deadline would be extended.”
JENKS MUST HOLD PUBLIC MEE TINGS IN PERSON AS STATE’S LEGISLATION ON VIRTUAL MEE TINGS EXPIRES
By Kyle Salomon
Last March when the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the nation, the state of Oklahoma legislators passed a law making it possible for public meetings to take place virtually rather than in person. Since that time, the City of Jenks has been conducting its open meetings virtually. The meetings were first shown live on the city’s Facebook page, then the meetings started to be shown on the city’s YouTube account. The statute that was put in place allowing public meetings to take place in the virtual world expired Nov. 15, which means that the City of Jenks must go back to in-person public meetings. “After Nov. 15, which was the expiration date on the virtual meetings being allowed, we will meet in person for our public meetings,” Jenks City Manager Chris Shrout said. “We have the community room set up here (City Hall), so we can socially distance. The elected officials or appointed commissioners, depending on what type of meeting it is, will have their own table and be socially distanced. We anticipate the state legislature will pass some legislation that will allow for continued virtual meetings, but until then, we will meet in person.” Shrout added the current council chambers where meetings used to take place in person does not provide enough space to safely socially distance, which is why the community room will be used. The next scheduled City Council meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
2020 Has Been Anything But 20/20
Corey Redington Portfolio Manager Miller Private Wealth, LLC
If, as they say, “hindsight is 20/20” many of us may be glad that 2020 is becoming hindsight… because no one predicted a year like this one! The roadblocks 2020 has presented to our country, our state, our communities, and our families have been numerous. Even though it might seem like it was only 5 years ago that we entered 2020, we have finally made it to year end. In fact, I’m sure that if we looked hard enough, we could come up with hundreds of other clichés to describe what has undoubtedly been an unconventional year. However, as 2020 has truly been a good for nothin’ type of year for many in our community, we would like to give thanks to the unsung victories that may have gotten overlooked this year. At Miller Private Wealth, we began planning for 2021 by reflecting. Interestingly enough, as we began looking into the rearview mirror, we quickly found ourselves realizing that despite 2020’s many roadblocks, the year has been an enormous success. This led us to ask a few questions such as “Why has this year felt so awful?”, “If we have been so successful, why?”, and finally “To whom or what do we need to give thanks for this success?” So, let’s continue by focusing on the answers we have come up with thus far. Why has this year felt so awful? While I doubt I need to elaborate much on this one, since each of us could complete a
laundry list of reasons, I will attempt to do so anyway as it turns out that seeing the burdens of our fellow Americans has truly made us weary. As Oklahomans, we have found ourselves in awe as a tornado has seemingly picked whom and what it wanted to destroy. So too does the Coronavirus. In one seemingly healthy family it can present itself to one member with no symptoms, while placing the next on their deathbed. Couple this phenomenon with the economic damage and massive unemployment caused by our attempts to contain the virus’ spread. Add a sudden and dramatic stock market drop, an economic recession, and the crowding of our homes as families began to both work and educate from their homes. If we have been so successful, why? As a company, we always enjoy the opportunity to educate our clients. We believe that those investments we made in our clients was the greatest reason why 2020 has become one of our most successful years. As the rapid downturn slowed, we received numerous calls from clients asking if this was one of the buying opportunities we had talked about in the past, and it certainly was. As a portfolio manager, I love the opportunity to buy well-run companies with strong balance sheets at discounted prices. However, without having educated clients prepared to weather the storm, I may not have been able to take bold action. As it turns out, nearly all of them have come out the other end not only holding ownership in stronger companies, but most of them are ending the year with gains in their accounts.
Part 1 As we move out of the season of Thanksgiving, into the season of gift giving, we must take a brief pause to explore the methods by which we can give (and receive) a gift. There are five unique ways our brains (and souls if you will) are designed to give and receive love. They are not mutually exclusive, nor are the ways we give and
In 2020, we were presented with a lot of obstacles, however, as we looked back, we are proud to proclaim… Mission Accomplished! While we know that we have not gotten everything right, we look forward to adding this year into our history books so we can use the lessons we learned so we can apply them to the next crisis we will inevitably face. We truly hope that as you are able to find and focus on the successes. Thankfully for us, the clients we have accumulated and cultivated have made a success out of a very volatile year. If you are interested in our financial process, we would enjoy meeting with you to see if Miller Private Wealth fits your financial needs. Advisory services are offered by Miller Private Wealth LLC a SEC Registered Investment Advisor in the States of Oklahoma, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
To whom or what do we need to give thanks for this success? Without a doubt, our clients and our process have rewarded us with this success. Nearly every client proved to not only be amazingly patient, but they also gave us the opportunity to grow our business throughout the downturn by not only transferring in additional assets from other sources, but they also sent us referrals as well.
receive always the same. Studies show that children as young as five-years-old begin to display their love language.
FIVE WAYS TO GIVE A GIF T
The outcome of our company’s 2020 reminded me of the ending of one of the silly tv shows I enjoyed as a kid called The ‘A’ Team and at the end of every show Hannibal would end the show saying, “I love it when a plan comes together!”
As we grow and mature, our primary or secondary love language may change, and even as we enter marriage and child rearing, the secondary language may shift again. Most often, however, once we enter our adult years the way we give and receive love generally stays the same. In this series I will be referencing the book “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. I’d like to take a few weeks to discuss each one in detail and how they pertain to giving during the Christmas Season. I find it fascinating how accurately most people are represented (myself included) between just five simple methods of giving and receiving love. What is even more interesting is how deeply a person can feel unloved or unappreciated when gifts/words/ actions are not communicated to them through the filter of their love language. But we will get to that a little more later. Today, I want to take a brief look at each of the five love languages before we dive in any deeper. I suggest taking a few minutes (if you have not done so recently) to take the free quiz online that will help you determine your primary and secondary love languages. You can find it here: www.5lovelanguages.com/ quizzes/ 1. Words of Affirmation: This one is pretty much just like it sounds. Written or spoken words like, “I am so proud of you,” or “you look
great in that dress,” are how this person gives and receives love. 2. Quality Time: Spending time with this person is about more than sheer proximity, it is about undivided attention, spending time filling up their love tank. This person feels loved with lunch dates or conversation over coffee or a glass of wine. 3. Acts of Service: This one can be a little tricky to identify. Acts of service must not be done out of obligation, but rather out of the kindness of one's heart. Taking the baby for a tired friend so she can rest, or helping your neighbor with his yard work are both simple examples. 4. Gift Giving: To state the obvious, this person feels and gives love through giving gifts. There is no quantifiable measure by how often and how much the gift must be. This person simply views gifts as a visible/tangible sign of love. 5. Physical Touch: You know those “touchy feely” people? The kind that likes to give hugs when they meet you. This is them (and definitely not me). They love to feel a physical connection with those around them; a hug, a hand on the shoulder, or sitting close, side-by-side. Let's take a closer look at how to give a gift through Words of Affirmation this Christmas Season. As a child and young adult, my primary love language was Words of Affirmation. As an adult it has moved to my secondary language, but the many years I spent giving and receiving
love through this filter has undoubtedly largely shaped me into the friend/spouse/mother I am today. To best communicate with a person who is WOA (words of affirmation) it is important to encourage, affirm, appreciate, and empathize with them. It is equally important to AVOID unconstructive criticisms and letting an accomplishment or effort pass unnoticed. Words may both be spoken or written and may be offered as praise or constructive criticism. Growing up, I lived for the written word. Letters, notes, poems, cards, you name it. My dad and I shared a love for writing, and most of the tougher lessons in my life came through a handwritten note, and later on an email. These words played such a remarkable role in my life, I still have many of them saved to this day. Now as an adult, I often find myself showing my love to others through the written word in ways as simple as a text, a thank you card, or most recently, disguised as Santa in a letter to the kids. In fact, one of the reasons I continue to write this column is as a means to display my love for the community. It can be devastating for a WOA individual to have an overly critical spouse, or a boss who never verbally recognizes their hard word. I hope that by taking a closer look at each love language, I can help you give your gifts the right way this season, and avoid giving someone a gift that simply doesn’t speak their language.
So, here is a simple gift guide for the Words of Affirmation person in your life: - A handwritten letter recounting the value the person has been in your life - A personalized notebook - A set of personalized note cards and envelopes - A mug with an inspirational quote - An encouraging note packed with a lunch - An Advent calendar filled with self-affirmation cards - Engraved or personalized Jewelry (remember words hold more weight than the actual gift itself) - A heartfelt letter or personalized poem - A series of posts on social media about how special a person is and/or publicly recognizing their accomplishments - An heirloom book or memoir A child doesn’t even have to be able to read to understand the power of love through the written word. Just last week I sent my son to school with a sack lunch. On the outside of the sack I wrote “mommy loves you”, “have fun today”, “you are special” and put it in his backpack. When he gets to school, and the teacher takes his lunch out she sees the writing and reads it to him. It always brings a smile to his face. I honestly think I get more joy out of giving the note than he does receiving it. That’s the WOA love language in me. So, take up a pen and a pad and write a note for that Words of Affirmation person in your life this season.
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NEW CI TY OF JENKS FLAG ON DISPLAY
After Veterans Day, the American Flags were taken down on the Jenks Bridge (96th Street Bridge) and Aquarium Drive and replaced with the new and official City of Jenks Flag.
Jenks High School graduate (class of 2015) Mariah Scott won a contest in summer 2019, hosted by The Jenks Chamber of Commerce, to create a new Jenks flag. Jenks City Council approved the flag in September the same year. Scott’s design is inspired by the city’s levy system, the school system and has five stars on the flag which represent Jenks being founded in 1905 and the word “Jenks” is comprised of five letters. This flag is also on display at Jenks City Hall, Jenks Police Station and both Jenks Fire Stations. Scott stated the following when asked what the meaning is behind the flag: “The layout of the flag is inspired by an aerial view of Jenks. Main Street is positioned on the north side of town, running from west to east, crossing the Arkansas River that serves as the town’s eastern border. Platinum represents successful beginnings as well as the hope and safety that bring families and businesses to call Jenks their home. From the beginning, Main Street has been the epicenter of these values, spreading opportunity throughout the entire city. Blue signifies the trust, honesty, and loyalty that is foundational to the community. It also represents the Arkansas River which Jenks is settled against, and the floods that Jenks endured in its early years. Gold symbolizes the compassion and energy found in each citizen of Jenks and salutes the community’s investment into the levee system that has brought stability to the city’s success and growth. Red indicates the strength, courage, and determination that the people of Jenks have demonstrated through each generation in the face of adversities. Additionally, red represents the leadership that Jenks has exhibited in its investment in the public education system. The five stars illustrate Jenks’ founding in the 5th year of the 20th century, and each serve as a place holder for a letter in the city’s name.” As of now, the flag is not available for purchase, but the Jenks Chamber of Commerce is considering making the flag available to the public. The flags will hang for the next several months.
Cont from pg 1... “To watch him and the hard work and not knowing if you’re going to have a season from week-to-week and miss a couple games, it was just very rewarding,” Jason said. “It was more exciting to see him win, and I was more elated than when I won. It was just crazy trying to realize what happened, I won it, my brother won it and now my son is winning it. It is crazy to think that. You just don’t see that very often. Not a lot of people can say they have a dad, uncle, and now him win a championship at the same school.” Grant’s uncle, Brandon, said it was special and as they were taking a picture Saturday after the game, he started to think about how many rings they have between them. “You could almost write a book about it,” Brandon said. “I don’t think we realize how blessed we are, to even win just one, and I was blessed to have three. It’s definitely special. The past few years didn’t go the way that they wanted, but to finish his senior year and to be on top and to be a champion, you can’t put it into words.” Grant said even though he wasn’t born yet when his dad and uncle put on the Jenks uniforms, he knows they played for some phenomenal teams. “When my dad was playing, they used to call their defense the “Legion of Doom”,” Grant said. “It’s pretty cool, they were pretty great teams. They can’t make fun of me anymore for not having a state championship. It feels pretty great to join them in that legacy and carry on that legacy for them.” Jason said with what Grant and his teammates have gone through this year with the pandemic, it is more impressive than anything his or his brother’s teams did in the late 90’s. “Comparing teams is tough, but this year, they proved no matter any obstacle, they were going to be up for the challenge and not be denied,” Jason said. “It’s just a testament to them and what they have done. They were limited on what they could do in terms of spring practice and summer workouts, and we weren’t. What they did under those circumstances was truly amazing.” Grant and Jason have not always lived in the Jenks school district. For the first half of Grant’s life, the family lived in Edmond and Grant was set to attend high school at Edmond Santa Fe, who ironically Jenks beat Saturday in the 6A-1 state championship game at the University of Central Oklahoma. “It’s pretty cool,” Grant said. “Back in sixth grade, we played our championship game at UCO and I played with a bunch of those dudes, so it is pretty surreal how it can end against a school where I would have gone if I wouldn’t have moved to Jenks in that same stadium.” Jason said he never thought the opportunity to move back to the Jenks area would happen and he thought Grant would be playing high school football in Edmond.
“He won a championship at UCO in his sixth-grade year with his Edmond team and then to win a state championship at UCO with Jenks is crazy and something you couldn’t fathom.” With Grant, Jason and Brandon all winning state championships, the question of who would be able to stop who has come up. Jason said it would be a challenge to stop Grant and the Jenks offense this year, but he and his brother’s group would be up for the task. “They like to run the ball this year,” Jason said. “Other teams knew that, and they still couldn’t stop them, which is a testament to what they did. No matter what was going to happen, they were going to try and run the ball. Of course, you had other weapons outside that they could throw to. It would have been a challenge and we would have been up for it. What would have happened, I don’t know, but it would have been fun, and it is fun to think about. They put up a lot of points this year and defensively played well. It would have been interesting. He is a better athlete than I ever was.” Brandon said he never thought about it until now that Grant has a title. “I guess I can’t make fun of him anymore for not having a ring, so I guess now we can kid about who would stop who,” Brandon said. “I never thought about that, but we will have to give him a hard time about being able to stop him, especially when he was running the ball.” Grant said he has thought about it before and it would be fun to play against former Jenks legends like his father, his uncle, Sean Mahan and Rocky Calmus, but says the game is different now than it was back then. “I think maybe back then, it was a little more physical than it is now,” Grant said. “I think this is the best offensive line we have had in probably five or six years. I think it would be a tough challenge, but I think we would be up to it.”
BANCFIRST ’S ANGEL TREE TO BRING JOY FOR 21ST YEAR By Kyle Salomon If you walk into the lobby area of the BancFirst in Jenks, you will see a nicely lit Christmas tree with small notes pinned to it. At first glance, you might just think to yourself, “those are pretty decorations”. However, if you look closer, you will see those small notes are much more than decorations. They are lists of items that residents of Grace Living Center in Jenks have put together as gifts they would like for the Christmas season. For the 21st year, BancFirst in Jenks has put up its Angel Tree with 148 angels from Grace Living Center. The age range of the angels this year is 39 to 100. Residents at Grace Living Center will not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas this year with their families due to precautions from the COVID-19 pandemic. BancFirst staff said they wanted to do the annual Angel Tree, but they are aware of the current economic situation people are facing this year and wanted the gifts to be simple to purchase and in a certain price range. Most of the gifts on the lists this year are necessities, and items easier to purchase. The Angel Tree is anonymous both ways. The angel does not know who purchased their gifts and the person purchasing the gifts does not know the name of the angel they are shopping for to give them a great holiday season. The program also got started earlier this year and will run through Tuesday to allow more time for people purchasing items for an angel. One difference this year due to the pandemic and to limit interaction between people, those who purchase gifts for the angels are asked to check themselves out at a table, which is set up in the lobby of the bank.
BOWL WITH SANTA AT ANDY B’S DEC. 20 Deck the halls, grab your Santa hat, and head over to Andy B's to bowl with the big man from the North Pole. Santa's a busy guy, but he knows you've been nice all year, so we've arranged a special treat on his behalf. Event includes: -Unlimited VIB bowling -Cookies with Santa -Unlimited hot chocolate -Complimentary shoe rental
AQUARIUM, RED CROSS PARTNER FOR BLOOD DRIVE The Oklahoma Aquarium is proud to partner with the American Red Cross for a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. To learn more about how your blood donation can help, visit www.redcrossblood.org/
FRESHMEN THROUGH SENIORS RE TURN TO CLASSROOM, MIDDLE SCHOOLERS REMAIN IN DISTANCE LEARNING
Jenks Public Schools’ students in grades 9 through 12 returned to in-person learning Monday. JPS’ students in grades 7 and 8 will remain in distance learning through this week due to a gas leak at Jenks Middle School. Jenks’ 7th through 12th-graders will take final exams, but those exams will only be able to improve a student’s grade, not harm it. As of last Friday, there are a total of 39 positive COVID-19 cases (students and staff) out of 12,026 people at school sites. There are 14 positive cases among JPS secondary staff members. Staffing capacity has improved throughout the past three weeks. Jenks schools’ administrators and contact tracers will continue to monitor the daily cases of isolations and quarantines. More information can be found at www.jenksps.org.
JENKS POLICE DEPARTMENT INCIDENT REPORTS NOVEMBER 9 THROUGH NOVEMBER 29 LARCENY; 150 AQUARIUM DR LARCENY; 100 BLOCK FOXRUN CIR LARCENY; 300 BLOCK W 112TH ST LARCENY; 700 BLOCK W MAIN ST LEAVING SCENE OF ACCIDENT INVOLVING DAMAGE; 11000 BLOCK S ELM ST LEAVING SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT(CITY); 12000 BLOCK S TAMARACK ST FOUND PROPERTY; 300 BLOCK S VETERANS DR LEAVING SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT(CITY); 1000 BLOCK W 115TH PL LEAVING SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT(CITY); 2400 BLOCK E 131ST ST BURGLARY 1ST DEGREE; 300 BLOCK E B ST UTTERING FORGED INSTRUMENTS; 600 BLOCK E C ST DUI; 12900 S ELM ST FALSE PERSONATION – 0824, OBSTRUCTING OFFICER – 0511, POSS DRUG PARAPHERNALIA – 1759, POSSESSION OF CDS-COCAINE/METH/CRACK/MDM – 1343; 700 E AQUARIUM PL FAILURE TO PAY TAXES DUE STATE, Possession of Marijuana (City); 800 BLOCK S ELM ST IDENTITY THEFT; 400 BLOCK W 127TH PL IDENTITY THEFT; 1900 BLOCK E 135TH ST FALSE PERSONATION; 700 BLOCK W 101ST PL LARCENY-AUTO AIRCRAFT OR OTHER MOTOR VEH; 400 BLOCK N GUM ST BURGLARY FROM AUTO; 11900 BLOCK S VINE ST MALICIOUS INJURY/DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY; 400 BLOCK E E ST MALICIOUS INJURY TO PROPERTY-OVER $2500; 600 BLOCK N RIVERWALK TER LEAVING SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT(CITY); 12500 BLOCK S BIRCH AVE IDENTITY THEFT; 4000 BLOCK W 105TH ST MALICIOUS INJURY/DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY; 3700 BLOCK W 107TH CT MALICIOUS INJURY/DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY; 400 BLOCK N EMERSON ST
REID SO TKIN RECOGNIZED AT DECEMBER BOARD MEE TING … 2021 BOND ITEMS APPROVED By Kyle Salomon Jenks High School junior, Reid Sotkin, was honored Monday by the Jenks Public Schools Board of Education at the December School Board Meeting. Sotkin recently won the 2020 Congressional App Challenge for his app called, “Calculating the Future”. He had this to say Monday to the board. “I want to thank the Jenks School Board for this recognition, I really appreciate it. This contest has motivated me to work on future apps and I plan to use my learned skills to pursue a degree and career in computer science. My app is designed to teach young teens about investing. Most people don’t know, it doesn’t matter how much money you make, but $100 per month can be more than $100,000 by the time you retire. $500 per month can be worth millions of dollars. I wanted to show teens how this is possible and that is through the power of compound interest. On the app, there is a compound interest calculator, so they can see how it works and play with it and experiment, so they can understand it. There is also a retirement calculator, so you can enter your salary and all your bills, and it will tell you the different reliable stocks to invest in and what your expected return is by the time you retire. These stocks are from the S&P 500 and the total market index, the bond index, and the real estate index, so they are reliable, safe stocks that have been consistent for the past 50 or 60 years. It just educates anyone who needs to know about that in a simple manner, so they can understand it.” Sotkin has attended Jenks Public Schools since he was in the fifth grade. He is unsure where he would like to attend college. BOARD APPROVES PO TENTIAL BOND-ISSUE I TEMS Also discussed Monday at the meeting was the potential bondissue items for the Jenks Public Schools’ 2021 bond issue. The Jenks School Board approved the following items for the 2021 bond issue: -District-wide equipment -Facilities management equipment and repairs -Printing improvements -Safety improvements -Technology improvements -Textbooks and media equipment -Transportation improvements -Phase 2 of Freshman Academy classroom renovation and upgrades -JHS Performing Arts Center rigging project -East Elementary parking lot entrance improvements -Baseball and softball complex improvements (part one of twopart process)
JENKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION LAUNCHES ANNUAL TROJAN 20 CAMPAIGN
If investing in a child’s education sounds like a good idea, please consider participating in the Trojan 20 fundraising campaign. Each year, we ask parents for a gift of at least $20 for each of their children enrolled at Jenks Public Schools, but anyone can participate. Why should you give? Public funding for schools in Oklahoma is not sufficient to provide the excellence in education we seek for our children. Dollars raised by the Jenks Public Schools Foundation through annual giving initiatives, like the Trojan 20, fund programs that would not exist without your support. When? If you are ready to donate and be a part of the Trojan Advantage, please click on the link to make an online donation. www.Trojan20.com Have questions? We would love to hear from you! Our e-mail address is Jenksfoundation@jenksps.org.
JENKS TRIBUNE SANTA LE T TERS SPECIAL
We want to know what the children in the Jenks community want for Christmas! Send us those Letters to Santa and we will publish them in the Jenks Tribune Santa Letters Special Section, which will run Friday, December 18! The deadline to send in those Letters to Santa is 5 p.m. Sunday, December 13! You can send all Santa Letters to ksalomon@jenkstribune.com or jwiesman@jenkstribune.com. You may also bring them by our office at 329 S. Elm St. Ste 201 in Jenks or you can mail them as well! We look forward to seeing what Santa Claus will be bringing everyone this year!
JENKS CRUSHES EDMOND SANTA FE TO WIN 6A-1 TI T LE
By Kyle Salomon Jenks captured its 17th football state championship in school history Saturday and its first since 2015 with a 41-14 throttling of Edmond Santa Fe in the 6A-1 State Championship Game. The Trojans entered the Saturdayafternoon matchup at Wantland Stadium with a 10-1 record and left with an 11-1 mark. The loss dropped Santa Fe to 10-3 on the year.
“It feels great,” senior Grant Lohr said. “I think what carried us through this game was that fire from the feelings we had the past few years. We played well, we knew they were a great team, and we knew they were going to make plays. I can’t even explain it. It’s just an amazing feeling.” Despite the lopsided final score, it was the Wolves who struck first. Angelo Rankin took the opening kickoff 86 yards for the touchdown followed by a Dakota Brash extra-point to give Edmond Santa Fe the early 7-0 advantage. CONT on pg 18...
Jenks football finished the season 11-1 and celebrated its 17th state championship Saturday. The Trojans defeated Edmond Santa Fe 41-14 at Wantland Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Photos/Glen Miller, El Reno Tribune
GRANT LOHR IS THE JENKS TRIBUNE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
By Kyle Salomon If you attended Jenks football games in 2020 or listened to them on the radio, you probably got used to hearing one name being called quite a bit … Grant Lohr. Lohr was one of several two-way starters for the Trojans, but his impact, both as a leader and playmaker is why he is the Jenks Tribune Player of the Year. Lohr led Jenks to the 6A-1 state championship from his starting running back and safety positions. For the season, Lohr carried the ball 199 times for the Trojans and gained 1,355 yards on the ground with 22 touchdowns. The Trojan senior averaged 16.6 carries per game, 113 rushing yards per game and 1.8 rushing touchdowns per game. Lohr also was successful catching the ball out of the backfield with 21 receptions in 2020 for 257 yards with three touchdowns. He averaged 1.8 catches per game, 24 yards receiving per game and .25 touchdowns through air per game. Combining the two, Lohr had 220 offensive touches this season with 1,612 total yards with 25 touchdowns. That is an average of 18.3 touches per game, 134.2 yards per game and 2.1 touchdowns per game. On the defensive side of the ball, Lohr had 90 total tackles from his safety position with three interceptions. One of those interceptions went for a touchdown. He averaged 7.5 tackles per game and .25 interceptions per game. With the 25 offensive touchdowns and one defensive touchdown, Lohr accounted for 156 points on his own in 2020 for an average of 13 points per game. CONT on pg 14...
CONT from pg 13... In the 8-game regular season, Lohr carried the ball 122 times for 862 yards with 14 touchdowns, which is an average of 15.2 carries per game, 108 rushing yards per game and 1.7 rushing touchdowns per game. The Jenks senior had 10 catches in the regular season for 156 yards with two touchdowns for an average of 1.25 catches per game, 19.5 receiving yards per game and .25 receiving touchdowns per game. Combining both the ground and air attacks, in the regular season Lohr had a total of 132 touches for 1,018 yards with 16 touchdowns for an average of 16.5 touches per game, 127.3 yards per game and two touchdowns per game. Lohr accounted for 102 points scored in the regular season, which is an average of 12.8 per game. Another reason Lohr was named the Jenks Tribune Player of the Year was his performance in the 6A-1 playoffs. He was clutch in all four postseason games, especially the semifinal game against Owasso and the state championship game against Edmond Santa Fe. Lohr racked up 185 yards rushing with three touchdowns against the Rams and 149 yards on the ground against the Wolves with one touchdown. All in all, Lohr carried the rock 77 times in the playoffs with 493 yards on the ground and eight rushing touchdowns for an average of 19.2 carries per game, 123 yards rushing per game and two rushing touchdowns per game. Lohr had 11 receptions in the postseason with 101 yards and one touchdown for an average of 2.8 catches per game, 25.3 yards receiving per game and .25 yards receiving touchdowns per game. In total in the playoffs, Lohr touched the ball 88 times for 594 yards with nine touchdowns for an average of 22 touches per game, 148.5 yards per game and 2.3 touchdowns per game. He accounted for 54 points scored, which is an average of 13.5 per game.
WINTER SPORTS SCHEDULES 2020-2021 Boys Basketball December 15 – at Owasso 8 p.m. January 5 – vs. Muskogee 8 p.m. January 12 – at Broken Arrow 8 p.m. January 15 – vs. Booker T. Washington 8 p.m. January 21 – Jenks/Union Tournament TBA January 22 – Jenks/Union Tournament TBA January 23 – Jenks/Union Tournament TBA January 26 – at Sand Springs 8 p.m. January 29 – at Sapulpa 8 p.m. February 2 – vs. Union 8 p.m. February 6 – vs. Webster 8 p.m. February 9 – vs. Owasso 8 p.m. February 12 – at Muskogee 8 p.m. February 16 – vs. Broken Arrow 8 p.m. February 26 – Regional Tournament TBA February 27 – Regional Tournament TBA March 5 – Area Tournament TBA March 6 – Area Tournament TBA March 11 – State Tournament TBA March 12 – State Tournament TBA March 13 – State Tournament TBA Girls Basketball December 10 – at Bishop Kelley Tournament vs. Collinsville 10 a.m. December 11 – at Bishop Kelley Tournament TBA December 12 – at Bishop Kelley Tournament TBA December 15 – at Owasso 6:30 p.m. January 5 – vs. Muskogee 6:30 p.m. January 12 – at Broken Arrow 6:30 p.m. January 15 – vs. Booker T. Washington 6:30 p.m. January 21 – Jenks/Union Tournament TBA January 22 – Jenks/Union Tournament TBA January 23 – Jenks/Union Tournament TBA January 26 – at Sand Springs 6:30 p.m. January 29 – at Sapulpa 6:30 p.m. February 2 – vs. Union 6:30 p.m. February 6 – vs. Webster 6:30 p.m. February 9 – vs. Owasso 6:30 p.m. February 12 – at Muskogee 6:30 p.m. February 16 – vs. Broken Arrow 6:30 p.m. February 25 – Regional Tournament TBA February 27 – Regional Tournament TBA March 4 – Area Tournament TBA March 6 – Area Tournament TBA March 11 – State Tournament TBA March 12 – State Tournament TBA March 13 – State Tournament TBA Swimming and Diving January 5 – vs. Bishop Kelley and Owasso 5:30 p.m. January 12 – Frontier Conference Meet 5:30 p.m. January 22 – Jenks Invitational 12 p.m. February 5 – Regional Swim Meet 10 a.m. February 19 – State Preliminaries 10 a.m. February 20 – State Finals 10 a.m. Wrestling December 15 – vs. Owasso 7 p.m. December 30 – at Glenpool Tournament 11 a.m. December 31 – at Glenpool Tournament 11 a.m. January 5 – at Sand Springs 7 p.m. January 8 – Larry Wilkey Tournament 10 a.m. January 9 – Larry Wilkey Tournament 10 a.m. January 12 – vs. Glenpool 7 p.m. January 15 – at Sand Springs/Sapulpa Tournament 10 a.m. January 16 – at Sand Springs/Sapulpa Tournament 10 a.m. January 25 – vs. Muskogee 7 p.m. January 19 – District Duals at Union 5 p.m. January 29 – at Pryor Tournament 10 a.m. January 30 – at Pryor Tournament 10 a.m. February 2 – at Bixby 7 p.m.
BOYS HOOPS IMPROVES TO 2-0
Jenks boys basketball beat Bartlesville 69-47 Friday in its home-opener at the Frank Herald Fieldhouse to improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Trojans defeated Webster 76-70 Dec. 1 on the road to open the 2020-2021 year. Photos/Izzy Pankey, Jenks Tribune intern
LADY TROJANS MOVE TO 2-0
Jenks girls basketball beat Bartlesville 46-31 Friday in its home-opener to improve to 2-0 on the 2020-2021 season. The Lady Trojans were scheduled to open the year Dec. 1 at Webster, but the Webster girls had to cancel the game due to COVID-19, so Jenks got the win by forfeit. Photos/Izzy Pankey, Jenks Tribune intern
TROJANS WIN IN ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE
Jenks football won its 17th state championship Saturday in Edmond. The Trojan Pride, cheer, pom, students and Trojan football fans shared in the excitement at Wantland Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma. Photos/Glen Miller, El Reno Tribune
CONT from pg 13... Jenks responded with an eight-play 55-yard drive to the Santa Fe 11, where the possession stalled. Max Paskvan was good with the 28-yard field goal attempt to cut the Wolves’ lead to 7-3 with 8:26 left in the first. Following a three-andout from the Trojan defense, the Jenks offense went on a 10-play 69-yard drive capped by a 27-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Kittleman to Jayden Patrick and a Paskvan PAT to give the Trojans their first lead at 10-7 with 1:44 left in the opening frame. Jenks’ defense continued to stall Santa Fe’s offense and the Trojans made it 17-7 on a Lohr 17-yard run and Paskvan extra-point with 9:59 to go in the first half. After another forced punt by the Jenks defense, the offense took a little more time on its next possession with a nine-play 70-yard drive. Lohr was on his way into the end zone for his second score of the night when he fumbled, but Patrick was there to scoop it up across the goal line for six. Paskvan was solid with the PAT and the Trojans led 24-7 with 3:37 left in the second quarter. The Wolves then decided to open up the offense and throw the ball down field and it paid off, as Santa Fe scored on a Scott Pfieffer one-yard run capping a four-play 80-yard drive to make the score 24-14 following the Brash extra-point with 2:08 remaining in the frame. Jenks was able to muster some more points before halftime off a 33-yard field goal from Paskvan capping a nine-play drive to make the score 27-14 Trojans at the break. Jenks added two touchdowns in the third quarter on a Griffin Forbes seven-yard scamper capping a nine-play 53-yard drive and a Cade Stacy 32-yard interception return. Paskvan was good with both PAT’s and the Trojans led 41-14 going into the fourth. Neither team would cross the goal line for the remainder of the game. “It was an unbelievable effort,” Jenks defensive coordinator Adam Gaylor said. “We didn’t change much. We changed our looks on No. 2 (Talyn Shettron) when we were doubling and outside of one play, we played lights out. It was a complete effort. The credit goes to our kids and their effort. I don’t know if we have the most talented kids, we have some good ones, but we have the best football team in Oklahoma, I firmly believe that. You have to love to coach tough-minded kids and our kids are that. They never flinch in the face of adversity.” Jenks finished the day with 427 yards of offense, including 237 passing and 190 rushing. Edmond Santa Fe totaled 260 yards with 164 passing and 96 rushing. The Trojans had 22 first downs and the Wolves had 12. Jenks was 6 of 12 on third down and Santa Fe was 2 of 9. The Trojans won the turnover battle 3-2. Kittleman finished with 237 yards passing on 16 of 21 completions with one touchdown, one interception and one fumble. Lohr rushed for 160 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries. Kittleman rushed for 33 yards on six carries. Forbes had 14 yards on four carries and Patrick has no yards on one carry. Patrick caught five passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. Glenver Jones caught five passes for 66 yards. Lohr caught three passes for 19 yards. Forbes caught one pass for 25 yards. Ty Walls caught one pass for 23 yards and Jalyn Stanford caught one pass for three yards. On top of the pick-six by Stacy, Ethan Bilgrien had the other interception for Jenks. Coleman Thurber finished with six tackles. Tyson Ward had five. Joey Havir, Bilgrien, Cooper Crissum, AJ Brown and Kaiden Vannoy each had four tackles. Montre Samuels Parker and Max Mitcho each had three. Stacy and Chase Jackson each had two tackles. Patrick, Stanford and James Secrest had one. Jenks head coach Keith Riggs coached in the first half, but due to medical reasons, was not able to coach in the second half. School officials said Riggs is alright, it was just a precautionary decision. “It starts with the offensive and defensive lines on both sides of the ball,” Jenks offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Greg Calabrese said. “All phases just played great. They have been through so much this year. I am just so proud of them.”