Keeping OKC Beautiful Tim and Liz McLaughlin flank Chris Browning, OKC utilities director, during the OKC Beautiful Luncheon. The McLaughlins were the honorary co-chairmen. Page B2
Holy Week Worship Guide, Pages 11 & 12.
OKC FRIDAY Vol. 52 No. 49 • Two Sections • 18 Pages April 12, 2019
www.okcfriday.com facebook.com/okcfriday OKC’s only locally-owned newspaper with all local news Serving Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills, The Village, Quail Creek, The Greens and Gaillardia for 45 years
- Photo by Rose Lane
Creativity Ambassadors
During a gala at the Civic Center Music Hall, Creative Oklahoma named its 2019 Creativity Ambassadors. Taking part in the ceremony are, from left: Judy Allen, chairman of Creative Oklahoma; Bart Conner, Oklahoma Creativity Ambassadors chairman; C. Kendric Ferguson, creativity ambassador; Meloyde Blancett, executive director, Creative Oklahoma; Rob Lake, creativity ambassador; James Austin Kerr, 2019 young Oklahoma creativity ambassador; Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt; Jeff Stava, COO at Tulsa Community Foundation, Tony Moore, executive director, Gathering Place; Susan McCalmont, creativity ambassador; Mike Larson, creativity ambassador; and Dr. Paul Silverstein, creativity ambassador. For more photos, see Page 2.
Graham spends $14.61 per vote for election to Village Council
Spring is here and so is the Festival of the Arts Some 750,000 people are expected to attend The Arts Council OKC’s 52nd Annual Festival of the Arts, set for April 2328 in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park. The event is a community celebration of the visual, performing and culinary arts, bringing a variety of talented artists together for what has been an OKC tradition since 1967. The Festival of the Arts has long been considered a rite of spring and a signature event for the Arts Council.
By Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Festival of the Arts Co-Chairmen Susan Whittington and Randy Lewis hold the event’s poster, which proclaims it is time for the festival. The festival has long been considered a rite of spring.
This year’s cochairmen are Susan Whittington and Randy Lewis. The featured artists are Julie and Kevin Zuckerman who created “Born in a Day” to honor the
state of Oklahoma and the legacy of the Native American population. As always, the Festival of the Arts promises to bring in hundreds of talented
artists, engaging performances and an abundance of delicious treats and food demonstrations. The complete schedule can be found at www.artscouncilokc.com.
FRIDAY’s
Dog of the Week Abby is an 8-year-old, 6-pound Maltese. She loves her walks in the park on Grand Boulevard and going to Northern Michigan for the summer with her family, Jan and Richard Parker, where she walks along Little Traverse Bay. Abby was very upset when her cousin, the toy poodle, made OKC FRIDAY before she did! Email Dog of the Week, Baby of the Week and Cat of the Week submissions to rose@okcfriday.com.
Sponsored by Paulette and Leo Kingston of WePayFast.com
The newly elected Ward 3 city councilman in The Village said he spent “about $5,800” on his campaign. That is thought to be a record expenditure for a city council race in The Village. Adam Graham, 26, defeated Jane Lowther, 67, by a vote of 397-275 in this year’s annual city election April 2, which attracted 10.59 percent of the city’s 6,342 registered voters. Graham prevailed at a cost of almost $14.61 per vote – not including any shoe leather he may have worn out. He will receive the oath of office at the May 6 City Council meeting. Campaign expenditure reports are not required in city council races in The Village. The City Charter “does not address this issue,” City Manager Bruce Stone confirmed. And according to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, the state Municipal Campaign Finance and Financial Disclosure Act “shall apply only to municipalities with a population of more than 10,000 according to the most recent Federal Decennial Census and a general fund expenditure budget in excess of $10,000,000 in the fiscal year in which the municipal elections are held.” The 2010 census “had us at 9,829,” Stone said. See ELECTION, Page 12
Casady’s Bass named Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year In its 34th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, the Gatorade Company announced Sam Bass of Casady School as its 2018-19 Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Bass is the first Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Casady. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement
and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Bass as Oklahoma’s best high school boys cross country runner. Bass, a 5-foot-9, 120-pound junior, finished second at the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships this past season with a time of 15:46.53, leading the Cyclones to an eighth-place finish as a team. He also took 33rd at the See RUNNER, Page 4