Fridayland vote could decide runoff
Festival of Hope
The total votes in Fridayland precincts make it the fouth largest “city” in Oklahoma. Your vote next Tuesday could determine who will be our next Governor.
Event Co-Chairman Laura Kerr bids on a silent auction item during HeartLine’s Festival of Hope. Page B1
Vote Tuesday!
OKC FRIDAY Vol. 52 No. 17 • Two Sections • 16 pages August 24, 2018
www.okcfriday.com facebook.com/okcfriday Serving affluent far north Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills and The Village for 44 years
Editorial
Leadership, not partisanship needed By Vicki Clark Gourley Publisher Mick Cornett’s ability to work with diverse factions of the city, county, and state are desperately needed in the Governor's office. City Manager Jim Couch said that Cornett had played
the “primary” role in OKC’s renaissance leadership and that “without Cornett the OKC THUNDER WOULD NOT BE HERE.” In 2005, Cornett paid his own way to New York City to meet with then National Basketball Association commissioner Howard Stern. No
one in Oklahoma even entertained the idea of an NBA team then. The city’s failed attempts to get an NHL hockey team had dashed city leaders’ hopes of ever having a big-time sports team. Vision. This is an example of what supporters mean when they say Mick Cornett
has “vision.” He does not spend time playing “gotcha” politics with either party. Instead he imagines what could be and quietly goes about getting it done. The partisan obstruction of any and all desperately See CORNETT, Page 8
MICK CORNETT
Putnam City bumps starting pay to $40k By Rose Lane Editor Variety Care’s Old Britton facility is located at 721 W. Britton Rd.
Health care for all Variety Care opens facility in Old Britton OKC Mayor David Holt, Variety Care CEO Lou Carmichael and Rep. George Young take part in ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
By Rose Lane Editor Variety Care brings health care to the underserved area of Old Britton with the opening of its 33,000-square-foot facility located at 721 W. Britton Rd. Variety Care Britton Health Center is a state-of-the-art community health center offering family medicine, pediatric care, women’s health, dental, a drive-thru pharmacy, behav-
- Photo by Rose Lane
ioral health and much more. During ribbon cutting ceremonies attended by nearly 200 people, Britton Christian Church Pastor Mike Hays said local community members were thankful that Variety Care had decided to open a
INTEGRIS is ‘Best’ again INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center has been recognized as Oklahoma City Metro’s Best Regional Hospital and is in a three-way tie for the Best Hospital in the State award for 2018-19 by U.S. News & World Report. As a best hospital, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center will be a widely recognized symbol of excellence in U.S. health care. St. John Medical Center and Saint Francis Hospital, in Tulsa, are also tied for first place. The 29th annual rankings are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions
about where to receive care. The 2018-19 rankings compared more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide across 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. This year, a total of 158 hospitals were nationally ranked in at least one specialty. More than 1,100 hospitals were rated high performing in at least one common procedure or condition, and 29 received a high performing rating in all nine procedures and conditions evaluated. Only hospitals that earned at least three High Performing See INTEGRIS, Page 9
facility in Old Britton. “We are grateful for Variety Care who has chosen to move into this community to help those who are hurting and those in need,” he said.
First-year teachers in the Putnam City Public Schools District will now be bringing home $40,000 a year as the result of an agreement between the educators and the Board of Education. The negotiated agreement also contains a memorandum awarding additional room money to the site teachers of the year, district teacher of the year finalists and the district teacher of the year. And, for the first time in the history of the Putnam City Public Schools District, the teacher vote was unanimous. During a Monday board meeting, school leaders approved the addition of $2.4 million in district funds to the $9.6 million coming from the state for a total of $12 million in teacher raises. Teachers at every step in the salary schedule will see salary increases, too, with the amount of their raises ranging from $6,020 to $10,945, depending on a teacher’s years of service and college degree. The agreement, however, is about more than salaries, the district leaders said. In fact, language in the negotiated agreement was changed in seven sections. The new language entails: Teachers who have been in the district for four or more years, and who scored 3.5 or higher on their previous year’s Marzano evaluation, may be formally evaluated every other year instead of every year. Schools are asked not to plan before- or after-school meetings on election days so staff can get to the polls. Any complaint about a teacher that is not brought to the teacher’s attention within
See VARIETY, Page 3
FRIDAY’s
See PAY RAISE, Page 9
Dogs of the Week
Sponsored by Paulette and Leo Kingston of WePayFast.com
Ernie and Buttercup were both adopted from Homeward Bound Pug Rescue in OKC. Their human is Courtney Ashford. Ernie's catch phrase is "Wake me up when it's time for my nap" and even though he has a grumpy face 24/7, he is a big sweetheart and loves to be petted. Buttercup (fawn) is a tripod and is still getting used to slippery floors. Send Dog of the Week, Cat of the Week and Baby of the Week nominations with complete descriptions to rose@okcfriday. com. Submissions are used in the order they are received.