Outlook 2020: Quality of Life in Tulsa

///////////////////////////// QUALITY OF LIFE IN TULSA // TULSA WORLD SPECIAL SECTION // Sunday, March 1, 2020 /////////////////////////////

OUTLOOK2020

Uniquely

Tulsa City boasts one-of-a-kind amenities, from the best in entertainment to notable restaurants

INSIDE Mayor G.T. Bynum: Building a Tulsa to be proud of. 2

Theater groups continue to bring top shows to Tulsa stages. 4

Sound argument: Quality venues help make Tulsa a music town. 5

Local chefs keep restaurant scene on fast track. 18

Find entertaining activities, from movies to gaming. 23

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TULSA WORLD

OUTLOOK2020

A woman runs on the trails near the Arkansas River in Tulsa. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file

Building a Tulsa to be proud of

W

hen I was first elected mayor, the City Council and I began putting programs and policies in place to focus on making Tulsa a globally competitive, worldclass city.

We knew to accomplish this we had to stop fighting with our neighboring communities over retail stores and begin working collectively to maintain and attract world-class companies that have good-paying jobs for our residents. We also knew that north Tulsa had taken a back seat for way too long when it comes to economic prosperity — and that reality has a direct impact on the life-expectancy disparity of more than a decade that exists in our city today.

In the past two years, we have recruited the two largest new employers in the history of our city — Amazon and Greenheck Group have built campuses in north Tulsa. We have G.T. incentivized Bynum the relocation of Muncie Mayor of Tulsa Power Products to the PeoriaMohawk Business Park. WPX, Vast Bank and USA BMX are all building new headquarters facilities in the historic Greenwood District. This progress is bolstering Tulsa’s reputation as a place to do business and expand operations, which in turn opens more opportunities for Tulsans across the city.

In the coming year, the City Council and I are putting a focus on addressing homelessness through affordable housing strategies. Compared with the coastal United States,

Tulsa has incredible housing affordability. Yet we also have the 11th-highest eviction rate in the nation, and evictions are one of the leading causes of homelessness. That’s why in 2020 we will implement the Affordable Housing Strategy to create even more affordable housing opportunities, combat evictions and help lower the number of Tulsans facing homelessness.

We are also adding new officers to the Tulsa Police Department at an unprecedented rate and will continue to develop our community policing efforts under Police Chief Wendell Franklin — patrolling the streets responsibly and continuing to build trust between Tulsa’s diverse communities and officers.

After Tulsans have an affordable, safe place to live, they need to be able to access jobs and opportunities no matter what part of town in which they live. That’s why last year, Bus Rapid Transit launched in Tulsa, which is giving those

Etedal Elshorfa smiles as she and a group of almost 50 new citizens take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at Tulsa’s City Hall in January. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World

along the Peoria corridor access to jobs and shopping opportunities in Tulsa, connecting our neighbors to all parts of the city like never before. We also continue to make progress on road conditions, thanks to the overwhelming voter approval of the Improve Our Tulsa streets program.

It’s not just the visible growth that’s putting us on the path to success. We want Tulsa to be the kind of city where every kid has an equal shot at a great life.

Our Resilient Tulsa Strategy, which launched in 2018, is continuing to implement more of

INSIDE

its 41 actions. Tulsa is one of 10 cities selected to participate in a groundbreaking national study of economic mobility — assessing what factors best equip Tulsans to achieve the American dream.

We are also the first city in Oklahoma to host regular citizenship ceremonies for our newest Americans. If you’re ever feeling down about the division in our country, I highly recommend attending one of these ceremonies. When you meet people who have come from all around the world because they view Tulsa and Oklahoma and

the United States as a beacon of freedom and opportunity, it just fills you with pride in our country.

We’re working to reconcile past inequities while creating a brighter future for all Tulsans through systematic investment in our neighbors, neighborhoods, businesses and public safety efforts. From housing and life expectancy to opportunity, we’re continuing to build the kind of city future generations of Tulsans will be proud of. Thank you for your help in working to make Tulsa a better place to live and thrive.

FIND COVERAGE ONLINE AT TULSAWORLD.COM

Theater continues to thrive on Tulsa Restaurant scene remains on fast track Local arts organizations to put spotlight More school districts implementing stages...........................................................O4 with talented local chefs........................ O18 on women.................................................O24 virtual programming...............................O27 Quality venues help make Tulsa a music From movie theaters to entertainment Gathering Place reflects native planting Tulsa, beyond boast larger-than-life town............................................................. O5 centers, Tulsa has options.....................O23 trend taking root in state ......................O26 roadside attractions...............................O28

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

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Warren Clinic— your family’s partner in health.

As a part of Saint Francis Health System, Warren Clinic has

MEDICAL SPECIALTIES:

• Pulmonology/Critical Care

more than 450 adult and pediatric providers dedicated to

• Allergy/Immunology

• Rheumatology

• Audiology

• Sleep Medicine

• Breast Surgery

• Sports Medicine

Warren Clinic primary care physicians provide annual physical

• Cardiology

• Surgical Oncology

exams and routine immunizations, diagnose and treat a wide

• Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery

• Trauma Surgery

• Colon and Rectal Surgery

• Urology

• Dermatology/Mohs Surgery

• Vascular Surgery

improving your family’s health and wellness.

range of medical conditions, help manage chronic illnesses, schedule diagnostic screenings and, when necessary, coordinate care with specialists.

• Urgent Care

• Diabetes Education

In addition to outstanding care, Warren Clinic patients

• Ear, Nose and Throat

PEDIATRIC SPECIALTIES:

benefit from:

• Endocrinology

• Allergy/Immunology

• Family Medicine

• Audiology

• Gastroenterology

• Critical Care

• General Surgery

• Dermatology

• Geriatrics

• Ear, Nose and Throat

• Hospital Medicine

• Gastroenterology

• Infectious Disease

• General Pediatrics

• Internal Medicine

• General Surgery

• Maternal/Fetal Medicine

• Neonatology

• Nephrology

• Neurology • Neurosurgery

Saint Francis, a fitness facility offering exercise equipment,

• Neurology/Interventional Neurology

classes and programs.

• Neurosurgery

• Orthopedic Surgery

• Obstetrics and Gynecology • Oncology/Hematology

• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

• Orthopedic Surgery

• Podiatry

• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

• Pulmonology

• access to Saint Francis Health System, Oklahoma’s largest healthcare network, which offers integrated care and convenient locations throughout the region; • MyChart, an online tool that allows you to conveniently communicate with your physician’s office, connect with personal health information 24/7, request prescription refills, schedule appointments, submit an E-Visit and more; and • discounted membership rate at the Health Zone at

To schedule an appointment with a Warren Clinic physician, please call Saint Francis HealthLink at 918-488-6688.

• Oncology/Hematology

• Sports Medicine

• Podiatry

WARREN CLINIC PRIMARY CARE LOCATIONS TULSA CENTRAL

Kelly Medical Building 6565 South Yale Avenue

TULSA SOUTH Bishops Medical Building 10507 East 91st Street South

Warren Clinic Springer Building* 6160 South Yale Avenue

Cardinal Medical Building 10505 East 91st Street South

Warren Clinic Tower 6600 South Yale Avenue

South Memorial* 10506 South Memorial Drive

Warren Medical Building 6465 South Yale Avenue

South Tulsa 11106 South Yale Avenue

William Medical Building 6585 South Yale Avenue

TULSA HILLS * 7585 South Olympia Avenue BROKEN ARROW Warren Clinic – Elm* 2950 South Elm Place

Warren Clinic – Kenosha* 1801 East Kenosha Street

*Urgent Care is available at these locations.

COWETA 30011 East State Highway 51

FORT GIBSON

GLENPOOL 140 West 151st Street South

OWASSO

JENKS 2605 West Main Street

SAND SPRINGS * 102 South Main

McALESTER 1401 East Van Buren Avenue

VINITA

MUSKOGEE 101 Rockefeller Drive

3332 West Okmulgee

108 Lone Oak Circle

13600 East 86th Street North

715 North Foreman

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TULSA WORLD

OUTLOOK2020 THEATER

The touring production of Disney’s blockbuster musical “Frozen,” presented by Celebrity Attractions, will have a two-week run at the Tulsa PAC on June 3-14. Courtesy/Disney

Theater continues to thrive in Tulsa The city’s live theater scene has been making its mark for close to century

By James D. Watts Jr. Tulsa World

Tulsa may not immediately come to mind as a “theater town,” but live theater has been a major part of this city for close to a century.

The company now known as Theatre Tulsa put on its first production — a trio of one-act plays — in November 1922, and it has continued to present dramas, comedies and musicals over the subsequent 97 years, making it the oldest continuously operating theater company west of the Mississippi River.

During its mid-20th century heyday, when the company was staging the latest works from Broadway, Theatre Tulsa was one of the largest community theater operations in the country, with more than 6,000 subscribers.

Then, in November 1953, a group of local performers decided to put on a one-night-only production of a 19th-century melodrama about the evils of alcohol. That show, titled “The Drunkard,” is now the longestrunning theatrical production in United States, being presented every Saturday in the historic Spotlight Theatre. Only Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” which opened in 1952, has been running longer than “The Drunkard.”

In 1983, the late Larry Payton brought a one-man show called “Cotton Patch Gospel” to Tulsa, launching what would become Celebrity Attractions, which has grown into one of the most successful presenters of Broadway musicals in the country.

So theater continues to be alive and well in Tulsa, as companies large and small pres-

Spencer Plachy (left) plays Scar in Disney’s “The Lion King,” which will be in Tulsa in November. Courtesy/Deen van Meer

Find out more To learn more about Tulsa theater companies: •celebrityattractions.com • •theatretulsa.org • •americantheatrecompany.org • •spotlighttheatre.org • •hellertheatreco.com • •tulsaprojecttheatre.com • •clarkyouththeatre.com • •okworldstage.org • •facebook.com/ • theatrenorthtulsa

ent everything from original dramas to classic musicals.

For Celebrity Attractions, among the biggest shows it is bringing to Tulsa this year are shows adapted from Disney animated films, and which are still drawing sell-out crowds on Broadway — “Frozen” (June 3-14) and “The Lion King” (Nov. 11-29). Both shows will be in town for two-week runs.

Other musicals Celebrity will be presenting this year include the high-energy, percussion-

driven extravaganza “Stomp” (March 6-8); “Anastasia” (April 7-12), adapted from the animated film about the legend of the Russian princess who managed to escape the destruction of her family in the Communist Revolution; and the stage musical of the beloved children’s novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (June 16-21).

“Come From Away,” the Tony Award-winning musical about the small Canadian town that welcomed hundreds of airline passengers stranded there in the wake of 9/11, will play Tulsa on July 14-19. “Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville,” a romantic comedy built around Buffet’s songs and island-centric lifestyle brand, runs Aug. 18-23, followed by the musical version of the hit movie “Mean Girls” (Sept. 15-20).

On the local theater front, Theatre Tulsa closes out its current season with the Stephen Sondheim musical “A Little

Night Music” (March 13-22); “Matilda: The Musical,” based on Roald Dahl’s magical novel (April 24-May 10); and Thornton Wilder’s classic drama of small-town life, “Our Town” (June 19-27). Shows planned for the rest of the year include the musicals “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Addams Family,” as well as the comedy “Calendar Girls.”

American Theatre Company, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020, will stage the Tony Award-winning drama “The Humans” (March 20-28) and a new adaptation from Tulsa playwright David Blakely of Henrik Ibsen’s classic “An Enemy of the People” (May 1-9).

Future shows include “The Elephant Man,” about a hideously deformed man who ultimately became a part of London’s high society, and the 44th annual production of the company’s original musical adaptation of “A Christmas Carol.”

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

Tulsa Project Theatre, the only theater company in town associated with Actor’s Equity, is marking its 10th anniversary with revivals of some of its more popular shows of the past, including “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” (April 10-19) and “Seussical: The Musical” (June 5-14).

Other theater groups offer shows with a more focused philosophy. For example, Heller Theatre Company has for the past few seasons devoted itself to presenting new, original plays by local writers, in productions such as “Double Feature” (April 17-26), which will showcase two original plays; and its monthly “Second Sunday Serials,” where excerpts of five plays are presented and the audience votes on which will be continued the next month.

Theatre North is committed to presenting theater that deals with the African-American experience, from frothy comedies to serious dramas, such as the forthcoming “The Face of Emmett Till” (March 7-8).

One of the newest ensembles, World Stage Theatre Company, confronts ideas of social justice in the works it presents, such as “The Revolutionists” (April 23-26), a comedy about four women and how they changed history in the French Revolution.

And for those who want to see what the future of theater in Tulsa holds, there is Clark Youth Theatre, which gives young local actors the chance to show their talents in musicals such as “The Wind in the Willows” (April 17-26), Shakespearean productions such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (June 4-7) and its annual production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” each December.

James D. Watts Jr. 918-581-8478 james.watts@tulsaworld.com

TULSA WORLD

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OUTLOOK2020 Music venues

Elton John performs at the BOK Center in 2019. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World file

Quality, variety help make Tulsa a music town From historic music halls to state-of-the-art venues, city attracts big acts

By Jimmie Tramel Tulsa World

If you want to build a case that Tulsa is a great music town, your argument is sound — and a lot of it.

Just ask Rolling Stone, which recently popped a series of stories about eight cities where live music is exploding. Tulsa was one of the music towns spotlighted in the series.

Tulsa is blessed with historic music halls like Cain’s Ballroom and the Tulsa Theater (alias Brady Theater) where you can almost hear echoes of the past when you enter.

Tulsa also is home to state-ofthe-art casino concert venues and the BOK Center, which continues to gain acclaim as one of The Raconteurs played three sold-out shows at Cain’s Ballroom in 2019. Jack White (right) said Cain’s Ballroom is one the world’s top arena venues. of his favorite places to play in the world. CODY MULCAHY/for the Tulsa World There are lesser-known ing live radio shows at Cain’s Where to find them venues that also contribute to arena would be about the price Ballroom, the “Carnegie Hall Tulsa being a go-to place for live of a canned soft drink. Said a •Cain’s • Ballroom, 423 N. Main of Western swing.” Be on the music, but for now, let’s concenskeptic, quietly, at my table: “I St. lookout for a “Raisin’ Cain” trate on the half-dozen venues want to know what they pay for •BOK • Center, 200 S. Denver documentary that will provide Ave. that bring in the biggest acts. a soft drink.”

•Tulsa • Theater, 105 W. Reconviewers with a walk through the Whatever that price was, it’s ciliation Way venue’s history (of course, the still a great value.

Cain’s Ballroom •Hard • Rock Hotel & Casino Sex Pistols playing there and BOK Center sparked life into Tulsa, 777 W. Cherokee St., punching a hole in the wall will downtown Tulsa and brought Of course, Tulsans know that Catoosa be part of the documentary). musical acts here who otherCain’s Ballroom is a gem of a •River • Spirit Casino Resort, Here’s one bit of trivia before wise would have had no reason joint, but it’s still nice to hear 8330 Riverside Parkway we move on to another facility, to bring tour stops to Tulsa. The it from someone from outside •Osage • Casino’s Skyline Event but the last public appearance Eagles. Paul McCartney. Elton the 918.

Center, 951 W. 36th St. North Russell Westbrook made as a John.

In January, as a ramp-up to member of the Oklahoma City BOK Center staged an epic the Grammy Awards, Los AnThunder was at Cain’s Ballroom “10 for 10” concert series in geles Times writer Christopher booking agent the moment I celebration of the venue’s 10th walked into that room. Why do in 2019. He found out he was Reynolds wrote a story about traded to the Houston Rockets anniversary. The series started the 12 best places in America to I not know about this place? the same night he was hosting a in 2018 and spilled over into hear live music. No. 4 on his list Why have I never been booked 2019. The party continues. That here? Why have you never even comedy show at Cain’s. was Cain’s Ballroom. soft drink is apparently bottomIn 2018, musician Jack White mentioned this? It was one of less. told the Tulsa World that Cain’s the most beautiful places I had BOK Center ever seen. And the vibe when Ballroom is one of his favorite places to play in the world — if we played the show, it was just Quick personal recollection: Tulsa Theater incredible.” not “the” favorite.

Pre-BOK Center, I was at a White brought the Racon“The first day I came into meeting where a city official Known to locals as the “Old town, just looking at it, I was re- teurs to Cain’s Ballroom for was making a presentation to a Lady on Brady,” the venue ally upset that nobody had ever three sold-out shows in 2019. civic group about the possibilcelebrated a 105th birthday in Live at Cain’s is a new radio told me about Tulsa,” he said. ity of building a new arena in 2019.

“I walked into Cain’s Ballroom, show venture that harkens back downtown Tulsa. The cost for Some of the greatest names to the days of Bob Wills doand I basically almost fired my each citizen to build such an in entertainment have been

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

on stage there, including Burt Bacharach, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chet Atkins, Phil Collins, Glen Campbell, Steely Dan, Tony Bennett, U2, Buddy Holly, Merle Haggard, Alice Cooper, Tom Jones, Journey, B.B. King, Kenny Rogers and Dwight Yoakam.

If you saw Motley Crue there immediately after Tommy Lee was a free man, then you saw Motley Crue more up close and personal than you ever would at an arena show.

The name of the venue has been changed from Brady Theater to Tulsa Theater. This won’t change: You can still make memories there.

Casino venues Tulsa hit a jackpot when casinos added performance venues to the landscape. They’re so sterling that you should visit them rather than just read about them — and they provide a right-size option for many classic and modern performers.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa christened The Joint in 2010. The name of the 2,700seat venue is being changed to Hard Rock Live in April in conjunction with a Lenny Kravitz concert.

The River Spirit Casino Resort upgraded the caliber of its performance facility with the christening of Paradise Cove in January 2017. Paradise Cove celebrated its 100th show in 2019.

Country artist Chris Young was the first and 100th performer at the 2,700-seat venue.

Osage Casino upgraded, too, opening the new 2,000-seat Skyline Event Center in early 2019. The first public concert (Better than Ezra opened for the Goo Goo Dolls) sold out.

Among all of the above, there’s someone to hear/see almost every night.

Jimmie Tramel 918-581-8389 jimmie.tramel @tulsaworld.com Twitter: @JimmieTramel

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TULSA WORLD

Lifelong learning

Tulsa Tech provides world of possibilities for adult learners W

hether you want to learn a new hobby or gain new knowledge to advance your career, Tulsa Tech has thousands of adult learning classes to choose from to meet your needs.

Ranging from personal enrichment courses to career certification programs, adult learning classes are offered mostly in the evenings and weekends.

Courses fall under five broad categories: • Arts, Education and Enrichment; • Business, Computers and Technology; • Certification, Licensing and CEU; • Health Care and Wellness; and • Manufacturing, Construction and Transportation.

Tulsa Tech offers 36 national certification programs, 21 state certification programs and 19 continuing education programs.

Not only are they affordable, but there are no admission requirements for any of them.You can take any course whether or not you have a high school diploma or college degree.The only prerequisite is that students must be at least 16 years old. And of course, there is no cutoff age.

“We are all about lifelong learning,” said Russell Parker, director of Tulsa Tech’s Adult Career Development program.

“Whatever you’re interested in, you can find your perfect fit with us.”

Courses fall under five broad categories, including Arts, Education and Enrichment; Business, Computers and Technology; Certification, Licensing and CEU; Health Care and Wellness; and Manufacturing, Construction and Transportation.

Ranging from personal enrichment courses to career certification programs, classes are offered mostly in the evenings and on weekends.

“If you want to upgrade your skills, learn a new hobby, change careers or get a job, you can find pretty much anything with us,” Parker said.“Our course catalog is so diverse and we continue to add classes each year.”

Does learning to do magic tricks tickle your fancy? Tulsa Tech has a course for that. What about studying the oldschool practice of canning? Tulsa Tech can help you there too. Want to change careers and get certified in plumbing or just find out more about it? Tulsa Tech has just what you need.

“Actually, Oklahoma is in desperate need of plumbers across the state.

And you can make good money doing that,” Parker said.“The industry tries to hire our students before they even complete the program.”

Tulsa Tech works to meet the needs of both students and industry. For instance, they work with businesses

such as Mullin Plumbing and Simmons Homes to tailor curriculum to industry needs and better prepare students for potential jobs within those companies.

“We ask businesses,‘What do we need to offer to ensure our students are ready to go to work for you?’” Parker said.

Tulsa Tech is also willing to go the extra mile to support student employment needs. Recently, the school worked with the construction and industry board to change state law so Tulsa Tech hours could be used toward the journeyman’s license.The credential confirms an employee’s competence and experience and can lead to higher salaries.

Another way Tulsa Tech contributes to the regional workforce and student careers is by offering courses in 16 multi-program certification areas.The school has 36 national certification programs, 21 state certification programs and 19 continuing education programs.

As an example of the quality of Tulsa Tech programs, Parker noted that the Early Care and Education last year was certified as a gold standard program for child development education by the national Council for Professional Recognition.

Tulsa Tech is one of only 20 programs to have gained that gold standard certification nationally and is the only such program in Oklahoma. It is also the only technical school in the nation to have achieved the certification.

A large part of the reason Tulsa Tech has such a strong reputation is because of its high-quality instructors.

“Most of our instructors work full-time in the industry they’re teaching in,” Parker said.“And many have a long list of accolades on their resume.”

For instance, one Tulsa Tech photography instructor’s work is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution. A colored-pencil instructor does art for 1,500 professional sports teams and all the branches of the military.

Tulsa Tech P.O. Box 477200, Tulsa, OK 74147 918-828-5000 • tulsatech.edu

At one time, one of Tulsa Tech’s animation instructors was a former Disney artist who was the primary animator for Tinkerbell. An upholstery instructor was responsible for setting up the industry in the country of Jordan to help get people out of poverty.

And Tulsa Tech’s magic instructor is a professional magician and a member of the Society of American Magicians.

“You don’t think about all those people being in Tulsa,” Parker said.“We try to go through and highlight instructors in all of our catalogs so people will know who they are.”

If you are unable to find a particular type of class you want to take, you can request it. After the requestor fills out a formal request, a committee considers each proposal and makes a decision based on several factors, including who would be interested in taking the course and where else it might be offered in the county.

About 20 percent of each year’s slate of courses are new.

Founded in 1965 to provide vocational training for Tulsa Public School students, Tulsa Tech is now a public independent school district and part of a nationally-acclaimed CareerTech system, as well as the oldest and largest technology center in the state.

Although classes are affordable, the Hardesty Foundation recently provided Tulsa Tech a grant that allows the school to offer scholarships for those who still need extra help.

“We’re not in it to make money,” Parker said.“This is the taxpayers’ money and everything we do is to benefit them.

Our goal is simply to cover our costs.”

Tulsa Tech’s average enrollment for adult learning courses is around 12,000 each year.

“We are here to serve anyone in the Tulsa metro area at any of our six campuses,” Parker said.

For more information or to sign up for classes, visit enroll.tulsatech.edu or call 918-828-5000.

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At Tulsa Tech, we help students get on the path to a successful career Prepare for your future and learn the skills to achieve your goals. Apply online at tulsatech.edu/apply or for more information, call (918) 828-5000.

» Over 90 Career Majors » No Tuition for H.S. Students

» Full-time Careers

» Part-time Classes

» Corporate Training

» State-of-the-Art Classes & Labs » Affordable Tuition for Adults

(9 1 8 ) 8 2 8 - 5 0 0 0 I N FO @ T U LS AT E C H .E D U

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Why Move to the Cloud?

C

loud computing is a technology that uses a network of remote servers to store, manage and process data, rather than using the traditional local servers your business might have on-site today. “Cloud computing is basically Internet computing,”says Jason Ludwig, sales director for Cox Business. “With the cloud, your company’s critical data and computing resources are securely stored in a remote location and delivered to authorized users through the internet.

The ‘cloud’ really means the same thing as the Internet,”Ludwig says.

Cloud computing is becoming the new normal for businesses of all sizes.

Here are some benefits associated with making the move to the cloud.

Why are so many businesses migrating to the cloud? “It’s because cloud computing provides growth opportunities, scalability, reliable quality, affordable pricing, easy collaboration, and simple data access,”Ludwig explains.“Cox Business Cloud Solutions can help your business in a myriad of ways.” Here are a few of the benefits associated with cloud computing.

Virtual Desktops Virtual desktops allow employees to work from the cloud as opposed to depending on a literal desktop. Cloud offers the capability to have all your files on hand and accessible from any device — anywhere, anytime. “Let’s face it,” Ludwig says,“the world has gone mobile.

With virtual desktops in the cloud, users can take their desktop environment with them on their tablets, smartphones, laptops and other devices.”

Virtual Servers Virtual servers based in the cloud eliminate the maintenance requirements of in-house servers. This includes hardware, cabling, cooling devices, backup generators and more. Virtual servers provide flexible, standardized and seamless operating environments; this allows applications to perform at their peak without downtime. And many connectivity resources can be delivered at a “payas-you-go” cost, which allows you to operate like an enterprise-level company, no matter what your size.

Hosted Microsoft Exchange

poses the highest risk of complete loss in the event of a disaster. This risk can be avoided with the cloud. Cloud disaster recovery and business continuity solutions will secure business data and ensure minimal downtime in the event of a disaster. With the cloud, a company’s business applications and data are always safe and accessible.

Cost Efficiency The time and money that go into traditional IT operations are essentially eliminated with the cloud. Given that the cloud provider manages the hardware and software for you, it’s virtually a capital-expenditure free solution.

“Cox Business Cloud Solutions allow a business to pay for what it uses, so you don’t spend money on unneeded services,”Ludwig notes. “It’s really never been easier; a company can free up it’s IT staff to focus on running a business, while also saving money.”

Scalability In the cloud, businesses can scale easily, drive operational efficiency, and manage shifting computing needs with the cloud’s flexible resources. According to Ludwig,“the ability to scale is essential for many organizations, big and small.

Infrastructure is expensive, and cloud computing helps businesses avoid these costs while maintaining the ability to scale up or down in any situation.”

Simplicity With the constant advancement of technology and applications, businesses want solutions that are easy to use, no matter what device employees are working from. Not only is the cloud a simple environment to use and navigate, it’s reliable, convenient and constant.

“The cloud’s virtual environment provides a familiar interface that’s universal across all devices,”Ludwig explains. “As a cloud provider, we handle the design, testing, migrations and implementations … which lets you and your team focus on running a business.”

Stability The cloud is a reliable resource that performs in a uniform, unvarying way across all devices. Some providers offer

With Microsoft Exchange, businesses can have an entirely cloud-based hosted email solution. “Hosted Microsoft Exchange is a better option, because of its efficiency and simplicity,”Ludwig says.

“With Cox Business Cloud Solutions, we manage the migration, which makes installation easy and uncomplicated.”

Businesses remain in control of their email solution by tailoring it to their specific needs and ensuring communications are always available.

Disaster Recovery Losing critical data is detrimental to any business, and housing data in-house

Cox Business Cloud Solutions 11811 E. 51st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146 coxbusiness.com/cloud

unlimited bandwidth running in and out of their data centers, which delivers extraordinary performance to users regardless of their location or device.

With the cloud, desktop environments are always up-and-running.

Mobility Having multiple devices — laptop, tablet, phone and more — is now a normal occurrence for employees and having different data on each one creates an inefficient and insecure situation. Cloud computing removes this burden by providing an all-in-one business solution. “With the cloud, you can access your information from any device through a Web browser or application,”Ludwig adds.“Everything is stored in an accessible and secure cloud environment, so users won’t ever be without their files.”

Security “All businesses want and need high levels of security,”Ludwig says, “especially those that have highly confidential or delicate information.

Cloud computing assures the highest security because we use enterpriseclass solutions for all physical and network security measures. Many of our solutions meet and exceed standards like HIPAA and PCI.” In addition to protecting a business from viruses, malware, hackers and rogue employees, typical cloud security measures include full redundancy, encryption, biometric scanning, 24/7 surveillance and monitoring, firewalls and more.

“Any one, or two, or three of the benefits we’ve reviewed is enough to convince many business owners about the cloud’s viability,”Ludwig concludes. “But when you look at all the potential benefits the cloud has to offer, it’s really a no-brainer.

That’s why more and more companies are taking advantage of managed cloud services to achieve greater performance, value and focus.”

For more information about Cox Business Cloud Solutions, reach out to your local Cox Business account executive or visit coxbusiness.com/ cloud.

TULSA WORLD

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Feel like your provider isn’t setting you up for success?

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O10 Sunday, March 1, 2020

TULSA WORLD

Pathways to Success

Tulsa landed one of the hippest, most accessible coding schools in the nation No upfront tuition, two-year path to software engineering career

T

he Holberton School is changing the way software engineers are made and has now brought its groundbreaking program to Tulsa.

stipend to students on a need basis, which is repaid after tuition. GKFF waives that stipend if graduates stay and work in Tulsa.

The first cohort of 38 students in Tulsa began the project-based learning curriculum in January in a beautifully renovated building downtown in the Arts District.

“We are full time. We’re time intensive. We find that students might be able to keep part-time work or work in the gig economy. But this allows people to put school as their first priority which is so powerful,” Wuller said.

The lofty space at 15 N. Cheyenne Ave. is designed with a Silicon Valley feel, an industrial space with modern accoutrements that screams creativity, energy and promise. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In Tulsa, 70 percent of the students are from the Tulsa area while the rest are from places like Boston, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago and other areas where the cost of living can be prohibitive.

“Tulsa has an entrepreneurial spirit. There’s this sense of energy in the city right now and a desire to make sure our economy can evolve into a techdriven economy,” said Libby Wuller, executive director of the Holberton School in Tulsa.

With U.S. campuses in San Francisco and New Haven, Connecticut, Holberton was motivated to harness the pool of talent in the middle of the country by opening a campus in Tulsa.

“Ideas thrive in a place like Tulsa. What we’re doing is bringing the talent pipeline to support those ideas,” Wuller said.“The east and west coasts do not have a monopoly on good ideas.”

The school also has four campuses in Colombia, one in Tunisia and will open a campus in Beirut this spring.

Amid rapidly rising growth in the tech industry across the country and worldwide, the Holberton School offers a quick but intensive path to getting a high paying job in software engineering.

The need is great. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for software developers will grow 21 percent over the next decade, well above the average rate for all occupations. And there likely will not be enough software developers to fill the open positions.

“The New York Times put out a piece projecting there will be 1.4 million software engineering jobs available this decade, but only 400,000 people to fill them. That gap is terrifying,” Wuller said.

Holberton School is an innovative and intensive education program that turns out software engineers in less than two years who are better prepared for the workforce than students who attend traditional universities. can learn new systems, new coding languages and also get comfortable learning new material,” Wuller said.“We want to build that muscle.”

The traditional university system is not always able to keep up with new technology. Students coming even out of Ivy League programs aren’t always prepared for the software engineering workforce.

The other difference at Holberton is students don’t have to pay tuition while in school. The cost of the two-year program is $85,000.

But Holberton offers an income share agreement (ISA) plan that allows students to pay a fixed percentage of their income for 3½ years once they get a job. They only have to make payments if their salary is at least $40,000 a year.

For students at most campuses, the fixed rate is 17 percent. But because of Holberton’s partnership with the George Kaiser Family Foundation, the percentage rate for students who decide to live and work in Tulsa is only 10 percent.

The only requirements for admission are that the applicant is at least 18 years old and has a high school diploma or equivalent. Students don’t need any coding experience at all. The application itself is a lesson in writing code for a website designed only to see how if the learning environment at Holberton is a fit.

Wuller acknowledges that Holberton is not for everyone.

“The goal is not to build a program that works for each and every individual, it’s to work for individuals who have been let down and to give them an equal opportunity to enter an industry that is really growing.”

Still, Holberton has created an exciting new way to fill the demand for software engineers and developers more quickly and with a model more accessible to a diversity of people.

It has even drawn investors like actress Priyanka Chopra and singer Ne-Yo. “In a lot of ways, when you think about the fact that engineers are predominantly male and white, that they’re coming out of traditional schools with a crushing amount of debt and that they’re lacking skills, what we’re doing is disrupting an industry — not dissimilar to the way the ride-sharing app disrupted the taxi industry,” Wuller said.

For more information, visit holbertsonschool.com/ campus_life/tulsa.

The school also offers a $1,500 per month living

So Holberton is changing the way education is done. Its model is designed to open the doors to a more diverse talent pool by removing financial and educational obstacles.

“Currently 50 percent of our students are women or people of color. We recognize that these marginalized groups are severely underrepresented in tech. What drives us is our mission to make software engineering as a profession more accessible to more people,” said Obum Ukabam, head of admissions and marketing manager.

The school is different in primarily two ways — in how students learn the curriculum and how students fund their education.

There are no instructors and no lectures. The school uses an online, project-based curriculum in a peerto-peer learning environment. Students learn by doing.

As class continues, the curriculum begins to accelerate and become more difficult.

“It’s about laying that scalable foundation so they

The demand for software developers is projected to grow 21 percent over the next decade.

Holberton School 15 N. Cheyenne Ave., Tulsa, OK 74103 918-392-5530 • holbertonschool.com/campus_life/tulsa

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Serving the community

Tulsa Symphony shares joy with the community through classical music

N

early every city’s symphony orchestra has an outreach program to help people, but the Tulsa Symphony’s sole reason for existence is to serve the community by sharing music.

“The great transporting medium, music meets a basic need. It can take us out of ourselves or it can push us deeper into ourselves, whatever is required at any given moment.

Music can meet us on an emotional or intellectual level. It takes us to exotic places and it stimulates our imagination It can help us relive our past, evaluate our current state or imagine our future.

It can abate emotions or intensify them.

Music is there for us, for whatever we need.”

Ron Wheeler Longtime Tulsa Youth Symphony Conductor

The organization’s nonprofit status says it all.

“We are a community service organization that provides value through the medium of classical music,” said Keith Elder, executive director of the Tulsa Symphony.

Since its inception in 2005, the Tulsa Symphony has been delivering music to schools, nursing homes, hospitals and soup kitchens.

“Music is not just entertaining, it is a healing force for all,”Elder said.

Concerts and performances are important to the Tulsa Symphony because that’s where the orchestra shines. But raising money through ticket sales and donations is crucial because it funds the Symphony’s community service programs.

From the Link Up program to Symphony by the Sea, the Tulsa Symphony is spreading music across the Tulsa area.

procedures, reducing the side effects from cancer treatment, easing the pain of anxiety or depression, and improving the quality of life for dementia patients.

In its fifth year, the Tulsa Symphony is partnering with Carnegie Hall in New York City to bring the Link Up program to approximately 21,000 third- to fifthgraders in northeastern Oklahoma.

Through its Heart Strings program, the Tulsa Symphony sends its musicians to perform at locations where vulnerable populations are gathered so they can feel the curative power of music.

In the classroom, students learn to sing and play recorder through Carnegie Hall’s interactive curriculum.The program culminates in a performance where students play along with the Tulsa Symphony from their concert hall seats.

Tulsa Symphony musicians regularly make the rounds to perform at places such as Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center, LIFE Senior Services, Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Administration Medical Center, and Iron Gate.

in to fill in as many gaps as possible.

“Tulsa is a city that places second in the world for its high growth rate in the Link Up program,”Elder said.“It’s pretty amazing when you get to see it.”

Another program for area students is Symphony by the Sea.The Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks is the field trip destination, where children move from station to station learning about arts and science in one fell swoop.

Tulsa area public schools are one place where the Tulsa Symphony makes a big impact.

The highlight is hearing musicians from the Tulsa Symphony perform and listening to an expert discuss a particular animal or habitat.

For more than a decade, public school funding in Oklahoma has continued to plummet while enrollment climbs.To make it through the funding shortage, public schools have to make difficult choices about how to cut their budgets.

Fine arts programs typically are among the first to get the ax.

Many schools get visits from Tulsa Symphony ensembles as a way to connect core subjects with the arts through the TSO to Go and Artists in the Schools programs.The organization supports the Tulsa Youth Symphony, which is aimed at raising up the next generation of classical music performers.

In fact, the number of art and music classes in Oklahoma schools dropped drastically over five years while total enrollment climbed steadily, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute.

“We believe that music is exceptionally important to a thriving community and society,”Elder said.

In 2017-18, the state’s public schools offered 1,110 fewer art and music classes than they did four years prior, leaving 28 percent of all public-school students without access to fine arts classes.

This is where the Tulsa Symphony steps

The Tulsa Symphony is also dedicated to harnessing the healing power of music to help those with mental and physical health issues.

Research shows that music therapy is effective in restoring speech among patients with language disorders, lessening the pain of invasive medical

Tulsa Symphony 117 N. Boston Ave., Tulsa, OK 74103 918-584-3645 • tulsasymphony.org

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

The Symphony has just started a Creative Aging program that is similar to Link Up for older adults, taking the curriculum and the music to residents of senior living centers and assisted living homes.

This community-service forward approach came out of the Tulsa Philharmonic’s failure after more than 50 years of operation in 2002.

Not only did community leaders decide to create a new business model by allowing musicians to have a voice in the way the orchestra is run, they decided the Tulsa Symphony should be a nonprofit community service organization.

After leadership roles with the Aspen Music Festival and School, Eastman School of Music, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops, Elder took the executive director role of the Tulsa Symphony last summer.

He knows that most symphony orchestras don’t have the same credo.

“Other symphonies have a few community service programs, but this is our entire focus,”Elder said.“We know that music is a universal language that can reach and heal everyone.”

For more information about the Tulsa Symphony, visit tulsasymphony.org.

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OUTLOOK2020

Tickets at (918) 584-3645 or tulsasymphony.org.

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on

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OUTLOOK2020

Designed by physicians

CORE ranks among top hospitals in nation for orthopaedic outcomes

I

f you need a hip or knee replacement, the Center for Orthopaedic Reconstruction and Excellence is one of the best places in the state to get one.

Yet that is not even close to the only health-care service the hospital offers.

CORE is ranked second in the state for hip and knee replacement outcomes and is among the top echelon of all hospitals in the country for those successful outcomes.

The hospital is one of the best facilities in the nation for dealing with knee complications.

It has the second-lowest complication rate in the state and ranks 151st in the nation.

The hospital also has the lowest overall complication rate for any hospital in the state and ranks 180th in the nation in that category.

“We are a single-story facility focused primarily on surgical patients, but we are also a full-service hospital with a full-service emergency room,” said Jan Clark, chief executive officer and co-owner of CORE.“Orthopaedics is the majority of our patient base, but we also do general surgeries.”

The hospital also has a radiology department and six state-of-the-art operating rooms. It is in the process of adding a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite, as well.

Without CORE, Jenks residents would not have access to the life-saving emergency room care within the community.

“As recently as last week, we had a patient walk in our ER doors with an acute heart attack,” Clark said.

“We stabilized him and had him transferred out to a catheter lab at a facility with a higher level of care within 20 minutes.”

Because so many people are unaware that CORE has a 24/7 emergency room, it is underutilized. The wait time is basically nonexistent.

“I think the overall benefit is we’ve opened up access to health care in the Jenks community. When we came in, there weren’t really a lot of healthcare options,” Clark said.“Since then, there have been a couple of services open up. But there still isn’t another ER.” Another plus for CORE patients is the administration’s relationship with physicians. Most of the administration has a clinical background so they understand physician concerns as well as those of patients and staff.

“I am an owner and a CEO, but I am also a nurse,” Clark said.“So, I and others in the administration can make

decisions that aren’t just financially based but clinically based.”

The hospital’s physicians have a voice in every decision the hospital makes.

And they don’t have to deal with the usual bureaucracy found in most large hospitals. If there is a problem that needs to be fixed, the hospital can make changes very quickly.

This model attracts exceptional physicians, surgeons, nurses and other staff. Employee retention is high.

CORE was the brainchild of a group of surgeons who decided to build a stateof-the-art facility that had easy access to every part of the building, unlike large hospitals with their byzantine labyrinth of corridors and hallways.

“Patients can easily walk in the front doors and navigate to anywhere in the building within minutes,” she said.

While traditional “big-box” hospitals invite large consulting firms to come in and help plan and build their facilities, Clark said she and a few others from Bristow Medical Center, CORE’s sister hospital, performed that work themselves.

“We’re reducing costs by keeping our model very lean and focusing on more efficient ways of providing care versus traditional hospital methods,” Clark said.

CORE’s focus is on treatment and procedures they do particularly well.

“We’re not really a jack of all trades.

We don’t do everything for all people,” Clark said.“That helps us be lean and efficient and provide better outcomes.”

Because of the facility’s high-quality outcomes in numerous categories, insurance companies are willing to partner with CORE to reduce healthcare costs to patients.

According to Medicare, CORE ranks far above state and national averages in patients who reported that: • Nurses always communicate well; • The rooms and bathrooms are always clean; • The areas around the patient’s room

are always quiet at night; • They were given all the information needed for a successful recovery at home, and; • They would strongly recommend the hospital to others.

The hospital’s outcome rankings are impressive.

CORE is ranked second in the state for hip and knee replacement outcomes and is among the top echelon of all hospitals in the country for those successful outcomes.

It is one of the best facilities in the nation for dealing with knee complications and has the secondlowest complication rate in the state, ranking 151st in the nation.

The hospital also has the lowest overall complication rate for any hospital in the state, ranking 180th in the nation.

In addition, patients consistently give the hospital a 9 or 10 ranking on a 0-10 scale, which is also above the state and national averages for all hospitals.

“CORE has been a blessing for the Jenks community, but it has really done wonders for rural health care as well,” Clark said.

As part of Bristow Medical Center, CORE’s success has kept the Bristow facility afloat for the past five years while other rural hospitals in the state are closing due to rising health-care costs.

“BMC has operated in the red. But if it hadn’t been for CORE, those doors would have closed and that community would not have health care,” she said.

The bottom line at CORE is the patient’s health, not financial benefit.

“My philosophy is if you do the right thing for the patient then everything else falls into place,” Clark said.“Treat the patient first and foremost. Make that your priority. Then the financial situation and health outcomes will fall in place and meet your goals.”

CORE: Center for Orthopaedic Reconstruction & Excellence 3029 W. Main St., Jenks, OK 74037 918-701-2300 • corejenks.com

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OUTLOOK2020

Opened in 2015, CORE is proud to be offering state-of-the-art orthopedic care and innovative technology to the Tulsa area.

TULSA’S TOP DOCTORS + STATE OF THE ART FACILITIES =

About CORE

THE BEST SURGICAL CARE IN THE AREA

With a state-of-the-art facility near the Tulsa Hills Shopping Center, the Center for Orthopaedic Reconstruction and Excellence (CORE) not only offers exceptional orthopedic care but is a cornerstone of healthcare in the Jenks community.

The single-story facility provides easy access to every service and is home to a group of world-renowned orthopedic surgeons. CORE is lauded for having among the top-ranked outcomes in the state for hip and knee replacements.

The facility also houses the only emergency room in Jenks, delivering 24/7 lifesaving care to the community. Along with personalized service and cutting-edge technology, patients can be assured they will be treated with the utmost care at this urban facility with a small-town feel.

Our Services: • Orthopedic Surgery - Joint repair/replacement - Fracture Repair - Back & Spine - Upper and Lower Extremities

Call us at (918) 701-2300

• General Surgery • ENT Surgery • Podiatry • In-Patient Physical Therapy • Emergency Services

Address: 3029 W. Main St., Jenks, OK, 74037

For more information, visit our website: www.corejenks.com

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OUTLOOK2020 From left, Shawn Donahue and Scott Burnett.

Locally owned

Future is bright for Burnett Home Improvement

W

hile the remodeling industry in America is dominated by national corporations with local stores in every community, Tulsabased Burnett Home Improvement’s 40-year legacy of quality and personal service stands alone.

Countless “mom-and-pop” businesses are being pushed out of the market as mega-corporations take over the industry across the country.

Burnett has been nationally recognized by the industry for customer service and installation quality by top trade publications.

The company stays up on the latest methods and provides its employees the training and tools to provide fast and efficient results while never compromising quality.

Burnett also offers affordability without cutting corners. They work with major lenders to find the best financing available to fund projects for customers.

But Burnett has not succumbed to the pressure. Instead, the family-owned business is thriving and growing because of the values the company stands for — integrity, quality and community.

Those values have served the company well.Years ago, windows manufacturer Marvin Windows and Doors asked Burnett to be the sole Tulsa distributor of its Infinity from Marvin window, which J.D. Powers rated in 2019 as the No. 1 window in the country for customer satisfaction.

Marvin’s leadership knew of Burnett’s reputation and sensed a kinship.

Similar to Burnett Home Improvement, Marvin is a family-owned company established in 1912 in Minnesota with the same values at the forefront of its business model.

Scott Burnett, who opened Burnett Home Improvement in 1979, said that most quality manufacturers are extremely picky when identifying which exclusive dealer they select in a given city.

The company stands out in many ways. For one, Burnett has been nationally recognized by the industry for customer service and installation quality by top trade publications.

The company stays up on the latest methods and provides its employees the training and tools to provide fast and efficient results while never compromising quality.

Burnett Home Improvement also offers affordability without cutting corners.

They work with major lenders to find the best financing available to fund projects for customers.

Burnett built its reputation since 1979 based on a desire to earn customer satisfaction and deliver long-term value to Tulsa residents’ homes.

The company has been recognized for quality by the Better Business Bureau which accredited Burnett and gave it a grade of A-plus. Burnett is also a seventime winner of the Angie’s List ‘Super Service Award.’

As a local business, the company can provide customers with more personalized service — especially because they are representing the family name. Family involvement only enhances the company’s commitment to quality and service.

“Our culture is so strong. It’s great to know that if it came to it, I know that the family will protect that culture and the values we stand for,” said Burnett.“I can depend on them to do the right thing for customers, vendors, employees and their own families.”

“It’s a testament to how we’re recognized nationwide as a high integrity company with true craftsmen,” Burnett said.“They can be confident that we will represent them well by taking care of the customer and installing their products correctly, every time.”

Burnett is now planning his retirement and readying for the second generation to take over leadership. He is grooming his son-in-law Shawn Donohue, who is the current operations manager, to take the helm.

Just as Marvin Windows and Doors put its trust in Burnett Home Improvement, Tulsa-area customers can feel that same confidence when it comes to the company putting the customer first.

“What I care about at this stage of my life is passing on the wisdom I’ve gained over the last 40 years to the family and close friends who work for us,” he said.“I believe Shawn will give the company a fresh voice and guide it in an innovative direction.”

“We see what we do as serving our customers.Yes, we are a business but without satisfied customers, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” Burnett said.

Burnett Home Improvement is growing and has done so through the ups and downs of the economy over the years.

Burnett Home Improvement 11202 E. 61st St., Tulsa, OK 74133 918-286-7600 • burnettinc.com

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

Previously known as Burnett Windows and Siding, Burnett realized rebranding was needed to encompass the additional service offerings that have been added. A year ago, the company name was changed to Burnett Home Improvement to reflect the addition of bathroom remodeling to its repertoire of expertise.

Burnett said he added the new service after one of the top bath manufacturers in the country, Luxury Bath, approached him and asked that the company consider using their products for bath and shower remodeling projects.

“We knew they had a great reputation in the bath business,” Burnett said.

“Once we saw the quality of the product they offered, we knew that this was a line of products we could use to improve Tulsa area homes for many years to come.”

Burnett Home Improvement provides its services in Tulsa and surrounding communities in the Tulsa metropolitan area.

To date, the company has provided home renovation services to nearly 31,000 homeowners in communities in Bartlesville, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Claremore, Collinsville, Jenks, Owasso, Sand Springs, Sapulpa and Skiatook.

Not only does Burnett have a family legacy and a reputation for quality, its owners and employees are dedicated to serving the Tulsa community through several nonprofit organizations.

Burnett Home Improvement enthusiastically supports: • The Little Light House, a school for special-needs children; • Pathways Adult Learning Center, which serves adults with intellectual disabilities; and • John 3:16 Mission, which helps the hungry, homeless and at-risk citizens of Tulsa.

“I so love Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma,” Burnett said.“One of our big goals is not just to fuel the economy here but to give back to the community. That’s something you don’t see from the national companies. But it is something we are committed to.”

To learn more about the company, visit burnettinc.com.

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OUTLOOK2020 DINING

The Nashville hot leg and thigh with coleslaw is prepared at Chicken and the Wolf at Mother Road Market. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World file

Restaurant scene continues on fast track Tulsa has developed an impressive diversity of styles and tastes

By Scott Cherry Tulsa World

The past 10 years have seen the Tulsa restaurant scene take off like a runaway freight train, and as the dawn of a new decade unfolds, it doesn’t seem to be slowing at all.

The Tulsa Health Department inspects somewhere in the vicinity of 4,000 food service establishments a year.

Not all are restaurants. The list includes schools, hospitals, company cafeterias, etc., but that still leaves a significant number of restaurants, not to mention the growing food scenes in surrounding communities.

Tulsa has never shown more diversity in restaurant ownership and cuisines.

Food from all over the world can be found in local eateries, and a surge of talented, trained chefs is taking American cuisine to new levels of sophistication and delicious dining. By all accounts, it is an impressive showing for a city the size of Tulsa.

Philip Phillips and wife Danielle have been riding the crest of those culinary changes over the past 10 years. They owned what arguably was the most popular food truck, Lone Wolf Banh Mi, and now operate two Lone Wolf Banh Mi brick-and-mortar restaurants and Chicken and the Wolf in Mother Road Market.

“We’ve come so far in the last 10 years with what our local restaurants are creating, and I only see it getting bigger,” Phillips said. “I see the year 2020 as the year local food completely dominates what Tulsans are consuming.

Local fast food, local health food, local farms. There is nothing we can’t accomplish here in Tulsa.”

Joel Bein is another food truck pioneer and still covers the town with his RUB food truck. This year, he is partnering with Amanda Simcoe, aka The Cheese Wench, to open a midtown brick-and-mortar retail store to be called The Meat and Cheese Show. The pair also recently launched a

Robert Merrifield, proprietor of Tucci’s and Polo Grill, currently has two projects going downtown — an Italian market and a Latin grill.

Chef Libby Billings, owner of The Vault, Roppongi and Elote Cafe, has been instrumental in advancing the food scene in the Deco District.

TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file

MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World file

At left, Amanda Simcoe, aka The Cheese Wench, is opening a meat-and-cheese retail business with Joel Bein, owner of the RUB food truck, this year.

Tulsa World file

Danielle and Philip Phillips of Lone Wolf Banh Mi and Chicken and the Wolf are among those who have made the jump from food truck to brick-and-mortar.

TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file

food menu at Glacier Bean to Bar. “This is an exciting time

for the Tulsa food scene,” he said. “There are some great new restaurants that have just

opened or getting ready to open, and food truck folks are doing new brick-and-mortar things.

“With the new private dining-catering direction I’ve taken with The Cheese Wench and RUB bookings filling the 2020 calendar year, I feel really good about what a busy season it looks like for all of us.”

Advancements behind the scenes have been changing the way restaurants operate, too, from point of sales equipment and food ordering programs to more efficient equipment, to name a few.

“Restaurant technology has come a long way in the past few years, and it’s getting a little easier to access necessary reports remotely,” said Libby Billings, owner of Elote Café, Roppongi and The Vault

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and generally considered the force behind the resurgence of the Deco District downtown.

“I’m looking forward to 2020 and spending less time in the office and more time working on the floor and in the kitchen serving great food to happy customers because, after all, that’s why we do what we do.”

Polo Grill owner Robert Merrifield, who has two downtown projects under way, including an Italian market and a Latin grill, maybe said it best: “Tulsa has become an oil boomtown again! Cooking oils, from avocado oil to peanut oil to olive oil, and Tulsa is hot and cooking again.”

Scott Cherry 918-581-8463 scott.cherry@tulsaworld.com Twitter: @ScottCherryTW

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H.O.W. Foundation serves community by pulling men out of addiction Moving, landscape services fund residential recovery program

W

hen looking for someone to haul off trash, move furniture or mow the yard, make sure your money does double duty by hiring crews from the H.O.W. Foundation.

The foundation offers men deep in addiction a six-month-minimum residential program to help them learn to live a life of recovery from alcohol and substance abuse.

In return, residents work in crews to provide lawn, trash hauling, moving and other services within the community.

The residents pay nothing for treatment.

All profit from their services goes directly back into the program.

“We are trying to instill within these men a work ethic and respect for authority,” said Robert Alves, H.O.W. Foundation executive director.

After a humble start in 1981, the H.O.W. Foundation now has a 75-bed residential recovery program, averaging 80 percent occupancy at any given time.

The foundation also has 23 trucks for work crews to use to provide mowing, moving and hauling services.

“We can compete with and beat anybody on our prices,” Alves said.“I can’t tell you how many complimentary phone calls we receive about our men and the work they do.”

The residents are rough men, most of

whom have been to prison, have often failed traditional treatment programs; men who have lived on the streets and in shelters, been turned away from family because of their actions and have run out of chances.

Eighty percent of the residents are referred by a legal jurisdiction.

“They are a lost group of men. Some have no idea what a normal daily routine is — waking up, brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, going to work — no one has ever taught them,” Alves said.

Each day, residents wake at 5 a.m., eat breakfast and go to work.They attend Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings on-site in the evenings.

About 30 percent of the men complete the program, but Alves said he is not there for the seven out of 10 who don’t make it.

“I am here for that one guy who has been given one more chance,” he said.

Alves was once that guy.

“I started self-medicating pretty early,” he said.“I’ve gone through four marriages and had four children, three girls and a boy. I lost my son four years ago to substance abuse. In my 30s, I became an RN, eventually becoming charge nurse on a transplant unit at

From left, Robert Alves, executive director; David Forbes, assistant director; and Shane Johnson, service manager; examine a truck at the H.O.W. Foundation’s Tulsa office.

Shortly after that, he dedicated himself the University of Arizona.That was the to recovery. closest I came to a normal life.”

But he started abusing drugs again at work and lost his nursing license. At age 54, he went to live with his mother. It wasn’t long before she kicked him out.

“I was homeless with nobody in the world,” he said.

Alves reached out to an old buddy he knew from growing up in Tulsa.

His friend told him about the H.O.W. Foundation.

Alves entered the program in May 2009.

“For the first time in 50 years, I knew what I was supposed to do in my life,” Alves said.“I am here to serve.”

He took a staff position right after graduation from the program and has worked there ever since. Alves was named executive director in June 2013.

“I marvel every morning when 60 guys put their feet on the floor at 5 a.m. when they had been doing meth just a month ago,” Alves said.“It’s nothing short of miraculous.”

H.O.W. Foundation

5649 S. Garnett Road • 918-252-5746 • howfdn.org

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OUTLOOK2020

June 6 cancer run/walk will help pave path to prostate cancer cure, treatment

T

ulsa’s Urologic Specialists is taking the fight against prostate cancer to the streets, literally.

The Prostate Cancer Institute at Urologic Specialists will host the city’s inaugural Zero Prostate Cancer Run/Walk on June 6.

The national race series raises money for prostate cancer research, but a portion of the proceeds remains here to help men in the Tulsa area who are battling prostate cancer with such practical assistance as rides to treatment and help with prescription costs.

The event also honors prostate cancer survivors and offers runners a chance to participate in memory of those who died from the disease.

Urologic Specialists, at 10901 E. 48th St., is the region’s largest urology practice, with 21 board-certified urologists treating patients at clinics in Tulsa; Muskogee; McAlester; Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Joplin, Missouri.

Urologists treat issues with the male and female urinary tract and the male reproductive organs. Urologic Specialists physicians also specialize in urologic oncology, kidney transplantation, kidney stone disease, female pelvic medicine, urologic trauma and pediatric urology.

The Prostate Cancer Institute at Urologic

Specialists was where Randy Jeffers, 68, landed after his diagnosis with prostate cancer in August 2011.

“When I was diagnosed … it’s a real blow,” Jeffers said.“Cancer is an ugly, ugly word.”

Jeffers had undergone a quadruple heart bypass operation four years earlier, and it was during a routine checkup with his cardiologist that the doctor suggested that they check Jeffers’ PSA — or prostate-specific antigen — level.

But even if he was momentarily stunned, he wasn’t deterred. Jeffers got a treatment plan from Urologic Specialists, and then he got a second opinion from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which said he should stick with Urologic Specialists’ plan.

“By the end of the day,” Jeffers said,“he was calling me back and saying,‘Randy, we really need to talk about this.’ ” Although several warning signs could indicate prostate cancer, such as painful urination, a weak stream or the inability to stop the urine flow, Jeffers had none of them.

That plan included 45 radiation treatments, followed by three cycles of immunotherapy.

Jeffers now takes oral medication and receives a hormone injection twice a year.

Through it all, Jeffers said, the care he has Randy Jeffers received has “been fantastic, I will tell you that.”

Prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer in men in the United States. PSA screening is typically recommended for men in their early to mid-50s until they are about 70.

Urologists consider a PSA of greater than 4 to be suspicious; Jeffers’ was 76.6. And his cancer was the most aggressive type.

“I got to have some fun with it, too,” he added.“I’m not a tattoo guy, and I don’t have pierced ears, but now I have three tattoos and three gold studs” — tools used by the technicians in administering the life-saving treatments Jeffers receives.

Jeffers has been living with prostate cancer for nearly a decade, but he has no

thought of giving up the fight.

“It is not in my nature to succumb to the crap that is all around cancer,” he said.

“I’m going to fight through it. I’ve got a family that I’m going to live a long time for.”

Donna Bowers, the nurse navigator for the Prostate Cancer Institute of Urologic Specialists, said that commitment is important when fighting prostate cancer, a disease that she likens to the dinosaurs in the “Jurassic Park” movies.

The cancer “is constantly testing the fence,” she said.

Bowers is upbeat about the battle, though, noting how quickly new treatments become available.

Bowers is also the race director for the Zero Prostate Cancer Run/Walk.

Jeffers, whose once-sky-high PSA now hovers below 2, plans to be on hand for race day, too.

“I may not be able to run it, but I will be there,” he said.

For Bowers, the event “is for the community — for all those that are here now and all those that will be in the future.”

Urologic Specialists Prostate Cancer Institute

10901 E. 48th St., Tulsa, OK 74146 • 918-749-8765 • urologicspecialists.com

ZERO Out Prostate Cancer!

UROLOGIC SPECIALISTS OF OKLAHOMA With a team of 21 board-certified urologists, Urologic Specialists is the largest urology group in the region offering care for men, women and children.

SERVICES AND SPECIALTIES INCLUDE: • Urinary Control • Urologic Oncology • Prostate Cancer

• General Urology • Erectile Dysfunction • Pediatric Urology

• Female Pelvic Medicine • Kidney Stone Disease • Urinary incontinence

Urologic Specialists is also home to the Prostate Cancer Institute. As the only Advanced Prostate Care Center in the region, it is dedicated solely to men with advanced prostate cancer and their specific health care needs. A specialized team including urologic oncologists, surgeons and a cancer nurse navigator work together to provide individualized cancer care for each patient.

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OUTLOOK2020 Tulsa company offers assistance, seminars for seniors navigating life’s changes

S

haryn Willard knows a thing or two about older people. First and foremost,“they might be getting older, but they still have a mind of their own, and they know what they want,” she said.

Willard began her company, Mature Transitions of Tulsa, in July 2019 with a goal of helping older Tulsaarea residents live the rest of their days getting just what they want and need.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while,” said Willard, a certified senior housing professional.

“Lots of entities are doing pieces of what I do, but nobody does the whole encompassing thing.”

That includes assistance with downsizing and decluttering; selling a home or business; relocation; financial planning; wills and trusts; modifications for aging in place; selecting a senior living community; reverse mortgages and reverse purchases; estate sales and appraisals; veterans benefits; and longterm care.

That would be a lot for one person to master.

However, Willard’s skill is in surrounding herself with experts on a particular subject matter.

Willard said she has found “the crème de la crème” to partner with — people who, like her, have the best interests of the seniors in mind.

Willard is busy building her new business’ clientele, but that work primarily entails building trust, she said.

“I’m building relationships with the senior communities and the hospitals’ case managers,” the people who would be in a position to refer clients to her.

Willard said people can find themselves in a relationship with a service provider who is more concerned about the bottom line than providing a service — or declining to.

That last part is important, because Willard sometimes has to help the client figure out what is needed.

“Sometimes they don’t know what they need, and they get overwhelmed and then just shut down,” she said.“Until that person is ready to make that decision,” a supportive hand is required.

Willard shared the best thing she often says is,“What can we do now to prepare you for that time so that it won’t be so overwhelming?”

Willard’s clients often are the adult children of the person who needs her assistance, and she understands why.

“Not everybody has the gift to work with someone who is a senior,” she said.

But whether it’s a recent retiree facing significant life changes or someone in the throes of crisis, education is key, Willard said, so she has created a series of seminars to get the information out.

The “Visits by the Mailbox” free discussion series will be held the first Thursday of each month, beginning April 2, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Mike Fretz Event Center near 43rd Street and Mingo Road.

Preregistration is required.

The name of the series is an homage to Willard’s mother. Wanting to keep in touch with her 10 children, she would write a letter, make 10 copies, and then write something personal for each child at the bottom. She called those letters “a visit by the mailbox.”

When people gather at the mailbox,“they’re more concerned about you as a neighbor,” Willard said.

“They’re not out there trying to sell you something.”

That’s what she expects of her monthly gatherings,

Sharyn Willard’s mother kept in touch with her 10 children with letters she called “a visit by the mailbox.” which will include a panel discussion followed by a Q&A period.

One upcoming presentation will focus on “Living, Dying and Leaving a Legacy.”

Other session topics are: wills, trusts and probate; music for people with dementia; volunteerism and brain health; home modifications for aging in place; selling the family home, estates sales, selecting a senior living community; and downsizing and decluttering.

“It’s about just being candid with people so they can feel safe and comfortable,” Willard said.“At the end of the day, nobody feels like they’re being sold anything.”

Mature Transitions of Tulsa

918-728-6543 • info@MatureTransitionsofTulsa.com • maturetransitionsoftulsa.com

ARE YOU RETIRING SOON? Mark your calendar – Thursday April 2 – 10 AM to 11:30 AM “Visit by the Mailbox” Series – Mature Transitions first educational series for and about senior adults.

If you are planning to retire, or you are faced with a life changing decision – this educational and informative session can help you manage a whole new world of information that you now have to navigate. Our educational series will have guest speakers and panelists available to answer your questions about YOUR life’s transitions.

See us at 10 AM, Thursday April 2nd Mike Fretz Event Center 11545 East 43rd Street

R

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OUTLOOK2020 WORKING FOR THE FUTURE

AAON preparing young people for success T

ulsa-based AAON Inc. is facing its concerns about the availability of qualified talent in the future in just the way you’d expect an innovative manufacturer to: It’s building a better one.

Founded in 1988, AAON engineers, manufactures and sells commercial heating, ventilation and airconditioning equipment.

The company employs nearly 2,000 people at its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Tulsa and has satellite manufacturing operations in Texas and Missouri.

Building a workforce of the future has been challenging, said Stephanie Cameron, AAON’s community relations administrator. The search for solutions led the company to partner with Junior Achievement and the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance. “These organizations help prepare students for the future of work,�

Cameron said.“Students who participate in STEM experiences become real-world problem solvers and are more ready to access highimpact careers.�

As Cameron sees it, everybody wins. By partnering with these organizations,“students are encouraged to experiment, think creatively and explore various career pathways.�

Employees are the face of the partnerships, Cameron said, adding that team members get 24 hours of

paid volunteer hours each year.

AAON partners with Junior Achievement on such activities as JA in a Day at local elementary schools and the JA Inspires career exploration events for middle school students.

The company partners with the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance on summer STEM Camps and various activities throughout the school year.

“Our team members serve as classroom volunteers for JA, and they are a partner in our high school internships,� Cameron said.“Many of our team members volunteer at the TRSA STEM Expo and summer camps.�

For Xan Black, executive director of the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance, working with AAON over the past several years has been a gamechanger. “From TRSA board service, to funding, to hosting students for STEM events, to volunteering at multiple STEM fairs and competitions, AAON has been all in when it comes to working with TRSA to get all students STEM ready,�

Black said.“We couldn’t be more excited about continuing to partner with AAON to engage and inspire the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs for Green Country.�

Erica Irvine, vice president of operations for Junior Achievement of Oklahoma, said her organization gives STEM professionals opportunities to be role models for students to help them understand the benefits of math and science.

AAON Inc. partners with Junior Achievement, mentoring students from elementary to high school. “As we’ve seen the workforce demand grow in this area, we’ve developed partnerships with businesses doing this every day,� Irvine said.“AAON is a model partner for JA in this area, engaging with students from elementary to high school, at an ageappropriate level, inspiring youth to strive for career opportunities in STEM fields.�

AAON knows that diversity and inclusion are key drivers for furthering innovation, productivity and team member engagement. The company has employee resource groups for veterans and women, and these groups are open for any team member to participate in.

AAON was a sponsor of the recent Oklahoma Women in STEM Conference, which gave middle school

and high school girls the opportunity to meet female professionals from STEM fields, learn about their experiences and practice networking.

Others are certainly talking about AAON. Oklahoma Magazine recently named it one of its Great Companies to Work For. AAON has also been named a Mosaic Top Inclusive Workplace and an OK Certified Family Positive Workplace.

Cameron says that although the accolades are nice, AAON will continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of team members and the community. “As a corporate citizen, we strive to address challenges in our community and to be an employer of choice,� she added.

AAON, Inc.

2425 S.Yukon Ave. • Tulsa, OK 74107 • 918-583-6094 • AAON.com/careers

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OUTLOOK2020 ENTERTAINMENT

City offers array of entertaining activities Tulsa-area entertainment

By Michael Smith

I

Tulsa World

t doesn’t matter the city, and it doesn’t matter the child, because at some point every parent is going to hear these words: “I’m bored.

There’s nothing to do!”

But in recent years, more entertainment options have arrived in Tulsa that, for youths, families and adults, seemingly offer a bit of everything to do.

A most recent example is Cinergy Tulsa, which opened last April as Oklahoma’s first all-dine-in cinema, and yet it’s much more than eight auditoriums with recliner seats and a wait staff delivering food and drink.

It’s a 62,000-square-foot entertainment center.

There are 14 lanes of bowling, and there’s an arcade with about 90 games, and that includes virtual reality games and a videogame “ride.”

Hungry? There’s a full menu and bar, and you can order what you want from servers in the movie theaters and the bar, or you can order on tablets for grub and signature cocktails that will be delivered to guests in the bowling and arcade areas.

There’s an activity for every member of the family at Cinergy, including five escape rooms with mysteries to solve.

Then there’s Main Event, where you go bowling with your buddies or choose from a multitude of video games. But also included under one roof: multilevel laser tag, billiards, shuffleboard and gravity ropes.

A veteran in the market at offering a little bit of everything is Incredible Pizza, home to go-

•Cinergy • Tulsa, 6808 S. Memorial Drive, cinergy.com •Main • Event, 7830 S. Santa Fe Ave. West, mainevent.com •Incredible • Pizza, 8314 E. 71st St., incrediblepizza.com •Circle • Cinema, 10 S. Lewis Ave., circlecinema.org •Admiral • Twin Drive-In, 7355 E. Easton St., admiraltwindrivein.com •Broken • Arrow Warren Theatre, 1700 Aspen Creek Drive, regmovies.com •AMC • Southroads 20, 4923 E. 41st St., amctheatres.com •AMC • Owasso, 12601 E. 86th St. North, Owasso •Cinemark • Tulsa, 10802 E. 71st St., cinemark.com •Cinemark • Broken Arrow, 1801 E. Hillside Drive, Broken Arrow •Starworld • 20, 10301 S. Memorial Drive, bbtheatres.com •Eton • Square, 8421 E. 61st St., etonsquare6cinema.com Cinergy Tulsa offers bowling and so much more at its entertainment center. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World file

karts, “spring town” trampoline zone, a roller coaster, laser tag, glow golf and bumper cars, as well as the buffet that seems to go on for a mile.

At Incredible Pizza, you’ll make a lot of little ones happy.

For those who don’t need so many choices, there’s always going to the movies, and in Tulsa, there is good fortune in the fact that the city has a couple of the most unique movie-going options available.

For example: You can see Oscar-winning movies, acclaimed indie flicks and the best foreign films and documentaries at Circle Cinema, the cool, exposed-brick theater that’s been screening movies since 1928.

But it’s also the best that a true “art-house cinema” has to

offer: This is where you can see a World War II documentary, and Tulsa veterans are on hand afterward to tell of their experiences.

The Circle is where midnight movies can get raucous, like the annual New Year’s Eve showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and it’s where annual “White Christmas” sing-along shows have become community traditions that sell out every holiday.

And it’s where Oklahoma filmmakers choose to show their films and talk to audiences, and where our state’s stars are celebrated with their own medallions on the Circle’s sidewalk “Walk of Fame.”

Just as iconic as Circle Cinema, and also resurgent in that “what’s old is new again” kind

“The most rewarding part of running my business is carrying on the family legacy.”

Brooke Hamilton NPI Member since 1993

of way, is the Admiral Twin Drive-In. Everyone should load up at least once each season and head to the drive-in for doublefeature fun. Many in the U.S. no longer have this alternative, but Tulsa has been enjoying this sweet piece of Americana since 1951.

When it comes to amenities, the Broken Arrow Warren Theatre has been providing an experience that for more than five years has been making discriminating adult audiences smile.

Most unique is the upstairs areas with two auditoriums and two balconies for those 21-and-older only, with a wait staff to deliver dinner, appetizers and dessert to go with the movie, as well as adult bever-

ages from the bar.

But wait, there’s more at the Warren: recliners, heated seating, old-school waterfall draperies, fireplaces, art deco stylings.

It’s a unique experience that’s good for a birthday or anniversary or anytime.

You’ll also find recliners and a bar at AMC Southroads 20; recliners and a restaurant inside Cinemark Tulsa; an MX4D auditorium at Starworld 20, with movie seats that let you smell, feel and even get hit with the action; and bargain prices for first-run films at Eton Square, Cinemark Broken Arrow and AMC Owasso that are familyfriendly.

Michael Smith 918-581-8479 michael.smith @tulsaworld.com Twitter: @michaelsmithTW

Medical Marijuana Dispensary & Can-Tek Labs CBD Retail Shoppe Ye Olde Apothecary is working to establish a Compassionate Care Program for patients in need, like cancer patients, the elderly and veterans within our community.

Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe’s Compassionate Care Program will provide medication to qualifying patients who do not have the resources to pay the cost of treatment.

If you are a patient experiencing financial difficulties, we encourage you to submit an application to yeoldeapothecaryshoppe@gmail.com If you would like to help those in need, search Modern Medical Solution Assistance on gofundme.com

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TULSA WORLD

OUTLOOK2020 ARTS

Women to take center stage in local arts

By James D. Watts Jr.

T

Tulsa World

he year 2020 marks the centennial of women in the United States earning the right to vote. So it is not too surprising that a number of the shows and exhibits planned for this year by Tulsa’s performing and visual arts organizations put women front and center.

Case in point: Philbrook Museum of Art will present “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists” on June 28- Sept. 20.

This landmark exhibit is the first major thematic show to explore the artistic achievements of indigenous women artists.

Organized in 2019 by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, with contributions from Philbrook Museum of Art, “Hearts of Our People” features works by more than 100 artists from the United States and Canada spanning more than 1,000 years of history. Philbrook will be the final stop on the show’s tour.

The museum’s other major show of 2020 will be a little more local in focus. “Tulsa Treasures: Private Collections in Public” is designed to showcase the arts, crafts and other objects our fellow citizens have created, while examining the reasons why people are drawn to collecting certain things. It will run March 15-May 24.

Gilcrease Museum, which currently has on display “Memories & Inspirations: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African-American Art,” will open “Weaving History into Art: The Enduring Legacy of Shan Goshorn.” Goshorn, a Tulsa artist and member of the Eastern

Tulsa Ballet performs “The Nutcracker.” A new production is set to debut in December 2021. Tulsa World file

Band Cherokee nation, won international acclaim for her basketry, which used traditional Cherokee weaving techniques to create pieces that addressed issues of American Indian sovereignty, identity, history and resilience. The exhibit will be on display June 25 through Jan. 31, 2021.

Tulsa Ballet’s three full-length ballets planned for 2020 all center around female characters.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Vendetta: A Mafia Story,” running

March 26-29, is about the rise of a young woman who takes over the control of her family’s criminal enterprises when her father is killed in a gangland shoot-out.

The company will present the world premiere of a new ballet about the ultimate femme fatale, the Gypsy temptress “Carmen.” Resident choreographer Ma Cong will choreograph this tale of passion and betrayal, as the cigarette girl Carmen toys with the affections of the

soldier Don Jose, with tragic consequences. “Carmen” debuts Oct. 29-Nov. 1.

And while the titular character is definitely male, Tulsa Ballet’s annual production of “The Nutcracker” focuses on a young girl and her Christmas Eve dream of magic and romance.

This will be the final year this particular production, created

by Artistic Director Marcello Angelini, will be performed, as the company will unveil a new “Nutcracker” in 2021. Perfor-

mances are Dec. 11-20.

Other productions will include the mixed-bill programs “Signature Series,” May 7-10, that will feature works by Cong, Itzik Galili and Penny Saunders; and “Creations in Studio K,” Sept. 17-27, which will feature three world-premiere ballets by Craig Davidson, Yuri Yanowsky and Luciano Cannito.

Tulsa Opera’s season has been all about fascinating women, from the fiery “Carmen” to the innocent “Madama Butterfly.”

Note Listen up: Technology is making hearing loss more treatable then ever r. Chris Gilbert of Gilbert’s Audiology wants to make sure you’ve heard the good news: Hearing aid technology is better than ever.

D

Gilbert, focus on the unique needs of each patient with superior customer service and technology tailored to the patient’s hearing loss and lifestyle.

Today’s hearing aids “automatically adapt for all environments in ways that optimize the user’s ability to understand speech in all types of environments,” Dr. Gilbert said.

Having a full audiological evaluation is the first step in determining the degree and type of hearing loss and what technology is most appropriate, Dr. Gilbert said.

Gilbert’s Audiology’s hearing aids are Bluetooth-enabled, which lets users stream audio from smartphones for telephone conversations, audio for television and audio from tablets/iPads, etc.

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is a common complaint for people with hearing loss, and hearing aids can change brain behavior in a way to combat symptoms.

“Smartphone or tablet users can now use apps created for their hearing aids to make changes to volume, speech clarity, reduce noise and even narrow the focus of the hearing aids,”Dr. Gilbert said.

Gilbert’s Audiology is a third-generation, family-owned and -operated business. Dr. Gilbert and his wife, Dr. Jennifer

Unfortunately, some people never seek help. Dr. Gilbert said the stigma of hearing loss and hearing aids should never be barriers to better hearing.

“Hearing loss is always more noticeable than hearing aids,” he said,“and because we offer a trial period, a person with hearing loss has literally nothing to lose when trying hearing aids.”

Gilbert’s Audiology 2424 E. 21st St., Suite 160, Tulsa, OK 74114 918-744-0440 • gilbertsaudiologyinc.com

AUDIOLOGY & HEARING AID CENTER, INC

Since 1959

Dr. Christopher Gilbert & Dr. Jennifer Gilbert

2424 E. 21st | Tulsa | 918.744.0440 1006 N. York St | Muskogee | 918.682.9606 Bartlesville | 918.744.0441 • Claremore | 918.744.0441

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Sunday, March 1, 2020 O25

OUTLOOK2020 ARTS

Arlo Guthrie, son of folk legend Woody Guthrie, performs at the 20th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah. He will perform in May in Tulsa.

JOSH ALLEN/America-Tribune

The next woman to be featured is “Emmeline,” an opera composed by Tulsa Opera’s Artistic Director Tobias Picker.

Based on the novel by Judith Rossner, “Emmeline” is about a young woman who is forced to give her illegitimate child up for adoption, only to fall from grace when family secrets are revealed decades later.

Rossner’s novel, and the opera’s original productions, were set in 19th-century Maine.

However, this new production, directed by Tara Faircloth, will be set during the mid-20th century. Performances are May 1 and 3.

Later this year, the company will stage Verdi’s classic drama “Rigoletto” on Oct. 9 and 11, with Oklahoma native Sarah Coburn returning to sing the role of Gilda, the daughter of the title character who becomes a pawn in a deadly game that pits her court jester father against his employer, the rakish Duke of Mantua.

The Tulsa Symphony will go from “war” to “peace” to close out its 2019-2020 season. The orchestra will perform the John Williams score to the original

“Star Wars” film, “A New Hope,” as the film is shown on a gigantic screen. This concert, which is nearly sold out by now, will be March 14.

The orchestra will then welcome folk singer Arlo Guthrie on May 15 for a concert titled “Peace, Love and Arlo.” Guthrie, son of the legendary Woody Guthrie, will perform some of his best-known songs, such as “Coming into Los Angeles,” “The Motorcycle Song” and “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre.”

In between these concerts will be a re-imagining of the “Three Bs” of classical music, as the orchestra will perform music by Beethoven, Brahms and Bloch, whose Suite for Viola and Orchestra will feature the orchestra’s principal violist Jeffery Cowen as soloist. This concert will be April 18.

The Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College will begin the search for a new music director later this year; Andrés Franco, who has led the orchestra for the past five years, is stepping down to devote more time to his work with Pittsburgh Symphony.

Franco will remain through

Expansive gardens surround the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa. Tulsa World file

the end of the current season, which includes the pops program “You’re Doing Fine, Oklahoma!,” April 3-4, which will incorporate the third iteration of the orchestra’s “Tulsa Sings” vocal competition; and the patriotic showcase “Fourth on the Third,” July 3, as well as two classics concerts — the March 14 concert that will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, along with principal trumpet Stephen Goforth as soloist for the Hummel Trumpet Concerto; and what is believed to be the first performance in Tulsa of Gustav Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth),” April 25, with guest vocalists mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski and tenor John David Nevergall.

James D. Watts Jr. 918-581-8478 james.watts@tulsaworld.com Twitter: watzworld

Right fit: Metro Christian Academy invites families to try it on for size

J

ust as a child won’t function well in a pair of shoes that don’t fit, Dr. Keith Currivean, the head of school at Metro Christian Academy, knows that the right-size school can mean success or failure for a student.

Metro, an independent, interdenominational school that opened in 1983, serves about 925 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, he said.

But size is never the only factor in finding the right fit.

“At the heart of Metro is a sense of faith and family,” Currivean said. “Students, parents, faculty and staff all work together to educate and nurture students to reach their full potential.

“Our students compete academically, artistically and athletically at the local, regional, state and national levels,”he said.

In fact, Currivean said, the school is

celebrating state titles in high school volleyball and football this year for the first time in the school’s history.

Jeannie Norris said that ability to compete through the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association was one factor in transferring her daughter to Metro from a large public school three years ago.

Other factors were Metro’s small student-to-teacher ratio, its integration of faith and learning, and her daughter’s ability to “be seen.”

“She used to be part of a class that numbered right around 1,200,” Norris said. Now,“she’s not one of many; she’s Abi.” “We like to say around here that you can tell a lot about something by its name,” Currivean said.“Metro is where we are, academy is what we are, and Christian is who and how and why we are.”

Soprano Sarah Coburn performs with the Tulsa Symphony at the Performing Arts Center. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file

GET TO KNOW METRO CHRISTIAN ACADEMY METRO CHRISTIAN ACADEMY IS PLEASED TO OFFER WEEKLY TOURS FOR PROSPECTIVE FAMILIES INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR FULLY ACCREDITED, COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL SERVING STUDENTS IN PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE THROUGH CHRIST IT’S

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Metro Christian Academy 6363 S.Trenton Ave., Tulsa, OK 74136 918-745-9868 • metroca.com

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O26 Sunday, March 1, 2020

TULSA WORLD

OUTLOOK2020 GARDENING

Use of native plants taking root in state One example is Gathering Place, where tall grasses wave, wildflowers bloom

forests, while others are suited more to the high, open plains, Martin said.

Sixteen acres at Gathering Place is planted with a mix designed for the park by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

By Kelly Bostian at the University of Texas at Tulsa World Austin, and it’s all there to explore, Martin said.

Wildlife and habitat conservaPeople will immediately notion efforts aren’t just for farms tice flowers like Indian blanket, and wildlife areas anymore. pink evening primrose flowers In urban areas, homeowners, and, of course, a few varieties schools, parks and businesses of milkweed, which serves as a are bringing back native plant nectar source and host plant for landscapes among the strips of monarch butterflies to reproconcrete. duce, she said.

The idea is to help with many Gathering Place staff always of the same things conservation is ready to help with quespractices achieve on large rural A pearl crescent butterfly explores flowers for nectar at Gathering Place in Tulsa. KELLY BOSTIAN/Tulsa World file tions about plant identification areas, like halting soil erosion, and landscaping, and the staff curbing the spread of invasive letting your yard grow up in tional programs, and it issues works with other groups, such plants, helping pollinators and “weeds.” Many of the plants a weekly “Growing To Gather” as Tulsa Master Gardeners and birds, conserving water, and that now take over yards and email newsletter about all the Oklahoma Native Plant cutting back on fertilizer or abandoned spaces — including Society, to help people identify things involving native plants other pollutants that run off Bermuda grass — are not native plants and learn what will work and horticultural going on at into valued waters. plants. the park. near their home, Martin said.

Nowhere in Tulsa is there Some flowers and grasses that Oklahoma is home to 2,500 “The main thing to remember a more visible example of the make a yard look pretty might when planning a native prairie kind of concerted effort than at native species of plants, and 400 of those can be found at the not be beneficial for the birds or area or native plant garden is Gathering Place, 2650 S. John the bees, Martin said. to research the plants, the best Williams Way, where the park’s park, Martin said.

“Certain insects and certain As she put it: “We’ve got a lot time of year to plant them and boundaries are immediately birds prefer different flower growing on.” to make sure they will be in an evident along Riverside Drive types and different types of The advantages with naarea that has enough sunlight with tall grasses waving and plants,” she said. tive plants are multifold, she and soil drainage or irrigation,” wildflowers blooming.

While native plants often she said.

As the spring planting season said. The plants are adapted to require less tender loving “In the Growing to Gather approaches, the park can serve Oklahoma soil types and crazy weather patterns that hop from care, the urban landscaper or email thread, they can learn a as a living example to help home gardener who wants to torrential storms to periods of lot about what we’re doing in Tulsans along their own path go native will need to do some drought. Native grasses and the park, what flowers are in toward creating a native plant homework. plants also tend to set deeper bloom, the characteristics of landscape.

Plenty of help is available roots that prevent erosion, and those flowers, what areas are “You can drive down Riverlocally, and the plants and seeds good and where to come see side or look around and match they require less mowing, waare available at most greentering and fertilization. them in the park ... There is a what we have to what might houses. Homeowners can keep “It makes it easier as a garlot to learn, and they can get a work in your area. It’s a nice it simple to start, she said. dener, and it is beneficial for little bit each time.” plot that people can come and The main thing is to choose study,” said Stacie Martin, direc- native pollinators and other plants that are suited for your tor of horticulture at Gathering native insects,” Martin said.

Kelly Bostian 918-581-8357 It should be noted that going location. Some native plants do kelly.bostian@tulsaworld.com Place. well in shaded, wet lowlands or native isn’t a matter of just The park will host educaTwitter: @KellyBostian

Native plant info? Here are some places to start GATHERING PLACE Info: gatheringplace.org/horticulture What to do: Sign up for the weekly Growing to Gather horticulture newsletter. Watch for educational events including Nature Day coming up during Spring Break.

Contact: info@gatheringplace.org or 918-779-1000 OKIES FOR MONARCHS Info: okiesformonarchs.org What to do: Check lists of what to plant and where to buy seeds and plants, watch for events and seminars, register your efforts and connect with others through social media links.

OKLAHOMA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY Info: oknativeplants.org What to do: Join in at Fabulous Wildflower Fridays at 5:30 p.m. every third Friday of each month at Panera Bread, 41st Street and Hudson Avenue.

Contact: onpsinfo@gmail.com TULSA BOTANIC GARDEN Info: tulsabotanic.org What to do: Visit at 3900 Tulsa Botanic Drive, explore the grounds and check out the calendar of educational events.

Contact: 918-289-0330 TULSA GARDEN CENTER Info: tulsagardencenter.org What to do: The Garden Center offers a Native Plant Certification Program, classes open to the public and numerous lectures, plant shows and other events. Sign up for the newsletter.

Contact: 918-576-5155 TULSA MASTER GARDENERS/ OSU COOPERATIVE EXTENSION Info: tulsamastergardeners.org What to do: Ask for advice, join a class, research the OSU fact sheet database, submit soil tests and watch for community events.

Contact: 918-746-3701, mg@tulsamastergardeners.org

Zarrow Pointe is a beehive of activity

T

ulsans might think of winding down in their later years, but Zarrow Pointe, a senior living community in south Tulsa, wants residents to live vibrant lives as long as they are able.

Zarrow Pointe opened as a healthcare center in 1986. Today, it offers independent and assisted-living apartments and long-term and skilled-nursing care, as well as its popular independent-living villas, which provide residents a twobedroom, two-bathroom home with a two-car garage, plus all the perks of living on the 40-acre campus.

Villas include weekly housekeeping and linen service, paid cable television, professional landscaping, home security systems, 24-hour medical care and 24-hour security.

Zarrow Campus features a full health club with indoor racquet and squash courts and a full gymnasium, an outdoor swimming pool and a heated

indoor pool, a one-third-mile walking trail, outdoor tennis and basketball courts, and a playground for young visitors.

Zarrow Campus even has a private school for pre-K through fifth grade.

“Students perform for residents, and some residents volunteer at the school,” said Valerie Kramer, Zarrow Pointe’s director of marketing.“There’s also a garden that the school tends.

They grow produce to donate to the food bank. A few of our resident gardeners volunteer for this program, as well.”

Zarrow Pointe has roughly 200 employees who care for the community’s 200-plus residents.

“We pride ourselves on our care and having a campus that doesn’t feel like a senior community,” Kramer said.“We truly feel like we’re good friends and family with each other. We love each other, and you can just feel it.”

The Villas

at Zarrow Pointe

The villas are beautiful patio homes that support your active lifestyle —without the worries of maintenance and housework.

• Three models from 1600 to 2200 square feet

• Indoor and outdoor pools

• Paid cable

• Gated park with 1/3 mile walking trail

• One meal a day

• Weekly housekeeping

• Two dining venues

• Professional landscaping

• 2 Bed, 2 Bath, 2 Car Garage Villas

• Independent Living, Assisted Living, Long Term Care, and Skilled Care Available

• Paid health club membership

Schedule Your Villa Tour TodaY! Limited Availability!

Call 918-496-8333 or visit ZarrowPointe.org

Zarrow Pointe 2025 E. 71st St., Tulsa, OK 74136 918-496-8333 • zarrowpointe.org

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

918-496-8333 2025 E. 71st Street on Tulsa’s vibrant Zarrow Campus

TULSA WORLD

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Sunday, March 1, 2020 O27

OUTLOOK2020 education

Virtual schooling options grow in area School districts beginning to implement blended and full-time virtual programs

classroom, not substituting for a teacher but to enhance what a teacher is doing, the classroom is better served,” he said.

He’s more hesitant on fulltime virtual learning because

By Kyle Hinchey research hasn’t proven it to be Tulsa World “extremely successful” for most students. At-risk students may multitude of virtual be an exception. schooling options have Although full-time online become available to programs are available for Tulsa-area students in anyone, many are geared torecent years — and not just at ward students who struggle in charters. conventional classroom settings More traditional school disor have unorthodox schedules. tricts across the metro are beThey’re meant to be flexible and ginning to implement blended provide independence, requirand full-time virtual programs ing participants to be self-moin response to the rise of online tivated and adept at regulating juggernauts like Epic Charter their time.

Schools.

Many students enrolled in Union and Sapulpa are some the full-time virtual program of the latest districts to allow at Tulsa Learning Academy, an students to work entirely from alternative school within TPS, home, with each launching didn’t fit in well at their original virtual academies during the schools due to issues ranging 2019-20 school year. The academies are equipped with onsite Delano Lopez, one of many students who have participated in the virtual program at Tulsa Learning Academy, works on from social anxiety to bullying.

Now, they can work almost computer labs and certified an assignment at the alternative school’s computer lab. Mike Simons/Tulsa World file entirely from home while still teachers for virtual students to about 4,500 students accessing It’s really changing the frontier tional school districts venturing benefiting from instructors take advantage of as needed. into virtual education. of how teachers teach, how who are available to help at the A few others, including Tulsa virtual courses last fall.

The framework includes content is consumed and where Tulsa Tech Associate Supernorth Tulsa school’s computer Public Schools, have offered guidelines for selecting and intendent Robert Franklin said that content is consumed.” lab. full-time and blended virtual training teachers, recommendaThese programs also can Tulsa Learning Academy also options for years. Sand Springs the recent emergence of virtual tions for identifying students lower dropout rates at tradiprogramming improves the features blended virtual opopened a virtual academy allikely to succeed in a blended/ tional districts by giving stutions for students in grades six most a decade ago for students overall quality of education in dents another option to quickly virtual environment and guide- through 12. in third grade or higher but ex- the Tulsa metro by providing make up credits before it’s too lines for choosing beneficial This year, the school added panded its services to those in educators with more avenues technology resources. late, he said. to reach students. a third option with no online kindergarten through second Several districts, such as Derald Glover, assistant di“I think it’s a game-changer,” component for students who grade this school year. rector of the Oklahoma Associ- Union, have incorporated Franklin said. “Just like how need help but don’t respond More than 20 local districts ation of School Administrators, elements of the guidelines for you don’t change a belt on well to virtual or traditional belong to a consortium that said he believes the majority of their developing virtual acadyour car or a belt on your learning. This option is posallows them to offer virtual emies. lawnmower these days without local districts will offer virtual sible through Tulsa Beyond, an courses at a significantly disGlover said the framework going to YouTube or some kind programming in the next five expansive TPS project aimed at counted price. The Tulsa Tech emphasizes blended learning, years. of virtual space to see how the re-imagining how high schools eSchool Network launched which includes a mix of inIn August, the Cooperative operate. nine years ago due to impend- routing of that belt might work. person and online instruction, Council for Oklahoma School ing legislation and a need for a Similarly in the education because of its versatility.

Administration launched the new kind of learning platform. space, even in the most tradiKyle Hinchey 918-581-8451 “When you can utilize the Blended Learning Framework The network has had consider- tional models, there’s so much kyle.hinchey@tulsaworld.com augmentation with technology. to help guide the influx of tradi- power of technology in the able growth since then, with Twitter: @kylehinchey

A

Surveillance, security company meets needs of changing world

W

hen Ray Jarvis started Jarvis International Intelligence in 1982, life was a lot simpler. So was crime. As the world has become more sophisticated, so have criminals.

Jarvis charges an hourly rate that varies dramatically based on the work. Simple surveillance might cost as little as $65 an hour. An investigative audit of a business’ financial books for determining theft might cost $200 an hour or even much more.

And so has Jarvis’ company.

Jarvis International is all about surveillance and security. Facets of the business today include investigations, training, security guards, security camera installation, technical surveillance countermeasures, and research and development of products for the U. S. military and other federal government or local law enforcement agencies.

Jarvis’ training academy offers courses designed for U.S. military units and intelligence agencies, foreign governments, and large and small businesses. Jarvis can provide custom training solutions and has an extensive course list that includes training in electronics, explosives, covert operations and active shooter response.

Jarvis said much of the company’s investigative work involves detecting and investigating the theft of intellectual property. Other components are corporate embezzlement, insurance fraud and domestic cases.

The company also has a retail component, offering products for law enforcement and the private sector.

These include audio intercept devices, covert entry tools, covert and overt video surveillance products, and a multitude of training aids. Obviously, some products are restricted to law enforcement, Jarvis said.

Ray Jarvis started the company in 1982. A lot has changed since then.

“Our investigative clients are overwhelmingly businesses of all sizes,” he said.

The company also has a Federal Firearms License and deals in firearms occasionally.

8321 E. 61st St., Suite 201, Tulsa, OK 74133 918-437-1100 • jarvisinternational.com

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Investigations Intellectual Property, Insurance, Domestic, Due Diligence & Pre Employment

Law Enforcement Private e Sector Military Training Contact Jarvis For Dates & Times

Jarvisinternational.com

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8321 E 61st St, Suite 201, Tulsa, OK 74133-1909

tulsaworld.com

O28 Sunday, March 1, 2020

TULSA WORLD

OUTLOOK2020

Go

The Golden Driller

big

Standing 76 feet tall, the driller statue towers over Expo Square, 4145 E. 21st St., and serves as a tribute to Tulsa’s one-time “oil capital of the world” status. This version came in 1966, after the first of a couple of temporary statues was constructed in 1953 for the International Petroleum Exposition.

at home Tulsa, beyond boast must-see attractions

B

By Michael Smith • Tulsa World ig things are going on in Tulsa — most of them statues, some of them outside of Tulsa County — all of a size that would inspire people to say, “Hey, that’s pretty big!”

The Golden Driller stands 76 feet tall and, even shirtless, weighs 43,500 pounds. Tulsa World file

Oral Roberts University’s trademark Praying Hands sculpture has been greeting visitors since 1991. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World file

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World file

The oversized Liquid Life bottle

The praying hands At 60 feet tall and weighing in at 30 tons, when it was constructed it was the largest cast bronze sculpture in the world. The hands can be found at the entrance to Oral Roberts University, 7777 S. Lewis Ave., where they have been greeting visitors since 1991.

Statue at Chua Tam-Bao Buddhist Temple Those arriving to meditate or to simply enjoy a relaxing walk on the grounds of the Buddhist Temple at 16933 E. 21st St. in east Tulsa will see multiple statues, with the largest standing 49 feet tall.

Tulsa World file

Buck Atom Space Cowboy The “space cowboy” is set up at Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios, 1347 E. 11th St., which was once a Pemco service station. The 21-foot-tall fiberglass cowboy holding a rocket ship joins the brotherhood of many “muffler men”-inspired statues that can be found along Route 66.

Standing Brave

The Rotary Plaza globe

Route 66’s Blue Whale

While not as large as other items on this list, as far as globes go, a 12foot bronze one is pretty big. It was installed when the new Rotary Plaza transformed the southwest corner of the Williams Center Green, a park at Third Street and Boston Avenue.

One of Oklahoma’s most famous Route 66 attractions is the 80-foot-long “blue whale,” with a picnic area that opened in 1972 at 2600 N. Oklahoma 66 in Catoosa. Every Tulsan has to go there at least once; even Paul McCartney did when he made a Route 66 trek.

New Year. New YOU!

You’ll find the 25-foot tall bottle of Liquid Life at the health supplement company’s facility at 12320 E. Skelly Drive. While every Tulsan may know its location, even those just driving through can easily view the bottle when driving on Interstate 44.

Northeast of Tulsa, “Standing Brave” stands more than 50 feet tall and has greeted travelers who exit the Will Rogers Turnpike to visit the Big Cabin Travel Plaza since 2001. According to the plaza website, the statue is a combination of steel pipe, rebar, wire mesh, expanding foam insulation and fiberglas.

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Sunday, March 1, 2020 O29

OUTLOOK2020

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World file

‘River Giants’ at Gathering Place Inside the Chapman Foundations Adventure Playground you’ll find the “Land of the River Giants,” with a 35-foot-long paddle fish and a pair of 21-foot-tall blue herons that are a nod to the wildlife indigenous to the Arkansas River.

Tulsa Botanic Garden’s ‘spring giant’ Enter the Children’s Discovery Garden and encounter the 15-foot-tall “spring giant” at the Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation Stream Valley. You’ll see children explore inside the spring giant’s head (where stalactites are hanging) and peer through its mouth. One of Tulsa’s newest “big” attractions is at 3900 Tulsa Botanic Drive, west of the intersection of 43rd Street North and North 52nd West Avenue, northwest of downtown Tulsa.

IAN MAULe/Tulsa World file

The ‘aviation arrow’ The original sign was constructed to help guide Charles Lindbergh on his 1927 visit to Tulsa (as well as other aviators heading to McIntyre Airport, then the city’s leading private airstrip).

Located at the top of Reservoir Hill in the area of Young Street and Elwood Avenue, it was re-created with more than 100 tons of crushed marble through the Vision 2025 Phase III Neighborhood Fund project, and it now points toward Tulsa International Airport.

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World file

The dentist’s very big tooth

Totem Pole in Foyil

Randy McCormick has said he was always a fan of Tulsa landmarks like the Golden Driller while growing up, and for 18 years he’s enjoyed his own landmark — and so have other Tulsans.

They first noticed McCormick’s 650-pound fiberglassand-concrete tooth in front of his dental practice at 5505 S. Peoria Ave., and when he moved to new offices at 1701 S. Peoria Ave., the tooth was extracted and taken to the new location.

According to the National Park Service, artist Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park is the oldest and largest example of a folk art environment in the state, with multiple pieces but the largest being the 90-foot totem pole said to be the world’s largest. It’s just a couple of miles off Route 66.

The Pops soda bottle

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World file

It may be closer to Oklahoma City, but many from northeastern Oklahoma have found their way to Pops 66 Soda Ranch, where you will find hundreds of flavors of soda, from old favorites to weird ones the kids like to dare each other to try. This is also where you’ll find a 66-foot-tall steel bottle sculpture out front that’s as cool to look at during the day as at night, when it’s lit up.

Give back to the caregiver in your life

T

here are more than 46 million Americans aged 65 and older expected to increase to almost 90 million by 2050. So, more and more people who can’t afford to pay for professional care are shouldering the task and keeping their loved ones comfortable, happy and healthy.

Legend Senior Living encourages everyone to celebrate the caregiver in their life and say “thank you” to the army of selfless people who give their time, often at the expense of their own priorities.

Celebrate caregivers and show your appreciation

A perfectly effective and easy option is to simply tell a caregiver “thank you.” Beyond that, there are many ways to show your appreciation:

Post about it on social media

Social media is a great way to let others know just how much the caregiver in your life means to you.

This not only lets the caregiver know that they’re appreciated, but it spreads awareness about the vital role that caregivers play in our society.

Send your caregiver a small gift

Gifts can be a practical way of helping them make time for themselves. For example, a massage or trip to the spa — even a simple tray of baked goods or a few beauty products — will go a long way toward letting the caregiver in your life know that you care about them.

Write a letter detailing their importance

Some people appreciate gifts, but for other people a sincere letter is worth much more. It doesn’t have to be flowery. Just list your thoughts and gratitude on paper and tell them as plainly and sincerely as you can that you’re thankful for their sacrifices.

Connect the caregiver in your life

Caregiving can be a lonely experience. Let a caregiver know they’re not alone by putting them in touch with other caregivers. Legend Senior Living has many caring associates who are always on hand at its Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care communities.

Being able to talk freely with someone who understands what you’re going through is extremely therapeutic, and can alleviate the alienation caregivers sometimes feel.

Legend at Tulsa Hills 701 W. 71st St. S., Tulsa, OK 74132 918-588-3600 • legendseniorliving.com

Call Today To SChedule a PerSonal Tour

LEGEND AT TULSA HILLS

701 W 71st St. S | Tulsa, OK 74132 | PH: 918-716-6375

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

tulsaworld.com

O30 Sunday, March 1, 2020

TULSA WORLD

THURSDAY, MARCH 19

Allergy and Immunology Join Warren Clinic specialist Dr. Weyman Lam to learn more about various types of allergies as well as asthma, sinus issues and other related conditions in adults and children. Ask your questions and learn about available care and treatment options.

Weyman Lam, M.D.

THURSDAY, APRIL 9

Neurology and Movement Disorders Join Dr. Kristin King of Warren Clinic Neurology for a discussion of various neurological conditions and movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body disease, tremors, dystonia, ataxia and more.

Kristin King, M.D.

THURSDAY, APRIL 30

Gastroenterology Join Warren Clinic specialist Dr. Andrew Crawford for an interactive discussion about gastrointestinal concerns. Ask your questions and learn about the latest treatments for conditions related to the stomach, esophagus, pancreas, liver and colon. This session will also focus on the topic of screening colonoscopies and the importance of preventative care.

Andrew Crawford, D.O.

THURSDAY, MAY 14

Emotional Health Stress, anxiety and depression can affect an individual’s well-being and have an impact on overall health, work and family life. Dr. Katherine Godwin from Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital will discuss common behavioral health conditions, their signs and symptoms, and ways to manage and treat them.

Katherine Godwin, M.D.

THURSDAY, JUNE 18

Dermatology and Skin Cancer Join Warren Clinic dermatologist and Mohs surgeon Dr. Johnathan J. Ledet to learn about caring for the health and appearance of your skin. Topics will include the prevention, detection and treatment of skin cancer, allergyrelated conditions affecting the skin, and more.

LOCATION: Saint Francis Hospital

Space is limited for these free Education Center Program – 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. events. Reservations are required.

6161 South Yale Avenue MODERATOR: Dr. Kenneth Piper To make a reservation, please call Tulsa, Oklahoma 918-494-1448 or register online East side of hospital building at saintfrancis.com/healthtalks. (access Warren Way from 61st Street)

TIME: Refreshments – 5:30 p.m.

Johnathan J. Ledet, M.D.