Tulsa World June 3, 2022

MASS SHOOTING AT SAINTFRANCIS HOSPITAL CAMPUS

Determined to kill

Francis employees

Police sayshooter blamed thephysician forhis ongoing pain

KEVINCANFIELD

TulsaWorld

Theshooter whogunned down four people on the campus of Saint Francis Health System on Wednesdaywas adisgruntled patient determined to kill his doctor and anyone who stood in his way, Tulsapolicesaid Thursday

The physician, Dr Preston Phillips, 59,had performed back surgery on Michael Louis,45, of Muskogee on May19and sawhim the daybeforethe shooting forafollow-up visit, according to atimeline provided by TulsaPoliceChief Wendell Franklin.

In the interim, Louis called Phillips’ office several times seeking relief for his pain.

After the shooting, Franklin said, policefound aletter from Louis that made clear that his intent wastokill Phillips.

“Heblamed Dr.Phillips forthe ongoing pain following the surgery,”Franklin said at apress conferenceThursday Publicrecords showthat Phillipshad no pending or past disciplinaryaction by the Oklahoma StateBoard of Medical Licensureand Supervision and that he wassued oncebya patient in district court but the case wasdismissed.

Franklin identified the othervictims as Dr.Stephanie Husen, 48; receptionistAmandaGlenn, 40; and William Love,73, whoini-

tiallywas described as a patient. Policelater said Love wasaccompanying a patient.

“Weare supposedtobe the ones whoare caring forothersduring tragedies likethis,” Dr.RyanParker, Saint Francis associate chief medical officerand emergency room physician, said during the press conferenceinthe lobbyof Saint Francis Heart Hospital. “Tothink that our caregivers were the victims is just incomprehensible to me.

“Theydied while serving others; theydied in the line of duty.”

According to Franklin, the gunman used two weapons to shoot his way through the orthopedic center on the second floor of the Natalie Building: a semi-automatic AR-15stylerifle,anda .40-caliber Smith &Wessonpistol.

Louis entered the Natalie Building through asecond-floor entrancefrom the parking garage,Franklin said.

“It is an entrythat is open to the public just as anyother building, just as youwalkedinheretoday,” he said.“Thereisnoone to greet youatthat door,sohe wasable to walk in without anytypeof challenge.”

Louis bought the AR-15 at aTulsagun storeless than three hoursbefore the shootingsoccurred just

showingupatwork Thursday, the

Oklahoma imposes fewobstacles to obtaining firearms

TulsaWorld

People unfamiliar with Oklahoma gun laws might havebeensurprisedtolearn that it’s possible to buyan AR-15-type semi-automatic rifleat2 p.m.and use it lessthan three hourslater in amassshooting,which is what Tulsapolicesay Michael Louis didWednesday.

By all accounts, Oklahoma has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the United States.For the most part, the onlybarrier to buying anon-automatic firearm is an FBI background check that usually takesonlyafew minutes

“It looksbad: Youbuy agun and (the same afternoon) it’s involved in amassshooting, but the lawisthat if they’re not (statutorily) prohibited, there’snothing that can stop them,”said Bureauof Alcohol,Tobacco and Firearms Senior Special Agent AshleyStephens.“Safe to say, millions of Americans (buyguns)every single day without incident.”

TulsaPoliceChief Wendell FranklinsaidThursday that Louis firstbought a .40-caliber Smith &Wessonsemi-automatic pistol at apawnshop on Sunday, then bought the .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle at aretail storeWednesday afternoon.

In both cases,federal law would have required the seller to run Louis’ name and information through

the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS. Within hoursofhis last purchase, Louistook the guns to theNatalie Building on the Saint Francis Hospitalcampus,whereheused them to shoot multiple people, killing four of the victims and himself As farascould be determined Thursday,Louis did not have anything on his record that would have flagged the sales.Oklahoma district court online recordsshowonlyfour misdemeanor trafficcases

Except foroccasional delays in the FBI background check, gun buyers in Oklahoma arenot subject to anysort of waiting period, licensing or training requirements.Statelaw does forbid transferring guns to “a personwho has been convicted of afelony; apersonwho has been adjudicated delinquent; a personunder the influence of alcohol or drugs; or any personwho is under adjudication of mental incompetencyor whohas otherwisebeen found mentally unfitbya court.”

Stephens said something as simple as an outstanding warrant cancauseNICSto kick out aname forfurther investigation. Under federal law, though, the buyer cantakethe weapon if no decision is forthcoming within 72 hours.

MIKESIMONSPHOTOS,TULSA WORLD

Tulsa MayorG.T. Bynum thanks Saint

at anewsconferencefor

dayafter amass shootingthat left five peopledead, includingthe shooter, at the health care system’s Natalie Building. Employees lined the hallway and balcony in the lobbyofSaintFrancisHeartHospital duringthe news conference. BehindBynumare Dr.Ryan Parker (left)and SaintFrancis President and CEOCliff Robertson.

Dr.RyanParker and SaintFrancis HealthSystemPresident and CEODr. Cliff Robertson speak to journalists on Thursday after anewsconferenceabout amassshootingthat left five people dead, includingthe shooter

Dr.Preston Phillips News of thesurgeon’s murder in agun rampage has left scores of patients and colleagues reeling.

Dr.StephanieHusen

The sports medicine specialist‘s“zest forlifewas evident in howdeeply shecared” for patients.

IN DEPTH: Follow all the TulsaWorld’s coverageofthe massshooting; point your smartphone cameraatthe QR code,then tap the link

RANDYKREHBIEL

Amanda Glenn She wasalwaysthere, family and friends say. And thenshe wasn’t

William Love Aretired Armyveteran who servedone tour in Vietnam, he lovedtravelingand spendingtimewith his family

THEVICTIMS |THEIR STORIES, PAGE A5

WHOWILL?

TODAYINHISTORY

Today’shighlight

|FRIDAY,JUNE

On June 3, 1989,Chinesearmy troopsbegan their sweep of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy demonstrations

On this date

In 1621, the Dutch West India Co received itscharter foratrade monopolyinparts of the Americas and Africa.

In 1888,the poem “Casey at the Bat”byErnest LawrenceThayerwas firstpublished in the SanFrancisco DailyExaminer

In 1935,the French liner Normandie seta record on itsmaiden voyage,arriving in New York after crossing the Atlantic in just four days

In 1937,Edward,the DukeofWindsor, whohad abdicated the British throne, married Wallis Simpsonina private ceremony in Monts, France.

In 1962,Air FranceFlight 007, a U.S.-boundBoeing707,crashed while attempting to take off from Orly Airport near Paris; all but twoofthe 132 people aboardwerekilled.

In 1965,astronaut Edward H.White became the firstAmerican to “walk” in spaceduring the flight of Gemini 4.

In 1977,the United States and Cuba agreedtoset up diplomatic interests sections in each other’scountries; Cubaalsoannouncedthe immediate releaseof10Americans jailedon

drugcharges

In 1989,Iran’sspiritual leader,Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died.

In 2008, Barack Obamaclaimed theDemocraticpresidential nomination, speaking in the same St. Paul, Minnesota,arena whereRepublicans would be holding their national convention in September

2008

In 2011, physician-assisted suicide advocate Dr.Jack Kevorkian died at aMichigan hospital at 83 ActorJames Arness (TV: “Gunsmoke”), 88,died in Brentwood, California.

In 2016,heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali died at ahospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age74.

In 2020,prosecutorschargedthree morepoliceofficers in the death of George Floyd and filed anew,tougher charge of second-degree murder against DerekChauvin, the officer whowas caught on video pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck. (Chauvin would be convicted on all charges.)Defense SecretaryMarkEsper took issue with President Donald Trump’sthreats to usethe full forceofthe militaryto quell street protests.Enforcing acurfew,policeinNew York Citymoved in on crowds of demonstrators, at times

blasting people with pepper spray

Tenyears ago: ADana Air MD-83 jetlinercarrying 153people crashed on the outskirtsofLagos,Nigeria, killing everyone on boardand at least 10 people on the ground. The River Thames became a royal highway as Queen Elizabeth II led amotleybut majestic flotilla of morethan 1,000 vessels to mark her Diamond Jubilee. TigerWoods birdied three of his last four holes to win the Memorial, closing with a5-under 67

Five yearsago: Awhite van slammedintopedestrians on London Bridge, killing eight people; the three attackerswereshot and killed by police.SpaceX launched its firstrecycled cargoship to the International Space Station.

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Will Rogers says

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NATION&WORLD

DIGEST Senator: Police chief didn’t know of calls

UVALDE, Texas— Thecommander at thescene of ashootingat an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, wasnot informed ofpanicked911callscomingfrom studentstrappedinsidethebuildingas themassacreunfolded,a TexasstatesenatorsaidThursday

UKRAINE FACING GRINDING CAMPAIGN AS IT WAITSFOR WEAPONS

AUkrainian serviceman patrols avillage near the frontlines in the Donetsk oblastregion Thursdayineastern Ukraine.Ukrainian forces locked in agrindingbattle forcontrol ofthe country’seast struggled to hold off Russian troops and buy themselves some time Thursdaywhile theyawait thearrivalofthe advanced rockets and anti-aircraftweaponspromised by the West.BritainonThursdaypledged to send sophisticated mediumrangerocket systems to Ukraine,joiningthe U.S. and Germanyinequippingthe countrywith advanced weaponry. But withthe armsdeliveries possibly weeks away, Ukraine is lookingata prolonged period of gruelingcombat,militaryanalysts said. The Kremlin warned of “absolutely undesirableand rather unpleasant scenarios” if the latest weapons are firedintoRussia

Bidenpleadsfor

action on guns

WILL WEISSERT, ZEKE MILLER

ANDKEVIN FREKING

AssociatedPress

WASHINGTON—PresidentJoe

Biden deliveredanimpassioned pleatoCongresstotakeaction against gun violenceinanaddress to the nation Thursday night,calling on lawmakerstorestorea ban on the sale of assault-styleweapons and high-capacitymagazines after astring of massshootings.If legislatorsfail to act, he warned, voters should usetheir “outrage” to turn gun violenceintoacentral issue in November’smidterm elections

Speaking at the WhiteHouse, Biden acknowledged the stiff political headwinds as he sought to

drive up pressureonCongressto pass stricter gun limitsafter such effortsfailed following past attacks. He said if Congresswon’t embraceall of his proposals,they must at least find compromise on other measures,likelimiting access to firearms to those with mental health issues or raising the agetobuy assault-styleweapons from 18 to 21.

“How much morecarnageare we willing to accept,”Biden said after last week’sshootingsbyan

18-year-old gunman, whokilled

19 studentsand twoteachersat an elementaryschool in Uvalde, Texas, and another attack on WednesdayinTulsa, Oklahoma, whereagunman shot and killed four people and himself at amedical office

And those came after the May 14 assault in Buffalo,New York, whereawhite18-year-old opened fire with arifleatasupermarket

in apredominantlyBlack neighborhood, killing 10 people and wounding three others.

“This time we have to take the time to do something,”Biden said.

“I knowhow harditis, but I’ll nevergiveupand if Congressfails Ibelieve this time amajority of the American people won’tgiveup either,” he added, referring to the midterm elections

Earlier on Thursday,the House JudiciaryCommittee held ahearing on legislation that would raisethe agelimit forpurchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Speaker NancyPelosi promised colleagues the Housewould vote on the measurenextweek.

But with Republicans nearly all in opposition, the Houseaction will mostlybesymbolic.The Senateistaking adifferent course, with abipartisan group working on legislationthat canwin enough GOP support to become law.

Sen. Roland Gutierrezsaid the pleasfor help from peopleinside Robb ElementarySchool on May 24 did not maketheir wayto school district policeChief Pete Arredondo.The Democratic senator called it a“systemfailure” that callsweregoingtothe citypolice but were notcommunicatedtoArredondo

Nineteen children and two teachersdied in the attack at Robb ElementarySchool in the deadliest school shooting in almost adecade. Seventeen more were injured. Funerals forthose slain began this week.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott this week ordered the stateto conduct in-personschool district securityaudits.

QueentoskipFriday eventfor ‘discomfort’

LONDON —Queen Elizabeth II stepped gingerly onto the Buckingham Palacebalcony Thursday,drawing wild cheers from the tens of thousands who came to join her at the start of four days of celebrations of her 70 yearson the throne.

Elizabeth, whobecame queen at 25,isBritain’slongest-reigning monarch and the firsttoreach the milestone of sevendecades on the throne. Yetafter alifetime of good health, agehas begun to catch up with her.Buckingham Palace announced Thursday evening that the queen would not attend athanksgiving church service Fridayafter experiencing “some discomfort”ateventsonThursday. The palace said with “great reluctance” the monarch has decided to skip the serviceat St. Paul’sCathedral.

BRIEFLY

OIL PRICES: The OPECoil cartel and allied producing countries including Russia will raiseproduction by 648,000 barrels per dayinJulyand August. OPEC formonths resisted pressureto increase oil supplymorequickly. That stance, along with aEuropean Union agreement to end most oil importsfromRussia,has pushed gasprices higher

VACCINES: The Biden administration said Thursday that children under 5may be able to get their firstCOVID-19 vaccination dosesassoonasJune21iffederal regulatorsauthorizeshotsfor the agegroup,asexpected.

CAPITOL RIOT: TheHouse committeeinvestigating the Jan. 6 insurrectionatthe Capitolwill go public withits findingsina series of prime-time hearings beginning Thursday,the startof what lawmakershopewill be a high-profile airingofthe causes and consequencesofthe domesticattackontheU.S.government.

RETIREMENT: Astronger-thanexpected economic recovery from the pandemic has pushed back the go-brokedates forSocial Securityand Medicare, according to aThursday report,but officials warn that the current economic turbulenceisputting additional pressures on the bedrock retirement programs

TESTIMONY: Pennsylvania’sRepublican nominee forgovernor, Doug Mastriano,has offered to sit foraninterviewwith the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6attack on the U.S. Capitol, his lawyer said Thursday

WEINSTEIN: ANew York appeals courtonThursdayupheldHarvey Weinstein’s rape conviction and 23-yearprisonsentence,rejecting theformer movie mogul’sclaim that thejudge at hislandmark #MeToo trial unfairlyallowed women to testify about allegationsthatweren’tpartofthecase.

—AssociatedPress

BERNATARMANGUE,ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Shooting

From A1

before5 p.m., and the pistol waspurchased at aMuskogee pawn shop on Sunday, Franklin said.

Bothweaponswerepurchasedlegally,the chief said.

Abomb threatwas cleared lateWednesdayatLouis’residenceinMuskogee,police said,adding that that side of the investigation continues “Icannotemphasizeenoughthatwetrain rigorouslyoverand over and over again for notif,butwhen,”Franklinsaid,“becausewe have seen the violencethat has takenplace throughout the United States,and we will be naive not to think that that would not happen in our jurisdiction.”

Askedwhetherhecouldsupportlegislation to addressgun violence, such as ared flag laworsome kind of background check forgunpurchases,Franklinsaidhisjobisto executethe law.

“Thereare legislatorsthat legislatethe law,thatcreatethelaw,andIammorethan happytoworkwith legislatorsiftheywant tobendmyearfromalawenforcementperspective and ask what we need,”hesaid.“I am morethan willing to sit down and provide that information.”

Franklin praised the work of his officers and other lawenforcement personnel who responded to the crisis

“I hope that each and everycitizen that sees an officertodaythanksanofficertoday,”hesaid,“becausethis jobishard. It is difficult.”

Franklin said Louis’wifeconfirmed with policethat he blamed Phillipsfor his ongoing pain after being dischargedMay 24 following his surgery

She said Louis contacted her to let her knowwhathehad done, but Franklin said she wasnot awareinadvanceofthe shooting.

TheSaintFrancisshootingcamelessthan twoweeksafter 19 children andtwo teacherswereshot to death at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde,Texas School district policetherehavedrawn criticism—andaU.S.DepartmentofJustice investigation —for their failuretoengage the shooter sooner Franklin said TPD procedures call for officers to remove thethreatofanactive shooter,regardlessofwhether that endangers their ownlives During Wednesday’sshooting, officers made their waytothe second floor,where

Howtohelp

TheTulsa CommunityFoundation has aSaintFrancisEmployeeEmergencyFund set up to help membersofthe SaintFrancisfamily. To see whatyou can do to help, go to tulsacf.org/saintfrancisstrong.

The Tulsa Area United Wayhas also set up alink wherepeople can “write notes of careand compassion,sending your love and encouragement,”at tauw.org/SaintFrancisStrong.

ST.FRANCIS HEALTH SYSTEMS CAMPUS SHOOTING TIMELINE

DuringanewsconferenceThursday, Tulsa PoliceChief Wendell Franklin detailed the timeline related to the mass shootingWednesdayonthe SaintFrancis Health System campus.

WEDNESDAY’S EVENTS

May19: Michael Louis, 45,ofMuskogee,has back surgery. His surgeon is Phillips.

May24: Louis is released from SaintFrancisHealth System’s care. Over thenextfew days, Louis calls Phillips’office severaltimes complainingof pain followingthe surgery.

Sunday: Louis legallypurchases a.40-caliber Smith &Wesson pistol from apawnshopinMuskogee

Tuesday: Louisisseen at Phillips’office foradditional treatment.

Wednesday: On theday of theshooting, Louis calls Phillips’ office seekingfurther assistancefor his pain.

2p.m.: Louis legallypurchases asemi-automatic AR-15-style riflefromaTulsagun retailer.

4:52 p.m.: Athird-party off SaintFrancis’ campus who is on avideochatwith adoctoratthe Natalie Building calls 911,tellingthe dispatcher thedoctor saidthere wasshootinginthe building.

4:53 p.m.: The Tulsa Police Departmentreceives another911 callabouta shooting in abuilding Soonthereafter,TPD receives severalmorecalls specifyingthatthe shooter is on thesecond floorof the Natalie Building.

4:56 p.m.: The firstTPD officers arrivethroughthe first floor of the NatalieBuilding andproceed to the second floor. The officers begin yelling, “Tulsa police.

4:58 p.m.: Officers heara gunshot, believedtobe Louis killinghimself —approximately39seconds afterthe firstofficers enter thebuilding

Officers begin to clear the building when theysee avictim in an exam room. Theyrequesthelpfromthe EmergencyMedicalServices Authorityand continue searching forthe shooter

Officers rescue an uninjuredwomanwho is hiding under adeskatLouis’ feet when he took hislife. Next to Louis is anotherdeceased person.

Officers search forpotential additional victims and assailants and see another victim down in an open area nearanurses’station

Officers direct other emergencyresponders, includingambulancepersonnel, toward victims to render firstaid

As officers continue clearingthe building,theylocate Phillipsdeceased in an examroom.

theyyelled “Tulsapolice,”Franklin said.

“And advancing towardsthe suspect location, theyheard agunshot. We believe thatwasthefinal gunshotwiththesuspect taking his ownlife,”Franklin said. “The gunshot wasat4:58 p.m., approximately 39 seconds after the firstofficers entered the building.”

Investigatorsfound 30 .223-caliber casingsand seven.40-caliber casingsatthe scene of the shooting.

Dr.Cliff Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, said he is not surethe orthopedic wing of the Natalie Building would ever open again but that no decision has been made.

“I can’timagine anyother path forward other than to have that clinic just go dark, because…welostthreeofourcolleaguesin that clinic,”hesaid.“I just have ahardtime believingthatanytimeinthenearfuturewe would be able to usethat spaceagain.”

Robertsondid visit the siteofthe shooting Thursday morning to seeitfor himself “But alsoso that Icould do one thing, whichisIrepresentover10,000peoplethat

makeSaintFrancisHealthSystem,”Robertsonsaid.“AndIprayedovereachoftheareas whereit wasclear that someone had laid, including the perpetrator.”

Thedayaftertheshooting,Dr.Parkerhad prayer on her mind, too.

“Whatever faith yousubscribe to —and evenifyoudon’tsubscribetoafaith—Iwill tell youprayeris just asolemnrequest for help,”shesaidatthepressconference.“And Ithinkwecanallagreethatourworldneeds alittle bit of help right now.”

MayorG.T.Bynumsaidthatalthoughthe threat the shooter presented is gone, Saint Francis employees still need Tulsans’ support.

“The days ahead of us and the weeks ahead of us,itissoimportant forthis communitytoshowtheteamhereatSaintFrancis howmuch we love you,”Bynum said. Talkingdirectlytotheemployeeswhowere watchingthepressconference,headded:“I want to thank all of youfor coming to work today.”

kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com

The officers escortmultiple witnesses and victims from the buildingasadditional officers arrivetobegin amethodical search of each floor.

Officers find 30 .223-caliber casingsand seven .40-caliber casings.Theyalso find aletteronLouis detailinghis intenttokillPhillips andanyonewho standsinhis way. In the letter,heblamesPhillips for hisongoingpain.

5:24 p.m.: The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office calls Tulsa PoliceDepartment leadersabout a woman who said her husband killedseveral people at Phillips’ office.Soon thereafter,TPD received two additional callswith clarifyinginformation from the Tahlequah-area lawenforcementoffice

6:52p.m.: The Muskogee PoliceDepartmentinformsthe public about apossible bombatthe residenceofthe Tulsa gunman. Thethreat is cleared about three hours later 3a.m. Thursday: TPD finishes workingatthe crimescene

—Tulsa World Staff

MIKE SIMONSPHOTOS,TULSA WORLD

ABOVE: SaintFrancisHospital staff line the balconyatthe HeartHospital’slobby on Thursdaytohear anewsconferenceabout Wednesday’smass shootingatthe SaintFrancisHealth System’s NatalieBuilding. BELOW: Thesun rises overthe SaintFrancis Hospital campus on Thursday, just hoursafter amass shootingatthe Natalie Building (far right).

Tulsa CityCouncilor Crista Patricklistens at anewsconferenceatSaint Francis Hospital about themass shootingonthe hospital’scampus. At leftare CityCouncilorsConnie Dodson and Phil Lakin.

Patients mourndoctor’s slaying

ANDREAEGER TulsaWorld

When Annie Hartwig’s little girlshattered her humerus and elbowinabirthdaypartymishap twoyears ago,the firstdoctor they turned to said therewas onlyone surgeon in Tulsatheyshould trust to put their 9-year-old’spieces back together again.

Dr.Preston Phillips.

Nowwho will fixwhat is broken?

“One minutewe’re at Soccer City, and the next we’reinahospitalwith our baby needing emergencysurgery.Itwas terrifying, to saythe least. But he wasalmost at ease about it.He had areallycalming effect, and he wassosweet to her,” Hartwig said.

NewsofPhillips’ murder in a gun rampageinhis south Tulsa medical clinic on Wednesdayhas left scoresofpatientsand former patients, likeHartwig’s family, reeling. He waswith the Hartwigs in the hospital all that firstweekend,formonths of follow-upsand physical therapythat ensued, and then fora final surgery to remove pins from ErickaHartwig’s arm.

During that period, the family learned that Dr.Phillipswasn’t just acaregivertoTulsans —he shared the giftsofhis training and talent on frequent medical missions in Africa.

“When he gotback from one of those mission trips, he showedus avideo whereall of thesekids were dancing and showing him howto dance. He wassoproud.What an incredible man, whoseheart was forhelping others,”Hartwig said.

“I’mgrateful we live in atown with people likethat —but what

aloss.”

Phillips’ colleagues took to social media to shareaccountsof aman with the most elite, Ivy League medical training whonever failed to greet someone in passing, readilyreciprocated bear hugs,and made his clinic staff feel apart of his and his wife’sloving family, completewith annual Christmas dinners.

At aThursday morning news conference, Dr.Cliff Robertson, CEOofSaint Francis Health System, tried to speakfor all of them when he said Phillips, quitesimply, was“aman that we should all strive to emulate.”…

He said Phillipsdemonstrated an extraordinarylevel of devotion to his patientsand anowadays all-too-uncommon belief that his work as a physician was not just his jobbut his calling in life.

That’s whyitmakes no sense to him howitcould be that one

of those patients— aman police sayunderwent back surgery two weeksago and blamed Phillipsfor pain he wasexperiencing during recovery —would hunt down the surgeon inside his south Tulsa medical clinic on Wednesday.

In the rampage, Michael Louis alsoshot to death asecond doctor, areceptionist, and aman who hadaccompanied his wife, aclinic patient,to an appointment,before killing himself as policearrived.

“The fact that some individual would go after Dr.Phillipsis mind-blowing. He’s one of those folkswhose clinic cannot always be on time becausehewill spend everyminutewith patientsthat theyneed,”Robertsonsaid. “Not onlyis it ashock, it is the ultimate loss forSaint Francis —and for Tulsa.”

VJ Lively,who oversees amedical equipment and supplies program forthe Rotary Club’sDistrict

‘The firstperson to help’

SHARON BISHOP-BALDWIN

Sand SpringsLeader

AmandaGlennwasalwaysthere

“She wasalwaysthe firstpersontooffer help.The firstperson to helpand the last one to leave,” said Glenn’ssister-in-law, Kristin McPherson.

But on Wednesdaynight, when Glenn should have been arriving home in Sand Springs after work, she wasn’tthere.

Hourspassedbeforeauthorities confirmed that Glenn wasamong the victims of the massshooting on the campus of the Saint Francis Health System.

Glenn,40,workedintheofficeof Dr.Preston Phillips, whoalsowas killed and whohad been the gunman’sprimarytarget, Tulsapolice

DR.STEPHANIE HUSEN

said. She is survivedbyher husband, Jonathan “Beau” Glenn, and their twosons,Gabe, 18,and Ian, 16

The last her familyheard from Glenn wasatextmessage in which shesaidtherewasanactiveshooter onthefloorandthatshewasscared andgoingtohideunderadesk,familyfriend Jeremy Wolfesaid.

Glenn had workedinPhillips’ office forthe last severalyears but had workedinthe medical field for nearly twodecades

“She lovedbeing in the medical field and helping people,”McPhersonsaid.“She wasjust always putting other people beforeherself.”

AmandaandBeauGlennhadbeen married19years,althoughtheyhad known each other much longer,

“probablysincemiddle school,” McPhersonsaid, adding that they “had neverspent anight apart.”

Until Wednesday.

The couple both graduated from Sand Springs’ Charles Page High School in 2000.Their sonGabe graduated twoweeksago with Charles Page’s Classof2022, and Ian attends the school now.

Family—actualrelativesandunofficialfamilymembersalike—was all-important to Amanda Glenn, said Wolfe, whohas been friends with Beau Glenn sincechildhood.

“Asamother,she wasalways thereatherkids’games—justabigtime familyperson,”hesaid.

“In fact, we used to joke that she wasmysecond wife, and my wife wasBeau’ssecond wife.”

6110,got alump in his throatseveral times as he spokeofPhillips, whom he gottoknowthrough medical mission work

Phillipswas likeafather figure to his fellowSaint Francis physician Dr.Komi Folley, an internist, and the duo had traveled together numerous times to Folley’snative Togo,Africa, to build clinics and hospitals,practicemedicine and bring supplies from Lively’s outfit to those desperatelyinneed.

“Dr.Phillipswas averyunique individual.Forstarters,he wasjust amountain of aman —just huge. I’m6foot, and he toweredover me,”Livelysaid. “But he wasvery soft spoken. Inever sawhim get upsetormad. He had averycalm demeanor,and he treatedeveryone equally.When he spoketoyou,you were theonlypersoninthe room.”

Livelymadehimself chuckle once, as he recalled the one thing Phillipsneeded on missions that wasnot in one of thoseshipping containersbound forAfrica.

“When he would go to Togo,he would have to take his ownsurgicalgloveswith him becausethey onlyhad small,medium,large,extralarge,” Lively said. “I think he wore 3X or 4X sizePPE. Butwhen he shook your hand, his hand engulfed your hand.”

Folleyand Phillips’next medical mission to Africawas scheduled forlater this month.

When Lively spoke to Folley, one of his best friends,onThursdaymorning, he said he not only urgedbut insisted that Folleystill makethe journey.

“I said: ‘You’ve got to go on. Dr.Phillips would want youtogo on without him,’” Lively said, his

voicestraining from his emotions “This wasahuman being we lost toosoon. Onceyou met him, you would neverforgethim.”

Locally, Phillipstook on extra responsibilities to serve andcare forhis fellowTulsans

More than adecade ago, he was featured in the TulsaWorld when he served as lead physician forthe TulsaShock WNBAteamthrough apartnership with Warren Clinic Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine.

More recently,he hadbeen serving on the boardofthe John Hope Franklin Center forReconciliation.

ButReuben Gant, interimexecutive director,said“boardmember” does not begin to do justice to Phillips’effortsonbehalf of the Tulsanonprofit.

He chaired itsscholarship committee,recruiting fellowmembers of his fraternityfor black professionals,called Grand Boule of the Sigma Pi PhiFraternity(Epsilon Iota), to reviewapplications, nominatestudentsfor awards and mentor the winnersthrough post-secondaryeducation.

Gant estimated that morethan 20 local high school graduates received scholarshipsand mentoring through vocational education, junior collegeoruniversities during the last five years.

“It’s adevastating loss.I can’t saymuch morethan that,”Gant said, his voicehalting. “Hehad a passion forTulsaand the community. He had this overwhelming desiretomakeopportunities and create access andbeavailable to our youth.”

andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

McPhersonsaidGlenn“lovedher boys —Beauand their sons.Just so much love.”

“She wasalwayssmiling and happy—the type of personwho neverhadanythingbadtosayabout someone,”she said.

“Shewasalwayspositiveandjust full of joy.”

WolfesaidGlenn“wasawonderfulperson— loving, caring, fun to be around, outgoing. She wasjust anormal, all-around good person.”

“You could always useher company,” he said. “You don’tcome across thosetypes of people that often that you can associate with

Alifesaved,never to forget

ANDREAEGER

TulsaWorld

Onawhim,CindyHenry-Welch found anearlyforgotten cellphone numberforheroldboss,Dr.Stephanie Husen,nine or 10 months ago and dialed it

Welch’sgranddaughter was having amedical issue, and even though nearly adecade had passed sincetheyworkedtogether,she still thought of Husen when she thought of whototurn to foradvice.

“She answered, andI said, ‘Do youremember me?’ She said, ‘Of course,Cindy! Iwill neverforget you!’” Welch recalled. “She saved us again.”

Welch, whonow livesinMorrison —asmall town in Noble County, about 15 miles north of Stillwater— has worked as anurse for36years, including one single year as Husen’snurse at afamily medicine clinic in Guthrie

But theyhad atrulyextraordinarystarttotheirrelationshipthat neither would forget.

“She started on aWednesday, andshe savedmylifethe following Monday,”Welch said in all seriousness

Before Husen’sarrival, Welch wasbeing treatedbyaphysician’s assistant at the clinic forstrange symptoms the PA believed were temporaryand not at all serious

But on that firstFriday,Husen’s thirdday on the job, she caught wind that Welch had anew symptom— one seriouslydrooping eye.

“On Monday, Dr.Husen said she’dworried about me all weekend. She said, ‘I knowyou don’t

knowmeverywellandIjuststarted working here, but Iwant youto come in hereand let me take alook atyou,’”Welchsaid.“Sheransome testsand found out my carotid artery was80% dissected and called my husband and told him to come immediately.”

Husen arranged forWelch to undergo advanced testing and immediatetreatment by specialists in Oklahoma City. DoctorsdeterminedthatthestateofWelch’scarotid arteryhad brought on arelatively rare condition called Horner’ssyndrome, in which anerve pathwayisdisruptedfromthebrain to one side of the face and eye.

“Dr.Husen said she had never seen it but she had read about it onceinabook,”Welch said.

Welch would recoverand return to work,but Dr.Husen’strue passion wasorthopedics,soitwasn’t long beforeshe left familypractice in Guthrieforamoredesirable position in Tulsa.

“She offered to take me along withher,butnowaycouldImoveto Tulsaatthe time,” Welch recalled.

When she heardearly news reportsofashooting at aTulsa hospital on Wednesdayevening, her mind firstraced to her adult daughter,a nurse in the Newborn Intensive CareUnit at Ascension St. John Medical Center

She wasdevastatedtolearn on Thursday morning that someone elseshe knewwas killed —Husen, apparentlycaughtinthecrosshairs of aMuskogee man hellbent on murderingasurgeonHusenworked with, Dr.Preston Phillips.

“She wastrulyamazing,”Welch

saidofHusen.“Somedoctorshave that personality wherethey’re just alittle bit better than the rest of us —butDr.Husenwasdowntoearth andthe sweetest person.”

Husen wasreportedlyworking as asportsmedicine specialist most recently. TheOklahoma StateUniversityCenter forHealth Sciences confirmed Husen’sdeath onThursday,statingthatthePonca Citynative had workedfor many yearsasaphysical therapist before pursuing her medicaldegree from OSUCollegeofOsteopathic Medicine,whereshegraduatedin2004 withanemphasisoninternalmedicine and pediatricsfollowedbya fellowshipinnon-operativesports medicine.

“Her zest forlifewas evident in howdeeplyshe caredabout her sportsmedicine patients, and her commitment to those she served will be greatlymissed,”said OSUCHS PresidentJohnnyStephens.

“The OSU-CHS communityoffers our sincerethoughts, deepest sympathies and prayerstothe Husen familyalong with the other victims’families during this time of unspeakable loss.”

Close friendsreported being asked by Husen’s familynot to speak to news media yet.

But social media postsbyher classmates from PoncaCityHigh School’sClassof1992statedthat becauseHusenherselfhaddonethe planningfortheir30-yearclassreunion this weekend, thefestivities would proceed in her honor PoncaCityPublic Schools released astatement on Thursday afternoon stating:“PCPSisgriev-

ing todayafter learning of the passing of Dr.Stephanie Husen. Our thoughtsand prayersare with her familyand countlessfriends and the CityofTulsa. We send our heartfelt condolences.”

ForWelch, whonow runs her ownhome health servicefor seniors, this week’smassshooting in amedical settingisnew fodder forherperpetualconcernforthose she loves.

“Mydadwasastatetrooper,then mybrotherbecameastatetrooper, andnowmysonisapoliceofficerin Owasso,”Welchsaid.“Iworriedmy whole lifeabout my dad and then my brother,and then my son. And now, IguessIhavetoworry about my daughter “It’sacrazyworldwelivein.God help us all.”

andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

and enjoy their companyand never gettired of them.”

McPhersonsaidthefamilyis“just trying to processwhathappened” butthatthey’re“surroundedbylots of friends” at her and Beau Glenn’s parents’ house.

“SandSpringshasjuststeppedup to support us all,”she said.

“We’re just trying to makesense of it, and it doesn’tmakesense.”

AGoFundMeaccount has been setuptohelp the familywith expenses.Itcan be found at bit.ly/ GlennFamily. news@sandspringsleader.com

WILLIAMLOVE

RetiredArmy sergeant held door closed

FROM STAFFREPORTS

William Love,a 73-year-old retired Armysergeant, held adoor closedtogiveotherstime to escape the gunfire in theNatalie Building onWednesday,policesaidinasocial media post.

Accompanyinghiswife,Deborah, tothedoctor’soffice,Loveknewshe wouldn’tbeable to getout of the building fast enough on her own, familymemberstold police.

“Hesacrificedhislifeforher,”the familysaidinamessage delivered through the TulsaPoliceDepartment. The couple recentlyhad bought an RV and were looking forwardto traveling, the familysaid.

MIKE SIMONS,TULSA WORLD

Dr.Preston Phillips (left)greets Saint Francis Presidentand CEODr. Cliff Robertson at aMass at the hospital’schapel whenRobertson firsttook the job in 2021.

Dr.Stephanie Husen’s passion was orthopedics, and she wasasports and internal medicine specialist with theWarren Clinic in Tulsa.

AMANDAGLENN

Amanda Glenn with her husband, Jonathan “Beau” Glenn, and their sons, Ianand Gabe Glenn. COURTESY

William Love wasa73-year-old retired Armysergeant.

House Dems seek changes

Legislatorscallfor adding guncontrol to specialsession

BARBARAHOBEROCK

TulsaWorld OKLAHOMA CITY —House DemocratsonThursday called formassive changes to the state’s gun laws

The Democratsheld aCapitol pressconferencethat theysaid wasset prior to theWednesday shootingsonthe Saint Francis Hospital campus in Tulsa, which ended with five dead,includingthe gunman.

The changes theyrequested aren’tlikelytoget much traction in the Republican-controlled Legislature,given the broadsupport for lifting restrictions on guns Rep. Monroe Nichols,D-Tulsa, said Democratsare asking that the Legislature’sspecial session call be amended to include the topic of gun control.

Gov.Kevin Stitt has called aspecial session forJune 13 to eliminate the sales taxongroceries and reducethe income tax. Meanwhile, lawmakershavecalledthemselves intospecial session to expeditethe spending of $1.8billion in AmericanRescue Plan Actfunds

From astate policystandpoint, Oklahoma is not doing enough to prevent massshootings, Nichols said.

He said Democratsare proposing the Stand Against Violenceand Extremism Act, dubbed “SAVE.”

Nichols listed Democrats’ goals: enact ared flag law, repeal the permitless-carrylaw,repeal the concealed-carrylaw in zoos and public parks, implement awaiting period and raisethe agerequirement forthe purchaseof firearms to 21.

Rep. JasonLowe, D-Oklahoma City, chairman of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus,led a failed effort to repeal the permitless-carrylaw three yearsago

“I trulybelieve that the stateof Oklahoma believesinthis and our plan,”Lowesaid Background checks will prevent dangerous individuals from possessing firearms,hesaid.

Proper training is needed for those whopurchase AR-15s,Lowe added.

Red flag laws thatwould identifyindividuals whohavemental illnessesare needed, Lowe said.

“It is unfortunatethat this male-dominated Legislatureis mostlyconcerned with children’s bathrooms and regulating awoman’srighttohealthcareasopposed to making sureour kids aresafe, making sureindividuals whoare dangerous do not have access to

Gunlaws

firearms,” Lowe said.

Lawmakerslast session passeda bill that would requirestudentsto usethe restroom of their biological sex. Lawmakersalsopassedbills banning abortion.

Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, said that all toooften bills to lessen gun control whiz across the chamber and aresigned intolaw

“I think we all understand it is not amatter of if it is going to happen; it is amatter of when,” Goodwin said.

Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairwoman Alicia Andrewsheld aseparatepress conferencetoask residentstovoteout politicians whodonot support stronger restrictions on guns

“Thoughtsand prayersdon’t changeanything,”Andrewssaid.

She noted that in asingle week, Oklahoma has seen twomass shootings, referring to Tulsaand Taft.

Andrewswas joined by Oklahoma CountyDemocratic Party Chairwoman Robbie Whiteand Sherie Dickerson, executive director of Black LivesMatter Oklahoma.

Dickersonsaid she wasdisgusted by thelack of responseby those in powerwho could bring real change. If lawmakerswillnot commit to limit access,theyneed to be voted out, Whitesaid.

barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com

Uvalde survivorsrecover from wounds,trauma

STEPHEN GROVES

ANDADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

AssociatedPress

UVALDE, Texas— Bullet fragmentslodged in the children’sarms and legs. Traumatic flashbacks flooding their nightmares

Forthe 17 people injured during amassshooting last week in Uvalde, Texas, healing will be slowina communitymourning the deaths of 21 others.

As the tight-knittownof 16,000 holds funeral after funeral and investigators examine howpoliceresponded to theshooting at Robb Elementary School, severalofthe victims are still in hospitals over an hour’sdrive away in San Antonio,undergoing treatment forbullet wounds

Uvalde Memorial Hospital, which treated11 children and four adultsin the hoursafter the shooting, discharged 10 of those patientsthe same dayand transferred five to SanAntonio hospitals.The grandmother of the shooter,who wasshot in the face before the 18-year-old gunman entered the school, wasalsohospitalized. On Wednesday, the San Antonio hospitals were still treating five patients, with one 10-year-old girlin serious condition and the rest deemed to be in good condition.

Among the injured were severalfourth-grade studentswhose classmates and teacherswereshot to death. One young survivor, 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo, told CNN that she and a friendusedher dead teacher’scellphone to call 911 and waited forwhat felt like hoursfor officerstoarrive Miah,who suffered abullet fragment to her back, said she coveredherself with afriend’sblood and pretended to be dead

“We’rejust taking it day by day,”the girl’sfather, Miguel Cerrillo,told The Associated Pressina brief phone interviewWednesday.

The familyisraising moneyfor Miah’smedical expenses to treatbothinjuries caused by the bullet fragment and the mental trauma of surviving the shooting.Cerrillo said that whilehis daughterisnow at home, she has not opened up to him about what happened in the classroom.

The long-term devastation of the shooting on those whowereclosest to it hung heavilyontheir familymembersthis week as theyput together fundraising campaigns to help payfor their treatment.

Noah Orona, 10,was

“trying to comprehend not onlyhis wounds,but witnessing the suffering of his friends,classmates,and his belovedteachers,”his older sister LauraHolcek wrote on aGoFundMepagefor histreatment.

Orona had been struck in the shoulder blade by a bullet that exited his back and left shrapnel in his arm, the Washington Post reported.

Familymembersof

9-year-old Kendall Olivarez posted in another fundraising campaign that she would needseveral surgeries after she wasshot in the left shoulder and hit by fragmentsofbulletsonher right leg and tailbone.

Heruncle JimmyOlivarezsaidWednesdaythat Kendall wasdoing “OK.”

Yetthe mental wounds from the shooting rippled out farbeyond the hospital beds to acommunitywhere parentshaveheldchildren with racing hearts, where local policefacemounting questions about how quicklytheyacted to stop the shooter and where mental health expertssay the scars of trauma will be indeliblyetched.

“Theyare holding onto this terrible, horrific memory,”saidDr. Amanda Wetegrove-Romine, a SanAntonio psychologist whoattended high school in Uvalde and assisted in communitycounseling services in the days after the May24shooting.

Children were having nightmares and clinging to their parents, she said.

One third-grader, 8-year-old Jeremiah Lennon, feared he would be killed if he went back to school after surviving the shooting in aclassroom next to theroomwhere three of his friends were slain. He waschanged by the shooting, his grandmother Brenda Morales said, nowsitting quietly, not eating much and just staring intospace “He’schanged. Everything’s changed,”she said.

As ErikaSantiagoattended the funeral this week for10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza,she recounted howher 10-yearold son, Adriel, watched in horror when the first images came out on the news and he recognized twoof his friends from kindergarten: Amerie and Maite Rodriguez.

Although the Santiago familyhas movedand now livesinSan Antonio, Adriel did not want to go back to his school: “Hetold me, “Mom, Ijust don’tfeel safe.’”

Mental health experts said that becausemostof the victims were children, trauma canhavea particularlylong-lasting impact.

“Theyare in an important stageof development. Their worldviewisforming,and theyare learning whether the worldis safe or unsafe,”saidDr. Arash Javanbakht, whodirects the Stress, Trauma, and AnxietyResearchClinic at Wayne StateUniversity. “Trauma stayswith children the rest of their lives.”

In the communities across the countryshaken by school shootingsover the years— Columbine High School in Colorado, MarjoryStoneman Douglas High School in Florida, SantaFe High School in Texasand SandyHook ElementarySchool in Connecticut —trauma has manifested foryears Survivors of Columbine, nowadults, spokeout in recent days to saynewsof the shooting reopened the wounds of theirtrauma.

Mental health experts said arangeofsupport will be needed forthe survivors,beginningwith what is known as “psychological firstaid” in the immediate aftermath to counseling sessions to addresstrauma symptoms that canlast for months and even years. The abilityofthe communityto come together to heal will alsobecrucial, with parentsplaying an important role in discussing emotions with their children.

“Support and connectednesswith community membersand fellowsurvivors canbeapowerful source of resilience, collective remembering, collective healing and purpose,” said Nicole Nugent, an expert in treatment forpost-traumatic stressdisorder whoworks as aprofessorofpsychiatryand human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of BrownUniversity.

Wetegrove-Romine, the psychologist, said Uvalde wasa “close-knit”communitywhere“everyone is connected,”yet the intense scrutinyofthe speedofthe policeresponse hasalso prompted a“conflicted grief.”

She worried that in the small Texascommunity, peoplewon’tget help when theyneed it.

“I worryabout the longterm resources—therewill likelybeanother shooting likethis and resourceswill need to leave” to treatsurvivors of that tragedy, she said. “What happens to the people of Uvalde?”

TheATF is sent to “retrieve” the weapon,Stephenssaid, if the investigation subsequently finds thatthe sale shouldnot have been allowed.

Oklahomagradually dropped most of itsgun ownership and carrying restrictionsuntil, in 2019, the Legislature passedand Gov.Kevin Stitt signed HouseBill 2597,theso-calledConstitutional CarryLaw Withsomeexceptions,HB2597 endedall licensingand training requirements.Thestatestillissues concealed carrypermits, which officials said areusedprimarily bypeopletravelingwiththeirguns to stateswithreciprocal licensing agreements, officials said.

In 2019,thePew Research Centerdetermined that Americans were farmorelikelytobekilled by handguns than by semi-automatic rifles,including AR-15 types,but that the latterwere prevalent in the largestmass shootingepisodes

AR-15-typeweaponswere used in recent massshootings in Buffalo,N.Y., andUvalde, Texas, as well as in Tulsa.

Accordingtosomesources,experts disagreeabout whether the AR-15isfavored because of itseffectivenessorits reputation

The original AR-15— “AR” stands for“ArmaLite”— was developed inthe 1950sasa militaryweapon prototype. From it, sayhistorians,camethe selective

fire M16and M4 rifles usedbythe U.S.armedforcesbeginninginthe 1960s

Therights to theAR-15 were sold to Colt, which began producing asemi-automatic civilian model of therifle. Colt’s patents expiredin1977, leadingtoamultitude of variationsbymanufacturers all over theworld. Reportedly,morethan 500 nowmakean AR-15-type weapon.The guns typicallyhave20- or 30-round magazinesandareknownfortheir lack of recoil.

At some point, AR-15-type rifles became known as “assault rifles” or “assaultweapons”— thereismuch debate over where theterm originated —and their manufactureand importwere bannedfrom1994to2004.

Some sayreintroducing the weapons fueled gun violencein theUnited States over the past decade.Othersdisputethat,contending thatthe popularityofthe weapon is more of atestament to conditions in the country than a cause.

The othergun boughtand believedusedby Louis,described as a.40-caliber Smith &Wessonsemi-automatic pistol, wasoriginally developed formilitaryand policeuse but reportedlyispopular with private gunownersbecauseofitsreliabilityand stopping power. randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

Louis

FROM STAFFREPORTS

Aninth personhas been identified as having been injuredinthebarrageofgunfire in the Muskogee County town of Taft early Sunday. One woman waskilled and severalotherswerestruck in the shootout.

A19-year-old woman wastaken by ambulancetoa hospital in Tulsa, whereshe remainedinstablecondition, the Oklahoma StateBureau of Investigation said Thurs-

dayafternoon. The OSBI alsosaidthat “agentshavedetermined multiple suspectswereinvolvedandmultipleweapons were used in the shooting.”

Skylar Dewayne Buckner, 26,turned himself in after the shooting and wasarrestedonafirst-degreemurder warrant. He wasdenied bailonTuesdayandwillhave his initial court appearance Fridayafternoon.

Additional arrestsinthe case have not been announced.

MuskogeeCountyDistrict AttorneyLarryEdwardssaid Tuesdaythathehopestofind other people involved in the

argument that led to the shooting, but investigators haven’tfound anysofar

SharikaBowler, 39,was killed in the shooting.

Taft victimsgrowtonine 19-year-old woman is amonginjured in Sunday shooting

The totalinjured, includingthemostrecentvictim,is eight. The ages of those injured rangefrom9 to 56.All werethoughttohaveinjuries that were not life-threatening, the OSBI said.

The OSBI said itsinvestigation is open and ongoing.

The agencyasked anyone in attendance, particularly anyone with cellphone video takenaround the time of the shooting, to contact the OSBI at 800-522-8017 or tips@osbi.ok.gov

Nichols

It’s at our door

Nolonger aremassshootingsmerelyabstractions forTulsans or Oklahomans

Four people in the Natalie Medical Building at Saint Francis Hospital were killed Wednesdaybeforethe gunman took his life. Just days before, ashooter gunned down eight people at aMemorial Day gathering in Taft, killing one person. This national tragedyand cycle of massgun violenceishere, at our door

We grieve with the families.Wemourn alongside their friends and colleagues

Tulsabecame the siteof the nation’s233rd massshooting so farthis year.Taft holds the 228th spot.

Our nation has become a countryinconstant crisis

People arefalling to their knees in prayer and asking forhelp, forguidance, forsomething to makesenseof the senseless.

Wordscannot soothe this trauma. Thoughtsare no balm to this pain.

It’s hard finding alight in thesedarkmoments. But we find heroism in the policeand other frontline workers who walked intodanger

We honor the valor of health care workers fortheir service during an emotionallyand physicallydraining pandemic

Nowtheyfaceunfathomable tragedyand adifferent kind of fear on the job.

Tulsaand Oklahoma have facedmalevolencebeforeand rallied to become stronger,from the city’s1921RaceMassacreto the 1995 Oklahoma Citybombing. We have the capacityto emerge wiser and with determined purpose TulsaMayor G.T. Bynum, along with all communityleaders, offered condolences and wordsof comfort. He added this when asked about the uptick in massshootings: “If we want to have apolicydiscussion, that is something to be had in the future, but not tonight. Not tonight.”

We give him that —amoment to just feel the sorrow and loss, to acknowledgethis shared suffering and heartache, to hug those close to us.Tocry

But tomorrow and all the tomorrowsafter that, we need to talk about policy. Thereisnow no down time between mass shootings. We need to stop othersfromhaving to endurethis shock and grief

Firearms stocks increase aftermassshootings

Ruger,the twogun companies still publiclylisted in the U.S. So whyhas that changed?

The dayafter an armed 18-year-old entered the Robb ElementarySchool in Uvalde, Texas, and shot dead 19 children and twoteachers, the shareprices of gun and weapons manufacturersjumped.

Aweek on, and the market rallyofgun stockshasn’tsubsided. As of the close of trading on May31, the stock priceof weapons-maker Sturm Ruger wasupmorethan 6.6% since May23, the daybeforethe shooting. ForSmith &Wesson, the jump wasevenmore marked, with shares up over 12% from the stock priceprior to the masskilling in Uvalde.

But that relationship —a massshooting followedby a spikeingun industrystocks —wasn’t always the case.My colleague Anand Gopal and I studied the impact of 93 mass shootingson the stock priceof publiclylisted firms from 2009 to 2013. We found that mass shootingsin that period were followedby adropinshareprice forSmith &Wessonand Sturm

The answermay lie in how hopes of legislation over tighter restrictions on gun sales have dwindled over the last decade. The takeaway is investorsno longer seem to worrysomuch about the chances of tightening firearms regulation when assessing the long-term viability of gun manufacturersin the aftermath of massshootings.

Let’s look at the factorsthat influencethe valuation of such stocksafter massshootings.

First, youhaveincreasing demand forweapons.Research has shown that gun sales go up after ahigh-profile shooting as Americans “arm up,” both out of aperceived concern for their safety and fear of tighter restrictions

But then youhavethe counter factor: Anytalkoftighter rules on gun sales putsat riskthe long-term viabilityofthe companies by curtailing futurecash flows. The businessmodel of gun-makersis to sell increasing numbersof firearms to the public.Any banorrestrictions on what types of weapon youcan purchase—orevenwho canbuy a firearm —would limit their abilitytoincrease profits.

In the period we lookedat, investorsseemed to lean intothis fear of futurelegislation more, as seen in the reduced valuation of publiclylisted firearm companies after massshootings. Our research showedthat the massshootingsfrom2009 to 2013resulted in apenaltyimposedon firearms stocksovera two-, five-and 10-daywindow. That is to say, amassshooting would be followedby acumulative abnormal drop in share priceoverthat period. The penaltyworkedout to around 1.25% over a five-dayperiod.

Interestingly, even over the yearswestudied, thingsbegan to change. The negative stock marketresponsetomassshootingstapered off in the later yearsof our study, suggesting that the threatofany regulatory measures wasnot as keenlyfelt by investors.

Inaction over gun control at the federal level—and the loosening of regulations among some states —inthe yearssince our work has seeminglyled to arebalancing of the twomain factorsat play. Thereisstill the surge of demand forgun sales after massshootings. But the fear over potential regulations over gun sales has seemingly abated.

The surge in the stock price of Smith &Wessonand Sturm Ruger after the Uvalde school shooting provides strong correlational evidencethat firearm stocksnow riseafter such events. Asimilar effect wasseen after the 2018 massshooting at MarjoryStoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

But thereisaproblem when it comes to saying outright that thereisalink. One of the scariest thingsis the statistical model we used in our research no longer works.

The reason:Thereare simply toomanymassshootingsin the U.S. Theyoccur with such frequencythat we cannolonger implement this kind of analysis looking at the effect of isolated incidentsand the stock market effect on gun companies

In fact, according to the Gun ViolenceArchive,therewere 18 moremassshootingsinthe U.S. in the sevendaysafter the Uvalde shooting.

Brad Greenwood is an associate professor of informationsystems and operations managementat George Mason University. This article is republished from The Conversation under aCreative Commons license

Researchingwhy U.S. hashighgun deaths

with higherrates of gun violence.

Inthe wake of the most recent U.S. massschool shooting, a comparison considering how the U.S. compares with other countries on children’sdeaths caused by guns is compelling.

As the nonprofitChildren’s DefenseFund has pointed out, gun violenceisnow the leading causeofU.S.children’sdeaths It reported that thereare nine fatalshootingsofchildren per day— that’sone killing every twohoursand 36 minutes

Aminority of thesekillings involveschool or massshootings;the majority arekillingsof individual childrenand linkto routine crime andgangviolence, and overwhelminglyresult in the deathsofAfrican-American and minority children

The U.S. stands as an extreme outlier among high income countries.The numberofchildren killedby gunsis 36.5 times higher in theU.S., compared with manyother high income countries including Austria, Australia,Sweden, England and Wales,according to an analysis recentlypublished by the New England Journal of Medicine.

In recent years, international research has alsoprovenconclusively that greaterlevels of gun ownership areclosely associated

An audit by the Center for AmericanProgressofall 50 US states foundaclose correlation between the states with the toughest gunlawsand states with the lowest gun crime rates. Meanwhile, internationalresearch has compared national gun laws,rates of firearm ownership andgun violencerates

The resultsare striking.

Interestingly, European societies thatcomeclose to U.S. ratesofgun ownership,in terms of gun ownersper 100 people(but with hunting rifles andshotguns rather than handguns), such as Finland and Norway,are amongthe safest societies internationallywith regardstogun violence.

Researcherstalk about “civilized” and “de-civilizing”gun cultures,cultures wheregun ownership is associated with traditional values of respect and responsibility, and otherswhere gun availabilitylargely empowersthe criminallyminded and unstable,adding to the violence and chaos.

High levels of social cohesion, lowcrime ratesand internationallyhigh levels of trust and confidenceinpolice and social institutionsdoappear to reduce levels of gunhomicide.

The flipside is that high gun ownershipin countries includingFinland,Swedenand Switzerlandhavesignificantlyhigher ratesofsuicideusing guns. The

U.K. andJapan,withsome of the toughest gun laws in theworld, always record thelowestrates of gun homicide,chieflybyvirtue of theirvirtual prohibitionof handguns, the criminal weapon of choice

By contrast, the death tolls in recent U.S. massshootingshave been very much exacerbatedby perpetratorsusing assault rifles, with their largermagazines and rapid fire capabilities

As aresult of the newinternational focus in gun control research, wider questions came under the spotlight. Researchers started to focus lessuponthe gun as an independent variable and instead began to address contexts and thedifferent cultures of gunuse.Theyalso began to acknowledge, as criminologists have always known, that introducing newlawsseldom changes anything on its own–offenders breaklaws.

Gun researchersnow focus increasinglyupon wider “gun control regimes,” which have a big part to playinincreasing or reducing levels of gunviolence.

Theseregimes include policing andcriminal justice systems,systems of political accountability, welfaresafety nets, comprehensive education provision and cultures of trust and confidence.

Although the U.S. is seen as the most exceptionalgun cultureamong affluent democratic nations,intermsofdeath rates it is dwarfed by manyother

poorer and moreconflicted societies,such as South Africa, Jamaicaand Honduras

Attemptsinthe U.S. to confront shootings, but without restricting gun ownership,in recent yearsinclude scaling up surveillance—especiallyin schools wherepupils,parents and teachersform part of anetwork keeping awatching eyeon colleagues and pupils.Theylook forsigns of trouble and areable to sound thealarm

More ambitiously, the ViolenceProject has sought to compile evidence profiles, learning from what we already knowabout rampagekillersand trying to predict wheretheir behavior,social mediaengagementsand utterances might ring alarm bells

However, the evidenceisnow indisputable that moreguns in a givencountrytranslates directly intomoregun violence.

It is significant that the immediate reaction to the Ulvade, Texas, school massacrehas tended to focus on narrow questions of school securityand an apparent delay in policeintervention, rather thanthe many underlying factorswhich make the U.S. such acomparatively dangerous placefor children. PeterSquires

BRAD GREENWOOD The Conversation

Competency hearingset

Jernigan said last fall.

FROM STAFFREPORTS

Acompetencyhearing has been setfor the death-row inmateconvicted of murdering aTulsabank guardafter ajudgestayedthe 60-year-old’sexecution.

Wade Laywas convicted and sentenced to death in 2005 for the slaying of 36-year-old security officerKenneth Andersonduring

First-time jobless claims up 41%

CURTIS KILLMAN

TulsaWorld

First-time Oklahoma jobless claims jumped 41%last week compared with the previous week,according to agovernment report.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that 2,571 initial claims forunemployment insurancebenefits were filed the week ending Saturday, an increase from the upwardly revised 1,818 initial claims filed the week ending May21.

Initial claim weeklytotals have varied sincepeaking forthe year the last week of March at 2,946, with the month of May featuring claims up one week onlytodecline the following week.

Continued claims,those filed after at least one week of unemployment, alsoincreasedwhen compared to theprior weekly total.

Meanwhile, the number of continued claims,those filed after at least one week of unemployment, increased1.6% from an upwardly revised 10,189 claims the week ending May14 to 10,355 claims the week ending May21.

Stateofficials,commenting on figures released aweekago andrevised Thursday,noted that claims in all categories declined. Stateofficials typicallydon’t comment on claims totals until aweek after they arerevised.

“Okl aho ma continues to stand out as a leader foreconomic strength and recovery, and we areproud to seeclaims decreasesinevery reporting category,” said Oklahoma Employment SecurityCommission ExecutiveDirector ShelleyZumwalt. “Additionally, Oklahoma’s (unemployment insurance) Trust Fund has reached approximately $335 million, further solidifying it as one of the most stable funds in the nation. Our state’s responsible and consistent management of the fund allows OESC

an attempted bank robberythe previous year.His January2022execution datehad been scheduled along with those of several other deathrowinmates when Oklahoma ended a hiatus on itschallenged lethal-injection protocol. Laywill face ajuryinMay 2023 over the question of his mental capacitytoeffectively collaborate with his defense. Court docu-

mentsshowheisrepresented by a newattorney, JeffreyM.Byers of Oklahoma City.

According to attorneys forLay, aphysician determined in September 2021 that he lacksarational understanding of the basis for his execution. APittsburgCounty judgeordered acompetencytrial basedonthe report of Dr.Richard DeMier “It would violatethe Eighth Amendment to executeWade Lay becausehebelievesheisbeing killed as part of agovernment plot to silencehim,”his attorneySarah

“Mr.Lay’s delusions arewellknown and have been apparent to everyone whointeractswith him fordecades,sothe state’sfailureto initiatecompetencyproceedings until nowisinexplicable. That delayshould not allowthe stateto proceed with an unconstitutional execution beforea juryhas heard all of the evidenceestablishing Mr Lay’sincompetence.”

Hisson, Christopher Lay, also convicted in Anderson’smurder, is serving lifewithout parole for the crime.

In 2019, Christopher Laydescribed his childhood as acloisteredlifewith just his father,“living his viewand his vision, which wasaperverseone.”

He said his father taught him that “the countrywas broken.” Prosecutorsatthe time said the father and sonwere“operating outside of reality” and had a“self-proclaimed mission to (avenge) Waco.”

Investigatorsrecovered anti-government literaturefrom

City poolsopenSaturday

JILLIAN TAYLOR

TulsaWorld

TulsaParksaquaticsinstructors

sacrificedpay to certifylifeguards amid staffing shortages and facilitatetheopeningoftwomunicipal pools per daystarting Saturday.

Fourteen TulsaParks lifeguards arecertified forthe summer,and although the department would ideallyhire35for the season, it has staffed all of itspools with 24 in past years.

Nick Pond, the department’s aquatics manager,said he recentlycertified nine lifeguards for $41 each over the traditional $250 feetostaff citypools,meaning he would not be compensated forhis work

“It’s ahugeundertaking,”Pond said.“Iworked11hoursonSunday to getonwith (certifying people). Itwasabrutal,hot,long,longday.”

Lifeguards currentlymake$11 per hour,which wasa$1.37 increase made mid-seasonin2021, and the department is offering a payincrease of 50 centsto$1per hourtoreturninglifeguards.Pond saidalthough$11perhourisbetter than$9,heattributestheshortage to inadequatepay,certification costs and apotential “lack of interest”inthe position.

“It’s averyresponsible job—to always be here, always vigilant,” Pond said. “Lifeguards deserve more.”

McClureandBerryPoolswillbe openJune4,7and9,andLacyand Whiteside Pools will be open June 5,6,8and10.LacyandBerryParks willbeopenfrom11 a.m.to5p.m., andMcClureandWhitesidepools will be open from noon to 6p.m. All pools areclosedonSundays,

Owasso U.S. 169worktobegin

TheOklahoma Transportation Commission approved a$13.6 millioncontractwith Becco ContractorsinFebruary to expand the U.S. 169northbound and southbound bridges at the high-traffic area

ART HADDAWAY

OwassoReporter

OWASSO— Owasso residents

andcommuterscan expect travel delays alongU.S.169

in

highways

“ODOTispleased to begin addressing the critical needs of the Owasso communitywith this project,”ODOTspokesman T.J. Gerlach said in aprevious story.

“The replacement of these bridges lays thefoundation for the futurewidening of U.S. 169 …that will help relieve congestion at abusyinterchangeand improvesafetyfor the traveling public,both on the highwayand on the citystreet below.” ODOTplans to maintain two

except on opening weekend.

Pond said it is likelyBerry Pool will not open alongside McClure Pool on Saturday, as maintenance crewsawait partsfor apool pump replacement that wasordered months ago. Pond said the pool doesn’thavewater in it and, becauseofsupplychain issues,he doesn’tknowwhenitwill open.

To accommodateresidents, Pond said the department hopes

to open Whiteside Pool everyday

Weeklyschedules aresubject to change, and further announcementswill be posted on Tulsa Park’s Facebook page

Although the department doesn’thaveadditional lifeguard applicants, Pond said his email inboxisfull of people whoare interestedinreceivingtheirlifeguard

LifeguardRileeBuchananwatches swimmersatthe BerryMunicipal Pool on Tuesday in Tulsa.

OBITUARIES

Lawrence “Larry”JosephNiver

Lawrence “Larry” Joseph Niver,loving son, father, and grandfather passed away on Monday, May31atthe ageof51. Larrywas born to Ruth and Lawrence Niver in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 19, 1971. He grewupwith his sisters,Dede Jemela and SandraSeagle. He attended Memorial High School. He graduated from Northeastern State Universitywith a bachelors degree in Marketing Larryissurvived by his twochildren; Brookeand Brandon Niver; his

Lyndall Paul Hill

Lyndall “Paul”Hill, 69, of Owasso passed away on May27, 2022. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 3, 2022 at the MariettaFirst BaptistChurch with interment following at LakeviewCemetery, Marietta. Onlineguest book: wattsfuneralhome.com

Willam Nabors

William LeeNabors (Bill) was the thirdand last sonof James Elmer Nabors and Eunice Williams. He graduated from Stigler High School. He died May27, 2022. He is survived by his wife, Jody Nathan, his children Bonnie and Jesse, and his brothers Robertand James. AMemorial will be from 2-4pm, Sunday, June 5, at the Herman and Kate KaiserYMCA Banquet Hall; 5400 S Olympia Ave, Tulsa, OK 74107

Pools

From A9

certifications.Although Pond has been assisted by former cityemployee Rhonda Freiner in providing certifications,hesaid he doesn’thavetime to teach additional classesas the season picksup.

The YWCA Tulsaisoffering acertification class on June 10-12 for$225,and studentswho do not pass the prerequisiteskills test will be refunded $150

Pond said he finds comfort in the shortage being a nationwide issue, as Tulsa Parksworks to provide affordable summer fun to Tulsans

He said he hates that this is the second year the department has facedsignificant staffing shortages, and he wishes people valuedpublic pools more.

“I wasatSafari Joe’son Monday, and theywere fullystaffed …and they don’tevenmakeasmuch as we pay. We have just as much fun hereas theydid there,”Pond said. “I don’t knowwhatthe issue is with pools,but thereshouldn’tbe astigma. We have ablast at the pool,and we keep everybodysafe.”

Interested applicantswho arealready certified canapplyonthe TulsaParks website.

twodogs;Russell and Oliver; his motherRuthNiver; his twosisters, Dede and Sandra; his brother in law, Victor Seagle; as well as several nephews and extended family members. Larrywas proceeded in death by his older brother David Niver andhis father Lawrence Niver Memorial service is Friday, June 3, 2022, 11 AM,atSaint Mary Catholic Church in Tulsa Oklahoma. Fitzgerald IvyChapel,918-585-1151 www fitzgeraldfuneralservice.com

DEATHNOTICES

TULSA

Alfred, James R. “Jim,” 69,project manager,died

Tuesday, May31. Celebration of life4:30p.m. Sunday, TulsaGarden Center LinnaeusTeaching Garden. Stanleys

Linthicum, David, 66, Chevron project manager and Navy veteran, died Wednesday, June 1. Services pending. Moore’s Eastlawn. Niver, LawrenceJ “Larry,”51, Comp Source insuranceadjustor,died

Tuesday, May31. Memorial service11a.m. Friday, Church of St. Mary. Fitzgerald Ivy.

Smyth, Sally, 67,oil and gaslandman,diedWednesday, June 1. Celebration of life4 p.m. Saturday, Moore’sSouthlawn Funeral

Lay From A9

the Lays’apartment about eventsatRubyRidge,Idaho, and Waco,Texas.Their trial revealedthattheyhadcompiled akill-list of people theythoughtresponsiblefor the Branch Davidian deaths when a fire erupted in Waco after a 51-day standoff with lawenforcementagentsand federal officials

On March 15,the warden of the Oklahoma State

Motorcyclist killed in crash

Skiatook police were reportedly pursuing himSundayevening

ASHLEY JONES

TulsaWorld

Amotorcyclist whoreportedlywas fleeing from Skiatook policewas killed Sundaywhen he crashed in aconstruction siteinTulsa.

TulsaPoliceDepartment investigatorsare looking intothe fatalpursuit, Capt. RichardMeulenbergsaid Wednesday.

The chasereportedlybeganonElmStreetnearOklahoma 11 in Skiatook,he said.

About8:30 p.m.Sunday,a

Skiatook policeofficerpursued the motorcyclist into theconstructionzoneat31st Street and Peoria Avenue in Tulsa. Both vehicles reportedlybypassedroadclosure signs near the bridgeconstruction, and the motorcycle struck apieceof heavy construction equipment.

The policecar reportedlystruck aconstruction trailer,but the officerwas able to getout of the cruiser and attempt firstaid on the motorcyclist.

Home FamilyCenter

STATE/AREA

Funeral home, church and cemeterylocations are in the cityunder which the death noticeislisted unless otherwisenoted.

Bristow Lane, Larry, 70,retired pipefitter,died Tuesday, May24. Memorial service 2p.m. Saturday, Michael’s Funeral Home Chapel.

Mannford

McGough, Jim Sr., 74, frame welder,died Monday, May30. Visitation 11 a.m.-5p.m.Sunday,FloralHaven Funeral Home, Broken Arrow,and service 11 a.m. Monday, June 6, TulsaGospel Assembly, Sperry.

Penitentiarywrote to prosecutorsabout his belief that inmateLay “had become insane.” DeMier said in his report that Layisable to repeat information that Oklahoma will executehim on amurder conviction, but “when asked specificallywhy he wasbeing punished by the legal system, he spoketangentiallyabout the Bible, the writingsofDostoevsky and Jefferson, and the appropriatesocietalgoals of punishment.”

lanesoftrafficineachdirection of U.S. 169throughout thescope of the estimated 18-monthproject, although some overnight closures couldreduceeachsidetoone lane.Additionally, partsof 76th Street Northunder the bridgecould alsosee various closures Gerlach said the current structureofboth two-lane bridgesabove76thcannotbe easily expanded duetotheir design.Assuch,theoverhaul will create asinglebridge wide enough to accommodate thefuture expansion to six lanesalong the busy freeway, which sees around 50,000 vehicles per day.

The widening project comes about five yearsafter ODOTput the final touches on its$44 million expansion of U.S. 169atBirdCreek, in whichcrews demolished thelarge bridge just southof Owassotomakeroomforsix lanes—aprojectthatlaidthe groundwork foracollaborativepartnershipwiththecity of Owasso

“Owasso values the relationship and communicationwehavewith ODOT,” City Manager Warren Lehr said previously.“We appreciatethe funding forthese projects to continue to improvethe quality of lifefor ourcommunity.”

MIKE SIMONS,TULSA WORLDFILE Motorists travelon thetwolane U.S. 169bridges over 76th Street NorthinOwasso earlierthisyear.The state DepartmentofTransportation plans to widen thebridges beginningMonday

The long-term proposal forU.S.169inOwasso—totalingmorethan $50 million —includes wideningand resurfacing work spanning more than 6 miles between 66th and 116th Streets North,with76th slatedas thefirstphase.Workat66th86th Streets North isset to start inAug. 2024, with the othersfollowing at different timesand locations from 2025 through2029.

In addition to carrying out ongoing developments alongU.S.169,ODOTplans to invest $12.8million more in Owasso to improve about five miles of U.S.75 between 96thStreetNorthandnorth of156thStreetNorth.Anadditional$1.4million willgo towardintersectionupgrades alongOklahoma 20 at 145th East Place.

Thesehighwayimprovementsaccompanyabout $130 million in new commercial andexpansionprojectsthathavebrokenground across Owasso over thelast three months

The motorcyclist, whose name has not been released, died at the scene, according to Meulenberg,whosaidthe initial reason forthe pursuit remainsunderinvestigation.

Investigatorswill attempt to determine whether the motorcyclist wasstruck by the Skiatook policecruiser, butreportsareunclearabout the circumstances of the crash, policesaid. ashley.jones@tulsaworld. com

Mangetslifefor 2018 triple murder

Judgeacceptsjury recommendation for lifewithout parole

KELSYSCHLOTTHAUER

TulsaWorld

Once under threatofthe penalty of death, aTulsa 26-year-oldwill spendthe rest ofhis lifeinprison for the 2018 triple-murder of twomen anda child ina home north of downtown Tulsa, ajudgeconfirmed Wednesday.

TulsaCounty District JudgeDawnMoodyfollowed ajury’srecommendationin sentencingKeenan Sean Burkhalter to lifeinprison withoutparole foreachof histhreecountsof first-degree murder and another 35 yearsfor first-degree arson. Allsentencesaretorunconsecutively withcreditfor timeservedand earned.

AjuryfoundBurkhalter guiltyinlateMayofmurderingHoseaFletcher,Marquis (Ramon) Brownand Maziah Brownatahomeinthe 600 blockofEastSeminolePlace earlyOct. 14,2018, before setting thehouse ablaze

Fletcher andBrown,both 27,werecousins,and MaziahwasBrown’s7-year-old daughter.

AndrewConard,Burkhalter’sco-defendant,testified that Burkhalter told him while the twowerewatchinga TV news report about firefighters’discovery of the bodies that he carried out thekillingsand arson.

TheTulsaCountyDistrict Attorney’sOffice opted to

FROM STAFFREPORTS

Aman wasarrested

Wednesdayona first-degree murder complaint after his wifedied of an apparent beating, the TulsaCounty Sheriff’sOfficesaidinanews release.

Policeresponded to acall Mondayafternoonregarding

Burkhalter

drop its pursuit of capitalpunishmentlast year after Burkhalter’s attorneys arguedthat theearly pandemic’s proceeding delaysand jail visitation caps deprived theirclientofhis righttoa speedytrial and inhibited theirability to adequately preparetofacesuchapunishment option.

Proceedingwithadeath penalty case likelywould have delayed the trialanothercoupleofyears,AssistantDistrictAttorneyKevin Gray said,and he wasnot certainajurywould assess suchapunishmentgiventhe option, as much of theevidence wascircumstantial.

“It wastime to getjustice,”Graysaid.“Ultimately it’sthesameoutcome —Mr. Burkhalter is going to die in the penitentiary.”

ChiefPublicDefender Corbin Brewstercommendedprosecutors forreconsidering their position on thedeath penaltyafter Tulsapolice in 2020 identified themurderweapon as agun belonging to Conard

“Fromthe beginning, thecaseagainst (Burkhalter) washeavilybuilt on Conard’scooperationand testimony,which conveniently omitted the truth aboutthe murderweapon,” Brewster said.

Burkhalter maintains hisinnocenceand hasrequested anappeal,Brewster

said Court proceedingsare ongoing forConard,who is chargedwiththe same counts. He testified that he droveBurkhalter to and from thescene, bought himlighter fluidand saw himstartinga fire at the house, though he initially concealedBurkhalter’sinvolvement.

Conard is dueback in court June 17

Gray said there’sbeen muchspeculation as to whyBurkhalter carriedout thekillingsbut no single concretemotive has been ascertained.

Donning matching T-shirtswithpicturesof the victims, membersof the victims’ extendedfamilyfilledonesideofthecourt gallery

Afterremindingthecourt of thelifeand love each of thevictims provided, several family members who read victim impactstatementswarned Burkhalter of the wrath of God, with some telling him they hope he findsrepentance.

“Thefamilythatwas here forall three of the victimsis afamilyunlike anyI have everseen,”Graysaid.“There were familymemberspresenton everysinglecourt setting,and Idon’t just mean the big days; I mean thelittle days,aswell.

“Therewasalways somebodyherejust to make sure that those threepeople weren’tforgotten.” kelsy.schlotthauer@ tulsaworld.com

Manarrestedinhis wife’s death

awoman whowas unconscious after adiving injury at BirdCreek. When police arrivedinthe 4200 block of East 56th Street North,they found Michael Christopher Jimenez, 41, of Glenpool, on thecreekbankwithhiswife, EricaJimenez,whohadsigns of trauma to her body, ac-

cording to deputies EricaJimenezdied from her injuries after being transported to ahospital. Detectivesdeveloped evidencethat indicated that her husband had severely beaten her at another locationbeforetakinghertoBird Creek, deputies said.

2women dieinhead-on collision

FROM STAFFREPORTS

Ahead-on crash

WednesdayinPittsburg Countyleft twoQuinton women dead, according to theOklahoma Highway Patrol.

Rebecca Miller,26, was driving a2012 Chevrolet Sonic westbound on Okla-

Jobless

From A9

tocontinueprovidingcrucial services forOklahomans.”

The four-week moving

homa 31 and MaryDurbin, 51, waseastbound in a2011 Ford Focus when both vehicles went left of center around 8:30 a.m. and collided head-on about7miles east of McAlester,troopers said.

Durbin waspronounced dead at the scene, accord-

averageofinitial claims increasedfrom1,914 the period ending May21to1,998 the period ending Saturday.

The four-week moving averageofcontinued claims declined forthe seventh

ing to an OHP news release. Miller wastaken to a McAlester hospital, where she waspronounced dead. Her1-year-old and 4-yearoldpassengersweretreated at the hospital forminor injuries,the OHP reported. Miller wasnot wearing a seat belt, trooperssaid.

consecutive week, or from 10,927 the week ending May14to10,802claims the week ending May21. curtis.killman@tulsaworld. com

NSUtooffer bachelor’s in mechanical engineering

FROM STAFFREPORTS Northeastern StateUniversitywill start anew bachelor’sdegree program in mechanical engineering to helpmeet Oklahoma’s workforcechallenges

Debbie Landry, NSUprovost and vicepresident of academic affairs, said there is agrowing demand forme-

chanical engineerstohelp the state fill in-demand jobs She added the occupation plays arole in nearly everyaspect of modern life and has been identified by Oklahoma Works,the state’s workforcedevelopment initiative housed in the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development, as acritical

occupation. According to theOklahoma Employment Security Commission, employment formechanical engineers is projected to riseacross Oklahoma by 6.2% and to grow in theTulsa metropolitanarea by 7.11%between 2018 and 2028 The universityplans to

welcome the firstcohort of mechanical engineering majorsatNSU this fall, adding the institution has begun the enrollment process,Landrysaid. “Studentscan expect a quality, well-developed curriculum that will be rigorous yetrewarding,”she said.

WORK&MONEY

Breeze Airwaysstartsmaidennonstop flight from TulsatoNashville, Tenn.

FROM STAFFREPORTS

Breeze Airways launched itsnonstop servicefrom TulsaInternational Airport (TUL)toNashville, Tennessee.

Departurewas setfor 5:30 p.m.

The newroutewill operateJune-August and October-December,twice per week. Nashville is the second routeservedbyBreeze from TulsaInternational Airport, along withits nonstoptoTampa, which began in June 2021.

OPEC+allianceboostsoil production as energy prices soar

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON —The OPEC oil cartel and allied producing countries including Russia will raiseproduction by 648,000 barrels per day in July andAugust, offering modest relief foraglobal economysuffering from soaring energy prices and the resulting inflation.

The decision Thursday stepsupthe pace by the alliance, known as OPEC+, in restoring cutsmade during the worstof the pandemic recession. The group had been adding a steady 432,000 barrels perday each monthtograduallyrestore production cutsfrom2020.

Themovetoincreaseproductionfaster than planned comes as risingcrude prices have pushed gasoline to a record highinthe U.S.,a potential problem for U.S. President JoeBiden in midterm Congressional elections thisfall.

Elevatedprices arealsoa threattothe global economy as it emergesfromthe pandemic,withbothcompanies and families potentiallyreducingactivitytodeflect those costs.

OPEC, whose de facto leader is Saudi Arabia, had for months resisted pressurefromthe White House to increase oil supplymore quickly. That stance, along with aEuropean Union agreement to end most oil importsfromRussia, has pushed prices higher.Gasoline and diesel prices have alsobeen rising due to alack of refining capacitytoturn crude into motor fuel.

The US “welcomes” the increased production,White Housepress secretaryKarine Jean-Pierresaid in a prepared statement. “The United States will continue to useall toolsatour disposal to addressenergy prices pressures.”

Bidenadministration officials have recentlyvisited Saudi Arabia fortalks on energysupplies and regional

Record-highgas prices continue

Tulsa and Oklahoma on Thursdayagain hit record-high average gas prices.

Tulsa’s average pricewas $4.270per gallon and the state’s averagepricewas $4.262 per gallon forregular unleaded on Thursday, accordingtoAAA

The priceatTulsa-area QuikTrips was$4.29 per gallon on Thursday, according

securityissues.

In the U.S.,crude prices areup54% sincethe beginning ofthe year and gasoline pricesare being pulled along.

The increase did not appear to ease concerns about tight supplyand oil prices actuallyrose after the decision wasannounced Thursday.

U.S. crude, which had fallen by as much as $3 per barrel early in the day, reversing course and traded up 0.9% at $116.23.International benchmarkBrent rose 0.7%at$117.02.Market tradersmay have expected morefromthe meeting,such as an indication from Saudis that they could makeupfor anyshortfall due to sanctions againstRussia.

Insteadthe alliance’s statement merelymentioned reopening from COVID-19 lockdowns in

to gasbuddy.com.

The U.S. sawarecordhigh average gasoline pumpprice on Thursdayof$4.71 per gallon, accordingtoAAA

That’supabout 10 cents sinceTuesday. Benchmark U.S.crude oil forJuly deliveryrose $1.61 to $116.87abarrel Thursday. Wholesale gasoline for July deliveryrose 12 cents to $4.19a gallon.

“major global economic centers” and the end of seasonal maintenanceworkat refineries as justifications forthe incremental increase Lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing have sapped fuel demand in China

OPEC+ decisions have been complicated by the group’s failure to meet its production targetsdue to underinvestment and other roadblocksinsome member countries. Actualproduction has lagged the scheduled increases

The priceofcrude makes up about half the priceof gasolineat the pump in the U.S.,and pricescould go even higher as the summer driving season gets under way. High gasprices for drivers areapotential factor in U.S. politics withmidterm Congressional elections approaching later this year

Breeze is the onlyairline at TUL to offer anonstop flighttoNashville.

“Weare excited forTulsans to be able to getto Nashville nonstop and exploreall the cityhas to offer,” Andrew Pierini, chief commercial officerat TUL, said in astatement.

“Thank youtoour partnersatBreeze whosaw the strong initial bookingson the newrouteand have alreadyextended the route’s seasonalitythrough the end of 2022.”

Originally,the flight wasslated to be summer seasonal,(June-August); however, Breeze extended the seasonalityand it will

alsorun October-December at twotimes aweek— Thursdaysand Sundays while taking abreak forthe month of September

Branded as the new“SeriouslyNice” U.S. carrier, Breeze Airways willoperateEmbraer 190aircraft for this routeinJune,but plans to transitiontothe new A220 the firstweekofJuly.

Guestsmay choose from faresthatinclude “Nice” seats, or “Nicer” seatswith extralegroom. All Embraer aircraft will be atwo-bytwoseatconfiguration, so thereare no middle seats. The A220s will include

apremium cabin, called ‘Nicest’seating, in atwoby-two configuration at the front of the plane. The remainder of the aircraft will featureatwo-by-three seat configuration.

David Neeleman, Founderand CEOofBreeze Airways,said, “Thereare a significant number of unserved markets from Tulsa that will provide us with manyyears of growth opportunities.And we’re thrilled to be able to give Tulsa residents nonstop serviceso they canget wheretheywant to go twice as fast forhalf the cost.”

DARE to COMPARE

COURTESY,CEANORRETT

Breeze Airways is offeringnonstop flights between Tulsa International Airportand Nashville beginningThursday.

MANUELASOLDI PHOTOS,TULSA WORLD

Gas prices arepictured at aTulsaQuikTrip on Tuesday.

Gas pumpsare pictured at aTulsa QuikTrip on Tuesday.

Weibergasteadypresence

Texasare on their wayout and herewas Weiberg, officiallyon the Oklahoma Stateathletic director jobfor 11 months,right in the middle of it.

IRVING, Texas—Chad

Weibergate lunch Thursday with Oklahoma athletic directorJoe Castiglione seated immediatelytohis right, UCFathletic director TerryMohajir to his left and TexasADChris DelConte and TexasTech AD KirbyHocutt across the table.

It wasavisual forBig 12 Conferencevolatility. UCFisonits wayintothe league, OU and

Final X next step forFix

JOHN TRANCHINA

TulsaWorld

STILLWATER —With so much at stakeonFriday, Daton Fixisglad that Final XStillwater, which determines whowill represent the United States at the WorldWrestling ChampionshipsinSeptember,ishappening on his home turf at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Final Xshowcaseisaseries of best-of-three wrestle-offs, with the winnersineach weight bracket earning atrip to Belgrade, Serbia,to compete forTeamUSA Fix,whowon asilvermedal at last year’sWorld Championshipsin Oslo,Norway, is hoping to bring home gold this time.

But first, he must makethe team, and that is contingent on his performanceFriday,whenhe must defeatSeth Gross at 61 kg twicetoclaim the covetedroster spot.

“If Idon’twin thesetwo matches,thereisnogold medal, so thesetwo matches arereally important,andI’m definitelynot overlooking anybody,”Fix said.“I knowthat Seth Gross is acompetitor and someone that has the potential to score alot of points. I’mlooking forwardtowrestling him,and it’s just real nicethat it’s going to be hereinGallagher.”

Fixfaced Grosslast year at the WorldTeamTrials and wona technical fall, 11-0,onhis wayto making the 2021 Team USA.But he knows that Gross,anNCAA individual champion at 133 pounds in 2018 forSouth Dakota Stateand athird-place finisher at the Big Tentournament in 2020 forWisconsin, will be readywith anew game plan to reversethat result this time around.

“I wrestled Seth in that tournament (last year), that match went my wayand it’s anew year,”

Between bites of salad, Weibergconversed with Castiglione, whomight not be public enemyNo. 1inStillwaterbut is in the running, as comfortably as he had just visited with Baylor AD Mack Rhoades in the hallway. In another hour Weibergwould engageWest Virginia AD Shane Lyons while walking aFour Seasons Las Colinas corridor

At some point during daytwo of theseBig 12 spring meetings it had to dawn on attendees: If

coaches likeMikeGundyrepresent OSU’scompetitive fortunes moving forwardinthe Big 12, administratorslikeWeibergand OSUpresident KayseShrum, whowas introduced alongside Weiberglast July 1, arewho truly carrythe Cowboysahead.

That is agood thing.

“Chad is following aguy that’s unflappable,”Big 12 commissioner BobBowlsbysaidatthe end of Thursday’s meetings, referring to former OSUADMike Holder.“Mike,weusedtocall him ‘EF Holder.’ Wheneverhe talked, people gotquiet and listened.”

Thereisanunflappable quality

to Weiberg, too, isn’tthere?

“Yeah,”Bowlsby said, “there sureis.”

Therewould have to be.

“Y’know, he’sbeen through hell,”Bowlsby said. “Heand Kaysestarted in the middle of a hugebrushfire.”

The pandemic and name, imageand likenesscrackled July 1. By Aug. 1, OU and Texaswere making googly eyes at the SEC and that brushfire felt morelikea towering inferno

“I think Dr.Shrum and Ifelt good that we were going to be fine moving forward,”Weiberg reflected Thursday.“It’s just therewas uncertaintyabout

what that meant. What did that mean at the time givenall of the changing landscape?”

Weibergdid acouplethingsto provehis this-is-gonna-be-OK inclination correct. He dove into enough datatobeassured that OSUAthletics was acoveted market-value enterprise, with or without OU.And he stiff-armed anynotions that the Sooners’ Big 12 exodus waspersonal.

That attitude has prevailed the past 10 months.Itwas evident Thursday

Asked about the awkwardness of carrying on businessasusual

Please see EMIG, Page B6

OU slams do trick

Sooners in third inning

4: RBIs by TiareJennings on agrand slam

it the wayshe means it,”Gasso said. “I just step out so she can be herself.The responsewas throughthe roof.”

ERIC BAILEY TulsaWorld OKLAHOMA CITY —A dozen pitches.

That isall it took forOklahoma to extinguish Northwestern’supset hopes at the Women’s CollegeWorld Series.

The top-seeded Sooners romped to 13-2, five-inning victoryduring Thursday afternoon’sopening-round game with asix-run explosion in the thirdinning OU’s big dayincluded two grand slams and the return of JordyBahl, whorelievedstarter Hope Trautwein in the final inning. The 13 runsisthe most by Oklahoma in WCWShistory

Oklahoma(55-2) will face TexasinSaturday’s2 p.m. winner’sbracket contest. The Longhorns defeatedUCLA 7-2inthe firstgameofthe WCWS.

2: Hits by Rylie Boone (double,RBI single) Please

The Wildcats’ faithful —a smallbut loud group inside the USA Softball HallofFameComplex—wereboisterous after Big Tenplayerofthe year Rachel Lewis smacked asolo home run off OU starter Hope Trautwein in the topofthe third inning. OU trailed forthe firsttime in this year’sNCAATournament.

FascinatingfreshmanatOwasso

forTulsa-area players ranging from 7years old to collegeage

Bontrager’sinstruction career began when Wayman Tisdale wasa Phoenix Sun and had a hiccup in his shot mechanics After afew sessions with Bontrager,Tisdale’stechnique again wassilky smooth.

Wildcatsstarter Danielle Williams —her conference’spitcher of theyear— had handcuffed OU’s fortwo innings.

What wasthe discussion like in the Sooners’ dugout? Coach PattyGasso said it went from talking to stern conversation.

And then team leader Jocelyn Alo jumped in.

“And that gets very stern and gets to placewhereI need to walk away …wehaveapretty straight-lacedprogram, but when Joce jumpsin, she’ll say

Rylie Boone, an Owasso High Schoolgraduate, started things with aleadoff double. Jana Johns singled (scoring Boone from second), JaydaColeman singled, Alo walked and TiareJenningshit a grand slam over the center-field wall.

Twelve pitches and five batters later,OUhad erased a1-0 deficit and grabbeda5-1 lead.

The Soonerswould add

Please see OU, Page B4

LATEST: For coverageoflast night’s Oklahoma StateArizona game,point your smartphone cameraat the QR code,then tap the link

Atthe other end of the call

waslongtime friend Steve Bontrager,a former Oral Robertsbasketball star,a former professional playerand coach in the U.S. and Europe, and sincethe mid-’90s aprovider of shooting-and-skills instruction

The Bontrager call centered on an Owasso athlete: “He’sthe best eighth-grade playerI’ve ever workedwith. He does everything well. You’ve gottosee this kid. Youwon’tbelieve it.”

Intrigued, Iattended aBontragersession in asouth Tulsa gym, noticed atallparticipant with aKevin Durant physique and asked, “That’s gottobe him, right?”

Bontrager: “That’s him.”

Jalen Montonati is the “best eighth-grade player” ever to have workedwith Bontrager, and nowIcan stateunequivocallythat Jalen is the best eighth-grade playerI’veever actuallyseen in person.

Jalen averaged 28 pointsand 12 rebounds foran18-0 Rams eighth-grade squad. Because most games were so one-sided, he rarely playedmorethan a half.Heturned 15 onlythree weeksago,stands at or slightly taller than 6-foot-6,weighs 170 pounds,doesn’thaveanawkward bone in his bodyand wears asize-15 shoe.

BRYANTERRY,THE OKLAHOMAN

Oklahoma’s Jana Johns celebrates after hittinga grand slam in the fourth inningofThursday’sWomen’s CollegeWorld Series game against Northwestern at USASoftball HallofFameStadium in OklahomaCity.

Oklahoma KTBZ am1430, KMODfm97.5

Tickets: 800-456-4668,soonersports.com

SOFT SAT6-4 vs. Texas 2p.m.

SCOREBOARD

Green, Atkinson reunite forhonor

BASE FRI 6-3

NCAARegional vs. Liberty noon

Oklahoma State KFAQ am1170

Tickets: 877-255-4678, okstate.com

Tulsa Men: KXBL fm99.5 |Women: Chrome93.5

Tickets: 918-631-4688,tulsahurricane.com

Oral Roberts

oruathletics.com, KYAL-99.9

Arkansas arkansasrazorbacks.com

FC Tulsa fctulsa.com

SAT6-4 vs. Miami 7:30 p.m.

WED 6-15 at NY RedBulls II 6p.m

TulsaDrillers

milb.com/tulsa, KTBZ-1430

TELEVISION/RADIO

AUTO RACING

WED 6-22 at Memphis 6:30 p.m.

4p.m. FS1— NASCAR CupSeries: Practice

5p.m. FS1—NASCARCampingWorld Truck Series: Qualifying

7p.m. FS1— NASCAR XfinitySeries: Qualifying

8p.m. FS1— NHRA:Qualifying,New England Dragway COLLEGE BASEBALL

11 a.m. ESPN2 —NCAATournament: Florida St.vs. UCLA Noon ESPNU —NCAATournament: UConn vs.WakeForest

NoonNCAATournament: Grand Canyon vs. Arkansas

1p.m. ACCN —NCAATournament: TexasTechvs. Notre Dame

3p.m. ESPNU— NCAATournament: San Diegovs. Vanderbilt

5p.m. SECN —NCAATournament: AlabamaSt. at Tennessee

6p.m. ACCN —NCAATournament: Wright St.atVirginia Tech

6p.m.ESPNU— NCAATournament: Michiganvs. Oregon

9p.m.ESPNU— NCAATournament: NewMexicoSt. at Oregon St COLLEGE SOFTBALL

6p.m.ESPN2 —Women’s College World Series:TBD

8:30 p.m. ESPN2 —Women’s College WorldSeries:TBD GOLF

6a.m.GOLF—DPWorldTour:Porsche European Open

1p.m. GOLF —PGA Tour:The MemorialTournament

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1p.m. MLBN —St. LouisatChicago Cubs

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7p.m. ESPN —EasternConference: Tampa BayatNYRangers RUGBY(MEN’S)

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8:50 a.m.FS2 —UEFANationsLeague:Kazakhstan vs. Azerbaijan

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10 a.m. NBC —ATP:French Open, Semifinals USFL

7p.m. USA —Pittsburghvs. New Jersey WNBA

9p.m.CBSSN —Connecticut at Phoenix

ORAL ROBERTSBASKETBALL

Abmaspulls outofNBA Draft

STAFFREPORTS

Max Abmas will be back forafourth season at Oral RobertsUniversity.

The Summit League’s two-time scoring champion, wholed ORUtoan historic NCAA Sweet Sixteen run in 2021, withdrew his candidacyfromthe NBADraft on Wednesday

Friday Up next: TulsaDrillers at SanAntonio Missions, 7:05 p.m., at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium in SanAntonio

Radio: KTBZ am1430

Probable pitchers: Tulsa, TBD; SanAntonio, TBD

Season series: Missions lead 3-0

Next home game: 7:05 p.m. June 7vs. NW Arkansas ($2 Tuesday)

Thursday’s game

SanAntonio made it three in arow over the TulsaDrillersonThursday night with a6-5 victoryat Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium in SanAntonio Devin Mann singled home arun in the topofthe firstbeforeSan Antonioput

BARRYLEWIS

TulsaWorld

Former Oral RobertsUniversitybasketballteammates Caleb Green and Josh AtkinsonreunitedonThursday when theywereinducted intothe TulsaPublic Schools Athletics Hall of Fame.

Atkinsonwasaredshirtsenior and captain while Green wasafreshman on ORU’s 2003-04team.

“It is an honor; forustogo in together is fun,”Atkinson said. “Mysenior year it was fun playing with Caleb.He wasaphenomenal player; weplayedaninside-outgame that wasgood.”

All13ofthe2022inductees werehonoredduringthe10th annual banquet at the DoubleTreeTulsaWarren Place after this year’sclassvisited the TPSAthletics Office earlierinthedayforapressconference.

AfterleadingMemorialtoa statetitleandbeingtheTulsa World’sstate playerofthe year in 2003, Green became one of the all-time scoring leadersinORU historywith 2,503points. In 128 college games,heaveraged19.6 pointsand 9.3rebounds,and playedontwoNCAATournament teams.

Green went on to playpro basketball overseas for13 years.

“It wasdefinitelyanexperienceandmakesyouopento life,understandingnewways and thinking,”Green said. “You learned to playwith different coaches, different people and adifferent wayof living,butyoustillhadtoplay basketball at ahigh level.”

It wasanexperiencethat Green neverimagined while he wasatMemorial.

“I wasjust trying to get on the court my junior year,” Green said with alaugh.

Atkinson,a1999EastCentral graduate, enjoyed apreviewofthe success he would

LOCAL GOLF Local SAPULPA Senior Scramble

1. LeeBenest,QuentinMaxwell, JerryLewis, Stan Pearcy,PaulPearcy,59. 2. John Baker Dave Block, Frank Wright, Doyle Williams,

59.3.Steve Carlile, George Mills, JerryReed, Bob Hunt, 61. 4. JimEllis, Dean Wiehl,Mark Nelson, VanRobinson, 62.5.HarryBailey, Bob Warner,BradenWarner,Dave Shouse

62.6.Will Cleveland, TomHenderson, Tommy Henderson, Glen Dane,63. 7. DennisCavenah JerryBennett, KenKuge,EdHorton, Ken Rentz, 63.8 MikeGriffin, Randy Smith, Tark Powell, Harold Umholtz, 64.9.Joe Bennett, Dave Heatherly,Bud Musser,Keith Bacon

64.10. Joe Widener,PaulSchreffler,Aaron Ross, Bill Cruikshank,64. 11. MikeHill, Lloyd Skinner,Ron Warren, Herman Henderson, 65.12. KenIngram, DannyCockran, Brett Cockran, JimHerron, Josh Woods, 68.13. Dennis Morris, SteveHines, Bob Phillipe,68. SOUTH LAKES Aceofmonth/Low Net

Champion Flight: 1. Analia Wilkerson; 2. JaniceBoerner.A Flight: 1. SuzyCremer;

2. Lori Nichols. BFlight: 1. Carolyn Smith; 2. Dot Stice. CFlight: 1. Rita Andersen; 2. Susan

night, hoursbeforethe midnight deadline.

He tweetedagraphic at 9:37 p.m. that read “ONE.

LAST.DANCE.” Abmas,a 6-foot guard from Rockwall, Texas, completed his junior season10th all-time in ORU’s scoring rankswith 1,819 points.

UPDATE

up apair in the bottom of the inning on apairofRBI groundouts. Tulsaretook the lead with three in the third on RBI singles by Jacob Amaya and CarsonTaylor and abases-loaded walk by Hunter Feduccia. But the Missions bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the inning, two scoring on asingle by Yorman Rodriguez, and San Antonio led

enjoy at ORUwhen he was theleadingscoreratthe1998 TournamentofChampionsat MabeeCenter—oneofhisfavoritehighschoolmemories

He scored1,061 pointsin110 careergamesatORUandwas an all-conferenceacademic selection four times

On Thursday,Atkinson alsohad areunion with Mick Wilson, whoisthe TPSathletic director

“It is almost full circle for both of us,” Atkinson said. “Hewas my coach my senior year in high school; we had agood senior year,hewas a greatcoach to coach us.” Atkinson andGreen are entrepreneurs, owning their ownbusinessesand living in Tulsa.

“I’mtryingtomakemoney the regular-peopleway now afterbeing out of hoops,” Green said.

Alsoreunited at the HOF banquetwereinducteesTom Maxwell and John Hammond, whowereathletesat theUniversityofOklahoma together duringthe 1960s Maxwell, beforebecoming Flintco’s President and CEO, wasaninfielder on twostate championship baseball teams forWebster and wasateamcaptain

“It’sarealhonor;itfeels very special,”Maxwell said Maxwellwas ateammate of earlierTPS HOF inducteesRichardCalmus andCarl Morton,who pitched in the major leagues.Their coach, Gene Shell,alsoisinthe TPS HOF “Atour games,half of those in thestandswere scoutstosee Morton and Calmus,” Maxwell said.“I gotsome attention just becauseofthose guys.”

Hammond earned AllStatehonorsinfootball and basketball. In the 1962 All-Statefootball game, he playedboth ways as aquarterback and cornerback,and wasthe offensive MVP

“Highschool wasrealenjoyable, and it’s nicetobe reminded of all that,”Hammond said.

Other inductees were Edison’sAdele Lukken Peterson,McLain’sJamilahO’Neal-Carter,Hale’sLeahHope Taber,Central’sPerryMoss, Webster’sGrady Peninger, Rogers’BobBrumble and Allen Mullinax, and Booker T.

Washington’sRobert Mayes Sr.and Shardell Johnson. Moss,Brumbleand Mayes were inducted posthumously

Johnson, wholed the Hornetstoastate volleyball title in 1976, wasatBTW while Mayescoached there and wasassistant principal.

“I’mprettyexcited about it, I’mstill trying to absorb it all,”saidJohnson, wholives in Georgia. “I’m most proud of representing women athletes.”

Mayeshelped BTWwin five statefootball titles as an assistant beforebecoming head coach forone year Hisson,Reggie,represented him and said his father was amentor to many, “a father to the fatherless.”

Hope Taber,a 2005 Hale graduate, earned All-State honorsinsoccerand basketball, and wasall-district in softball at Hale. She played soccerfor four seasons at Oklahoma State, whereshe helped the Cowgirls reach the NCAA Tournament’s second round in 2006,’07 and ’08. She still remains involved somewhat in sports as the BOKCenter’ssenior business development manager “I’msoexcited, it is such an honor,”Hope Taber said. “I’msuper grateful to Tulsa Public Schools forsetting me up forsuccess to play soccerat Oklahoma State.” Brumble’s sonMarcdescribed his father,a collegestandout at Tulsain the late1950s,as“aSteve Owens-type running back,”and a“tough guy, a grinder.”

It wasannounced at the banquet that the 2023 TPS Athletics Golf Tournament will be playedatSouthern Hills.The 2022 tournament is at 1:30 p.m. Friday at LaFortune Golf Course Proceeds go to the Legends Foundation (501c3) to support and enhanceTPS athletic programs barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com

WEEKENDTVSCHEDULE

STEPHANIE IVISON,TULSA WORLD

Former Oral Roberts basketball teammates Josh Atkinson,left, andCalebGreen reunited at apress conferencefor the2022 inductees into the Tulsa PublicSchools Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursdayatthe Charles Mason Education Service Center

NCAA

Soonersfeeltheyhavemomentum

AUSTINCURTRIGHT

TulsaWorld

Oklahoma head baseball coach Skip Johnson felt his team had positioned itself to host an NCAA Regional in Norman after taking the Big 12 tournament title.

Instead, Johnson and the Soonersare headed to the Gainesville Regional,wheretheywill firstbattleLibertyatnoon Friday.

“It’s almost likeyou’re sitting on the mound, youthrow apitch, and youthink it’s astrike, but the umpire calls aball,”Johnsonsaid Thursday,comparing the shortcoming to acommon on-field occurrence.

Despitenot being chosenasone of 16 regional hosts, OU entersthe postseason as one of the hottest teams in the nation.The Sooners have wontheir past five series dating back to earlyApril,went 4-0 at the Big 12 tournament and even jumpedintothe NCAA’s top20in Ratings PerformanceIndex.

While the Sooners’ laterun didn’tearnthem hosting duties, redshirt sophomorecatcherJimmy Crook feels that momentum grants the Soonersafearlessnessasthey enter foreign territoryinFlorida.

“Itdoesn’treallymatterwho we playagainst,”Crookssaid.“I think, as of right now, we canbeatanybody. We have all the confidence in the worldwith our pitching,

and (on) the hitting side. Hosting aregional didn’treallymatter to us.I mean, we just wanted to go playball.”

Oklahoma’spitching stafffinished the regular season ranked just sixth in the Big12inERA,but is findingits footing as of late. In the conferencetournament, rotational startersJakeBennett, David Sandlin and Cade Horton pitched acombined 20 inningsand allowed onlythree earned runs on nine hits, along with 31 strikeouts.

OU’s offense, which boastsa .296 team batting average— second in the Big 12 —paired with its emerging pitching, grantsCrooks confidenceabouthis team’spostseason prospects.

“Going intothis regional,Ithink we have all the momentum on our side,”Crookssaid. “Goinginhere withmomentum is one of themost dangerous things. And as ateam that’s hot right now, Ithink we’re going to be reallygoodas long as we go pitch-to-pitch and just do our thingatthe plate.”

TEAM CAPSULES

Florida Seed: No. 1(13th

nationally)

Record: 39-22

Coach: Kevin O’Sullivan(15th season, 624-300)

NCAA BASEBALL |STILLWATERREGIONAL

Topplayers: OF Wyatt Langford 363BA, 23 HR, 1.179 OPS; OF JudFabian, .247 BA,22HR, 1.034OPS;IF/OF Sterlin Thompson, .336 BA,10HR, .965 OPS.

Toppitchers: Brandon Sproat, 8-4,3.59ERA, 76 Ks; Brandon Neely, 3-2, 3.58 ERA, 65 Ks

Howtheygot here: The Gators,despitegoing 15-15inconferenceplay, earned the right to host aregional after arunner-up finish at the SECTournament. Florida fell to Tennessee, the NCAA’s postseason No. 1-overall seed, in the championship game.However, UF will be without itsace pitcher Hunter Barco,who underwent season-ending TommyJohn surgery in April.

Oklahoma

Seed: No.2

Record: 37-20

Coach: Skip Johnson (fifth seasonatOU, 149-100)

Topplayers: SS PeytonGraham, .339 BA,16HR, 1.070 OPS; OF Tanner Tredaway, .359 BA,55 RBIs,23SBs; 1B BlakeRobertson, .321 BA,.982 OPS, 43 RBIs

Toppitchers: Jake Bennett, 7-3,3.60ERA, 103Ks; David Sandlin, 7-3,5.31ERA, 77 Ks; Trevin Michael, 4-1, 3.46 ERA, 76 Ks Howtheygothere: The Soonersare playing their best baseball after going undefeatedatthe Big

12 Tournament and winning the conferencetitle. OU has alsowon itspast five weekend series,dating back to early April.

Liberty Seed: No.3

Record: 37-21

Coach: Scott Jackson(sixth season at Liberty, 194-114)

Topplayers: DH BradyGulakowski, .265BA, 16 HRs, 63 RBIs; OF Aaron Anderson,.318 BA,74H, 44 RBIs; OF DerekOrndorff,.265 BA,15HRs,.937OPS

Toppitchers: JoeAdametzIII, 6-3, 2.47 ERA, 77 Ks; Dylan Cumming, 5-4,4.71ERA, 61 Ks Howtheygot here: Forthe firsttime in school history, the Flames have made three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances Liberty earned an at-largebid after falling in the Atlantic Sun ConferenceChampionship to Kennesaw State.

CentralMichigan

Seed: No.4

Record: 42-17

Coach: Jordan Bischel (fourth season at CMU,138-54)

Topplayers: 2B Mario Camilleti, .384 BA,83H,1.088 OPS; OF JakobMarsee, .344 BA,65RBIs, 1.032OPS;1BDannyWuestenfield, .308 BA,nine HRs,64RBIs

Toppitchers: Andrew Taylor,

8-3,3.19 ERA,117Ks; Jordan Patty, 6-5, 5.21 ERA, 75 Ks; Garrett Navarra, 10-2, 4.92 ERA, 81 Ks

Howtheygot here: TheChippewasdefeatedBall Statetwice in the championshipseries of the Mid-American ConferenceTournament,battlingthroughtheloser’s bracket to earn their thirdconsecutiveNCAARegionalsappearance.

Schedule

Friday

Game 1: No.2 Oklahomavs. No 3Liberty, noon

Game 2: No. 1Florida vs.No. 4 Central Michigan, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday Game 3: Game 1loservs. Game 2loser,noon

Game 4: Game 1winner vs Game 2winner,6 p.m.

Sunday Game 5: Game 3winnervsGame 4loser, noon

Game 6: Game 4winner vs Game 5winner,6 p.m.

Monday Game 7(if necessary): Game 4 winner vs Game 6winner,noon.

WATCH: Fora video of Soonersbaseballcoach Skip Johnson previewing the NCAA Regional, point your smartphone camera at the QR code,then tap the link

Oklahoma Stateready for‘best time of year’

KELLYHINES

TulsaWorld

STILLWATER —Ofthe roughly 300teamsthatplayDivisionIbaseball,OklahomaStateisamongthose that have earned the covetedgift of moretime.

TheCowboys,whohostanNCAA regional starting Friday, areembracing the postseason becauseof whatitbrings—morevisitstoTexas Roadhouse, moremusic blaring in theweightroom,moredaystomake memories and enjoy one another’s company.

“It’s thebest time of year,being abletoplaybaseballandallyouhave toworryaboutisbaseball,”standout GriffinDoersching said. “There’s nothing better.”

Of the teams in programhistory that have been equallytalented, this year’s squad has been uniquely united.KeypieceslikeDoersching,a newcomerintheformofabig-bodiedgradtransfer,moldedtogetherin pursuit of acommon goal —towin anational championship

“What’s really been fun to watch is howthey’ve been willing to accepteachotherandbecomeateam,” coach Josh Hollidaysaid. “That’s always your goal at the start of the season, but there’snoguarantee that’s going to happen.

“Thereare just alot of cool momentsthesekids areexperiencing being on ateamand (achieving) something that their particular grouphasworkedhardtodo,which

is playelitebaseball and nowgive ourselvesachancetoplaythistournamenthereinStillwater.It’sreally full circle from when we started to now.”

OSU(39-20) weathered achallengingschedulepackedwithlegitimatenonconferenceopponentsand endured the loaded Big 12, staying ranked among the top10for most of the season. The reward forconsistencycameinthe form of atopeight seed for the postseason when the bracket wasunveiled this week.

“You getexcited becauseyou see yournameandyousharethatjoyof hearingyournamecalled,”Holliday said.“Beyond that is baseball.

“Youcan’tgetcaughtupinacelebratory moment and fail to recognizethat reallyyou work hardall year long to be in this position so nowyoucangooutandplay.That’s reallyhowchampionshipbaseballis playedand that’s what postseason baseball is built on.”

Seeded seventh nationally, the CowboyswillhostaSuperRegional next weekend if theycan survive their firstround of tests. The other teams in the Friday-Mondayregional areArkansas,Grand Canyon and Missouri State.

What OSUhas on itsside is home-field advantage, the firstregional playedatO’BrateStadium. Theballpark,whichopenedin2021 and seats8,000,isanideal sitefor postseason baseball.

“Thisisaplacewhereyouhaveall

NCAA BASEBALL |COLLEGE STATIONREGIONAL

the facilities in the worldand gettingtorollinhereeveryday,itnever gets old,”Doersching said. “When you’re within the game, you’ve got tospendfive,sixhoursadaysomewhereworking on your craft.

“Beingabletodoithereisexceptional.Iknewthatwecoulddevelop andput together something crazy and that’s what we’retrying to do still. We’regetting there.”

TEAM CAPSULES

OklahomaState

Seed: No. 1(seventh

overall)

Record: 39-20

Coach: Josh Holliday (10th season, 359-195-2)

NCAAhistory:47thappearance (one national championship: 1959)

Topplayers: LF Jake Thompson,.349,14HR,62RBI;DHGriffin Doersching,.287;13HR,49RBI;3B Nolan McLean, 272,14 HR,40 RBI

Toppitchers:RHPJustinCampbell, 9-2,3.43ERA, 133 SO;RHP Victor Mederos,3-4,5.84ERA,51

SO

Fast fact: The Cowboys’ roster includes eight players whohave been Major League Baseball Draft picks.

Arkansas

Seed: No.2

Record: 38-18 Coach: DaveVan Horn (20th season, 788-420)

NCAAhistory:33rdappearance

Topplayers:IF/OFCaydenWallace, .295,11HR, 48 RBI; IF Robert Moore, .232, 6HR, 38 RBI; SS Jalen Battles, .289, 9HR, 37RBI

Toppitchers: RHPConnor Noland, 5-5, 4.07 ERA, 95 SO;LHP HagenSmith,6-2,4.86ERA,74SO

Fast fact: The Razorbackshave dropped six of their past eight games but have wonthree regionals as aNo. 2seed under VanHorn.

GrandCanyon

Seed: No.3

Record: 41-19

Coach: AndyStankiewicz(11th season, 341-235-2)

NCAA history: second appearance

Topplayers: OF Tayler Aguilar, .310,20HR, 60 RBI; IF JacobWilson, .341, 11 HR, 64 RBI; UT Juan Colato, .384,7 HR, 50 RBI

Toppitchers:RHPDanielAvitia, 8-4,3.59ERA, 107SO; RHP Nick Hull, 7-1, 3.89 ERA, 92 SO

Fast fact: The Lopes went 2-2 against the tournament’s No.2 and No. 3seeds (Stanfordand Oregon State),7-4againstelitePower5programs and 21-6 on the road.

MissouriState

Seed: No.4

Record: 30-27

Coach: Keith Guttin (40th season, 1,335-857)

NCAAhistory:12thappearance

Topplayers: CDrake Baldwin,

.335,16HR, 60 RBI; OF Dakota Kotowski, .251, 23 HR, 50 RBI; OF Spencer Nivens,.352, 9HR, 48 RBI

Toppitchers: RHP Adam Link, 6-5, 4.50 ERA, 68 SO;RHP Forrest Barnes,6-5,5.03ERA, 63 SO

Fast fact: The Bears have scored 10-plus runs in agame17times and five or moreruns in an inning 21 times this season.

Schedule

Friday

Game 1: No. 2Arkansas vs.No. 3 Grand Canyon, noon

Game2:No.1OklahomaStatevs. No. 4Missouri State, 6p.m.

Saturday

Game 3: LoserG1vs. LoserG2, noon

Game 4: Winner G1 vs.Winner G2, 6p.m.

Sunday

Game 5: Winner G3 vs.LoserG4, noon

Game 6: Winner G4 vs.Winner G5,6 p.m.

Monday

Game 7: Winner G6 vs LoserG6 (if necessary), 6p.m.

WATCH: Fora video of Cowboys baseball coach Josh Holliday and players previewing the Stillwater Regional,point your smartphone cameraat the QR code,then tap the link

Golden Eagles embracereturntoNCAAregional

BRYCEMCKINNIS

TulsaWorld

If Oral Robertswants to advance to its firstbaseball Super Regional since2006,itwill have to surmount astout pool of opponents at this weekend’sCollegeStation Regional.

“It’s good to be back wherewe feel likewebelong, and we’reexcited forthe next opportunity,” Golden Eagles 10th-year coach Ryan Folmar said.“We’re in agreat regional, greatatmosphere, good teams,soitshould be alot of fun. We’relooking forwardtoit.”

TexasA&M (37-18) carries the No. 1seed while hosting the tournament on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park in CollegeStation,Texas.The Aggies arethe No. 5teamnationally.ORU,the No. 4seed in the regional,willopen the double-elimination bracket against the Aggies at 1p.m. Friday.

No. 18 TCU (36-20) and Louisiana (36-21) round out the bracket and playeach other at 7p.m. Friday. TCU notablywon back-toback games over No. 3Oklahoma StateonApril 23 and 24.Louisiana claimed the Sun Belt Conference Championship with upsets over No.11 TexasState and No.25 Georgia Southern in the conference tournament.

“I think youlook at the regional

as awhole,and it’s definitelyavery good regional,”Folmarsaid. “You look at …Texas A&M, whowon the best division in the best conferenceinthe country. Youlook at TCU,who wonthe Big 12 regular-season crown.Andyou look at aLafayetteteamwho is really good year in and year out. No different this year.”

It will be Folmar and ORU’s first postseason appearance since2018 (the 2020 postseason wascanceled due to COVID). It will be Folmar’s fifth postseason appearanceasa head coach, 14th overall.

“I think it’s important for(players) to be able to experiencethis and pass it on …A lot of these guys haven’tbeen to aregional, but we’vebeen in places likethis abunch over the last couple of years,”Folmar said. “I think all that experienceadds value.Again, excited fortheseguys. It’s awellearned opportunity.”

The Golden Eagles clinched their regional appearancebydefeating Omaha 21-2 lastweekend in the Summit League Championship,earning the conference’s automatic postseason bid.

If it wins against TexasA&M, ORUwill playthe winner of TCU and Lafayetteat6 p.m. Saturday.

If ORUlosestothe Aggies,itwill drop to the loser’sbracket to play

the loserofthe TCU-Lafayette game.

TEAM CAPSULES

TexasA&M

Seed: No.1

Record: 37-18

Coach: Jim Schlossnagle (first season at TexasA&M, 36-20)

NCAA history: 33rd appearance

Topplayers: Dylan Rock, .326, 17 HR,54 RBI.Ryan Targac,53RBI, 14 HR.

Toppitchers: NathanDettmer, 5-2,4.22ERA,67Ks,74.2IP,Joseph Menefee6-2,5.14ERA,42.1 IP

Funfact: Schlossnagle cached 18 seasons at TCUbeforejoiningTexas A&M. He coached the Horned Frogstofour consecutive CollegeWorld Series appearances from 2014-17

TCU

Seed: No.2

Record: 36-20

Coach: Kirk Saarloos(firstseasonatTCU,36-20)

NCAA history: 18th appearance

Topplayers: SS TommySacco, .350,75H,12HR.1B David Bishop, .260, 46 RBI, 6HR. 3B Brayden Taylor,61H,10HR.

Toppitchers: Marcelo Perez,

6-3, 3.34 ERA, 47 Ks.RileyCornelio,4-4,4.41ERA, 74 Ks

Funfact: TCUisplaying in the CollegeStation Regional forthe second time in programhistory (2012).

Louisiana Seed: No.3

Record: 36-21

Coach: Matt Deggs(thirdseasonatLouisiana, 76-53)

NCAA history: 17th appearance

Topplayers: 1B CarsonRoccaforte, .379,68RBI, 16 HR. DH Connor Kimple,.319,33RBI,9HR. Heath Hood, .341, 34 RBI, 17 SB

Toppitchers: Bo Bonds,4-3, 3.04,76Ks. Chipper Menard, 5-1, 3.81 ERA, 27 Ks.Jeff Wilson, 4-3, 4.52, 55 Ks Funfact: TheRagin’Cajuns enterthe postseason on a five-game winning streak.

OralRoberts

Seed: No.4

Record: 38-18

Coach: Ryan Folmar (10th seasonat ORU, 281-190)

NCAA history: 29th appearance

Topplayers: SS JacksonLoftin, .348,10HR, 54 RBI. 1B Jake McMurray,4 HR, 36 RBI.

Toppitchers: Ledgend Smith,

7-4, 2.41 ERA, 92 Ks.Isaac Coffey, 7-5, 3.72 ERA, 74 Ks

Funfact: In NCAA regionals, the Golden Eagles are34-52 alltime.

Schedule

Friday Game 1: No. 1seed TexasA&M vs.No. 4seed Oral Roberts, 1p.m. on ESPN+

Game 2: No. 2seedTCU vs.No. 3seed Louisiana,7p.m.onESPN+

Saturday Game 3: Game 1loservs. Game 2loser,Noon (TVTBD)

Game 4: Game 1winner vs Game 2winner,6 p.m. (TV TBD)

Sunday Game 5: Game 3winner vs Game 4loser, 1p.m. (TV TBD)

Game 6: Game 4winner vs Game 5winner,7 p.m. (TV TBD)

Monday Game 7(if necessary): Game 6 rematch IF Game 5winner wins Game 6, 6p.m. (TV TBD) bryce.mckinnis@tulsaworld.com

WATCH: Fora video of ORUbaseballcoach Ryan Folmar and players previewing the NCAA Regional,point your smartphone cameraatthe QR code,then tap the link

Bahl makes return: While JordyBahl wasgetting loose in the bullpen during Oklahoma’s13-2win over Northwestern,the pitcher drew plenty of onlookersat the Women’s CollegeWorld Series

It wasamoment that OU fans had been waiting for. The star pitcher and national freshmanof the year had been sidelined since May6with asorearm

When she emerged from the dugout to replace starter Hope Trautwein to getthe game’s final out, she received astanding ovation from the USASoftball Hall of Fame Complexcrowd

OU coach PattyGasso admitted after the game that she didn’texpect Bahl to return this season.

“Tosee her doingwhat she’s doing todayisthe biggest victorythat we’ve had thusfar this season,”

Gasso said Bahlonlythrew 11 pitches —allowingtwo singles before getting agame-ending groundout —but it wasa hugestepfor the program at the season’s most important moment.

“Weneed her,but these twopitchers(Trautwein and Nicole May) have been crushing it. So adding Jordy to the mix and making you nowtrain forthree different pitchersinsteadof two is difficult forteams,” Gasso said. “Butitwas avictory just seeing her being able to pitch becausetrulyI didn’t thinkshe would be able to come back. She’sdone everythingright, and she’s

done it 24 hoursaday everyday sinceit happened.

To seethisgoing on is a victory.”

Boone’s moment: Riley Boone led off the Sooners’ thirdinning with adouble off the right-field wall to sparkasix-run inning. After sliding intosecond base,she enthusiastically pounded the bag.

“I hurt my hand, but firing up my teammates I yelled ‘I got you’ to my

teammates,soIthink just trying to getsomething started,”Boone said with asmile.

Boone would battwicein the inning,addinganRBI single.

Gasso wasasked about what drew her to recruiting Boone, whostarted her high school career at Edison.

The OU coach said she wasimpressedwithhow she made everyone on her high school team better and

neverlostconfidence.

“Everything abouther just resonated. Imust have her.She’snot apitcher,but she’spitching forher high school team, and she’s coaching her high school team,”Gasso said. “And in that momentI’m like, I’ve gotto fight hardtoget this RileyBoone.I needed her.I wanted her forthose kinds of heartfelt moments.

“That’s what I felt today is it kindoftakes me back to what Isaw before. She got

on second and firedeverybodyup. That’s one thing about her besides her play is just her style, her emotion,her passion,her work ethic,her personality. Her styleisjust so loyaltothis programas well.”

Making an adjustment:

Northwestern starter Danielle Williams kept the Sooners stymied in the first twoinningswith aheavy useofchange-ups

OU would eventually

finish withseven hitsand six earned runs against the Big Tenpitcher of the year, with the brunt of the work coming in the thirdinning.

Howdid the team fix things?

“I thinkjust adjusting our timing,”said TiareJennings, whohad athird-inning grand slam. “You saw we were alittle out in front earlier in the game. We had to adjust to her change-up becauseshe had areally good change-up.Sojust later in thegame, switching up ourtiming alittle bit.

Added Jana Johns,who had afourth-inninggrand slam: “I would sayreally just focusing on hitting the ball, letting it getdeep and just hitting it to right field becausewewereearly all game, and Ithinkletting the atmosphereget to youkind of,you just have to breathe and stick to the process.”

Drag bunts: Oklahoma’s twogrand slams arethe onlyones in the program’s WCWShistory. It’s also just the second time in the WCWSthat one team has hit apairofgrand slams (Washington, 2009 vs.Georgia). …OUbroke school recordsfor runs (13, previous 10) and RBIs (13, previously10) at the WCWS. Both recordsbroke were in last year’s 10-3win against UCLA. …Johns’ five RBIs arethe most by an OU playeratthe WCWS. …OU has wonbymercy rule in 39 of 57 games this season —Eric Bailey,TulsaWorld

anotherscoreintheinning on Boone’sRBI single on her secondat-batintheframe to grab a6-1 advantage.

“Wejustthinkpassthebat and trust our teammates,” Boone said. “Everyone is going to getthe jobdone, so mainlyjust passing the bat and trusting each other.”

“RileyBoonewasreallythe catalyst of all of this.Itjust kind of bled intoeverybody else,”Gasso said.

The Wildcatsthen discoveredwhat38previous opponentsthis season have faced—a loss by run-rule.It wassecured by theSooners in the fourth inning when sevenmorerunscameacross the plate, highlighted by Johns’ grand slam to make it 13-1

Trautwein gotthe firsttwo outsinthefifthinningbefore handing the ball over to Bahl.

The freshman threw 11 pitches, allowing back-toback singles and an inherited run beforegetting aground ball to end the game.

It wasBahl’s firstappearancesincethrowing against

Oklahoma StateinaMay 6 contest.

“Jordy worksher butt off, and this setback is not really asetback forher.And forher to come intothis game and close it out, it washugefour our team and forthe big first

win,”Trautwein said.

Trautwein (19-1) allowed onlyone hit, the Lewis homer,and had five strikeouts and five walks.

A“super senior,” she transferred to Oklahoma from North Texasfor amo-

ment likethis

“This is the biggest stage thatanyonewilleverplayon, soIreallystucktomyprocess. Deep breaths.Slowing my heart rate down. Reallyfocus onthegame,”shesaid,before drawing laughter at her next

lotofpeople here to support me andit’sgoingtobe exciting

,THE

comment.“LynnsieElamhad told me some advicebeforeI came in. Look at the crowd once, and don’tlook at them again. That’s what Idid.” Trautweinhasallowedonly one hit in her past 11 1/3inningspitched.

same team, so hopefullythis week, we canget that done.”

Fixsaid of hislopsidedvictory.“Iknowhe’sprobably been thinking aboutthat matchfor ayear,and now he has an opportunityto wrestle me again,and I’m sure he’slooking forward to it,and Iam, too.”

Last year,between the WorldTeamTrials and the WorldChampionshiptournament itself,Fix wonnine straight bouts by acombinedscore of 81-5,with sixtechnical falls,but he ended up droppingatight 4-1decision to Russia’s Abasgadzhi Magomedov in the finaltowind up with silver.WithRussia banned from the competition this year due to the warin Ukraine,Fix wouldappear to be thefavorite to claim gold And even though he wore theUSA colors,and will again hopefully, Fixfeels likeheisnot only representinghis countrybut also Oklahoma State.

“It’s an honor; it’s one of the reasons Icame to Oklahoma State,”Fix said. “I think there’sbeen nine Olympicchampions in this program, and that’s somethingI want to do.Hopefully, someday Ican carry on that tradition of winning

an Olympic gold medal Carrying on that tradition of international success is something Itakepridein, and the best wayI cando thatnow is to go win agold medal.”

Fixhas been preparing for this weekend sinceMarch, when he lost aheart-breaking3-2 decision to Penn State’sRoman Bravo-Young in the133-pound final in the NCAA tournament (his thirdtime placing second, second year in arow losing to Bravo-Young).

“I took alittle bit of time off afterthe NCAAs,just to heal up, andthen it wasreallyright back to training,” said Fix, whohas onemore year of collegeeligibility left.“Then

Icompeted in

the PanAmericanchampionships (wherehewon gold at 61 kg). It wasgoodtoget some matches inthere,and Ididn’treallytakeany time off after that.Itwas right back on themat to prepare forthis.”

He’s happythat the competitionwilltakeplace in his home arena,where he expectstohavelotsof friends andfamilyinthe crowd, not to mention OSU fans,cheering him on “It’s awesome, I’mgrateful it’s here, it’s agreat opportunitytomakethe Worldteaminmyhome state,”said Fix, whowon four consecutive individual statechampionshipsinhigh schoolfor Sand Springs

“Hopefully,therewill be a

“For me,every timeI stepout there,I’m not onlywrestlingfor me,I’m wrestlingfor my family, I’m wrestlingfor my university still,and Ithinkthat makes it easier forme. All I’mdoing is giving back to everybodythatsupportedme, and theway Idothat is to go out there andleaveeverythingI have outthere.”

Fixislookingforwardto seeinganother former OSU wrestler,Jordan Oliver, who competed forthe Cowboys from 2008-13,winning individual NCAA national championshipsin2011(at 133 pounds)and 2013(149 pounds). Oliveristaking on former Penn StatestarZain Retherford, whowon three NCAA titles(2016-18) at 149pounds,for the right to representUSA at 70 kg

“Hewas one of my favoriteguystowatch growing up,” Fixsaid of Oliver. “He wassomeone thatscoreda bunch of pointsand epitomized what Oklahoma State wrestlingisall about. He wasreallygood on his feet, slicktakedowns,and he was justablast to watch. So it’s really nicehaving him back here. It wouldbeniceifhe came around alittle more.

“Wehavenever had the chancetobetogether on the

at 2p.m. Friday. Thesecond matchineach series will begin at 7p.m., andif athird match is necessary in anyweight, it willoccur later in thesecond session john.tranchina@ tulsaworld.com

College

College

spot on the Team USA roster forthe World WrestlingChampionships. WCWS NOTEBOOK BRYANTERRY,THE OKLAHOMAN Oklahoma’s Jordyn Bahl (98) talks with Hope Trautwein as Bahl enterstopitch in the fifthinningofThursday’sWomen’s College World Series game against Northwestern at USASoftball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. OKLAHOMA 13, NORTHWESTERN 2 Northwestern 001 01 —2 30 Oklahoma 006 7X —13 11 0 Williams, Dvorak (4), Supple (4) and Rudd; Trautwein, Bahl (5) and Hansen. W: Trautwein (19-1). L: Williams (31-5). 2B: Boone (5). HR: NW,Lewis (23); OU, Jennings(25), Johns (12). eric.bailey@tulsaworld.com Since 1959 Senior Citizen &Manufacturer Discounts Available CALL 918.663.1931 FOR ESTIMATE Ask about Glass Rooms or Screened Rooms Mon.-Fri. 8-5 •Sat.9-1 6833 S. Peoria Ave. •stdbuilders.com STORM DAMAGE SPECIALIST Carports, Patio Covers &Pergolas

alongside OU representativeswho have at least one toeout the door,Weiberg said: “I think that’s agreat word forit. Awkward.

Idon’tthink it’s bador anything likethat. It just is awkward at this stage. It’s nobody’sfault, it just is what it is.Right? Idon’t think there’sany way around that.

“I don’ttakeitasa personal thing. This wasa decision theymade that theyfelt wasbest fortheir institution. If that’s what’s right forthem, then Iget it. We’rejust in atransitional period of time. It’s going to be awkward.It’sjust going to be different than it ever has been before.”

“Different than it ever has been before” encapsulates Weiberg’s11-month tenure. It encapsulates thesemeetings, where incoming Big 12 members mingle with outgoing ones and everything is presided over by asoon-to-be-re-

tired commissioner Weibergdoesn’tsound the least bit deterred. He sounds encouraged, actually, maybealittle emboldened.

“With all of the different circumstances early on I felt to some degree Iwas playing defensethe whole time, to put it in sports terms,” he said. “Now we’re starting to figureout our responsetoall the different issues.I feel likewe’re starting to geton offense, and that feels good.”

Offenseinregardto?

“That’s name, image and likeness. That’s our responsetothe Supreme Court’s Alston case ruling,” he said. “It’s the NCAA basketball decision (that kept OSUout of the 2022 postseason) and getting that behind us.And then conferencerealignment, bringing in the four new schools and figuring out howwe’re going to move forwardthere.”

The truth is Weiberghad aheadstart diving intothe turmoil.

We recall his being

curred on Tuesday. During asummer-league opener at Bishop Kelley, he scored17 pointsasthe Rams defeated Catoosa 69-64.

Jalen’sdad is Owasso coach and former Oklahoma Statebig man Brian Montonati, whoasaneighthgrader alsowas 6-6 and 170 pounds.AtOSU,Brian was 6-10 and 215.

Jalen will wind up being 6-10 and 215. Becausehis dribbling and passing are at ahigh level, he canrun the Owasso offensewhile looking over the topofall defenders. He scoresfrom everylevel:on 3-pointers, on mid-rangeattempts, on paint movesand on dunksin transition.

He just has that look about him —that he’sdestined to be aMcDonald’s All-American, adynamic collegeplayerand wind up on an NBAroster. Having graduated from the eighth grade onlyafew days ago, Jalen nowofficiallyis aninth-grader.His firstvarsityexerciseoc-

“I’mready to go,” Jalen said.“Mydad has coached and guided me my whole life. I’mready to start anew journeyintohigh school and seewhere that takesme.”

Fortwo years, Jalen has been running with Owasso varsityplayers,and Owasso has had qualityvarsityplayerslikerecentlygraduated big man Caden Fry(who signed to playatRogers State)

Jalen as a14-year-old occasionallywould square up againstaphysical, skilled playerlikeFry.That alone would have been effective prep workfor ahigher level of basketball.

Both forvarsityveterans and newpersonnel, summer games have tremendous value. Coaches canteach situational basics while tinkering with personnel combinations.The Kelley

Holder’sdeputyAD for four yearsbeforeassuming command, but don’tforget his being Hocutt’s Texas Tech deputyfrom2015-17, and his being Kansas State associateAD from200815.Heusedtoattend Big 12 meetingswhen Holder or

league is among the busier in stateand involves Bishop Kelley, Bixby, Berryhill, Booker T. Washington, Edison, Webster, Rejoice Christian, Jenks, Tahlequah, Memorial, Union, Sapulpa, Holland Hall, Glenpool, NOAH, Beggs, Hale, Broken Arrow,Rogers, Owasso, Catoosa,VictoryChristian, East Central and Kiefer Kelleysummergamesare playedsimultaneously in twogyms within the same athleticscomplex. Consideringthat youcan seeparts of ninevarsitycontestsin one evening, the $2 ticket is an extraordinarybargain.

Apparently, Iwasn’tthe onlyone whowantedalook at the younger Montonati’s skillset. ForOwasso-Catoosa,thereweretwiceas manyspectatorsthanfor anyother game that night.

Actually, Brian Montonati has morethanjust agifted freshman son. Brian has a gifted incomingfreshman class. He says Jalen, MJ Milton (the younger brother

Hocutt had NCAA committee duties Asked what he enjoyed about grinds likethis week’s, Weibergsaid: “I don’tknow, just being around my colleagues,a lot of them I’ve workedwith foralong time. Some of

of formerOwassostarand current Philadelphia 76er ShakeMilton), Boden Williams and Koen Scott all aredestined to playcollege basketball.

Owasso has aFab Four class of 2022-23 ninth-graders,just like Michigan 30 yearsago had aFab Five classof freshmen whodrove the Wolverines to the FinalFour and anational-title loss to Duke.

Amongthose Wolverine freshmen wasJalenRose, whohad aniceNBA career and nowdoes greatwork forESPN.Jalen Montonati wasnamed after Jalen Rose, Brian Montonati reports.

Thereweresequences on Tuesdaywhen Brian Montonati had four Owasso freshmen on the floor.Point guardE.J.Lewis will be a senior and afourth-year starter.Returning starter BrandonManntotaled 15 pointson Tuesday.

Otherwise, the Rams are rebuilding with inexperienced players and theFab

them I’ve workedfor.”

Weiberg’sexperience worksin his,and OSU’s, favorhere.

Hispeople skills work best.

What is it Hocutt says about him? “Whoeverhe’s talking to in aparticular

Four collection of rookies

“Jalen has been playing his whole lifeand he’sbeen around the varsityteam forever,”Brian Montonati said. “He’splayedhighlevelAAU basketball. We were like, ‘Let’s run the firstplayfor him,’and he scored. No jitters. He gota layup on that one, and then he gota3onthe next possession.”

Becauseof the involvement of his son, Brian was asked whether he felt butterflies beforethe Tuesday game.

“A little bit, yeah,”Brian said.“Wetalkedabout this foralong time, and not just about Jalen butthat whole group.It’saspecialgroup I’ve been excited to get themintothe gym and start coachingthem. Ionlygot to start coaching them last week.

“They’re just nowstarting on some light strength work.Theirbasketball IQ and wheretheyare physically— they’ll be com-

moment feels liketheyare the most important person in the world.”

That should servean athletic director well at a time likethis

“Yeah, Ihope so.I certainlyhope so,” Weiberg said. “I think with every industry, business, or enterprise, so much of it in the end is about relationships. Howyou work with people. We’repeople that aretrying to solvethese problems

“SohopefullyI’vebeen able to build relationships that will help with that.”

Idon’tknowhow many problems arebeing solved hereatBig 12 spring meetings. IknowWeibergis advancing solutions

“He’sthoughtful, articulate. He’s agood contributor in our meetings,” Bowlsbysaid. “No, he’s fit right in and done agreat job.”

IknowWeiberg’spresenceherereflectswellon OSU, and bodes well forthe Cowboys.

guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com

pletelydifferent sixmonths from now.”

On Thursday night, Owasso wasmatched with Glenpool in aKelleycontest. This weekend, the Rams areinvolvedinnew Golden Hurricane coach Eric Konkol’s firsthigh school team camp at the University of Tulsa. During that camp alone,Owasso will play eight games.OnSaturday, Jalen and his15-year-old friends arematched with Class6Achampion Edmond North.

By the end of June, Owasso already will have played28summergames Jalen Montonati willhave played28times againstsignificantlymoreexperienced high schoolplayers

Havingbeen groomed for basketball sincehewas toddler,Jalen seems to be built forthis “I would saythat,”he stated.“I’mmorethan ready.” bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com

MICHAELNOBLEJR.,TULSA WORLD

Chad Weibergspeaks during astatuededication forBarrySandersoutside thenorthwest corner of Boone Pickens Stadium on Nov. 13 in Stillwater.

STRONG INFLUENCE

OldCrowMedicineShow’sKetch Secor talksabout Tulsa, BobDylan

interviewedbya Tulsamedia outlet. “I’mjust trying to reach that Sapulpareadership.”

That wasrandom.Why bring up Sapulpa? Secorsaidheoncestayed in a$26 motel room there.

OldCrow MedicineShow

Old Crow Medicine Show has BobDylan ties that roll beyond “Wagon Wheel.”

BecauseOld Crow Medicine Showiscoming to Cain’sBallroom foraJune 5performanceand becauseTulsaishome to the recentlyopened BobDylan Center,itseemed likeano-brainer to engageOld Crow’s KetchSecor in Dylan-related conversation. Secor onceproclaimed his influences to be BobDylan, BobDylan and Bob Dylan.

First, though, Secormentioned Sapulpa.

“I love eastern Oklahoma,”Secor said, expressing appreciation to be

“Every time Ireadabout the news in Oklahoma, Ithink about Sapulpa,”hesaid.

“I think of it as asort of Rosetta Stone forunderstanding the rest of the state. It seems likeaplacethat struggles with the struggles of all American places.Itjust seems like ahardscrabble kind of placewhere youcan ask yourself ‘is the American dreamstill alive in Sapulpa, Oklahoma?’ Becauseifitis, that sounds good to me. But if it ain’t, we gota big problem on our hands.”

Continuing, Secorsaidpeople think about Oklahoma in alot of differentways. He said the statehas amystique.

“I’ll tell youwhat’sreallyon my

Old Crow Medicine ShowisperformingatCain’s Ballroom with Junior Brown. 6:30p.m. Sunday,June 5. Cain’s Ballroom, 423N Main St. Tickets: cainsballroom.com.

heart when Ithink about Oklahoma is WoodyGuthrie and Will Rogers and, now, suddenly, BobDylan, who Ithink probablyalwayswanted to be an Oklahoman and, in fact, kind of invented his ownOklahoma mythology.”

Dylan wanted to be an Oklahoman? Asked to elaborate, Secorsaidthis: “Look at the yarn he kind of spun about himself as akid and then later

Live musicpartofAmpsonAdmiral

KendallWhittier

Main Street to put on free, family event

FROM STAFFREPORTS

Kendall Whittier Main Street’s newest event, AmpsonAdmiral, will debut 2p.m.to 9p.m.Saturday, June 4, and will includefood and live music

JessicaJacksonSeay,executive director of Kendall Whittier Main Street, described Ampson Admiral as alaid-back outdoor concert.

“Wecreateapop-uppark, put up astage and celebratelocal music as acommunity,”she said.

Volunteerswill roll out 2,400 squarefeet of astroturf in the Whittier Squareparking lot at 1 S. Lewis Ave., creating agreen spacewhere asphalt usuallylies

“If you’ve ever been to Kendall Whittier After Five,Ampson Admiral will be similar,except alittle largerand alot longer,” JacksonSeay said. “Imagine six

After Fivesrolled intoone awe-

some Saturday.”

While some seating will be provided, event host KWMS encourages attendees to bring blankets and lawn chairs.

The free,family-friendlyevent will include aMordHouseKids Zone.

Starting off the daywith a focus on little ones,Hot Toast

Music Companywill perform at 2p.m. Afacepainter from BAM Entertainment will be in the MordHouseKidsZone with free face painting from 2-4p.m. The Kids Zone will alsofeaturebubble activities,yardgames,chalk art and coloring pages.

in lifeasanadult through his song craft, and he wasalwayskind of giving himself awild, Western attribute. Ithink that being aJewish kid from the Midwest (Minnesota), he probablyalwayswanted to be acowboy. And wheredowethink of the buffalo roaming? We think of that in Oklahoma.”

Factor this in, too: WoodyGuthrie wasfromOkemah, Oklahoma.

“I think about Bobgoing to visit WoodyGuthrie in Morristown, New Jersey,in1961,”Secor said.

“And as Ithink about the Bob

Please see TRAMEL Page D3

WATCH: Forthe latest TulsaWorld Scene podcast with Jimmie Tramel, James Watts and Grace Wood, point your smartphone camera at the QR code,then tap the link

Bryanalbum debuts strong

‘AmericanHeartbreak’ tops country albumchart

JIMMIE TRAMEL TulsaWorld

“AmericanHeartbreak,”aWarner Recordsdebutalbum from

Oologahmusic artist ZachBryan, debuted at No.5 on theBillboard top 200 album chart and No. 1 on the topcountryalbum chart. The news comes on the heels of Bryanbreaking the 2022 record forsingle album streams in a24hour period. “American Heartbreak” was released May20.

MIKE SIMONS,TULSA WORLD

Zach Bryanwas an openingnightheadliner at the 2022 Calf Fryfestival, staged outside Tumbleweed DanceHall in Stillwater

TULSA WORLDFILE

Jacob Tovarwill be amongperformersata newAmps on Admiral event.

JIMMIE TRAMEL

Museum offeringrides in 100-year-old car

HeartofRoute 66 Auto Museum to take visitors fordrivesinPackard

FROM STAFFREPORTS SAPULPA—The HeartofRoute 66 Auto Museum in Sapulpawill offer visitorsachancetotakearide in a100-year-old caralong backroads from themuseum to nearby PrettyWater Lake.

Therides,lasting about 30 minutes foruptofourpeople at atime, will be in a1922Packard. Museum

visitorshavelongsnapped photos of the car, one of the firstvehicles to be loaned to the museum. Now, guestscan go foraride.

People interested in reserving aride should call the museum at 918-216-1171. Rides ($11 perperson) will start on Saturday, and theywill be offered on Saturdays through November,weather permitting.

“It’s an homage to driving along thesetwo-lane, tree-lined roads,” RichardHolmes, founder of the Heart of Route66AutoMuseum, said. Made in theUnited States, Packardcarswereconsidered the finest cars in thecountry,

Holmessaidinanewsrelease

Theystopped beingmanufactured in the1950s. Robert and Carol ParkerofTulsaloaned their

1922 Packardtothe Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum andare excited to have it restored and available forridestoPrettyWater Lake, ac-

cording to therelease, whichsaid agroup of volunteers workedfor abouttwo months earlier thisyear to getthe carupand running.

O’Connor’s ‘Sunset’ photogallery debuts

sunset.”

FROM STAFFREPORTS

Inspired by “The Outsiders” author S.E. Hinton, Tulsa’snatural beautyand a sense of community, Danny BoyO’Connor’s“We Saw The Same Sunset”photographic gallerywill be on displayatMother Road Market’sLimited Time Only MarketfromJune 3-30

The “Same Sunset”images showathousand sunsets viewed fromthe same windowofthe 13th floor of Tulsa’siconic Mayo Hoteloverthe past five years. The Mother Road Market spacewill feature“We Saw the Same Sunset”original framed photography and merchandiseavailable onlyduring the pop-up,as

MUSICNEWS

well as select merchandise from The OutsidersHouse O’Connor is the founder and executive director of the OutsidersHouseMuseum and the creative director of the We SawThe Same Sunsetshop

“This exhibit is my love letter to Tulsa,”O’Connor said in anewsrelease.When Imoved from L.A. to Tulsa five yearsago,I wasawestruck by Tulsa’ssunsets. Ilovethe idea thatweall share the same sunset regardlessofour differences, bringing us astepcloserto each other.”

O’Connor drew inspiration from aHinton excerpt in “The Outsiders:” “It seemed funnytomethat the sunset she sawfromher patio and the one Isaw from theback stepswas the same one.Maybethe twodifferent worlds we livedinweren’tso different. We sawthe same

Brian Paschal, president andCEO of the Lobeck Taylor FamilyFoundation, said he is thrilled that O’Connor chose Mother Road Market to debut his photographic works.

“His commitment to a shared senseofpurpose, building community and overall appreciation for Tulsaaligns perfectlywith our mission to ‘DoGood, Eat Well and Shop Local’ at Mother Road Market,”Paschal said.

O’Connorwillhostameetand-greet 7p.m. to 8p.m. Friday, June 3. Additionally, the WEL Bar at Mother Road Marketwill featureaSunset Punch (both cocktail and mocktail options) foropeningweekend.Thegallerywill be openTuesdaythrough Sundayfrom11a.m.to6p.m. throughout the monthof June.

WhyDon’t We to play at BOKCenter

FROM STAFFREPORTS

The band WhyDon’tWe will launch The Good Times

Only North American summer tour July 27 at BOK Center

Ticketsgoonsale 10 a.m. Friday, June 3and will be available online at bok center.com.

The tour announcement came in tandem with the releaseofa newsingle (“How Do YouLoveSomebody”) available via Atlantic Records.

Sincedebuting in 2016, WhyDon’tWe hasamassed morethan 4billion global career streams

Mark Wills sets freeshow

Countrymusic artist

MarkWills is returning to the Track 5dancehall inside HardRock Hotel&Casino Tulsafor afreeshow8 p.m.

Thursday,June 16

Wills released 19 Billboard-charting singles acrossseven albums,including “Wish YouWere Here,”“Jacob’sLadder” and “I Do (Cherish You).”

VinceGillcoming to River Spirit

Oklahoma music artist VinceGill, whorecently performed with the Eagles at BOKCenter,will be solo when he performs Aug. 11 at the Cove,the concert venue of the RiverSpirit Casino Resort.

Ticketsgoonsale June 3 and canbepurchased at riverspirittulsa.com.

Cain’s sets shows

The Southern country duo Muscadine Bloodline will makea Cain’sBallroom

debut Friday, Sept. 30 with support from James Tucker Thevenuealsoannounced October shows featuring the Melvins and Big Head Todd &The Monsters.

Big Head Todd &The Monsterswill perform Wednesday, Oct. 5.

The Melvins will perform Friday, Oct. 21 with support from We AreThe Asteroid

Ticketsfor all three shows go on sale 10 a.m. Friday, June 3atthe Cain’sBallroom boxoffice,online at cainsballroom.comorbyphone at 800-514-3849

Rides in a1922Packardare being offered at the HeartofRoute 66 Auto MuseuminSapulpa.

HeartofRoute 66 Auto Museum

Located on historic Route 66 in Sapulpa, the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum showcases a varietyofcars, motorcycles and memorabilia. It is located at 13 Sahoma LakeRoad in Sapulpa. Formoreinformation, visit heartofroute66.org

The HeartofRoute66AutoMuseum opened in 2016.Museumofficials secured alease agreement forthe decommissioned45th National GuardArmoryinSapulpa on April 1, 2015. The spacewas renovatedand transformed intoa museum.

Oklahoma band Locust Grove playing show

Band performing an albumrelease show at VenueShrine

TulsaWorld

The Oklahoma Citybasedband Locust Grove is performing an album releaseshowSunday,June 5at the Venue Shrine.

Tickets($15) canbepurchased at tulsashrine.com.

The newalbum is titled “The Battle of Locust.”

Zain Smith of the band answeredquestions pitched to him by the TulsaWorld:

When it wastime to name the band, howdid youcome up with the name Locust Grove?

“The band name came from aCivil Warbattle. I was flipping through an Oklahomahistorybook and thought the name sounded swampyand heavy,which is fitting to our sound.”

Historically, what should we knowabout the Battle of Locust Grove?

“The Battle of Locust Grovewas heldinwhat todayisMayes County. Troopswerecommanded by Col. James J. Clarkson on July 3, 1862.”

Ever been to Locust Grove, Oklahoma?

“Wehavenot actually been to Locust Grove. We have been close several times when we played Rocklahoma in Pryor.”

No oneisgoing tomistake your music forsoft rock. Want to describe it?

“I woulddescribe itas

the music youwantto turn on in the gym to get your energy going, or perfect road rage music.Locust Groveis about thick guitar riffs withstadium drums.”

Your Tulsashowis doublingasanalbumreleaseevent.Whatshould people knowabout the album?

“The album is 12-track start to finish. We have focused a lot of effort and time from writing to tracking to mixingand master-

ing and getting artwork together forit. ‘The Battle of Locust’sums up all of our hardworkthe past five or six years.”

What’s the bestsign so farthat the band is progressing the wayyou want it to progress?

“Our fans.Wehavegreat people in each market across thecountry that still come to our shows andbuy shirtsand CDsfromus. It’s inspiring to us and is aclear sign we have something marketable.”

MIKE SIMONSPHOTOS,TULSA WORLD

This 1922 Packardatthe HeartofRoute66Auto Museum in Sapulpa will be takingguests on rides.

JIMMIE TRAMEL

LocustGrove got its name from aCivil Warbattle

COURTESYPHOTOS,SHEAHIGGERSON

The Oklahoma City-based band Locust Grove will perform an album release showatthe Venue Shrine Sunday, June5

Dylan legacyin Tulsaand (his archives) moving there, which I knowalot of folkshavethought of as reallyarbitrary, to me it has alot to do with that visitation to the hospital wherehemet this withering, aged and informed WoodyGuthrie, whowas probablylargely incoherent about who this kid was. Ithinkitsort of answers the question of whothe kid was.”

So,itmakes perfect senseto Secorthat the BobDylan Center is in Oklahoma

Before going much deeper, here’sa reminderabout three recordingsthat connect OldCrow to Dylan:

1.“Wagon Wheel.” Dylan wasin the cast of the 1973 film “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.”Dylan wroteasoundtrack album that included the hit single“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Ademo foranunfinished soundtrack song wound up on abootleg recording. Secortook it upon himself to completethe song decadeslater.The finished product, “Wagon Wheel,”was a track on a2004Old Crow album and became thegroup’ssignaturesong.

“I thank my lucky starsfor havingheard ‘Rock me mama likeawagon wheel.’Thatcertainlywas agood whisper from God’smouth to my ears,” Secor said.

Darius Rucker covered“Wagon Wheel”and took it to No. 1on the countrychart in 2013.

2.“Sweet Amarillo.” Impressedbythe success of “Wagon Wheel,”Dylan asked Old Crow if the group wouldlike to tackle another song.

Dylan took “Sweet Amarillo”for atest driveduring the soundtrack venture. Want to put some polishon that one? In between, the song wasrecorded by another artist, BrendaPatterson, fora1974album (Donna Terry Weissiscredited as the writer) and adifferent Old Crow version appeared on an album 40 years

Amps

Knipple,a garage/jazz/punk duo that’sfamily-friendlywill take the stageat3:05p.m. fol-

later.Regardless, it must have beenathrill to getpitcheda song by Dylan

“It wasreallyan amazing moment when that happened,”Secor said. “That wasataboutmaybe the 16-yearmarkofOld Crow Bobprobablygot like acouple of checksthat month andwondered what this‘WagonWheel’ wasand wasreminded by management and said, ‘Oh, let’s seewhatthe kids could do withthis.’”

3.“BlondeonBlonde.” That’s the title of arevered Dylan album from 1966.In2016, Old Crow performed material from the album fora “50 YearsofBlonde on Blonde“ live album that was released the followingyear.

Asked about Dylan being an influence,Secor said, “I mean, Bobpointedtoeverybody else, so Ifelt likeBob waskindoflike the terminus of awholebunch of seafaringvessels,likethe port of call forall the greatmusicians wasBob Dylan —kindoflike Odessa (inUkraine)onthe Black Sea.A lot of people arethinking about Odessa right now. It’s the town whereall of theshipsarrive from allparts of the world. And that’s howIfeel aboutBob.It’s likeheissointouch as asongwriter with allof the greatsongwritersand channelssomany of the folk idioms andvoices of the people that if youonlycould listentoBob,you wouldhear probably90% of American roots music just through him.”

Secorwas introduced to Dylan

lowedbya TulsaOperashowcase at 4p.m. Joesf Glaude and Guitars Gone Wild will create instrumentalart basedonstructural ideas at 5p.m. JacobTovar will perform from 6:10-7:10 p.m. and will be fol-

SCENE

Old Crow Medicine Show wasamongmusic artists and bands that performed duringMuskogee’sGFest in 2016.Old Crow will perform Sunday, June 5atCain’s Ballroom.

Saturday at Cain’s:The WaronDrugs

Tulsa is thehomeofthe Bob Dylan Center.The WaronDrugs, aPhiladelphia-based group that willperform Saturday, June 4, at Cain’s Ballroom, is among countlessmodern bands influencedbyDylan. The WaronDrugsistouringinsupportof“IDon’t LiveHereAnymore, the band’s firstalbumsincewinningaBest Rock Album Grammyfor 2017’s“ADeeper Understanding.” Fortickets to the Cain’s Ballroom show, go to cainsballroom.com.

by wayofthe 1983 album“Infidels.”

“It waslike, ‘I love this 40-year-old rocker guysinging about Jerusalem,’” Secorsaid. “I don’t knowwhatheis singing about, but Isurelikethe rhymes Iremember looking up ‘Zionists’ in the dictionarywhen I first heardthatrecord. Then Iwent outtosee him forthe firsttime about ayearafter that.”

By the time Secorwas 18,he had managed to listen to just about everything Dylan had released.

“I don’treallylisten to awhole lot of music anymore,”hesaid. “The musicIlistened to when I wasa teenagerkindofgaveme everythingI needed to go out andmakemyown music.”

Insteadoflistening to music, Secorbegan exploring locations to supplement his understanding of music.Hehas beentoOkemah manytimes and he once traveledthe length of the state, from Binger to Okemah and beyond. He said going to Okemah

lowedbyCasii Stephan and the Midnight Sun from 7:30 to 9p.m. “Wetried to book alittle something for everyone,” Jackson Seay said. “With such agreat variety of musicians,AmpsonAdmiral showcases awide rangeofTulsa

as akid waskindoflikewhen Paul Simon sang about going to Graceland. It wasapilgrimage.

“I went to Okemah just becauseIwantedtosee thelandscape that WoodyGuthrie first sawwhenhe was just akid and he wastaking that deep breath into his chestaskidsdowhen they realizethat they’re goingto be somebody,”Secor said.

“I think alot of kids probably feel that wayand then don’t end up being that way. Life has itscircumstances, right?But there’ssomething about that, talking about theAmerican dreamand if it’s still alive in Sapulpa, then we arestill OK as asociety,ifyou still believe you canmakeit.”

Of course Secorisinterested in touringthe BobDylan Center while in Tulsa. He said thelast time he washerewas when the WoodyGuthrie Center opened He visited immediately.

Connecting dots, Secorindicated Dylanborrowed from Guthrie, whoborrowedfromthe

talent.” Marshall Brewing Company and She BrewsCoffee will provide beverage service.Food trucks1907 Barbecue and Krumbly’sKitchen will be on site.Pancho Anaya Bakery, PollosAsadosfood truck and

Carter family, wholifteddirectly from other resources, including the songsof Black communities Secorsaid one thing Old Crow talksabout on anew album (“Paint ThisTown”) is there’sso much Black influence in American countrymusic: “Really, when youknowabout it,itreally makes the treatment of African Americans by thecountrymusic businessextremelydisheartening and almostcriminalwhen youlook at it through about a 90-year lens.”

What does Secormostwant people to knowabout the new album?

“I just thinkifOklahomans canrelate to it, then Old Crow did their job,”hesaid, emphasizing that he means all Oklahomans.“Notjust the Tulsa hipstersdrinking their $6 coffee. Iwant ’emtolikeitinBingerand Okemah, too. And so we chocked it full of songsthat seem to speak to awider spectrum of whomakes up thecountrymusic-loving demographic. We have neverbeenamainstream countryact, but we’vegot more fiddlesand banjos and harmonicas than mainstreamcountry would ever knowwhattodo with.”

Still in Oklahoma mode, Secor offered aWill Rogers-ism as his parting words: “Evenif you’re on theright track, you’ll getrun over if youjustsit there.” jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com

Dante’sWoodfire alsowill be open inKendall Whittier Kendall Whittier Main Street is anonprofitorganization that inspires the ongoing revitalization and growth of ahistoric and cultural neighborhood in Tulsa.

TULSA WORLDFILEPHOTOS Ketch Secorand Old Crow Medicine Showare comingtoCain’s Ballroom.

DearAmy: My best friend recently attended her professionalassociation’stop producers’banquet

“Brian,”a very successful man from another firm,groped herbottomtwo times at the event

No oneelsesaw

She let the firstincident pass becausetheywereina groupsetting, and shedidn’tknowhow to respond.

Then hegrabbed her again. She stormedawayand avoided himfor the rest of the event.

The next dayshe told an associate whoconfronted Brian.

On thephone, Briantold theassociate thatmyfriend was flirting with him.

The next dayshe received atext from Brian: “Call me so Ican apologizeabout yesterday.”She felt humiliated by chasing him down foran apology, so she nevercalled.

Three weekshavenow passed, but the humiliation is still festering in her mind.

Itold heritwasn’ttoo late to ask foranapology in athree-way call with herassociate and Brian,where he would have to fess up to hisac-

ASKTHE DOCTORS

tionsinstead of blamingher

Thesepeopleare all real estate agents.

She’sobviously hesitant to inconveniencepeopleand makethe wrong type of name forherself

—OutragedBestie

Dear Outraged: Idisagree with your idea that this shouldbe handled casuallyona three-waycall.

If your friendasked me, I’dadvise her to writeanaccount of exactly what happenedand send it directlyto the association’sheadoffice,naming “Brian,”reporting that he has admittedthis behavior to anotherassociate,and askingthat appropriate actionsbetaken.

Real estateagentsmeet clients alone in emptyhouses. Apersonwho would grope an associateduringa crowded industryevent should not be trusted to meetwithclients

Dear Amy: Is it ever OK to require apreschool childto finish everything on theirplate?

Idon’twant to give toomany details, as this is asensitive family issue

I’ve broughtitto the attention of the perpetrators—gently, Ihope— andthingsseemed better fora while.

But nowithas reverted to,“There’s one morebitehereonyour plate, and thenyou canhave_ ”

The childis agood eaterotherwise, likeshealthyfoods and is currently of

averageweight It concernsmethatthis controlling behaviorhas continued, becauseI’m afraidthe childwilldevelopeating disorders, weight problems,bad associations withfood and mealtime, or even behavioral problems.

Do youhaveany suggestions?

—StomachinKnots

Dear Knots: If the child’s parents arethe “perpetrators” pushing food, then my mainsuggestion isthatyou should understand that they arethe child’s parentsand theyhavethe right to handlemealtimesthe way they think is best

If youare thechild’s parent and the grandparentsorother occasional caregivers aredoing this, then you have the right to insistthat they stop Iagree that thisway of treating mealtimetakes away achild’s agency; theparentalhovering and hoovering canalsobehardfor othersto witness. However, no,I do not believe this kindofprompting willnecessarily lead to an eating disorder,a badrelationship to food,oralifeofcrime.

Mainly,while youare accusing theseparentsofcontrolling behavior, youare trying mightily to control them

Youcan email AmyDickinsonat askamy@amydickinson.comorsend a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box194,Freeville NY 13068

Polystyrenesafefor food in solidstate

ELIZABETHKO ANDEVE GLAZIER Askthe Doctors

Hello,dearreaders, and welcome to the bonus letterscolumn we promisedyou. We are delighted thatyou’re keeping our mailboxesfull, and we willcontinue to do our best to stay abreast of your letters.

—A reader from Oklahoma had a question regardingatakeoutdinner that wasdelivered in Styrofoam containersstacked one on topofthe other.“When we gothome, the heat from the food in thetop container had burned aholeinthe topofthe bottom one,”hewrote.“We put that container in the freezer, whereit still is.Can we safely eatthatfood?”

Styrofoamisatrademark name forpolystyrene, apetroleum-based chemical compound. It’s manufactured from styrene, avolatile colorlessliquid. Studieshavelinked exposuretostyrene to genetic damagetowhite blood cells and to cer-

tain blood cancers. Polystyrene is considered safe forfood usewhenin asolid state. However, heating can causechemicals to leach from the foam and intothe food. Eating the contentsof ameltedfoamcontainer one timeisunlikelytocauseharm.

—After acolumn aboutplantarfasciitis,a number of readers shared their experienceswiththis condition. We alsoheard from an orthopedicsurgeon in Nebraska whosuggested some treatments that his ownpatientshavefound helpful. One isawearable device known as an Airheel, which uses interconnected air cellsto protect and support the foot. Oncethe inflammation and pain of plantar fasciitis has eased, which cantake uptosix months,herecommends the useof a rigid plastic heelcup to prevent arecurrence. “Therigidity of the cup helpsthe fatpad under the heel to maintain itsthickness, and therebyabsorb the shock at heel strike,” he wrote. He explained that the cup alsohelps to spread out theimpact of each footfall, which lessens pressureon the vulnerable tissuesofthe heel. We hope

CRYPTOQUOTE 6/3

Here’show it works: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW One letter stands foranother.Inthis sample,Ais used forthe three L’s. Xisfor twoO’s etc

ELD ZUO’S AD EQ UWWHOMRR, ADS ELD ZUO ADE FLO DSR.

UOF SQUS’R NHO FL KS QM

RUGM SQHOT.— DO NO L Y O

Yesterday’sCryptoquote: And what is so rare as aday in June?Then, if ever,come perfect days. —James Russell Lowell

readers find this useful

—Werecently wroteabouta link between the repeated concussions and head strikesthat aresustained in football and an increasedrisk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,orALS.A reader near Chicago asked if better helmetscould protect playersfromthisneurodegenerative disease.“Iwonder what effect improved helmets, with more and better padding, wouldhaveon the numberof players getting ALS,” she wrote. While this seems likea logical solution, morepadding itself won’tactually help with brain injuries.A helmet canbeeffective in protecting against askull fracture. However, it cannot prevent the brain from being jostled within the skull upon impact. Thankyou, as always,toeveryone whotook the time to writetous. We will be back with our regular letters column in afew weeks.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@ mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/oUCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10960 WilshireBlvd., Suite 1955,Los Angeles, CA,90024.

CELEBRITYCIPHER by Luis Campos 6/3

Today’sclue: Fequals B CelebrityCipher crypotograms arecreated from quotations by famous people,past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands foranother

“G OI ED R NO U Y I EVI IED GRYI UGZRNI VAI IEUA MU YI RF D EVZZO,D AWRO PEVI ORJ VND

TRUAM VAT FD KNDYE

GDAIV SSO.” —N VKVD SA VTVS

Previous Solution: “Towatch people push themselves further than they think theycan, it’sabeautiful thing. It’sreally human.” AbbyWambach

King Crossword

Blondie

Pickles

Zits

Broom Hilda

BabyBlues

Pearls BeforeSwine

Hi &Lois

Garfield

Sudoku

Bizarro

Wallace the Brave

Beetle Bailey

Red& Rover

Dilbert

Luann

Yesterday’s Solution

Dennis the Menace

Carpe Diem