Community School 073014

FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY METRO OKC’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY VOL. XXXVI NO. 31 JULY 30, 2014

It takes a

A pilot program at Edgemere Elementary could revolutionize education in OKC

BY BEN FELDER P.4

SPORTS: HOW OFFSEASON RUMBLES MIGHT IMPACT THE THUNDER P.34 MUSIC: TALLOWS FRONTMAN JOSH HOGSETT SHARES HIS INFLUENCES P.39

MARK H ANCOCK

COMMUNITY

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CONTENTS 37

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ON THE COVER

NEWS

LIFE

LIFE

Some believe it takes more than just teachers to properly educate our city’s urban youth. This fall, Oklahoma City launches its only community school program at Edgemere Elementary School, which encourages teamwork from teachers, community groups and others to create a hub of family enrichment and growth. How does it compare with other state and national community schools? Story by Ben Felder, P. 4.

— Jennifer Chancellor, editor-in-chief

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Cover: Edgemere Elementary School

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OKG picks

32

Sudoku / Crossword

8

Legal: restaurant lawsuit

20

Sports: OKC Thunder update, Zero K Run

City: David Greenwell

Food & Drink: Union Tacos, Kd’s Southern Cuisine, food briefs, OKG eat: late-night bites

34

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Metro briefs

Kids: Andy Alligator’s

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26

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Chicken-Fried News

Music: Copperheads, Wild Ponies, Music Made Me: Josh Hogsett, Power Pyramid, event listings

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Commentary

43

Film: Lucy, Hercules

14

Letters

45

Astrology

45

Classifieds

27

Community: Pet Food Pantry of OKC 29

Visual Arts: Pen & Ink with Watercolor, Spacial Recognition 30

Performing Arts: Shrek The Musical 31

Books: Carolyn Hart

MISSION STATEMENT Oklahoma Gazette’s mission is to stimulate, examine and inform the public on local quality of life issues and social needs, to recognize community accomplishments, and to provide a forum for inspiration, participation and interaction across all media.

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NEWS COVER

Community, schooled An education reform plan at Edgemere Elementary School aims to deal with poverty and social needs as it moves power back into the hands of the community.

At best, Edgemere Elementary School’s five-year experiment could provide the answers to the complicated riddle of urban education.

At worst, this aggressive attempt at school reform will create more doubters and continue the pessimistic view that today’s schools can’t be saved.

“This is the hardest thing I have ever done,” Kelly Pearson said. “It’s also the most exciting.”

Edgemere is just a couple of blocks from the Paseo Arts District and serves a high percentage of low-income and minority students. Pearson, who has been an advocate and volunteer for Edgemere over the past several years, won approval from the school district to experiment with the community school concept, which treats a school more like a community center rather than a building where kids are taught during set hours each day.

Over the past few months, Pearson, who leads Friends of Edgemere School, the group backing the concept, has been helping the district hire a new principal and teachers, build relationships with community partners and research how community schools across the country have found success. None of the former teachers or staff decided to stay for the new program.

“It’s up to us to make sure it’s a positive step, that it does what it’s supposed to do, that we keep staff as upbeat and as encouraged as they are today,” Pearson said. “That’s up to the community to do that.”

Part of the risk and opportunity in a community school concept is that it takes buy-ins from business leaders, parents, community leaders and other people beyond the classroom walls.

The work of Pearson, teachers and administrators will not be enough to ensure success.

“I’m a little nervous about the parents, and I hope we are doing the things and providing the things that they will need and want,” Pearson said. “I hope that everything we do is something that will gain their approval.”

What is a community school?

A community school is designed to serve children and their families

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P HOTOS BY M A RK HA N COC K

BY BEN FELDER

High-poverty schools bring special challenges that require more innovative ways of educating and caring for our students.

— Rebecca Hollis

through a collaborative effort of community and business leaders. The schools offer programs addressing the needs of families that go beyond the classroom.

Those needs could include regular evening meals, an on-site clinic, tutoring programs or night classes for

parents, all of which are planned for Edgemere.

Park Elementary School is one of several community schools in Tulsa in which the concept is gaining support. Principal Anita Schroeder said her school partners with many area businesses to offer resources — including an on-site store where parents can shop with points earned from volunteering at the school — to parents and students.

“The only thing [parents] have to do to get points is come and volunteer at the school,” Schroeder said. “The kids see their parents and their own neighbors at the school, and that makes an impression. To get them in, we had to have a hook, and our hook was the store.”

Park parents, many of which live in poverty, can buy small appliances, toys and clothing, which becomes especially popular during the holiday season.

“My kids come to school with holes

in their shoes,” Schroeder said “We’ve asked our partners for things that help keep our kids well, safe and fed.”

DoubleTree Hotels, Bank of Oklahoma and a Tulsa news station are just some of the businesses that have partnered with Park.

Similarly, Edgemere Elementary also has formed partnerships with Sunbeam Family Services, Variety Care clinics, Oklahoma State UniversityOklahoma City and several other organizations that will have a presence in the school.

Local control

One of the goals for community schools is to address fiscal adversity.

“Oklahoma doesn’t have an education problem; it has a poverty problem,” said Union Public Schools Superintendent Kirt Hartzler.

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NEWS COVER

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districts have a combined 31 community schools in operation today, while Edgemere is OKC’s first.

Hartzler was one of hundreds of educators who attended a community school conference in Tulsa last month.

Pearson and some Edgemere staff were also in attendance.

While education reform is most commonly focused on the policies established at the state and federal government level, the community school concept looks for answers at the local level.

“We don’t have to wait for the state to get it right or for the federal government to get it right,” said Pedro Noguera, a professor at New York University, an education activist and an author. “The help is right here.”

Noguera, who was the keynote speaker at the Tulsa conference, said he is skeptical of reform coming from lawmakers.

“I am very discouraged by what is happening in Washington, and I don’t see a lot of evidence that the federal government understands how to

provide the support we need in public schools,” Noguera said. “Where I have a basis for hope and optimism is at the local level.”

Noguera said school support has to be found from parents, community businesses, local universities and other local groups. Schools should also have relationships of trust and support among school employees and teachers.

“Cultural change requires buy-in from everybody,” Noguera said. “The receptionist knows how to talk to parents because she is on the team. The custodian knows his job is not to just sweep up but to make that school look beautiful because he is on the team.

Where there is a culture like that, kids are able to rise [beyond] the limitations of their backgrounds.”

Over 98 percent of Edgemere students qualify for free or reducedprice lunch, and the community school concept is designed to help students and their families overcome the limitations poverty can impose on education.

“High-poverty schools bring special

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Angel Schoech enrolls her daughter Cloie for school with the help of Edgemere office secretary Whitney Schallock.

Kelly Pearson

challenges that require more innovative ways of educating and caring for our students,” Rebecca Hollis, a Southern Education Leadership Initiative Fellow with Oklahoma Policy Institute, wrote in a column advocating for community schools. “Community schools are a way to meet those challenges without reducing expectations for low-income students.”

Building trust

Dave Lopez, former interim OKC Public Schools superintendent, signed off on the community school concept, and the school board also voted in support. The commitment from the district came with an annual budget of $50,000 for five years in addition to normal funding.

The district also hired Colin Strickland as the community school coordinator.

“This is exciting, but there are reasons to be nervous,” Strickland said. “We need to build trust with the parents. They don’t know anybody in the building, and they are hearing about all these new things.”

Strickland helps coordinate aid groups and makes sure the needs of the community are being addressed.

He admits that will require more than just a “white knight” approach, as it will take time to learn what works and what doesn’t.

“Ultimately, we are going to do some things that aren’t going to work and we are going to involve some partners that aren’t a good fit and we are going to miss the needs of some of our parents,” Strickland said. “Those are natural growing pains. We have these models we can look at in Tulsa,

but they are all different and all unique.”

Lopez supported the concept, and one of new Superintendent Robert Neu’s first duties was hiring a principal for Edgemere.

“I’m really excited about the principal we’ve hired,” Neu said last month about the selection of Alisa Stieg. “Honestly, it was one of the best principal interviews I have been a part of.”

Neu said the concept fits with his vision of education and he sees it as an experiment that could work for other schools in the district.

“I’m really excited to see how this concept works because I think this is really what we need to be doing in public education,” Neu said. “We’ve got to wrap our community’s arms around every one of our schools and every one of our kids.”

Edgemere has district support, but some board member comments highlight the skepticism that can exist when new types of education reform are introduced. An agreement of understanding between the board and Edgemere passed unanimously at a board meeting last week. But Phil Horning, along with a few other board members, was critical of where the money would go.

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“I’m wondering if that’s a justifiable expense,” Horning said about the plan to use funds for a Spanish teacher. “I will vote for it, but in the future, please give itemized accounting of the extra funding they are getting.”

In a system that scrutinizes every dollar, the community school concept challenges preconceived notions.

“There is definitely an element of trust that is required [from the district],” Pearson said.

Success will be measured through test scores and academic performance, but Pearson says there is more at stake than just helping kids get better grades.

“We are trying to rebuild a community,” Pearson said. “It’s working in other places, and I think it can work here.”

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NEWS LEGAL

Court runneth over An alcohol tax lawsuit takes hundreds of area restaurants to court over the definition of advertised drink prices.

BY BEN FELDER

SHANNON CORNMAN

A disagreement over how restaurants are required to advertise and charge the state’s mixed drink tax for alcoholic beverages landed in a Canadian County courtroom last week as hundreds of restaurants were named as defendants in a lawsuit.

With over 30 lawyers present, the hearing proceeded slowly and was eventually postponed to give the defense more time to review evidence.

John Truel, along with several other individuals, filed the lawsuit three years ago, claiming many restaurants were not including the 13.5 percent alcohol tax in the originally listed price, as required by state law.

“Some [restaurants] would charge you for the drink and then add the tax to it, [and] others would add the liquor tax to it [on the menu price], which means some people are paying a different price at different establishments,” Truel said from the witness stand in Judge Gary Miller’s courtroom in El Reno.

Calling it a personal research project, Truel said he had visited over 1,600 establishments across the state to determine which restaurants were not including the 13.5 percent alcoholic beverage tax on the listed menu price, which he claimed is required by state law.

Title 37 (subsection 576) requires establishments to include the tax in the “advertised price.”

A notice of hearing hangs at La Baguette Bistro on May Avenue. The restaurant is one of dozens named in the broiling lawsuit disputing listed prices for mixed drinks.

Several lawyers for the defense said the argument was over the definition of “advertised price” and that the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC), rather than the court, was the appropriate agency to determine the matter.

“This is not a typical case,” said Jim Larimore, an attorney representing various establishments, including Mama Roja Mexican Kitchen, Upper Crust and Louie’s Grill & Bar. “This is a case like none other that I have ever seen.”

Paula Ross, a spokesperson for OTC, said the agency does not concern itself with the advertised price when performing audits or collecting taxes from restaurants.

Ross also said an official with the tax commission was scheduled to testify at last week’s hearing as a witness for the defense. In his statements to the judge, Larimore, a spokesperson for the other

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SH ANNON CORNMAN / FILE

Who should decide?

A basil and jalapeño martini. Should its menu price include the tax? That’s what a court might have to decide. defense attorneys, indicated that he was not aware of an OTC official being available to testify, which could have been an example of the confusion caused by such a crowded courtroom.

Oklahoma’s Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE) Commission, which is the enforcement agency for the state’s alcohol laws, is also not involved in the

listing of the tax.

“Our agency does not have position on it, as it seems to be a tax issue,” said Brent Fairchild with ABLE. “The ABLE Commission does not enforce taxation [laws].”

Defense lawyers also say the state Legislature has changed the law to allow restaurants flexibility on what prices they list on menus.

Courtroom full of lawyers

Adding to the complexity of the case is the fact that hundreds of restaurants — and dozens of lawyers representing them — are involved in the lawsuit.

Throughout the hearing on July 23, the testimony of Truel was stopped several times as various lawyers raised concerns with evidence. Judge Miller appeared visibly frustrated by the delays and sarcastically joked a few times about the large number of attorneys in his courtroom.

The first submission of evidence by the plaintiff was copies of over 90 menus from restaurants and bars across

the state, which ignited a lengthy debate over whether the menus were admissible as evidence. Lawyers for the defendants claimed they had not been given enough time to look over evidence.

Miller postponed the hearing and asked the defense to discuss how much time they needed.

After Miller left the courtroom, dozens of the defense lawyers circled in the aisle of the courtroom and discussed the case. When one lawyer noticed a member of the media was still present, he asked Oklahoma Gazette reporter Ben Felder to leave. He refused, and an attorney consulted with the judge in an attempt to remove the media. The lawyer returned and said the judge recommended lawyers leave the courtroom if they wanted to keep their conversation private.

Miller returned to the courtroom several minutes later to see if an agreement between the parties had been reached. When no agreement was reported, he said he was removing the matter from any trial schedule at this time.

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NEWS CITY

On the bus Councilman David Greenwell embraces a modern urban lifestyle and transit development.

BY BEN FELDER

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Anyone that will listen to me, I tell them that if they can, they ought to ride the bus.

— David Greenwell

MARK HANCOCK

David Greenwell’s Twitter feed often includes photos from the No. 40 or the No. 16 bus. It depends on which route he takes.

The Ward 5 councilman recently embraced public transportation, which not only gives him a car-free commute between his south Oklahoma City neighborhood and downtown but offers him a closer look at a department the city has said it wants to grow.

“There is very little difference between me catching the bus and me just driving on my own,” Greenwell, 60, said. “Anyone that will listen to me, I tell them that if they can, they ought to ride the bus.”

Greenwell works at Cole & Reed, P.C., an accounting firm several blocks from the downtown transit center.

Greenwell isn’t the only newcomer to the city’s bus system, as an additional 500,000 riders a year have boarded a city bus over the past two years.

The number of routes and riders in OKC still falls short of other peer cities, but there has been an effort by city leaders in recent years to increase funding and frequency.

Greenwell is not just a passenger on the city’s growing transit system. As a member of the Oklahoma City Council, a firsthand look at the city’s buses gives him additional credibility in calling for increases to transit funding.

“It’s very encouraging to have somebody from city council or other leaders riding our buses,” said Jason Ferbrache, director of the Public Transportation and Parking Department, which oversees Embark, OKC’s bus system.

Ferbrache said the council has pushed more funding to transit over the past few years and he believes it is because city leaders like Greenwell have a deeper understanding for the importance of transit.

“I think increased ridership is probably the No. 1 indicator [of success],” Ferbrache added. “But I also think that if a city official, or any new rider for that matter … walks away feeling like Embark provided safe, reliable and friendly service, that’s important to us as well.”

Greenwell said he has found the bus system to be all those things. And by riding the bus, he also gets to hear the

Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell takes bus No. 16 home from the Metro Transit terminal just blocks from his office. thoughts of his constituents.

“You never know who you are going to meet on the bus,” said Greenwell, who never mentions he is a member of council. “I get to engage in many conversations during the ride.”

Getting connected

Public transit isn’t the only new addition to Greenwell’s life — he also recently became a Twitter user

(@GreenwellOKC).

“What I continue to hear is that there is a shift from Facebook ... to platforms like Twitter that appear to be more current,” Greenwell said. “I thought I should try it.”

Zach Nash, creative services manager for the city, helped Greenwell create his Twitter account and offered tips on how to get started.

“We talked about what Twitter is

and the best uses, and not just the best uses for what is going on at the city but also how to engage and connect with his constituents,” Nash said. “He was really eager to get it going.”

Nash, who oversees many of the city’s social media accounts, said it has become a great tool for interacting with citizens and addressing concerns in a quick manner.

“You really get an understanding of what people are talking about and are able to engage in those conversations,” Nash said. “That’s the really great thing about Twitter for government and government officials.”

It’s not uncommon for public officials to gain attention for inappropriate tweets, but the majority seem to use common sense in their approach. Greenwell said he has been a Facebook user but has noticed a trend toward Twitter.

A Pew Research study from 2013 showed that urban residents are much more likely to use Twitter than their rural or suburban counterparts. Twitter also has a higher appeal to younger users than Facebook, according to the Internet analytics firm comScore. The average age of a Twitter user is 35, and it’s getting younger each year.

That stat makes Greenwell’s recent Twitter use all the more impressive since it’s not usually a hobby taken up by those in their 60s.

“There are other [councilors] that are using social media, but Councilman Greenwell really wanted to sit down and see how the city is using it,” Nash said.

A person’s embrace of public transit and social media might not be too newsworthy. But as a member of the city council, Greenwell has shown an effort to connect more with his surroundings.

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M A RK HA N COC K

Underdog Gubernatorial candidate Joe Dorman looks for a boost following the release of a recent poll.

BY BEN FELDER

SHANNON CORN M A N

Joe Dorman’s statement following the release of a gubernatorial poll had a bit of “I told you so” in it.

“I can win,” Dorman said following a Rasmussen Report poll showing him just five points behind Gov. Mary Fallin.

Dorman, a Democratic candidate for governor, had always been considered by many a long shot to win in November.

But dipping approval ratings for Fallin, along with the latest Rasmussen Reports poll, indicate the race for governor is a lot closer than many expected.

“The poll shows that when you educate the voters on the issues, they are willing to close that gap,” Dorman said.

Name recognition has always been one of Dorman’s toughest challenges, and Rasmussen found 35 percent of Oklahomans were unsure who he was. However, the latest poll has cast a spotlight on his race and might force Fallin to take him more seriously.

Following the recent Rasmussen poll, Dorman’s campaign raised $15,000 in unsolicited online donations over three days. The fundraising boost from the poll might help, but Dorman remains at a disadvantage, as Fallin’s campaign bank account is at least five times bigger.

With more than three months to go before Election Day, a lot can happen to sway voters in either direction. Fallin has not yet entered full campaign mode, as she is beginning to tout the state’s economic success in more regularity.

“People are ready for a change,” Dorman said. “We knew that, and the polls show that.”

Dorman might still be the underdog, but it might no longer be accurate to label him a long shot.

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School board votes down contract with enterprise schools

The waiving of a 5 percent administration fee for two enterprise schools in Oklahoma City caused half of the school board to vote against a contract renewal two weeks before school is scheduled to start.

With a vote of 3-3 during the July 21 board meeting, the contract renewal failed to pass. But district officials say they believe a new contract will be approved before the start of school on Aug. 4.

Superintendent Robert Neu said there are no plans for the start of class at Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School and Jackson Enterprise Elementary School to be delayed, according to district spokesperson Tierney Tinnin.

The contract before the board did not include the typical 5 percent administrative fee that the district normally requires of enterprise schools.

The three board members who voted against the contract said they wanted the fee included.

“I think if we add that [administrative fee] to it, we will get that passed,” Tinnin said.

Council will consider Uber, Lyft ordinance

The City of OKC Public Works Department Traffic Commission voted 7-0 to label the smartphone-based rideshare services of Uber and Lyft as transportation network companies,

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which will require additional oversight.

The Oklahoma City Council will review the ordinance in the coming weeks.

Traditional taxi companies have viewed Uber and Lyft as threats to their business and have been advocating for stricter guidelines.

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“That hurts us when we are trying to go out and compete [for teachers],” said Rod McKinley, chief human resources officer for OKC public schools, referring to the state’s next-to-last teacher salary rate average and the lack of a relocation package for out-of-state teachers.

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By the numbers

211. That’s the phone number to call for HeartLine, which can suggest resources for those who might be in need of community resources. That number might be especially helpful for some Oklahomans after the Salvation Army in Oklahoma County announced that its food distribution program is on hold until September due to a food shortage.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 1 1

CHiCKEN She’s in a big meth now!

Officer, I think there’s something in my meth.

911 According to a NewsOK.com report, a woman called the Enid Police to report that there was something just not right with the meth she was smoking — she was convinced it was laced with something other than the toxic chemicals she was used to.

So, like any other completely reasonable consumer who is unhappy with her product, she called the police.

Enid police responded to her troubles by arresting her for possession of methamphetamine and a lesser charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

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We’re No. — Oh, A neighbor was we’re just bad scrolling a Google Street Teen drivers in Oklahoma are bad, and View map of her street we’re not just saying that because we like when she saw what looked to act crotchety and shake our fists in the like two men strolling air as cars race past our offices. (Though away from the scene of some of us might thoroughly the robbery and quickly enjoy such things.) notified her friend. (If We have proof. they weren’t friends www.google.com/solve-everything A study released before, well, they are now.)

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Competent criminals

We all do it: make a last-minute mental checklist to remember our keys and wallet and — oh — our gun. That’s something April Giddens-King forgot to do as she fled the Oklahoma City home she was attempting to break into.

The neighbors noticed something amiss and called the police. The suspect, in her haste, dropped her gun on the lawn. (Hey, it happens, right?) And in this economy, guns aren’t cheap.

According to a KFOR.com report, the suspect returned 10 minutes later and led the homeowners on a merry chase before being apprehended by police.

We could all learn something from Ms. Giddens-King: Always secure your valuables before fleeing the scene of the crime.

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they aren’t avoiding playing their fair part in the capitalist regulatory system by (now legally) denying relevant health care for female employees (but, really, why participate fully when you can simply benefit from the established economic system?), they are spending millions on biblical artifacts that they plan to display in a nonprofit Bible museum close to the National Mall in D.C. The planned site is bigger than Noah’s ark at 400,000 square feet and is in a historic district, and both of those facts are holding up their plans as they wait to have the renovation approved.

Washington D.C. council members also are concerned that the museum will preach to visitors more than it will actually educate, which would further blur the lines of church and state. (Which might be what the Green’s want. But who knows?) Maybe they just want us to know the historical relevance of the cyclops and

nephilim that once walked the Earth in Genesis. Surely they have those fossils to display for the world to see at the museum, right?

So far, the only artifacts mentioned have been old Bibles. Our advice? Go to a local library if you want to see old books.

It’s just brunch

Are you guys ready for some basketball news or what? Yeah, we know it has been an excruciatingly slow offseason. But things got hot and heavy in a hurry ... if you follow Justin Bieber on Instagram.

That’s because between his duties masquerading as a pop star and campaigning for World’s Biggest Bro, Bieber found time to have a little brunch with our city’s patron saint, Kevin Durant.

That’s right. Bieber took a selfie with The Slim Reaper, Durantula, The Servant, K-freaking-D while the two were having brunch together. If that doesn’t make your skin crawl, you either need to have your Thunder Fan Card revoked or

security and the safety of their children. recalibrate your jerk detector.

The new residents are previous members The weirdest part, though? Bieber was of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus wearing a Brooklyn Nets hat in the photo.

Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) — C’mon, Biebs. Show a little they were excommunicated for respect. undisclosed reasons. For the Oh, and Bieber’s most part, they are skilled mouth is half open, YO, KD.. MAN, NE TS blue-collar laborers — his tongue is kinda I LIKE, REALLY LOVE YOU BRO. “electricians, drywallers, sticking out and his carpenters” reported eyebrows are raised, NewsOK.com — who like he’s trying LET ME BUY YOUR BISCUITS say they are just looking to look sexy or AND GRAVY, for work and have no something. It’s really MAN... plans to take over the weird. town or establish an FLDS compound.

Fundamental Seriously. They don’t want to. flashback They promise.

A small, remote town in the Oklahoma However, George Barlow, one of panhandle seems to be experiencing a the newcomers, is the former mayor social upheaval reminiscent of past witch of Colorado City, Arizona, a town hunts and race relations issues. founded by FLDS members that has July 1, residents of Boise City held a seen its share of public scandal related public meeting to discuss a group of to the practice of polygamy, which was religious fundamentalists who have publicly rejected by the LDS church settled there. Those hosting the meeting in 1890. It was also home to infamous even felt it necessary to post warning signs church leader Warren Jeffs, who is now about remaining civil on the doors. While serving a prison sentence for two counts some believe the newcomers have good of sexual assault on a child. intentions, others are worried about job

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COMMENTARY

Getting it radically wrong

BY ADAM SOLTANI

I recently received a call from a parent in northeast Oklahoma concerned about a History Channel video titled Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing that was shown in her child’s Oklahoma history classroom at Jenks Freshman Academy.

One would assume that materials used to supplement our children’s education in the classroom are intended to increase understanding of the subject matter, aid in broadening worldview and develop an understanding of our increasingly diverse society.

Unfortunately, the film that is an approved selection in Jenks schools’ media library was little more than a hate-filled video that goes to extreme lengths to drag the blame for one of the most tragic events in Oklahoma history onto Islam and Muslims.

The video in question is currently being reviewed by Jenks’ school officials, however, by not immediately pulling

the video from their shelves, the school administration is missing the point.

Terrorism is a reality of the world we live in today and something that Oklahomans know the effects of all too well. Terrorist attacks in the United States have completely changed the way we live our lives, impacted our foreign policies and altered our sense of security. We are reminded of the precious gift of life when we visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and remember the 168 lives lost on that morning. We were reminded of the tragedies of 2001 when we received the official announcement of the opening of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York just last month. In the words of Michael Bloomberg, “We made a solemn vow that we would never forget those we lost and that we would forever share their stories with the world.”

Remembering terrorism’s

heartbreaking impact on our society is not only necessary, but for those young enough not to have lived through them, it’s an essential lesson from historical, sociological and political standpoints.

Our society, and educators in particular, have a responsibility when it comes to how they frame the understanding of terrorism and its social impact.

By placing the unconditional blame for all terrorist attacks on Islam and Muslims, we have conditioned our society to have a generally negative view and perception of the religion and its adherents. For more than two decades, we have gotten it radically wrong; terrorism isn’t a Muslim problem.

According to an FBI report, the “Muslim threat” has been greatly exaggerated. Between 1980 and 2005, only 6 percent of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil were carried out by “Islamic extremists.” Turn on Fox News and

Opinions expressed on the commentary page, in letters to the editor and elsewhere in this newspaper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ownership or management.

one would get the impression that eradicating Islam would solve all our problems. Listen to Oklahoma’s Rep. John Bennett or Rep. Sally Kern and you would be convinced that Oklahoma is under threat of impending takeover by Muslims that have been “identified as front organizations for terrorist groups,” which seems really implausible given that Oklahoma Muslims make up 1 percent of our state’s population.

We should not forget that terrorism is a human problem, not a label to be irresponsibly applied to religious or ethnic groups. In 1995, we got it wrong when we rushed to judgment and made attempts to blame the tragic events of April 19 on an Oklahoma Muslim.

Let’s hope Jenks Public Schools gets it right and stops utilizing hate-filled propaganda as an improper means of influencing our young people.

Soltani is executive director of the Oklahoma Council on American-Islamic Relations.

LETTERS Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity.

Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to jchancellor@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.

Who’s to blame?

Donald Smith (Commentary, Letters, “No war,” July 16, Oklahoma Gazette) wishes to remind those of us with “short memories” that the United States sent troops into Iraq at the order of George W. Bush. I wish to refresh his memory and ask him if he remembers 9/11.

Does he remember which Middle Eastern countries were used to train for and plan this unwarranted attack on the United States that cost over 3,000 lives?

I also wish to remind him that all of our intelligence information, as well of that of our European allies, indicated that Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction. (In fact, they did have chemical weapons that they used on their own people.) Regardless, the Democrats requested to have a second vote taken

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regarding congressional approval of invading Iraq. Whereas a handful of them had voted against doing so to begin with, they now wished to unanimously approve of the measure, which they did.

Only in hindsight did some fairweather individuals start blaming Bush for the invasion. The worst political decision seems to be the one that Obama has made to prematurely withdraw too many troops. This has resulted in relinquishing all of our hard-earned progress, making our efforts and sacrifices to no avail.

— Mickey McVay Oklahoma City Thanks for having courage

I wish to congratulate you in your article “Cartel Crossroads” (News, Ben Felder, July 16, Gazette). It was extremely insightful and with great timing. Unfortunately, the Spanish media (newsprint and radio) in Oklahoma has totally refused to address these issues.

From Capitol Hill Main Street to South Western Avenue, they have chosen to ignore this tragedy.

We do experience the impact of the cartels in our state, but you guys are the only ones with enough courage, moral responsibility and common sense willing to talk about it. Once again,

congratulations. No wonder you guys are Oklahoma’s No. 1 paper for English and Spanish speakers.

— Willie Quiñones Oklahoma City Poll results might be skewed

A SoonerPoll commissioned by the seemingly anti-wind organization OK Property Rights Association reports the results their customer expected: “Oklahoma voters believe there is not enough regulation of wind energy development or oversight of wind tax subsidies in the state.” If questions were framed impartially, that survey would

have included thousands of Oklahomans who prefer wind turbines and solar panels to an unprecedented 50 percent increase in property-damaging earthquakes since October 2013. It might have included responses from more than 4,000 Oklahomans employed from 2003-2012 in the wind industry, which created $340 million in labor income.

Oklahoma generates more than 3,000 megawatts of wind energy, ranking our state in the top 10, according to the Oklahoma-based Wind Energy Coalition.

The industry has the potential to do even better.

— Tim Wagner Yukon

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 1 5

Artsy Fartsy OKG picks are events

read

Art | Film | music | theAter in this issue

recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members.

For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

BOOKS Adoption’s Hidden History, Mary Payne book signing., 3-5 p.m., Aug. 2. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT

FILM The Lego Movie, (U.S., dir. Phil Lord, Christopher Miller) an ordinary Lego construction worker is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant, 9 p.m., July 30.

Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, myriadgardens.org. WED Belle, (U.K., 2014, dir. Amma Asante) the mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England, 5:30, 8 p.m., Aug. 1-2; 2 p.m., Aug. 3. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI–SUN

FOOD

Chocolate Delights, learn to prepare chocolate delights that satisfy even the most die-hard chocolate lovers, 6:30-9:30 p.m., July 30. Francis Tuttle Technology Center-Rockwell Campus, 12777 N. Rockwell Ave., 7174900, francistuttle.edu. WED Midtown Market at Saints, fresh, Oklahoma-grown produce, meats, dairy, baked goods, honey and prepared foods such as salsa, jam, jelly and relish, 1 p.m., Aug. 1. Midtown Market, NW 9th St. and Walker Ave. FRI South Lakes Soccer Flapjack Fundraiser, event to help team offset entry fees and travel expenses, 8-10 a.m., Aug. 2. Applebee’s, 6020 SW 3rd St. SAT Canning, cover the basics of canning, including jams, use of pectin and pickling, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Aug. 2. Francis Tuttle Technology Center-Rockwell Campus, 12777 N. Rockwell Ave., 717-4900, francistuttle.edu. SAT

P ROVI DED

Pinot’s Palette, wine and paint party, 2-4 p.m., July 30; 7-9 p.m., July 31-Aug. 1; 7-10 p.m., Aug. 2. Pinot’s Palette, 115 E. California Ave., 602-3850, pinotspalette. com. WED–SAT

Stop Making Sense There are concert movies, and there’s Stop Making Sense. The 1984 film, directed by Jonathan Demme, documented a series of Talking Heads performances for the ages, and 30 years later, it’s still an aural and visual experience unlike any other. Enjoy it on the big screen 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive. Tickets are $5-$9. Call 236-3100 or visit okcmoa.com.

Thursday

HAPPENINGS Bricktown Bike Night, games, music, prizes, giveaways and a scavenger hunt, 6-10 p.m., July 30. Bricktown, Corner of Sheridan Ave. and Oklahoma Ave. WED Guided Meditation Classes, classes designed for people interested in connecting to the divine through the art of mindful meditation, 7-8 p.m., July 30. Labyrinth Temple, 417 NW 25th St. WED

MARK H ANCOCK

Get Your Superhero On, kicking off Guardian of the Galaxy and all of the upcoming Marvel movies, benefiting the Bella Foundation, 6 p.m., July 31. Windsor 10 Theatre, 4623 NW 23rd, 917-2299, bbtheatres.com. THU Opal District Crafter’s Emporium Art Show, featuring artists with a wide variety of talented works, live music, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Aug. 2. Cleveland County Fairgrounds, 615 E. Robinson Ave., Norman, 360-4721, clevelandcountyfair.org. SAT

PERFORMING ARTS Children of Eden, musical based on book of Genesis, Act I tells the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Act II deals with Noah and the flood, 8 p.m., July 31-Aug. 2. Mitch Park, 1501 W. Covell Rd., Edmond, 359-4630, edmondok.com/parks. THU–SAT 6th Annual Improv Festival, troupes from across the country performing live shows based on audience suggestions, 8, 9, 10:30 p.m., Aug. 1-2. Bricktown Hotel and Convention Center, 2001 E. Reno Ave., 800-4770629, bricktownhotelokc.com. FRI–SAT Fabulous Fibs, Fables and Folklore, show shares the wit, wisdom, and laughter of Africans and AfricanAmericans through their folklore, proverbs, and melodies, 7:30 p.m., Aug. 2. Carpenter Square Theatre, 800 W. Main St., 232-6500, carpentersquare.com. SAT

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Summer Feast 2014 If you’d like a little gypsy jazz to go along with your cosmopolitan cuisine, we have the event for you. Summer Feast 2014 features the widely renowned gypsy jazz act Ivan Peña Quintet (pictured) and some rather enticing food options: chicken and beef kebabs over wild rice, freshly seasoned green beans, salad, bread, cheesecake and a complimentary glass of wine. Chow down 6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday at Catering Creations, 3750 W. Main St., Suite 3-C, in Norman. Tickets are $30. Call 364-1400.

Friday

PROVIDED

Brown Bag Speaker Series, Jim Tolbert describes the journey that has led the Myriad Botanical Gardens in becoming the emerald keystone of our city’s center, noon-1 p.m., July 31. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, myriadgardens.org. THU

George Lopez, stand-up comedy, 8 p.m., Aug. 2. WinStar World Casino, 777 Casino Ave., Thackerville, 580-276-4229. SAT A Little Night Music, follow the romances of an oh-so-entertaining weekend jaunt in the countryside, featuring the classic song “Send in the Clowns”, 7:30 p.m., Aug. 5-6. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. TUE–WED

SPORTS OKC Energy vs. Orange County Blues, men’s professional soccer, 7 p.m., Aug. 2. Pribil Stadium, 801 NW 50th St., 235-5425, energyfc.com. SAT OKC Redhawks vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox, minor league baseball, 7:05 p.m., Aug. 2; 6:05 p.m., Aug. 3; 7:05 p.m., Aug. 4-5. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 Mickey Mantle Drive, 2181000, okcredhawks.com. SAT

YOUTH Horton Hears a Who!, providing parents the opportunity to take their kids to the movies once a week for 10 weeks for only $5, 9 a.m., July 30-Aug. 1. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno Ave., 2314747, harkinstheatres.com. WED–FRI Animal Babies, learn about your favorite baby animals and the ways they survive in the wild, noon-2 p.m., July 30-Aug. 1. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 325-4712, snomnh.ou.edu.

WED–FRI Fossil Finders, explore fossils of all shapes and sizes, investigate amazing ancient animals, 3-5 p.m., July 30-Aug. 1. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 325-4712, snomnh.ou.edu.

WED–FRI

MARK HANCOCK

Okietales, dive into history with books and stories and explore a different topic from the Wild West and cowboys to land runs and pioneer life, 10:30 a.m., July 30. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 522-0745, okhistory.org. WED

Reggae Fest Hooray, Bricktown! Get your dreads ready; it’s time for another edition of Bricktown Reggae Fest, featuring Jamaican food, beverages, beads and, of course, some of Oklahoma’s finest reggae bands. The all-ages fest goes down 4 p.m.-midnight Friday and 2:30 p.m.-midnight Saturday at the corner of Sheridan and Oklahoma avenues in the heart of Bricktown.

Admission is free. Call 236-4143 or visit bricktownokc.com.

Friday–Saturday

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 1 7

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He might be one ugly ogre, but you still need to see Shrek in the flesh. The Oscarwinning film series is getting the stage treatment with Shrek The Musical, performed by a cast of 51 talented teens as part of Sooner Theatre’s summer production camp.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m.

Sunday at Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main St., in Norman. Tickets are $10. Call 3219600 or visit soonertheatre.com. See our story on page 30.

Thursday–Sunday

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COMING THIS FALL TO MIDTOWN OKC

Story Time with Julie, hear the best and newest children’s books, 10:15-11 a.m., Aug. 2. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT

Weekend Keeper Connections, from anemones to zebras, learn about your favorite Zoo animals from the people entrusted to care for them: the keepers, 11 a.m., Aug. 2-3. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, 424-3344, okczoo.com. SAT–SUN

PROVIDED

HOUSEMADE SAUSAGE GERMAN BEERS BAVARIAN PRETZELS BEER GARDEN HAND CUT FRIES LIVE MUSIC

Summer Kids Camps, recreation camps, college for kids and counselors in training program, July 30-Aug. 1, Aug. 4-6. Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May Ave., 682-1611, occc.edu. WED–FRI, MON–WED

Jeff Dunham If you think ventriloquism is a dying art form, Jeff Dunham and his vivacious puppets have something to say to you. The wildly successful comedian and performing artist has become the face of modern-day ventriloquy, appearing on every late night TV show and Comedy Central special imaginable. See him in person 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday at Grand Event Center, 777 Grand Casino Blvd., in Shawnee. Tickets are $65-$80. Call 964-7263 or visit grandresortok.com.

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VISUAL ARTS Anji Bryner, works primarily in oils but incorporates other media into her work, including acrylics, watercolor and mixed media. Gallery 66, 6728 NW 39th Expressway, 314-2430, gallery66ok.com.

Art Gone Wild: Paintings by OKC Zoo animals, pieces of art created by the Zoo’s own talented animal artists made especially for the show with some help from their care givers. AKA Gallery, 3001 Paseo St., 606-2522, akagallery.net.

Conspicuous Caffeination, stunning mesas and ordered lines of cedars of New Mexico sparked Bruce’s creative urge. Gray Owl Coffee, 223 E. Gray St., Norman, 701-2929.

Contemporary Flora, exhibit by Linda Hiller is all about bright colors, bold forms and modern beauty.

Summer Wine Art Gallery, 2928 B Paseo St., 831-3279, summerwinegallery.com.

Emerging Artist Showcase, featuring artist and cloudscaper David Holland. Acosta Strong Fine Art, 7302 N. Western Ave., 464-9719, johnbstrong.com.

First Friday Gallery Walk, over 60 artists in more than 17 galleries, 6-10 p.m., Aug. 1, Paseo Arts District, 3022 Paseo St., 525-2688, thepaseo.com. FRI Formed in Stone, the natural beauty of fossils. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 325-4712, snomnh.ou.edu.

Georgiana Stewart, artist uses color and form to communicate the beauty and emotion in the people, objects, and amazing land and seascapes around her.

Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Head of the Meadow, vibrant colors of blue, yellow, green and orange and expresses Helen Frankenthaler’s desire to pursue her own path of Abstract Expressionism.

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm St., Norman, 3253272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Kim Robbins: Blossoms for the Soul, Robbins masterfully captures nature and adds her own unique flair through digital processing. Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, 301 W. Reno Ave., 297-3995, myriadgardens.com.

Ladylike, work evolves from themes of female body image, feminine stereotypes, eating and domesticity.

IAO Art Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 232-6060, iaogallery.org.

Nalini Sabapathy, oil paintings of Italian landscapes, villas and gardens and portraits in classical realism.

Paseo Gallery One, 2927 Paseo St., 524-4544.

New West, featuring emerging and established artists from New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Kansas and Oklahoma. Acosta Strong Fine Art, 7302 N. Western Ave., 464-9719, johnbstrong.com.

Oklahoma Art Great and Small, small-works show by members of the Oklahoma Art Guild.

Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Power Play, exhibit explores human physiology and the power of the human body. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

Recent Acquisitions of Photography and Works on Paper, works by artists Sam Francis, Laura Gilpin and Andy Warhol featured in this exhibition. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm St., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.com.

Recent and New Works, oil painting, pottery, basketry, jewelry, wood, ceramic & metal works by Gallery Associate Artists. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Red White Blue, exhibit by Jann Jeffrey, large abstract designs and small mixed-media works full of the unexpected. Jann Jeffrey Gallery, 3018 Paseo St., 6070406, jannjeffrey.com.

Small Works, selections from the Oklahoma Art Guild.

Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Smile, exhibit by Diana J. Smith focuses specifically on the smiles of dogs. Governor’s Gallery, Oklahoma State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., 521-3356, arts.ok.gov.

This is Our Oklahoma Land, Kimberly Baker specializes in photographing Oklahoma Landscapes. 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org.

We

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A 64 CR IUM WINES S! M IL 38 PRE RE COCKTA TU SIGNA

PROVIDED

Passion for fresh homemade Italian food is what makes dining at Gabriella’s an unforgettable experience.

Spacial Recognition You wouldn’t think ceramics and photography have all that much in common.

But when you see the innovative works of Caroline Cohenour and Jean Keil, you’ll be singing a different tune. The opening reception of their new exhibit, Spacial Recognition, coincides with the Paseo Arts District’s First Friday Gallery Walk, 6-10 p.m. Friday at In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, 3005-A Paseo St. The exhibit runs through August 30, and admission is free. Call 525-2161 or For OKG visit inyoureyegallery.com. See our story on page 29. music picks

Friday, ongoing

see page 41

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• Our meatballs, ravioli and Italian sausage are prepared in house.

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Also get your deli meats and cheeses here to take home!

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478-4955 | 1226 NE 63rd St. www.gabriellasokc.com O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 1 9

LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Pork nachos platter with chips and salsa.

Union made With a rotating menu and fresh fare a Guthrie restaurant pleases every taste bud.

BY GREG ELWELL

a pile of those chips with melted cheese and meat on top of them. I chose the pork — a hickory-smoked pork belly with a peach chutney — and was blown away. The nachos themselves were good, but my mouth was on a seek-and-destroy mission for that pork.

The tacos (three for $8.95) included more pork belly but also the option of morita chili beef guisada, guajillo chili chicken thigh and a vegetarian taco with a radish-turnipcarrot escabeche, all on house-pressed corn tortillas. This is actually a lot of food. It’s filling. It’s incredibly tasty.

You won’t want to share.

I also tried some fried catfish tacos (three for $8.95) and was delighted by good, big pieces of fish without an overwhelming flavor of batter. The red chile crema was a little spicy and a lot intoxicating.

The desserts change frequently, too, but I was lucky enough to get a tart scoop of granita and a sweet piece of peach buckle. How you will have room for these things in your stomach after the rest of the food, I do not pretend to know.

Sometimes, you must fight through the pain. Sometimes, you must eat for glory!

And at a 45-minute drive from my house, Union Tacos is the kind of glory I can only allow myself occasionally. (Until they open a rumored OKC location, at which point I will literally begin living in a booth there.) But when the mood strikes me, like it is striking me right now, the distance will fade away and all that will remain is the hunger for another amazing taco.

A locally painted sign hangs inside Union Tacos in Guthrie.

PH OTOS BY LAUREN HAMILTON

You might think Guthrie is an odd place to open a locally sourced, ingredientdriven, high-end taqueria. And, as someone who used to work in Guthrie part of the time, I would agree with you.

Yet, in the former state capital, among the Victorian homes, the Oklahoma Frontier Drugstore Museum and the Scottish Rite Temple, there is Union Tacos at 204 E. Oklahoma Ave. And if you have any sense in your head or a functional taste bud in your mouth, you’ll be there, too.

Honestly, the town is undergoing a kind of renaissance right now.

Finally, the locals are throwing off their chains and enjoying the fruits of their surroundings, which include Hoboken Coffee Roasters, Prairie Wolf Spirits Distillery and, now, Union Tacos.

Inside the sparsely decorated and modern space, you will find a menu that changes every few days. There are a few mainstays, of course, and a pattern that’s easy to follow. Beef, chicken, pork, vegetables — you’ll be able to find them in some capacity. And the menu’s core dishes, like tacos and fries, aren’t going anywhere.

The true joy, then, comes in a kitchen that pushes the boundaries and finds new ways to delight and in a restaurant dedicated to helping customers leave with a wide grin and too-full stomachs.

A good place to start are the Union chips and salsa ($2.95). Made with local flour tortillas, cut and deep-fried crisp, the chips are almost like a pastry with lots of flaky layers. The salsas are fresh, they are flavorful and each bite will engender in you a deep, fiery hatred of the crap they sell in jars.

The nachos ($8.95) are very much

Union Tacos 204 E. OKLAHOMA AVE., GUTHRIE

The salsas are fresh, they are flavorful and each bite will engender in you a deep, fiery hatred of the crap they sell in jars.

UNIONTACOS.COM 293-9440 WHAT WORKS: Great tacos and excellent meats and sauces.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: We definitely need an OKC location.

TIP: It’s closed Sundays and Mondays, so don’t go then because you won’t get tacos.

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LIFE FOOD & DRINK

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A half rack of pork ribs with mashed potatoes and coleslaw, a Thundertini and buttermilk pie.

THURS 11AM-8PM | FRI-SAT 11AM-9PM | SUN 7AM-7PM

HIGHWAY 77 & MAIN ST., MULHALL, OK

649-2229 WWW.LUCILLESOK.COM

OPEN 7 DAYS

Southern hospitality Pro baller Kevin Durant’s restaurant exceeds hype and scores points for homestyle Southern recipes.

A WEEK

BY DEVON GREEN

Kd’s Southern Cuisine

2701 N. Classen • 524-733 www.GrandHouseOKC.com

$6 Lunch Special PICK 4 ITEMS

2541 W Main • Norman • 310-6110 www.180MeridianGrill.com COMBO $7 LUNCH INCLUDES SOUP, CRAB RANGOON & EGG ROLL

LUNCH $7 SUSHI CHOICE OF 2 LUNCH ROLLS & MISO SOUP

$8 DIM SUM LUNCH

224 JOHNNY BENCH DRIVE KDSBRICKTOWN.COM 701-3535 WHAT WORKS: The ribs were fall-off-thebone tender and perfectly seasoned.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Surprisingly, the fried okra was about the only thing that was underwhelming. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.

TIP: Make reservations far in advance, and come hungry.

BOTH LOCATIONS

HAPPY HOUR

1/2 OFF ALL SUSHI ROLLS M-F • 4P-6P DINE-IN ONLY

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One does not just simply walk into Kd’s Southern Cuisine. No, really. If you want a romantic, full meal at a table, make a reservation several weeks in advance or be prepared to sit at the bar if there’s space.

The place is crowded.

We planned to arrive after the rush, but at 8:45 p.m. on a Wednesday night, the place was still full, so we grabbed two seats at the bar.

The restaurant itself is dimly lit but not imposing, and the staff is friendly and smiling — always a good sign.

The few embellishments are tributes to the man whose name is on the door: Oklahoma City Thunder pro baller Kevin Durant.

And the wine. The wine “cellar” would not be out of place on a sci-fi movie set. The surreal, Plexiglas chilling room looms large in a two-story display and glows blue as the focus of the room.

Our drinks were brought out immediately, and our appetizer followed a few minutes later. The fried green tomatoes ($9) were perfect in a crispy breading and were sizzling-hot on the inside. They were beautifully garnished with colorful diced peppers and chives and served with a creamy, tartar saucelike rémoulade that has more than a little kick, a great complement to the tang of

the tomatoes.

Next up was the chipotle cornbread ($6), served in a small cast-iron skillet with honey butter. It didn’t have the heat I expected, but its texture and flavor were perfect.

We both had a side house salad ($5), a beautiful blend of lettuces with matchstick carrots, cucumbers, onions and red peppers topped with candied pecans and a dollop of goat cheese.

My dining buddy’s smothered pork chop ($24) was bone-in perfection with a mushroom and onion gravy that nailed it — not too salty with a lot of mushroom flavor and sweet onions.

We also added a side of collard greens ($4) to split. They were cooked long enough to bring out their sweetness.

I had a half rack of barbecue pork ribs ($15). To describe the portion sizes as generous is an understatement. As my dining companion said, “Kevin Durant would not let you come into his house and not feed you!” True.

The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender and perfectly seasoned. Kd’s wisely serves the sauce on the side because you really don’t need it. It’s good and sweet with minimal heat and complements the smoky flavor of the meat though.

We had plenty of food to take home, but that didn’t stop us from ordering buttermilk pie and peanut butter pie ($7 each) to take with us. The buttermilk pie was almost too sweet, with no nutmeg or embellishment. The peanut butter pie was rich and creamy but not too sweet.

By all means, go experience Mr. MVP’s latest venture. Although he is the star of the NBA and you’ll see game photos, basketballs, awards and more when you visit, the real star at Kd’s is the food.

S HA N N ON CORN M A N

EXPI R ES 8 / 4 / 1 4

L AUR E N HA M I LTON P ROVI DE D

DISCOUNT TAKEN OFF EQUAL OR LESSER PURCHASE. LIMIT 2 COUPONS PER PERSON. NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFERS. EXPIRES 8/6/14.

Pickin’ and grinnin’ A local vineyard lets visitors pick their own grapes for wines, jams and jellies.

BY DEVON GREEN

Enjoy a drink and a show

There’s a new bar in Automobile Alley, and it’s so much more than just a bar. Reduxion Theatre, 914 N. Broadway Ave., Suite 120, is now the only theater in the city that also features a full bar. It serves cocktails during productions, too. Reduxion Bar also will be open during other events at the theater, including the Auto Alley Shop Hop the third Thursday of each month and OKC Improv events throughout the year.

Stop in and enjoy the libations.

Reduxion opens its fall season Aug. 8 with Lysistrata. See the venue’s full event calendar at reduxiontheatre.com.

NW 50TH & MERIDIAN OKLAHOMASTATIONBBQ.COM 947.7277

Mighty Dog to the rescue

There’s a new dog in town: Mighty Dog, 2216 N. Portland Ave. The menu is no-frills and offers classic items including hot dogs, chili-cheese dogs, polish sausages, Frito chili pies and hot links. Get anything you like with fries, also available with chili and cheese, and wash it all down with an ice-cold soft drink. At this time, only cash is accepted.

HAPPY HOUR 2 : 00-5 : 00 Mon-Fri 2 ROLLS- $10 3 ROLLS-$13

A taste of Argentina at home

Local resident Robert Hefner IV had the good fortune to spend his boyhood summers alongside Argentine Carol Hefner gauchos, from which he learned the cowboy craft and their recipes. After years of experimentation, he perfected his own version of the popular spicy, flavorful chimichurri sauce. He has put the whole family, including his wife Carol, to work helping him make it here in the city. The spicy, flavorful condiment is an excellent complement to grilled meats.

Galimaro’s Gaucho Sauce is available from area retailers, including Buy For Less, 3501 Northwest Expressway, and The Meat House, 2249 W. Danforth Road, in Edmond.

Learn more and order sauces at gauchosauce.com.

20% OFF Entire Ticket

(excludes drinks; cannot be combined with Happy Hour prices)

PROVIDED

Sand Stone Spring Vineyard, 9211 Sloan Road, in Mustang offers a unique opportunity for a glimpse into the wine industry. From now until mid-August, the winery welcomes visitors to pick their own grapes.

The winery has been named an agritourism destination by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism.

This is a great opportunity for novice winemakers and those interested in making jams and jellies.

Bob Sloan and his son, Bob Sloan Jr, have owned the family land since 1895, and they welcome guests to pick their fill. Picking supplies are provided, and for an additional fee, the Sloans will de-stem and press your grapes. Picking times are between 7 a.m. and noon, and prices are by the pound. Make an appointment by calling 412-4515 or 830-8067.

11AM-9PM | MON-SAT • 11AM-4PM | SUN

9321 N. PENNSYLVANIA AVE. CASADY SQUARE, OKC 242-2224 OPEN 7 DAYS 11AM - 9 :30PM FRI- SAT UNTIL - 10:30PM O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 2 3

Late-night bites What a wealth of choices!

We remember the days when the only places to eat after 10 p.m. were Denny’s and Waffle House. Next time you’re out late with friends, check out OKC’s abundance of local late-night eatery options.

— by Devon Green, photos by Mark Hancock, Shannon Cornman and Gazette staff

Bobo’s Chicken

Ludivine

1812 NE 23rd St.

805 N. Hudson Ave. ludivineokc.com 778-6800

Some things don’t change, and in Bobo’s case, that is definitely a good thing. It’s open very late — or should we say very early? It could change how you feel about fried chicken. At Bobo’s, it’s smoked and then fried, a delicious combination. A good party tip: Always get the honey sauce.

Open through the wee hours, or when the truck runs out of grub.

Chefs Jonathon Stranger and Russ Johnson, the dynamic duo behind Ludivine, are concerned with real food. With that in mind, they keep the kitchen open late — late enough for you to remember you only had that sandwich, like, seven hours ago and, man, you could totally go for some sustenance. Go out on a limb and try the bone marrow. Restaurant open 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. The bar is open 5 p.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday and 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Belly Dancing Saturdays • 8:30

2 GREAT

LOCATIONS

YOUR CATERER

NORTH 14101 N. May Ave, STE 117

405-748-DELI (3354) Ext 2 | Mon-Sat 11am-8pm Sun 11am-3pm

Downtown 120 N. Robinson, STE 175W

405-748-DELI (3354) Ext 3 | Mon-Fri 7am-2:30pm

W W W. C A F E 7 O K C . C O M

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6014 N. May • 947-7788 www.zorbasokc.com

Picasso Cafe and The Other Room Cafe: 3009 Paseo St. Other Room: 3001 Paseo St. picassosonpaseo.com 602-2002

Whether you prefer the funky nostalgia of Picasso Cafe or the dimly lit booth space of The Other Room, you can get at least some of its menu almost anytime. The beer-battered fish and chips are excellent, and they’re on the late-night menu to satisfy that salty, fried craving with some actual nutrients. Both are locally owned

by Shaun Fiaccone and Kim Dansereau.

Open until midnight Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Drunken Fry

WSKY Lounge

5100 N. Classen Circle drunkenfry.com 266-5030

228 NE Second St. wskylounge.com 606-7171

Good booze, import beers and salty, perfect French fries — what’s not to love? With over 50 sauces to choose from, you’re sure to find one to break through the alcoholic haze and get you back on track to party. It also has a serious beer menu. Get some recommendations and try a few as a complement to your fries. It also has PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) on tap, if that’s your kind of thing.

Open ’til 2 a.m.

Open late, with a staggering selection of scotch and whiskey, WSKY also has one of the most sophisticated bar menus in town; no frozen chicken wings here. The bacon-wrapped dates are little candies of perfection, and the deviled eggs make you understand why “deviled” is the descriptor.

Open until 2 a.m. daily.

The Garage Burgers & Beer 1117 N. Robinson Ave. eatatthegarage.com 602-6880

The Garage has some damn fine burgers, and you can get them until 10 p.m Sunday-Thursday and 11 p.m. FridaySaturday. With that said, its late-night menu features great tacos, and its creamy onion dip is a grown-up take on a picnic favorite. You could even do your body a favor and order a salad.

Get apps, sides and tacos after 10 p.m. on weekdays and after 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Open until 2 a.m.

Empire Slice House 1734 NW 16th St. empireslicehouse.com 557-1760

It’s never too late for pizza. Well, you do have to get in under the wire of barthirty in OKC, but Empire Slice serves its delicious pizza by the slice until closing time each night. Grab a slice while you sit on the patio, or grab a few to take with you and be the hit of any party.

Open until 2 a.m.

Fine Italian Dining in the heart of Film Row

• Hand crafted pizza • Fresh PAsta • • Delicious Sandwiches • • Refreshing GElato • LET US PREPARE YOUR NEXT MEAL!

Party Subs • Sandwiches Chef Salads • Party Trays Lean Meats • Pastries Cookie Trays

Full bar featuring COOP Ale Works & Stella Artois on tap MONDAY - THURSDAY 4-10PM

20% DINE IN ONLY

(EXCLUDES ALCOHOL AND OTHER SPECIALS)

DINE IN, CARRY OUT, AND DELIVERY

M-F 7am-6:30pm • Sat 9:30am-4pm 2310 N Western 524-0887

700 W. Sheridan • 405-525-8503 @JoeysPizzeria • Facebook.com/JoeysPizzeriaOKC O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 2 5

LIFE KIDS

P HOTOS BY M A RK HA N COC K

More Alligator’s Andy Alligator’s is expanding the fun at its park in Norman.

A boy races down the big slide at Andy Alligator’s Water Park.

BY ANTHONY LALLI

A fun all-ages adventure location in Oklahoma is about to get better. Located just down the highway at 3300 Market Place Drive in Norman, Andy Alligator’s recently announced a $1.3 million expansion to its Fun Park.

“What we’ve always had at Andy’s is options for the entire family. Whether it is a day trip from out of town [or] if you’re a local wanting to ride the go-karts, there’s something for everyone,” said Kyle Allison, general manager of Andy Alligator’s.

Expected to be completed by the end of the year, the renovation project will include a new family-themed laser tag room as well as new arcade games.

As many parents probably know, it can be extremely difficult to find a place to schedule your child’s birthday, especially during the summer.

“We will definitely add more capacity with the additions. It will give us the ability to entertain a couple hundred more people,” said Allison.

Renovations are expected to begin in July, but there are still plenty of indoor and outdoor attractions open, as Andy Alligator’s is also home to a massive Water Park that opened in May 2012.

The 8-acre facility currently provides adults and children with full-size batting cages, 18 holes of mini-golf and a climbing mountain. One of the most enjoyed features is the Speedway Go-Karts. By the beginning of next year, there will be a rookie go-kart track so younger drivers can test their skills.

“Currently, our rookie and regular go-karts run on the same track, but the additions will give us more space, allowing us to have one new and two complete tracks,” said Allison.

Not only will there be more rooms available, but the food menu will be redesigned and the kitchen size will be

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increased to accommodate the influx of guests. The park currently sells pizza, salad and subs but will add a full grill line featuring hamburgers, chicken strips and French fries, Allison said.

In addition, the fun park plans to merge the event check-in and birthday party areas to provide a more streamlined experience for visitors, Allison said. This will also include a new indoor rock wall addition, which gives Andy Alligator’s more options on rainy days.

There will also be several behindthe-scenes renovations that will enhance the visitor experience, like the expansion of the operations offices.

Although visitors won’t be able to see everything that the money is going toward, they might notice the hasslefree enjoyment of their experience.

The combination of adding new attractions and a variety of options, plus the decrease in wait time, equals an improved customer experience.

— Kyle Allison

“We will probably see four to five new additional full-time staff, 10-15 part-time staff. The combination of

adding new attractions and a variety of options, plus the decrease in wait time, equals an improved customer experience,” Allison said.

There are all-day passes available, as well as season passes for those who plan on visiting multiple times. There are also daily deals and promotions to help customers save money every step of the way. Unlimited Fun Park wristbands are $24.95 for guests 60 inches and taller and $17.95 for visitors below 60 inches, according to the park’s website.

Water Park passes are $15.95 for guests up to 42 inches tall, $18.95 for guests taller than 42 inches, $9.95 for seniors ages 60 and older and $15.95 for military with ID. Children ages 2 and under get in for free.

All in all, the newest additions to the Fun Park, combined with traditional favorites, like the bumper cars and the Kidz Zone, help make Andy Alligator’s an ideal place for all-ages fun.

The Fun Park is open 11 a.m.Women get wet with a giant spray of water that goes off every 3 minutes at Andy Alligator’s Water Park.

10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.11 p.m. Saturday. The Water Park is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. MondaySaturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 321-7275.

Other Amusement Parks Frontier City 11501 N. Interstate 35 Service Rd frontiercity.com 478-2140 White Water Bay 3908 W. Reno Ave. whitewaterbay.com 943-9687 Pelican Bay Aquatic Center 1034 S. Bryant Ave., Edmond 216-7649 Comanche Nation Waterpark 501 NE Lawrie Tatum Road, Lawton comanchenation.com 580-353-6129

LIFE COMMUNITY

P ROVI DE D

Animal crackers Local animal companions eat for free with the Pet Food Pantry of OKC.

BY KEVAN GOFF-PARKER

Kim Pempin’s lifelong passion for all creatures four-legged started with her best friend, the family’s dog, an American Eskimo named Honey.

She later became an animal rescuer, but it wasn’t until 2010, when she was feeding a stray dog, that she suddenly felt a calling for something else.

“It felt like God tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘You can do more than this,’” Pempin said. “I knew there were hungry animals out there, but I never dreamed how much of a need there really is.”

Today, Pempin’s dream of providing pet food to impoverished or disabled residents has blossomed into a growing nonprofit volunteer organization known as the Pet Food Pantry of Oklahoma City.

The charity now has a five-member board of directors and more than 20 volunteer drivers and delivers more than 4,000 pounds of pet food monthly to 200 qualifying seniors, veterans and homeless in the greater Oklahoma City area. These efforts help feed around 500 pets per month.

“Our primary goal is to help extremely low-income seniors because their pets are often the only lifeline they have,” she said. “I have watched seniors give their pets their own food and go without medicine that they need. We believe no one should go hungry, and (we) tell them to keep their own food, buy their medicine and we’ll feed your pet.”

Along with her husband, Mike, Pempin runs the program that helps about 100 people a month. They also help veterans through the homeless and senior programs, and they are able to purchase three-month supplies of flea and tick medicine, thanks to a $5,000 grant from AT&T. Pempin said she first got involved with the local homeless population after passing a man with a Jack Russell terrier who was living on the streets in downtown Oklahoma City. She stopped

Kim and Mike Pempin, founders of Pet Food Pantry OKC, have been helping homeless, disabled and elderly keep their pets fed since 2010. and asked if she could pet his dog.

“When it comes to animals, I have no filter,” she said. “He said his name was Robert, and he was very nice. I always call female dogs Baby Girl, and he asked how I knew her name because that’s what he’d named her. We’ve been friends ever since.”

The Pet Food Pantry of OKC has very little overhead, and donations go straight to the people and pets that need help. With the exception of one parttime employee, a warehouse manager, dedicated volunteers help raise money and supplies for the nonprofit.

Most of the staff works more than 40 hours a week, Pempin said.

The Pet Food Pantry of OKC also stipulates that pet owners get their pets spayed or neutered if they are to continue to get services. Volunteers also donate spaying and neutering services.

When possible, the pantry provides leashes, collars and other pet items that are donated, often by people whose pets have passed away.

Pempin said she’s grateful to all the donors, volunteers and nonprofit groups that do pet food drives for the pantry.

“We can’t do this without the community’s support,” she said.

“We’ve been able to do this because we have a wonderful community that is so giving.”

All donations to the Pet Food Pantry of OKC are tax deductible. To schedule a donation pickup, visit the pantry’s website at petfoodpantryokc. org for a list of donation locations in the greater Oklahoma City area.

To make a monetary donation, call 664-2858 or email them at info@ petfoodpantryokc.org.

Del City 5301 Main St. Ste. 117 405-813-8337 OKC 2836 NW 68th St. 405-848-8337

Edmond 801 E. Danforth Rd 405-810-8337

Broken Arrow 3202 W. Kenosha St. 918-254-8337

South OKC 8324 S. Western Ave. 405-635-8337

Norman 700 N. Interstate Dr. 405-307-8337

Tulsa Hills 7848 S. Olympia Ave. WEST 918-301-8337

Dine-In • ToGo • Catering • Banquet Facilities

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 2 7

9313 N. PENNSYLVANIA • CASADY SQUARE MON-FRI, 10AM-5:30PM • SAT, 10AM-3PM

405-607-2842 •T HE GR EEN AT T IC .C OM

Ali-

y r e h c Bau

MONDAYS BEER OLYMPICS

50¢ domestics | 10-Cl

TIPSY TUESDAY

Roll the dice for your price of domestic beer | 4p-7p Train Wreck Trivia | 9p

WILD CARD WEDNESDAY Always a party with SIN night | 10p-1a

THIRSTY THURSDAY $1 Draws | 4-8p

FREEDOM FRIDAY

Bartender’s choice Special of the day | 3p-8p

SINFUL SATURDAY

2 for 1 domestics | 12p-4p

SUNDAY FUNDAY Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780–1867). Achilles Receiving the Ambassadors of Agamemnon, 1801. Oil on canvas, 44 1/2 x 57 1/2 in. (113 x 146 cm). École des Beaux-Arts, Paris (PRP 40). Courtesy American Federation of Arts.

Frozen Fresh Fruit Smoothies & Bloody Mary Bar | 12p-2a

1200 N. Penn 405.605.3795

M - F, 3p - 2a Sat & Sun, 12p - 2a

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LIFE VISUAL ARTS

Critical inking P ROVI DE D

Renowned artist C.J. Bradford brings his thought-provoking works to town for an exhibit and demonstration.

BY DEVON GREEN

Pen & Ink with Watercolor Aug. 1-30 Summer Wine Art Gallery 2928 B Paseo St. summerwinegallery.com 831-3279 Free

According to C.J. Bradford’s professors at the University of Oklahoma, he was never going to amount to anything resembling a successful artist. His work didn’t push enough boundaries and it wasn’t “out there” enough to compete with his contemporaries.

Luckily, his friend and classmate Greg Burns gave him a piece of advice that has proven invaluable.

“He told me not to worry about what they thought,” Bradford said.

“You have to keep in mind this was the 1960s, and things were pretty strange

during that time.”

Today, people still buy his art.

And he’s doing exactly what he likes by making art that is challenging, engaging and whimsical. The crisp lines of his pen-and-ink works are intended to engage the viewer in a conversation.

Where that conversation leads sometimes surprises even the artist.

“I do festivals, so I’m right there with my work,” he said. “I’ve had all kinds of strange conversations with people who think I am from another planet. There isn’t anything I haven’t heard.”

His work often involves logic and philosophy, and he likes to incorporate puzzles of some kind into the work as a way to frame the conversation.

Some of his latest pieces even involve

communication between individual pieces.

“My newest thing is to have a piece of string connecting two different pictures,” Bradford said. “[There’s] a problem in the first picture, leading to the second picture.”

There are also logic problems and theological problems. His favorite way to involve the viewer is to make them have to work a little bit toward a solution. It’s not only visually engaging; there’s almost always something lurking beneath the surface.

Bradford is an avid reader and finds much of his inspiration from theological texts, especially those that use animal imagery.

“Once you start training your brain to be creative and imaginative, it just flows out like [it would from] a

“Gamer” C.J. Brad ford

broken jar,” he said.

He doesn’t shy away from his work being characterized as whimsical; he encourages it.

Even in the silliest of his animal portraits, with their punchy colors and expressive faces, there are keen observations about the world. Bradford is always eager to hear what you think.

This month’s art show provides an opportunity to see new pieces and meet the artist. Bradford will travel from his home in Flower Mound, Texas, for a free demonstration at 1 p.m. Aug. 17. His art is on display through Aug. 30.

Caroline Cohenour

Better recognize PROVID ED

Spacial Recognition combines photography and ceramics in a suprisingly complementary fashion.

BY DAVID DEAN

Spacial Recognition 6-10 p.m. Friday Through Aug. 30 In Your Eye Studio & Gallery 3005-A Paseo St. inyoureyegallery.com 525-2161 Free

So many art shows these days are more art events, which are a great time but take away from the classic simplicity of what an exhibit is all about: the art.

Spacial Recognition, the new exhibit at In Your Eye Studio & Gallery that opens Friday, keeps its focus on the art without all the bells and whistles. But it still provides a unique experience, pairing photographer Caroline Cohenour and ceramic artist Jean Keil. Those two mediums are rarely

mixed, and the way each artist’s work complements the other is quite unique, as is the concept.

“We often find that pairing a twodimensional and three-dimensional artist together works well, but that’s even more the case with these two artists,” said In Your Eye owner Janice Mathews-Gordon. “Their distinctive abstract styles, both emphasizing notions of space but in two completely different mediums, really complement each other and pack a visual punch.”

Cohenour’s photographs are stories, not just shots, and the stories she tells through her camera are stellar, with a style of their own.

“My style right now is easiest to describe as a mindful geometric carnival,” Cohenour said. “I am drawn to energetic color and explosive shapes

and energy, but I also like to decode the moment down to something manageable or decipherable to me. It’s kind of like harnessing a wild horse. But I guess that’s all art, really.”

After living in and working in both San Francisco and Los Angeles for the past 15 years, the Oklahoma native is happy to be home. This will be her first exhibit back in Oklahoma City, and her energy is contagious.

“Big cities offer abundant opportunity — and I will forever love those two towns — but coming home to the source offers a more immediate connection,” she said.

Oklahoma is often a source of inspiration for local artists, and Jean Keil, who was raised on a farm in the western part of the state, is no exception.

“It goes back to growing up around

all that red dirt,” Keil said. “I tend to put red iron oxide on everything because it accentuates the surface textures.”

Spacial Recognition will explore inside and outside spaces — the complex lens through which we each view the world — and pull it all together in an exciting way. Visitors can expect to see a strong exhibit emphasizing the beauty of simple shapes.

Mathews-Gordon creates a picture of her own when talking about what people can expect from the exhibit.

“I think visitors will leave the exhibit with a sense that they’ve seen something different — eye-opening and strong in its simplicity, with powerful visual appeal,” she said. “I think they’ll also see everyday objects and settings in a new light and reconsider the nature of our public and personal spaces.”

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 2 9

LIFE PERFORMING ARTS

Monstrous musical M A RK HA N COC K

Local youth provide an on-stage interpretation to the greenest story ever told with a Shrek musical.

BY TREVOR HULTNER

The blare of a train’s horn sounds off as loud and clear inside the lobby of the Sooner Theatre in Norman as it does out on the street. Melany Pattison, the theater’s summer musical director, remains unperturbed.

“We get to deal with that during performances, too,” she said. “It kind of fits into the show, like comedic timing.”

Pattison’s 13 years at the theater, preceded by a 20-year stint as the education and touring director of the Cimarron Circuit Opera Company, have firmly instilled in her one of the prime tenets of theater: The show must go on.

The Sooner Theatre Summer Program has given hundreds of kids from ages 8 to 18 the opportunity to experience the joys of musical theater for more than a decade, but its existence was

not always certain.

“I came over here (in 2002) and talked to Jennifer Baker, the executive director, about having a children’s camp in the summer,” Pattison said. “And at the time, she had a different boss — she wasn’t the executive director at the time — and he said, ‘Absolutely not. We’re not interested in doing a kid’s program.’”

Instead of taking no for an answer, Pattison went to her bank and took out a loan for $7,000, which she paid the theater to rent the stage for her own summer camp.

This year, Pattison and veteran community theater director Chad Anderson are working with nearly 50 young actors from the camp’s Young Producers program to put together a full rendition of the Broadway hit Shrek

The Musical.

“These shows will be on Broadway, and they’re there for so long before they’ll release them for them to be done in communities like ours,” Pattison said.

“We have to wait, and we get on the waiting lists and we jump on stuff.”

One of the first people to jump on the auditions for Shrek was 18-year-old Kylie Anderson (no relation to Chad) of Norman. She has been performing since she was a child and was accepted into the University of Oklahoma’s Peggy Dow Helmerich School of Drama to study acting in the fall.

While Kylie was initially in the running for one of the more traditional female roles in the musical, her approach to the audition material led Artistic Director Brandon Adams to hand her a

Kylie Anderson plays Donkey, Sarah Royse plays Fiona and Boston Cervantes plays Shrek in Sooner Theatre’s presentation of Shrek The Musical. script for Donkey instead.

“There are two different types of actors you could be: you could be a character actor, or for women there’s the ingenue, which is the really pretty role, the Fiona role. I am definitely a character,” Kylie said. “Donkey is a male role, so of course they auditioned men.”

Shrek The Musical shows at Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main St., in Norman from Thursday through Sunday.

Show times and tickets are available at soonertheatre.org.

THE NEW OPEN

COUNTRY DANCING

WED, THURS & FRI at 5 & SAT at 2

LESSONS

WEDNESDAYS

401 S. MERIDIAN

TOGETHER, WE RAISED

$22,067,626 FOR CENTRAL OKLAHOMA.

Thank you so much for your support this year.

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LIFE BOOKS

Grand Master Hart For local author and recent Edgar Grand Master Award-winner Carolyn Hart, success is no mystery.

Carolyn Hart started off writing mysteries as a lark. She was a reporter with young children at home, and she saw a contest in Writer Magazine. They listed writing contests in the back, and this one called for a mystery for girls ages 8-12.

“I thought, ‘Hey, I loved those books, Nancy Drew,” Hart said. “I wrote the book and won the contest.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Hart lives in Oklahoma City, and she is now the author of more than 50 novels.

Twenty-three of her books are part of her Death on Demand series featuring Annie Laurance, owner of Death on Demand bookstore in Broward’s Rock, South Carolina.

She also wrote the Henrie O series about retired journalist Henrie O’Dwyer Collins, who travels the world and always seems to get tangled up in some kind of trouble.

Hart’s most recent books are part of the new Bailey Ruth Raeburn series, in which the ghost of a woman killed at sea returns to fictional Adelaide, Oklahoma, to help people in her town.

Hart has won numerous awards — including three Agatha Awards and two Macavity Awards (both prestigious awards for mystery writers) — in the course of her career.

Nothing, however, tops the award that she won this year: the title of Grand Master, a prize tantamount to the Nobel Prize for mystery fiction.

Like the Nobel, the title is granted based on a body of work rather than a single work. It is also considered a lifetime achievement.

There were two recipients at this year’s awards: Hart and California writer Robert Crais. The two are old friends, and they were both surprised and delighted to be chosen for the achievement. Organizers of the Edgar Allen Poe Awards notified them of their selection late last year, and the Edgar Awards ceremony (at which the Grand Master Award was presented) was May 1 of this year.

“I was astonished when I received the call. It never occurred to me that I would be named Grand Master,” she said. “It’s the most prestigious award in the mystery world, and I still find it very hard to believe that I am included.”

PROVI DED

BY DEVON GREEN

Carolyn Hart, an Oklahoma City resident and author of more than 50 novels, recently received the title of Grand Master, a prize tantamount to the Nobel Prize for mystery fiction.

I was astonished.

It’s the most prestigious award in the mystery world, and I still find it very hard to believe that I am included.

— Carolyn Hart

Though she jokes about resting on her laurels now that she has achieved such a significant accomplishment, she has no plans to change anything and continues her writing process in much the same way she always has.

“I usually come up with an idea of some kind of mystery, and then I think about what characters would work in that book,” she said.

A prolific reader, Hart admits that she doesn’t read as much when she is

working on a new book, and she writes about two books a year.

“When I’m working on a book, I spend most of my time vacantly staring into space, as my husband affectionately calls it, because I am thinking about my characters,” she said.

“Everything in a mystery depends on the character. Truly.

And you have to have a particular type of character to make the story work.”

She admires other writers of character-driven mysteries, especially Agatha Christie. The grande dame of crime novels comes up often in her conversations.

Hart also never makes an outline, and her mysteries are not resolved when she starts them.

“I have no idea how it’s going to unfold,” she said. “I know the protagonist because that gives you your background. And I know the victim, and that’s the second most important.”

As far as the progress of the story, she said it’s more like “chipping it out of stone.” No matter how many books she has under her belt, she is always daunted by the process of writing another.

“Each time, it’s extremely difficult and I imagine that I won’t get to the

end,” she said.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime Inc., a network of women mystery writers with 3,600 members worldwide.

She highly recommends any woman getting into the mystery genre to join, as they have newsletters and national and regional events so they can meet and learn from other writers.

“You always learn something by listening to other writers talk about their works,” she said.

She attends yearly workshops across the country that are attended by mystery writers of all stripes and has many friends who are also writers and teachers.

When she does take a break, she reads many authors in the genre, both contemporary and classic.

She listed other classic authors like Eric Ambler and fellow Edgar Grand Master Robert Crais as among her favorites.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 3 1

SUDOKU/CROSSWORD SUDOKU PUZZLE HARD

Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9.

AUGUST 19 SEVENDUST

W/ GEMINI SYNDROME

AUGUST 20 NICKEL CREEK AUGUST 23

COLT FORD AUGUST 28

WWW.S UDOKU-P UZZLES .N ET

DELBERT M CCLINTON SEPTEMBER 17

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NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 0720, which appeared in the July 23, issue.

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Note: The answer to each starred clue must have two consecutive letters removed before it is written into the grid. These letters will move to a pair of circles elsewhere in the puzzle. (In all cases, new words will be formed.)

The nine letter pairs, when properly arranged, will spell an appropriate answer at 72-Across.

ACROSS 1 Swaddles, e.g.

8 *Turn, as a wheel 12 Edible plant extract 19 Be too fearful to 20 Former Nebraska senator James 21 Burger go-with 22 Yolk surrounder 23 Bit of sweat 24 Most hip 25 Low numero 26 Cowboys’ activity 29 Cologne conjunction 30 Slushy drink 32 Kitten sounds 33 Detailed plans 35 Use a straw 39 Idea 41 Hides away 43 *Words of praise 44 Thingamajig 45 Strangle 47 Cartoon dog 49 Italian dish that needs much stirring 51 Openly defy 53 *Royal messenger 57 Tony-winning musical with the song “Find Your Grail” 60 Long March participant 61 Not ___ (none) 63 Raised transports 64 Unchanged 66 Classic muscle cars 67 Not just slow 69 Theater supporters 72 See instructions 78 Wise men 79 Is on the brink 81 Get rid of 85 ___ menu 86 Eagle’s org.

88 *Piddling 89 Smear 91 Locks up again 95 Painterish

96 Plain to see 98 Stir up 100 Trickster of American Indian

mythology 101 Close overlap of fugue voices 104 Attack 109 K.C.-to-Detroit dir.

110 She rules 112 Indigenous 114 Caroled 116 “___ deal?”

117 Prix ___ 118 Sci-fi’s Hubbard 119 Appeared in print 121 Beast of burden 123 Young seal 124 Many ski lodges 128 Legitimate 129 Formed from a mold 133 Babble on 134 Cathedral area 135 Stay-at-home workers?

136 Tot-watched 137 Peevish state 138 Asparagus unit DOWN 1 One of eight Eng. kings 2 Informal turndown 3 Email, say 4 Used tire 5 Pay to play 6 Glad-handing sort 7 Two-channel 8 *Upbraids 9 Field team 10 Mushroom 11 Reach, eventually 12 Cpl.’s inferior 13 Stir up 14 *Great in number 15 Card combinations 16 Low number 17 Checks at the door, say 18 W.W. II craft 27 Soccer blooper 28 Bother 30 Neither blue nor red?: Abbr.

31 Say sweet words 32 Some dresses 34 Saucier’s boss 36 In the mood 37 Tenor from Naples

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38 Don of The Andy Griffith Show 40 Sticky stuff 41 Mex. miss 42 41-Down’s room 46 Convenience-store sights 48 Slow, hard progress 50 Stepped in for 52 French fine 53 Witch 54 ___ Enchanted 55 Mideast currency 56 701, once 58 Bone: Prefix 59 Fictional estate 62 Chanteuse Eartha 65 State with the motto “Oro y plata” 68 Half sister of Ares 69 Greedy sort 70 Bird: Prefix 71 “Undo” mark

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73 Overseas prince 74 Box office 75 ___ Plus 76 Actor Dullea 77 Latin “was to be” 80 Underhanded 81 Three-ingredient treats 82 World capital where

Monopoly is banned 83 Football team 84 Terrible 86 *Old West robber 87 “Shaddup!”

90 *Not rough 92 Like the cry “Veni, vidi,

vici” 93 Abbr. in some city names 94 Old West transport 97 Shortening in recipes?

99 Spanish “that” 102 Windy City paper, with

“the” 103 Election-night data

0727

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE MOVING PART By Eric Berlin / Edited by Will Shortz

105 One of the Windward

Islands 106 Facility for small planes 107 Nobel-winning writer

Andric 108 N.F.L. Hall-of-Famer

Dawson 111 Former transportation

secretary Norman 113 Large-scale evacuation 115 *Newton subject 117 Choice cut 120 Latin “you love” 122 Sitarist Shankar 123 Nickname for José 124 P.D. alert 125 Brother’s title 126 Poke fun at 127 Collection 130 Prankster 131 Bishop’s domain 132 Classic fantasy game co.

Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute). The answers to the New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle that appeared in the July 23 issue of Oklahoma Gazette are shown at left.

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O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 3 3

LIFE SPORTS

Thunder wonder With a series of off-season transactions, the Thunder answers questions heading into next season.

BY BRENDAN HOOVER

Roster spots began opening up after veteran guard Derek Fisher retired in June to accept the New York Knicks head coaching job. On July 15, word came that scorer Caron Butler had signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Pistons, and the Thunder announced a sign-and-trade deal sending defensive stopper Thabo Sefolosha to the Atlanta Hawks, opening a starting lineup spot.

While Oklahoma City lost the Pau Gasol sweepstakes, they did land journeyman guard Anthony Morrow, a pure shooter who connected on 45.1 percent of his three-point attempts (fourth in the NBA) while averaging 8.4 points, and 1.8 rebounds in a career-high 76 games last season with New Orleans. With a career 42.8 percent three-point shooting average (third highest amongst active NBA players), Morrow should help space the floor for MVP Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook.

“With his body of work, we feel Anthony is a unique addition to a diverse roster, while also possessing the toughness and selflessness that we are consistently seeking in Thunder players,” Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti said.

According to reports, Morrow’s threeyear deal is worth $10 million.

The Thunder also signed guard Sebastian Telfair, who joins the team after playing last season with Tianjin Ronggang in China, where he averaged 26.1 points, 6.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.03 steals in 35 games. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in Telfair, the Thunder get a third point guard to replace Fisher.

3 4 | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

Who will start?

Draft picks

The Thunder selected Michigan forward Mitch McGary with the 21st pick and Stanford forward Josh Huestis with the 29th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. The team announced on July 5 it had signed McGary to a rookie contract.

The Thunder announced on July 5 that it had signed Mitch McGary to a rookie contract.

That’s the golden question. The first option is Reggie Jackson.

The fourth-year point guard started 36 regular season games last year, posting career high averages of 13.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Jackson started four playoff games alongside Westbrook against the Spurs.

During exit interviews after the season ended, Jackson said, “I’d like to be a starter. I’m not

PROVIDED/LAYNE MURDOCH JR./NB A E/GETTY IMAGES

Free agency

McGary, heir apparent to Nick Collison, shined during the Orlando Summer League, averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. McGary has the physical attributes to play the four or the five but also the basketball IQ to be a good passer and teammate, Presti said on draft night.

“He’s able to guard multiple positions,” he said.

“He may be one of the best athletes to have walked through our gym.”

Huestis, who fits the Sefolosha mold, is an athlete who can impact the game on the defensive end, Presti said. “(Huestis) has the size but also the speed to deal with a lot of different situations on the floor,” he said.

Oklahoma City also acquired the rights to guard Semaj Christon, the 55th overall pick, from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for cash considerations.

Once a highly touted prep recruit, Telfair was picked 13th in the 2004 NBA draft and has since played for seven different NBA teams. “(Telfair’s) competitiveness and work ethic have complemented his on-court leadership skills throughout his career,” Presti said.

The Thunder also re-signed forward Grant Jerrett. Jerrett was on the team roster to end the regular season and throughout the playoffs but did not appear in a game.

Last year, he appeared in 27 games (25 starts) for the NBA Development League Tulsa 66ers, where he averaged 15.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Jerrett did not play in the Orlando Summer League due to ankle surgery, but the Thunder think the 6-foot-10inch perimeter shooter can play a stretch-four.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, RealGM.com reported it was a “multi-year deal.”

PROVIDED / LAYNE MURDOCH J R. / GETTY IMAGES

When the Oklahoma City Thunder starts training camp on Sept. 29, several new additions will be in the gym to help the team contend for an NBA championship once again.

But how will those puzzle pieces fit?

How will the Thunder answer questions that have been asked since the team lost to eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals in May? We probably won’t get all the answers until the regular season begins, but we can take something from the Thunder’s offseason transactions so far. Here’s a recap and what it might mean heading into next season.

Anthony Morrow, of the New Orleans Pelicans, takes a shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Morrow was recently picked up by the Thunder. going to lie.”

Also consider second-year player Andre Roberson. Due to injury, he started 16 regular season games as a rookie. A fierce defender and rebounder with a developing offensive game, Roberson bounced back and forth between Oklahoma City and Tulsa last year.

Jeremy Lamb might be a good candidate. He appeared in 78 games off the bench during the regular season, averaging 8.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists, although his minutes were diminished in the playoffs. Newcomer Morrow could be in the mix as well.

S HA N N ON CORN M A N

Zero sum

An upcoming marathon event allows non-runners to give to a worthwhile cause.

BY JOSH HUTTON

Zero K Run 4-8 p.m. Sept. 24 Crystal Lake 6625 SW 15th St. zerokokc.com 609-2400

They’re out there. Right now. Runners, messianic and lean, whipping down the asphalt mile after mile, each breath controlled, calculated. These beautiful beings with badges of sweat and shin splits continue onward. Why? To give of their money, time and body in the name of the charitable 5K race of their choice.

But what about the Netflix binger?

The craft beer aficionado? The folks who like their air conditioned?

“There’s a lot of us that never get bibs, finisher t-shirts, medals,” said Pattye Moore, a City Care board member and head of the nonprofit’s fundraising committee.

“I’m not saying lazy people — call us non-runners — and this event is specifically designed for us.”

City Care will host its inaugural Zero K Run 4-8 p.m. on Sept. 27 at Oklahoma City’s Crystal Lake.

The event, more festival than standard race, will feature food trucks, a beer garden, live musical acts, a kids’ zone and an optional 5K trail run around the lake.

Proceeds from the event will fund general operations at City Care. The organization’s goal is $50,000. City Care provides housing and a back-towork program for the impoverished.

The organization’s day shelter serves breakfast and lunch. The shelter is a place where homeless people get their

Pattye Moore, vice chair of City Care’s board and her team The Robe Runners are getting ready for a run and some fun at Crystal Lake park for the first Zero K event. bearings, access basic necessities like showers and elemental health care.

Approximately 300 impoverished people visit the center daily.

“We’ve had very little trouble getting people interested in this event,” Moore said. “This is something fun, something unusual.”

Participants may register as individuals or as a team.

Dena Drabek, a communications consultant for City Care, said the organization will give awards in the categories of Most Creative Team Name, Best Costume and Best Fundraiser.

The individual or team captain that raises the most money will take home the grand prize, a recliner donated by Mathis Brothers.

All participants, whether they tackle the 5K trail run or not, will receive a racing bib, a finisher t-shirt and a medal.

“Nothing else in OKC is like this.

We want to own this,” Drabek said.

Non-runners will have several food truck options and Belle Isle Brewery and Coop Ale Works will tend the beer garden.

The organization has booked three performers for the event: Emmy Awardwinning hip-hop artist Jabee, The Wurly Birds and Feathered Rabbit.

On Aug. 29, City Care will promote the event at H&8th Night Market with a doughnut-eating contest at the top of every hour.

People may register at the booth or online now at zerokokc.com.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 3 5

3 6 | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

P ROVI DED

LIFE MUSIC

Sobering sounds Raucous garage rock trio Copperheads have — believe it or not — matured over the years.

BY NATHAN WINFREY

Copperheads with Depth & Current, Dudes of America and Oblivious 10 p.m. Saturday Opolis 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman opolis.org 447-3417 $7

Where have Copperheads been?

Raucous, frenzied and completely devoid of pretense, the hard-partying rockers have been a favorite for concertgoers who love good music with a simple ethos: Let’s make music and have a good time. But since the beginning of the year, these beloved denizens of Oklahoma’s loudest stages have been mostly silent. At last, Copperheads are making a rare appearance in Norman next week, and they’re playing for a good cause.

The band has been AWOL because they’re pouring all of its energy into a follow-up to its 2012 album, Apocalyptic Behavior. They plan to enter the studio in the next couple of months, and we’ll

have the chance to obsessively wear out our copies of their new cassette tape (yes, cassette tape) by the end of the year.

“Our main focus right now is getting this album done and getting it put out so everyone can hear the new jams,” guitarist Dane Kitchens said.

There’s no doubt that fans are celebrating Copperheads’ return, but their one-night-only break from voluntary sequestration has a somber purpose. Their good friend Justin Stover recently passed away, and all of the proceeds from the show will go to his parents to cover funeral costs and related expenses.

Copperheads know the importance of friendship, and it has always been a central anchor of the band. They have all been friends for 15 years, and that bond has firmly held them together since they formed in 2009.

“We’re just a tight group that decided to start playing one day,” Kitchens said.

Kitchens and bassist Jesse Sparks are cousins, so they have known each other their entire lives. Vocalist Kyle Vasquez and drummer Andy Escobar are basically family, too.

We’ve come down a lot. We’ve grown up.

— Dane Kitchens

“We’re all best friends. We’re really like brothers,” Kitchens said. “We butt heads all the time; we’re not going to let that get to us. We’re just here to have fun. Once we stop having fun, we probably won’t do it anymore.”

From the outset, Copperheads were known for partying hard — after and during the show — but that custom eventually created conflict within the band.

“We’ve stopped getting super wasted at shows. We’ve come down a lot. We’ve grown up,” Kitchens said. “We’d be playing shows and forget half the songs,

and that would lead to butting heads afterwards. So we decided to tone it down just a little bit, get through the show and have something to be proud of afterwards.”

In addition to Apocalyptic Behavior, Copperheads recorded two EPs: a selftitled release and Back to School. In 2011, they split a 7-inch vinyl with The Boom Bang, who found the band on MySpace (back when everyone was on MySpace) and invited them to play shows.

“I think The Boom Bang got us our first show,” Kitchens said. “They were the only ones who knew who we were at the time.”

Today, Copperheads have found their own success, something that amazes Kitchens.

“It’s crazy. We never expected that,” he said. “We’re just writing songs that sound good to us.”

He said the new album will be more melodic, more put-together. Also, listen for a new addition: Zach Flowers on keys.

“Hey, we’re not as drunk anymore.

Come see us,” Kitchens said. “We won’t fall down onstage.”

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 3 7

LIFE MUSIC

Pony expression WA RRE N SWA N N

Honesty is the name of the game for Nashville-based duo Wild Ponies.

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

Wild Ponies 8 p.m. Sunday The Blue Door 2805 N. McKinley Ave. bluedoorokc.com 524-0738 $15

It took a little distance for Doug and Telisha Williams — the husband-wife duo behind Wild Ponies — to properly address the skeletons sitting in their closet.

The two had performed as an acoustic duo under their own namesake, touring the countryside in a beat-up RV and dishing out a string of softhearted, lovey-dovey folk albums with titles like Rope Around My Heart, beaming like newlyweds even years removed from the wedding day. Much of that remains true

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today, and the couple has never been as bonded or connected. But the facade shielding some of their heart-wrenching, torturous secrets needed to come down.

The combination of a move down the road to Nashville, the Jerry Sandusky scandal out of Penn State and a newfound family of songwriters in their adoptive hometown allowed for just that to happen.

“We needed to get out of our hometown and away from where those things had occurred and that physical environment to really look at them from afar and write about them in that way,” Telisha said.

Doug and Telisha grew up in the same quaint Virginia town, but their childhoods couldn’t stand in starker contrast. Doug came from a charming family home, while Telisha combatted

her parents’ divorces, a sexually abusive stepfather and a mother who did little to stop the devastating behavior.

It was a quiet, concealed hurt for Telisha. She used songwriting and music as therapy, if not keeping herself entirely honest about it. But that push from their “song salon” crew and encouragement from Doug opened the floodgates for a headfirst collision with the past.

“I’m really proud of the honesty on that record,” Telisha said of the pair’s debut album as Wild Ponies, Things That Used to Shine. “We both got to a place where we felt brave and honest and ready to tackle some deep truths. The songwriting community here just helped us bump up our songwriting to the next level. You have to bring it.”

Lines like “I’m more broken than brave/ There’s things I still think about

every day/ Like his footsteps in the hallway” demanded a heftier, more aggressive sound than their previous songs ever did. The pair conceded to that, adding a drummer and fleshing out their sound under the guidance of producer Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams).

“The songs were calling for it,” Telisha said. “What we were writing at the time required a little bit more weight behind the music.”

It was all a perfect storm that made the reinvention of themselves as Wild Ponies feel right. And after years of riding along with a bridle in its teeth, the two are finally able to run free.

“It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a good, long while,” Telisha said of the new name. “It just made sense to do it now.”

Music Made Me: Josh Hogsett HARLEE DICKERSON

The Tallows frontman tells us what records had the biggest influence on the band’s captivating brand of indie pop.

BY ZACH HALE

Few, if any, Oklahoma bands have seen a rise as meteoric as Tallows over the past year, yet its seemingly overnight ascension didn’t happen by chance. The Oklahoma City four-piece is well-versed in the ways of modern pop songwriting, drawing from both glitchy electronica and cathartic indie rock in equal measure. Last year, the band pulled off a rare musical feat with its debut album, Memory Marrow, which was steeped heavily in the breadth of recent history yet managed to sound like nothing else before it.

Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Josh Hogsett broke down the five albums that had the most profound impact on his musical identity, offering a glimpse of the sounds that make Tallows tick.

Modest Mouse The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

This album has been a consistent favorite of mine since it was given to me by my neighbor Tom Bishop when I was 12 and was trying to convince him to start a band with me. It was the dynamics of the first song, “Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine,” that blew me away. Isaac Brock’s lyrical narrative throughout the rest of the album is what kept me listening to it continuously.

Telefon Tel Aviv Fahrenheit Fair Enough (2001)

I had a hard time getting behind any electronic music early on, but this album (plus any Aphex Twin album) changed that completely. Each song is crafted very carefully with extremely complex textures that can be intimidating at points, but because it’s contrasted with smooth atmospheric leads, I find it very hard not to listen to over and over and over.

American Football American Football (1999)

An emotional album written all about teenage feelings, I guess it was inevitable for me to fall in love with this as a freshman in high school. What has always impressed me about this record is the ability of the music to pick up where the lyrics leave off, the subtle math-rock elements and odd alternate tuning turn it into something really amazing.

Kaki King ...Until We Felt Red (2006)

Much of the time I spent learning guitar was spent sitting on YouTube, trying to watch and learn Kaki King’s material. I still don’t know how to play a single song of hers, but it’s where I picked up on the fret tapping/open tuning techniques. She started branching off from the instrumental albums and started singing and such on this one, and it makes for a very animated record.

Grandaddy The Sophtware Slump (2000) Respect your elders.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 3 9

LIFE MUSIC REVIEWS

Power hour

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

Power Pyramid doesn’t have much patience for nonsense.

That appears to be the takeaway from the Oklahoma City quintet’s last 10 months, which brought The God Drums in September, the Insomnia EP in January and its latest, self-titled effort in July.

Each was unveiled with a simple day-of announcement, a direct affront to the industry standard of hyping albums months on end before they ever see the light of day. The latter is probably more of a necessary evil than a gratuitous self-promotion, but a lesson lies within Power Pyramid’s succession of quiet releases: A quick poison dart to the neck is usually more effective than a longwinded, B-movie villain monologue.

Of course, none of this matters if the music isn’t good, destined for the never-heard annals of Forgotify. But that isn’t a worry for Power Pyramid, a band very, very good at what it does. The quiet confidence with which it has approached the past year would seemingly indicate that its five members are well aware of this fact.

The God Drums was one best albums Oklahoma had to offer in 2013, and it earned high marks in the realm of shoegaze, even on an international scope. Insomnia was an appetite-whetter just as formidable as the full-length album that preceded it, and now comes the group’s eponymous record bearing some of its most compelling songwriting to date.

Power Pyramid has always had that rare knack for sinking more

accessible, singular moments (“Diving Lessons,” “Holland”) into the middle of an airtight, cohesive album (The God Drums), but that quality has never been as on point as it is here.

Maybe that speaks to the band’s broadening latitudes; lo-fi dream pop and more straightforward indie rock has never been placed outside of the band’s sights, per say. But never has Power Pyramid felt more pronounced than it does on album opener “Blue.”

The group has mastered the shoegaze aesthetic of blurry, buzzing guitars and boundless sonic skies, but the emotion injected into the chorus is new and engrossing.

“Silence” is the darker side of that same coin, applying the same principles brought into “Blue” under a gloomier palate. The same goes for the post-rock bent “Manx” and hyper-aggressive “Bon.” And for a band so often under tightly coiled control, it’s a treat to hear the act devolve into the loose cannon sprawl that is “Gunslinger,” a clinched-fist, riff-heavy take that bottles the vitality of the band’s loud, cathartic live sets.

Interludes “α,” “β” and “γ” probably give more pause to the commotion than enhance the drama, though this likely stems from the fact that the band is so efficient at whipping up such poignant, fervid maelstroms between those segues in the first place. Like-minded acts are so adept at building up these astounding, enveloping walls of noise, but few are able to make it feel like home the way Power Pyramid does.

Power Pyramid Album: Power Pyramid | Available now | powerpyramid.bandcamp.com

4 0 | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

LIFE MUSIC WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 100 Bones, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ROCK All Star Jam, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS American Idol Live, Brady Theater, Tulsa. VARIOUS Bryan Mcpherson/ShutupMattJewett, HiLo Club.

SINGER/SONGWRITER David Morris, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

PIANO Mark Vollertsen, Redrock Canyon Grill. ACOUSTIC

John Fullbright, Myriad Botanical Gardens. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Lower 40, Grand Casino, Shawnee. COUNTRY Maurice Johnson, Avanti Bar & Grill. JAZZ Max Ridgeway Trio, Full Circle Bookstore. JAZZ Michael Buble, BOK Center, Tulsa. JAZZ Myron Oliver/Stephen Speaks, Redrock Canyon Grill.

SINGER/SONGWRITER Okapi Sun/Magic Mattress& Mikah Young, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. ELECTRONIC Pepe Aguilar, WinStar World Casino, Thackerville.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

BRI A N DERA N

Nick Waterhouse/The Wurly Birds, Opolis, Norman.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Jesse Alan, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. COUNTRY John Calvin, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman. FOLK

VI C KI FA RM ER

LIVE MUSIC

John Fullbright Friday

OKG

music

Some musicians are just better enjoyed while outdoors, chillin’ on a blanket and drinking a cold beverage. John Fullbright is one of those musicians. The Bearden-based singer-songwriter’s latest album, aptly titled Songs, is chock-full of earthy, intimate folk numbers, which ought to translate just fine to the Great Lawn.

See Fullbright — along with food trucks and ice-cold Coop beer — 8 p.m. Friday at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave. Admission is free. Call 445-7080 or visit myriadgardens.org.

pick

Nick Waterhouse, Opolis, Norman, Wednesday July 30

Blue, The Chameleon Room. ROCK Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks, Edmond. JAZZ Eric Dunkin, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK

The Friends No BS Jam, Friends Restaurant & Club.

VARIOUS

THURSDAY, JULY 31

Plain Speak/Limber Limbs, Opolis, Norman. ROCK Sleeping Giant/This or the Apocalypse/Phinehas, The Conservatory. ROCK The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS The Ivan Peña Quintet, Catering Creations. JAZZ

Helen Kelter Skelter/Un Chien/Matthew and the Arrogant Sea/Ghost of Electricity, Blue Note Lounge.

ROCK

Edgar Cruz, Myriad Botanical Gardens. ACOUSTIC Kraig Parker, WinStar World Casino, Thackerville. COVER

Jim the Elephant, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ROCK

Kyle Reid, Packard’s Rooftop. JAZZ

JuJu Beans, Grandad’s Bar. ROCK

Wild Ponies, The Blue Door. FOLK

TUESDAY, AUG. 5

The Suspects, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK

Acoustic Terrace Thursdays, Myriad Botanical Gardens.

ACOUSTIC

Voodoo, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK

Kiersten White, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Wanda Jackson, The Vanguard, Tulsa. ROCK

Malcolm Holcombe, The Blue Door. FOLK

SATURDAY, AUG. 2

North Meets South, Newcastle Casino, Newcastle. FOLK

Avenue, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. COVER

Team Gabriel Fundraiser w/ Mike Hosty, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. ACOUSTIC

Dave Thomason Band, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ROCK David and Valerie Mayfield, The Blue Door. BLUEGRASS Dylan Hammett, O Asian Fusion, Norman. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Grant Wells, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

PIANO The Dave Thomason Band, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon.

COVER

Brandon Jackson, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.

COUNTRY Copperheads/Oblivious/Sex Snobs, Opolis, Norman.

ROCK

SUNDAY, AUG. 3

Hosty Duo, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK

2AM, Redrock Canyon Grill. ROCK

Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK

Turnpike Troubadours/Wade Bowen/Cody Canada & the Departed, Zoo Amphitheatre. COUNTRY

Replay/Mitch & Allen, Redrock Canyon Grill. COVER

Mitch Casen, Friends Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY The Hey Diddles, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. ACOUSTIC

Taylor Thompson, Vintage 89, Guthrie. JAZZ

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 6

The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS The Ultimate Journey Tribute Band, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COVER

Days of the New/Aurora Sky/Octave Jaw/Black Beat

Chiodos/Bless the Fall/I Killed the Prom Queen/Capture the Crown, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK Electric Avenue, Baker St. Pub & Grill. POP Grant Wells, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

PIANO

FRIDAY, AUG. 1

Joe Mack/Sky Smead/Carter Sampson, Grandad’s Bar. ROCK

Aaron Pierce/Kaitlin Butts, Lower Bricktown Plaza. ROCK

Old Monk, The Conservatory. POP

Aaron Watson, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. COUNTRY

Steve Crossley , Redrock Canyon Grill. ROCK

Avenue, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. COVER

The Friends No BS Jam, Friends Restaurant & Club.

VARIOUS

Bloody Ole Mule, Grandad’s Bar. FOLK Chris McCain/12 x Stik/Xavier Martin/StateGang/Vince LaFamilia, Blue Note Lounge. HIP-HOP

Evan Jarvicks, The Paramount OKC. VARIOUS Evan Michaels Band, Thunderbird Casino, Norman.

COUNTRY Gary Johnson, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

PIANO

Counting Crows, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Tulsa, Friday, August 1

DANNY CLINCH

Counting Crows, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Tulsa. ROCK

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings.

Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 4 1

4 2 | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

LIFE FILM

Brain dead Lucy — the latest from sci-fi whiz Luc Besson and leading lady Scarlett Johansson — is a mind-numbing mess of a movie.

BY BRITTANY PICKERING

she could smuggle it into the United States without detection. The blue crystal designer drug is supposed to allow the user to access more than the usual 10 percent of his/her mind at once. Unfortunately for her assailants, Lucy’s bag is broken, the drug enters her bloodstream and she begins to access more of her brain capacity and develop superhuman abilities — telepathy, telekinesis and the art of shooting first and asking questions later the least advanced among them.

As her body absorbs the drug and her mind opens, she tells Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman, Now You See Me), the world’s leading brain capacity scientist, “It’s like all things that made me human are fading away.” But the real problem is that Lucy was never fully formed in the first place; she is merely a vehicle for the drugs and, later, all the secrets of the universe. She doesn’t make any real connections with anyone who helps her and didn’t seem to have any before she delivered the briefcase and began her carnage-filled mission.

Halfway through the film, she suddenly decides that Pierre Del Rio, a French police captain, needs to stick around so she will remember what it means to be human. Then she promptly begins to ignore him unless

Lucy has an amateur glaze that you don’t expect from someone who has been writing and directing films for the past 33 years.

she needs a car, guns or police backup.

While the cookie-cutter characters and horrible one-liners like “We never really die” are forgivable — this is, after all, in essence an action movie — the strange tie-in nature clips borrowed from the Discovery Channel and the uninventive special effects give the film an amateur glaze that you don’t expect from someone who has been writing and directing films for the past 33 years.

Cheesy at its best and mindnumbingly puzzling at its worst, Lucy is an unfortunate waste of 90 minutes of screen time and coveted CGI money.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Sometimes a film ends and you’re left sitting in your seat, unable to move, speechless and in shock because it was either wonderful and spellbinding or horrible and confusing. Lucy — the latest effort from writer/director Luc Besson — is definitely the latter.

While Besson is best known for creating characters on the run from nefarious individuals possibly connected to the mob (The Family, Taken, Léon: The Professional), he’s no stranger to science fiction and hasn’t been afraid of diving headfirst into worlds unknown (The Fifth Element).

However, the reason he felt those two worlds needed to collide is more than a little baffling.

Lucy (Scarlett Johansson, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), a gumchewing, party-loving American university student studying in China, finds herself in the hands of what look to be members of the Triad (Chinese mafia) after being tricked into delivering a strange briefcase for her seedy boyfriend.

Naturally, she’s beaten and drugged and wakes up in an empty hotel room with a headache and a nasty incision.

But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill kidney heist. We aren’t that lucky. It turns out Lucy’s captors put a bag of drugs into her torso for safekeeping so

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 4 3

Greek tragedy

TO SEE

Michael

Bublé

Friday & Saturday, 5:30 & 8 p.m.

IN CONCERT

Sunday, 2 p.m.

For movie descriptions and ticket sales visit okcmoa.com

4 4 | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

Don’t be fooled by its name; Hercules gives a puny effort at best.

BY ZACH HALE

The guys who cast The Rock to play Hercules had it easy. The former professional wrestler turned Schwarzenneger redux — known now simply by his birth name, Dwayne Johnson — has become the face of silver screen masculinity after starring in the last few Fast & Furious installments and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

Hercules pits Johnson with director Brett Ratner, who rose to relative prominence with his Rush Hour movies and X-Men: The Last Stand, and the finished product is about what you would expect from this not-at-all-unlikely pairing: all brawn, no brains.

For those unfamiliar with the myth of Hercules, the movie begins with a brief primer. The son of Zeus, head honcho of the Greek gods, and mere mortal Alcmene, Hercules embodied strength and power even as a toddler, crushing snakes that tried to invade his cradle and the like. So when he became a full-grown man, the guy could really do some damage.

Unfortunately, as the story goes, Hercules did quite a bit of damage to his wife, Megara (played by swimsuit model Irina Shayk), and three children, whom he murdered after Zeus’ wife, Hera, drove him insane.

Fast-forward a few years, and Hercules has amassed a band of henchmen who helped him complete his Twelve Labors. The film follows them on their next project after Hercules is summoned by Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson, TV’s The White Queen) and her father, Lord Cotys (John Hurt, Snowpiercer), who offer Hercules his weight in gold (so a lot of gold) to train their army and defend them from overzealous warlord Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann, Kon-Tiki).

This version of the Herculean

Hercules can’t quite determine if it wants to be a comic book movie or a historical saga.

legend (there was actually another that came out this year, albeit to less fanfare: The Legend of Hercules) is based on the Radical Comics series, but if it sounds like an epic in the vein of Gladiator or 300, think again.

Hercules is filled with quippy one-liners and the kind of quasicartoonism that has come to define so many of the Marvel and DC comic book movies that run rampant throughout Hollywood. But much of that humor is awkwardly placed, resulting in more of an identity crisis than anything resembling a cohesive creative vision. Hercules can’t quite determine if it wants to be a comic book movie or a historical saga (two very different things), and it suffers mightily as a result.

However, it does have its strengths. The set designs are immaculate, creating an ancient Greece that’s as dazzling and extravagant as the gods would have hoped. And seeing Johnson with long, curly locks is endearingly bemusing. But that’s about the extent of its intrigue, as even its action sequences and special effects seem insipid and dated. We’re living in the age of the 3-D epic, and Hercules is decidedly empty and weak by comparison — a shame, given the power of its mythology.

P ROVI DE D

LIFE FILM

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Finish this sentence: “The one thing that really keeps me from being myself is __________.”

Testify at Truthrooster@gmail.com

ARIES March 21-April 19 If a farmer plants the same crop in the same field year after year, the earth’s nutrients get exhausted.

For instance, lettuce sucks up a lot of nitrogen.

It’s better to plant beans or peas in that location the next season, since they add nitrogen back into the soil. Meanwhile, lettuce will do well in the field where the beans or peas grew last time. This strategy is called crop rotation. I nominate it as your operative metaphor for the next ten months, Aries. Your creative output will be abundant if you keep sowing each new “crop” in a fertile situation where it is most likely to thrive.

TAURUS April 20-May 20 Maybe your grandparents are dead, or maybe they’re still alive. Whatever the case may be, do you have a meaningful or interesting connection with them? Is there anything about their souls or destinies that inspires you as you face your own challenges? Or is your link with them based more on sentimentality and nostalgia? In the near future, I urge you to dig deeper in search of the power they might have to offer you. Proceed on the hypothesis that you have not yet deciphered some of the useful messages you can derive from how they lived their lives. Explore the possibility that their mysteries are relevant to yours.

GEMINI May 21-June 20 The prolific American author James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) wrote 32 novels. In those pages, he crammed in almost 1,100 quotations from Shakespeare. What motivated such extreme homage? I suspect he regarded Shakespeare as a mentor, and wanted to blend the Bard’s intelligence with his own. I invite you to do something similar, Gemini. What heroes have moved you the most? What teachers have stirred you the deepest? It’s a perfect time to pay tribute in a way that feels self-empowering. I suspect you will benefit from revivifying their influence on you.

CANCER June 21-July 22 Was there an actual poet named Homer who wrote the ancient Greek epics the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey*? Or was “Homer” a fictitious name given to several authors who created those two master works? Whatever the case may be, we know that Homer plagiarized himself. The opening line of Book XI in the *Iliad* is identical to the opening line of Book V in the *Odyssey*: “Now Dawn arose from her couch beside the lordly Tithonos, to bear light to the immortals and to mortal men.” So should we be critical of Homer? Nah. Nor will I hold it against you if, in the coming days, you imitate some fine action or brilliant move you did in the past. It was great the first time. I’m sure it will be nearly as great this time, but in a different way.

LEO July 23-Aug. 22 The Earth has been around for almost 4.6 billion years. But according to scientists who study the fossil records, fire didn’t make its first appearance on our planet until 470 million years ago. Only then were there enough land-based plants and oxygen to allow the possibility of fires arising naturally. Do the math and you will see that for 90 percent of the Earth’s history, fire was absent.

In evolutionary terms, it’s a newcomer. As I study your astrological omens for the next ten months, I foresee the arrival of an almost equally monumental addition to your life, Leo. You can’t imagine what it is yet, but by this time next year, you won’t fathom how you could have lived without it for so long.

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22 In the nights to come, I expect you will dream of creatures like fiery monsters, robot warriors, extraterrestrial ghosts, and zombie vampires. But here’s the weird twist: They will be your helpers and friends. They will protect you and fight on your behalf as you defeat your real enemies, who are smiling pretenders wearing white hats. Dreams like this will prepare you well for events in your waking life, where you will get the chance to gain an advantage over fake nice guys who have hurt you or thwarted you.

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22 d business and pleasure as you nurture your web of human connections. But I hope you will also find time to commune with the earth and sky and rivers and winds. Why? You are scheduled to take a big, fun spiritual test in the not-too-distant future.

An excellent way to prepare for this rite of passage will be to deepen your relationship with Mother Nature.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21 You are hereby excused from doing household chores and busywork, Scorpio. Feel free to cancel boring appointments. Avoid tasks that are not sufficiently epic, majestic, and fantastic to engage your heroic imagination. As I see it, this is your time to think really big. You have cosmic authorization to give your full intensity to exploring the amazing maze where the treasure is hidden. I urge you to pay attention to your dreams for clues. I encourage you to ignore all fears except the one that evokes your most brilliant courage.

Abandon all trivial worries, you curious warrior, as you go in quest of your equivalent of the Holy Grail.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Broadway is one of New York City’s main streets.

It runs the length of the island of Manhattan.

But hundreds of years ago it was known by the indigenous Lenape people as the Wickquasgeck Trail. It was a passageway that cut through stands of chestnut, poplar, and pine trees. Strawberries grew wild in fields along the route. Is there a metaphorical equivalent in your own life, Sagittarius? I think there is: a modest, natural path that you will ultimately build into a major thoroughfare buzzing with activity. Part of you will feel sad at the loss of innocence that results.

But mostly you’ll be proud of the visionary strength you will have summoned to create such an important conduit.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19 The heavenly body known as 1986 DA is a nearEarth asteroid that’s 1.4 miles in diameter. It’s packed with 10,000 tons of gold and 100,000 tons

of platinum, meaning it’s worth over five trillion dollars. Can we humans get to it and mine its riches? Not yet. That project is beyond our current technology. But one day, I’m sure we will find a way. I’m thinking there’s a smaller-scale version of this scenario in your life, Capricorn. You know about or will soon find out about a source of wealth that’s beyond your grasp. But I’m betting that in the next ten months you will figure out a way to tap into it, and begin the process.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18 “I just sort of drifted into it.” According to author Gore Vidal, “That’s almost always the explanation for everything.” But I hope this won’t be true for you anytime soon, Aquarius. You can’t afford to be unconscious or lazy or careless about what you’re getting yourself into. You must formulate a clear, strong intention, and stick to it. I don’t mean that you should be overly cautious or ultra-skeptical. To make the correct decisions, all you have to do is be wide awake and stay in intimate touch with what’s best for you.

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20 Members of the industrial band Skinny Puppy are upset with the U.S. military. They discovered that an interrogation team at America’s Guantanamo Bay detention camp tortured prisoners by playing their music at deafening volumes for extended periods. That’s why they sent an invoice to the Defense Department for $666,000, and are threatening to sue. Now would be a good time for you to take comparable action, Pisces. Are others distorting your creations or misrepresenting your meaning? Could your reputation benefit from repair? Is there anything you can do to correct people’s misunderstandings about who you are and what you stand for?

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes / daily text message horoscopes.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing

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HANDYWOMAN

Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, preference or discrimination.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings in our newspaper are available on an equal housing opportunity basis.

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Roofing - new & repairs Paint - interior/exterior and remodeling 722-7004 O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | J U LY 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 | 4 5

P H O N E (4 0 5 ) 5 2 8 - 6 0 0 0 | E - M A I L : A D V E R T I S I N G @ T I E R R A M E D I A G R O U P. C O M

Outdoor Marketers

needed in OKC & Tulsa

Bar & Cocktail staff

Base Pay $11/hour + bonuses

Call 314-2675 ServerS & Server aSSiStantS wanted

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Licensed Mental Health Clinician (LAC, LPC, LMSW, LMFT)

Full-Time Oklahoma City

Now hiring experienced part-time

Apply in person 2p-4p Tues-Sat

We’re Hiring a

• Opportunities for Growth • Positive attitude a must • No Manual Labor • Enjoyable Atmosphere • Paid Training

Crane Cartage is looking for Owner-Operators for the Oklahoma area.

Recruiting for one ton flatbeds with 32’ to 40’ goosenecks to handle hot shot and expedited oil field deliveries.

Owners Must Have: • Valid CDL • A verifiable clean driving record and good work history • No more than three moving violations in three years • Must be 21 years or older Owner Operators Must Be Able To: • Speak and read English well enough to do his or her job and respond to official questions • Determine whether the vehicle is safely loaded

Morning & Evening Shifts Available Requirements: Must be 18 yrs or older

Send resumes to OK Marketer email: proximitymarketing jobs@rbaoftx.com

Call 405.568.4056

Competitive pay with excellent benefits for qualifying employees.

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Contact

AO is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Mitzi McLain Mildred.Mclain@hrblock.com

Research Volunteers Needed Researchers at OU Health Sciences Center need healthy volunteers ages 18 to 30 who have a parent with or without a history of an alcohol or drug problem. Qualified participants will be compensated for their time.

Call (405) 456-4303 to learn more about the study and to see if you qualify.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution

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MidFirst Bank currently has over 50 banking center locations in Oklahoma with plans for continued growth. We are currently seeking talented, sales and service oriented individuals to join our Personal Banking team in the Oklahoma City metro area Some of the many opportunities available include: • Full Time and Part Time Tellers (Part Time Tellers Receive a $250 Sign On Bonus) • Personal Bankers in our Moneyline Call Center • Assistant Banking Center Managers • Teller Operations Supervisors Personal Banking associates assist customers with a variety of transactions while identifying beneficial products and services in a professional team oriented work environment. Attributes of a successful candidate include proficient computer and 10-key skills, strong leadership qualities, an outgoing and enthusiastic personality and a competitive spirit. Assertive and persuasive communication and client service skills are a must. Previous banking experience is preferred, but not required.

Some of the many reasons to join our team include: • Competitive Benefits to include tuition reimbursement • Ability to earn incentive pay • $500 Experience Bonus for candidates who possess at least 12 months of previous banking experience

www.midfirst.jobs

If you are interested in this opportunity, please visit our website to complete an online application.

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Then this job is for you.

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