9 minute read
Wilkinson asks for Village Charter review
by okcfriday
By Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
City Councilman Sonny Wilkinson believes The Village City Charter is overdue for a review.
“We haven’t looked at it in detail since this city was founded” 73 years ago, in January 1950, the Ward 5 councilman said Monday night. “It should reflect how we think and act today.”
The City Council should consider updating several topics in the char- ter, he said, such as length of terms of council members (two years), making the language in the charter gender-neutral, whether the city manager should be compelled to live in The Village, and compensation for council members (who are paid $20 per month and are not compensated for mileage driven in their personal vehicles while on municipal business).
“These are some of the things I think we need to look at to have a healthy city,” Wilkinson said.
SONNY WILKINSON
OMRF achieves four-star rating for 21st time
The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has again earned the highest rating from the nation’s largest charity evaluator.
For the 21st time, Charity Navigator awarded a four-star rating to the Oklahoma Citybased biomedical research institute. OMRF scored 97 out of a possible 100. Charity Navigator awards points for demonstrating a strong commitment to accountability, transparency and financial health.
The rating designates the foundation as an official “Give
Parks
From Page 1 number and nature of the artwork items displayed in our city parks.”
Mayor Clements urged the commissioners to remember that “something which works well in a home may not work well in a municipal park.”
A proposed new
Darla
From Page 1 for its production design and original lyrics. From the Oniros Film Awards in New York City to the International Music Video Awards in Budapest, Hungary, Darla’s creativity and style are taking her around the world.
“I hope I stand out from many of today’s artists based on the content of the lyrics I’ve written being wholesome, clean and inspiring,” she said. “I’m all about family entertainment.
“With my newest song, ‘To All the Gabbys in the World,’ I wanted to motivate and inspire women who are in a domestic abuse environment to leave their horrible situations and ‘take off like a butterfly, it will be a better life.’” with Confidence” charity, indicating that OMRF is using its donations effectively and meets or exceeds industry standards.
Darla’s inspiration behind her new song came from the tragic case of Gabby Petito, a young woman who was killed by her boyfriend while traveling across the United States. While she was missing, national news coverage and public search parties took the nation by storm.
Darla said she felt particularly impacted by the loss and wanted to share a message of her own.
“Every time someone gives to OMRF, it’s an expression of hope for a better tomorrow,” said OMRF President Andrew Weyrich, Ph.D. “We strictly adhere to the intent of each donation, which is to fund lifesaving research. Every penny of every donation goes directly to that purpose.”
Founded in 2001, Charity Navigator promotes intelligent giving by preparing annual chapter which would be incorporated into the City Code recommends that the VAC, in performing its duties with respect to Art in Public Places, “give special attention” to “conceptual compatibility” and “appropriateness” of a piece of art “with a unified design character or historical character” of a site.
The draft chapter defines a “work of art”
“Though Gabby’s name is in the title of my song, I wrote it for every woman I know, including a very good friend of mine,” Darla said. “It’s for those I don’t know who are being abused and, for whatever reason, refuse to leave it.
“Then, I wrote the script to encourage women trapped in those situations to leave,” she said. “I wanted the music video to have a happy ending, which it did.”
Within her music, Darla Zuhdi would like to be known as someone who “writes and performs beauti- report cards on U.S. and international charities. It uses publicly available financial information to evaluate nearly 200,000 organizations and provide unbiased information for more than 11 million donors. to include a sculpture, fountain, monument, mural, fresco, relief, painting, carving, and stained-glass installation. It would not normally include landscaping, paving, “architectural ornamentation or signs.”
Charity Navigator measures performance in areas such as fundraising, program and administrative expenses, fundraising efficiency, revenue and expense growth and overall transparency. It then assigns a rating of zero to four stars to give donors confidence when making a charitable donation.
Clements said she copied the chapter from the City of Edmond and modified it for Nichols Hills.
“Look over the draft chapter, and when we ful music that touches the soul.” In the future, she plans on doing a benefit concert in October 2023 to raise awareness during domestic violence month. She is continuing to write and record music while planning to attend future red-carpet events.
“We are absolutely thrilled that the song and video have been getting so much attention to bringing — through the power of music — an important message to those who may need it and in which my team and I all believe in.” receive feedback from you we’ll schedule another meeting,” City Manager Shane Pate told the commissioners during an organizational meeting July 11.
The city council has reserved $25,000 in seed money to launch the public art project, Pate said.
Save The Date
Tinerfest • Applications are now open for makers, artists, scientists and hobbyists to share their skills at Science Museum Oklahoma’s 2023 Tinkerfest, 9 am to 4 pm on Sept. 30. In previous years, Tinkerfest has offered more than 60 handson tinkering activities developed by the museum and community partners at this daylong, annual event. Admission to the museum and all Tinkerfest activities are free thanks to the generous support of sponsors and volunteers. Interested individuals or organizations should offer a handson hobby, project, skill or trade that can be shared with attendees. Tinkerers are responsible for providing their own supplies for the event but lunch and an event tshirt are provided. Volunteers are also needed for various tasks including tinker support, guest assistance, etc. For information about volunteering at Tinkerfest, visit smo.org.
Theatre
July 2530 •
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Get ready to jump, jive and wail the night away when Lyric Theatre transports you to 1920s and ’30s Harlem featuring the
Paseo Streetscape Project Update • wit and energy of one of the most dynamic periods in American music. Lyric’s vibrant, new production of the Tony Awardwinning musical celebrates the music of legendary Fats Waller and the great artists of the Harlem Renaissance. It’ll rock your world with hits like “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Your Feet’s Too Big,” “T’aint Nobody’s Business if I Do,” and many more at the Civic Center.
The Paseo Arts District is open for business! Oklahoma’s most popular arts destination is going through renovations that are part of the Paseo Streetscape Project. Despite the current construction, the district will remain open with plenty of parking so the public can come visit the district. With construction at the intersections of 30th St. and Paseo Dr., and at Walker Ave. and Paseo Dr., visitors are encouraged to enter the district through Dewey Ave., Lee Ave. or NW 29th St.
Next month the Paseo Arts Association is presenting three new exhibitions, each one featuring artwork from groups of emerging artists. These exhibits are the Art Group Members’ Show in Gallery I, Tour De Quartz in Gallery II and the Oklahoma State Fair Stu‐dent Art Show in Gallery III. An opening reception will be held during First Friday on Aug. 4 from 69 pm in the Paseo Arts & Creativity Center, 3024 Paseo.
This Weekend
July 22 •
Don Giovanni
Painted Sky Opera presents this opera at the Hudiburg Chevrolet Center at 7:30 pm. At the center of this classic tale of revenge is the title role of Don Giovanni. Meet one of the most notorious villains ever to grace the stage in this darkly comical tale of revenge. Don Giovanni is used to taking what he wants, leaving heartbreak and betrayal in his wake. However, his evil deeds may have finally caught up with him. Featured in the movie Amadeus, this powerful opera has entranced audiences for almost 250 years with its colorful characters and passionate music. Performed fully staged in Italian with English supertitles featuring the Painted Sky Opera Orchestra. Arrive 90 minutes before to grab dinner at food trucks, enjoy preshow performances by Painted Sky Opera artists and learn more about the opera in a preshow talk about Don Gio‐vanni. More details at paintedskyopera.org.
Send calendar events to jennifer@okcfriday.com
Paycom Center Events/Shows:
Thomas Rhett Aug. 17
PBR Freedom Fest Sept. 810
Jelly Roll Sept. 19
Koe Wetzel Sept. 30
ODESZA Oct. 12
Jason Aldean Oct. 13
Nate Bargatze Oct. 22
DSACO is hosting its Down Syndrome Festival & 5K on Saturday, Sept. 30. The goal of this event is to raise awareness and provide resources, as well as promote acceptance and inclusion for over 1000 individuals with Down syndrome living in Central Oklahoma.
This fall, DSACO will host a community event boasting an annual attendance of 4000 people.
A critical component of the Festival and 5K is the support
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Nov. 1819 Ringling Bros Show Dec. 1517
Zoo Amphitheatre: Sam Hunt Aug. 5 Incubus Aug. 20 Rick Springfield Aug. 23 All American Rejects Oct. 14 provided by volunteers who help DSACO staff and participants throughout the event. Volunteers can be anyone ages 14 and older from the community.
The Down Syndrome Festival & 5K is hosting its event on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 8:00 am12:00 pm and is looking for volunteers to:
• Day before and morning of setup
• Greet and check-in runners
• Sell merchandise and man booths
•Cheer on runners and pass out metals to family teams
Fatherland By
Burkhard
Bilger
Burkhard Bilger began writing for The New Yorker in 2001 and has since moved into the world of The Atlantic, Harper’s and the New York Times His first book was Noodling for Flatheads and it has now been joined by Fatherland
Fatherland is the moving memoir of Burkhard’s maternal grandfather, Karl Gönner, a German school teacher in the German village of Bartenheim after 1940. Described by the author as “A memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets” it tells the story of when the Nazis came into power. Karl soon became a Nazi German and was sent to occupied Alsace in France to “reeducate its children.” There he lived with his wife and four children as a respected educator, teacher, traitor, soldier and theatrical group therapy worker to “help us make peace with our dead.”
Through the years, the family underwent many changes and Burkhard actually grew up in Oklahoma and learned of these stories through his mother’s telling. Since his grandfather had become so quickly aligned with the Nazi thinking, he became active in politics, leader of the 130,000 members of the
Hitler Youth and elected Party Chief. Though he was known as a ruler with an iron fist, he was generally admired.
There were incidents and accusations for years after the end of hostilities, and his grandfather’s records list stories of all levels of Germans from neutral to zealots. Karl was accused of the murder of a local farmer, so we also read of his trial, imprisonment. Was he a war criminal or just a normal German who was trying to keep himself and his children alive?
Burkhard took his family to the old country to try to unlock the story his grandfather would tell if he were still living. In addition to uncovering the truth about his grandfather’s guilt or innocence, he also dangled the questions of what do we owe the past? How can we make peace with our history without perpetuating its wrongs? Was grandfather guilty or innocent?
It is probably no surprise that the author’s family found supporters, doubters, pages and pages of accommodations, praises as well as questions. The book is amazingly revealing of an ordinary man caught in the web of being in the wrong country at the wrong time as well as the dangers of not being loyal to the party in power.
While looking for goodness and light, Karl’s grandson’s search for information of the family brings many revelations from other citizens. Who is to be believed?
Intrigue and sus-
Civic Center Music Hall: Ain’t Misbehavin’ July 2530
Ain’t Too Proud Aug. 1520
SpiderMan Sept. 21
To Kill a Mockingbird Oct. 1015
Bluey’s Big Play Oct. 1718 Tina Turner Muscial Dec. 2631
• Pack up after event.
They also need at least three photographers and one videographer for the event who is willing to donate their time and services.
Our community will benefit from your help and support as participants come togeth- pense continue throughout the book. His subject matter is sensitive but Karl’s humanity remains intact. He seems to have been a strict man who did not believe in brutality and often saved families from deportation to concentration camps. Reading it reveals that by 2015 when Burkhard’s father last walked by the Rhine that Alsace is a different place now. No need for passports or identity cards and most people are bilingual. The grandfather had been right about one thing, Alsace would rebuild itself. Who would his grandfather be? Yes, the community remembered him as “Schoolmaster in the Truest Sense of the Word.” To his relatives he would remain earthy and profane. Through the German government he would be remembered as an honored veteran and to others as a discredited Nazi Party member. His deeper history may possibly not be known in full or remembered at all. er to raise money and celebrate inclusion. You may find the volunteer signup at: dsaco.enmotive.com/events/vol unteer/2023-down-syndromefestival-5k.
What lingers, at a moment of conflict in Eastern Europe seems to continue from generation to generation, the terrible specifics of war and poverty that Burkhard records from this period... hungry children eating plaster off the walls; the ground shaking from phosphorus bombs. Has anything changed about the inhumanities of war among neighbors in the 21st Century?
Thanks to Full Circle Bookstore for sharing books with FRIDAY readers.
