Sunday, July 6, 2025

Library Booksale is Back for 2022

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Volunteers set out the colored balloons denoting the different types of books available on the tables at the 2020 Booksale at the Oklahoma Expo Hall at the State Fairgrounds.

Story and OU story scans by Darl DeVault, Contributing Editor

Seniors who prefer books in the world of digital access will descend on the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds for its huge annual free two-day Friends of the Metro Library Booksale 2022 on February 26 and 27. As thousands of book lovers gather in the Oklahoma Expo Hall, 3213 Wichita Walk, the sale provides hundreds of big print books printed with larger point size fonts to make it easier to read if you have weak eyesight and audiobooks.
“We are grateful for the way our Friends Booksale continues to be a fixture in the community for acquiring great, accessible books, supporting libraries and sharing a love of literacy,” said Tatianna Canon, vice president of communications and membership for the Friends. “The Friends Booksale is truly a local institution, and we are thankful for the support we receive to make it successful each year. The Booksale is one of the many ways the Friends organization works diligently to support local libraries and help them thrive.”
The most significant difference this year is customers must be a member of the nonprofit Friends of the Metro Library before the sale to come to the Friday ‘member’s only’ Pre-sale. Memberships and tickets will not be sold at the door this year to cut down on volunteer exposure to the crowd.
Due to the changing public health concerns surrounding COVID-19, the Friends will require all volunteers and guests over age 2 to wear a mask while assisting with and attending the book sale. Capacity requirements will be implemented as well, to keep patrons safe.
Safety updates will be communicated clearly in advance of the sale on Facebook, Twitter, and membership emails leading up to the event. Additionally, with the unexpected nature of the pandemic, the latest announcements and event information can be found at www.supportmls.org/fol/booksale.
The free admission annual sale opens to the public Saturday, Feb 26, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., providing a diverse selection of paperback and hardcover books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and more for every demographic of customers.
This year, the sale’s theme is “Dive into a Good Book with Us.” The books feature a wide range of subjects—including fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, biographies, medical, westerns, romance, children’s, encyclopedias, reference and foreign language books.
In the General Area, hardback books are one dollar each and paperbacks and magazines are 50 cents each. Collectors go for the Items in the Better Books Room, which vary in price, mostly under $5.
The sale raises money to support the Metropolitan Library System (https://supportmls.org/fol/). In its 41-year run, the Friends have given more than $4.9 million in grants to the system.
All of this is due to the tireless efforts of hundreds of volunteers each year. With 800,000 books available, the sale becomes the largest bookstore in Oklahoma for three days ending Sunday, February 27 – 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Customers shop for many reasons. Some are trying to select bestsellers, classics, collectibles and research books needed for school. Others seek to complete personal libraries in certain subjects, while parents strive to enhance their children’s reading exposure.
Selective shoppers are advised to volunteer or join the nonprofit to ensure the best possible purchasing opportunity. Volunteers helping this year will be treated to the best possible selection opportunity available by having access to the sale on Thursday for a special volunteers-only session.
Those who become members for $15 ahead of time can shop a Presale from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25. Held the day before the sale goes public, members are invited to first access. Children 11 and under accompanied by an adult are free.
After 41 years, the sale is well established on the literary sale calendar for customers from all over Oklahoma, surrounding states and region. Book lovers line up all three days awaiting the 9 a.m. opening.
The multi-day event attracts more than 10,000 book lovers. Each year, a quick parking lot survey shows many of those customers are from out of state, coming to Oklahoma for the vast selection.
In some ways, the diverse selection offered represents a snapshot of high-quality current American publishing with the bonus that everything is available for purchase.
The Friends offer a year-round Amazon store to access their selection at Amazon.com. They also provide ‘Buy the Box’ sales where volunteers package and seal books by genre – buy a box of romance, mystery or children’s books – and enjoy the surprises inside.
The shopping is so robust at the sale volunteers offer a dozen checkout points in each of the two sections. And yet, so many customers arrive early a line forms for the first few hours each day.
The shopping is intense, almost competitive, as this is a once-a-year opportunity. Customers quickly buy the best music or audio CDs, gaming systems and video games, eReaders, DVDs and vinyl records.
Shoppers will see every form of wheeled cart pressed into service by other shoppers as they move among the sections of tables laden with thousands of books. Those sections are a broad cross-section of interest, from tables of books by Oklahoma authors to books about Oklahoma.
Some year’s special sections offer brand new books donated when book stores and Oklahoma publishing houses use their donations as a way to balance their inventory.
Many business and industry concerns are well represented when entities going out of business donate their libraries. Retiring attorneys and doctors donate to provide shoppers the chance to buy current-within-four-years law textbooks or books of law statutes and medical textbooks or medical journals at a steep discount.
Volunteer shifts are still open, as the group is still looking for volunteers! To volunteer for Booksale, visit Supportmls.org/Volunteer. Please select an opportunity and complete the online volunteer profile before volunteering, even if volunteering with a group. For additional questions, contact the Friends at 405 606-3763 or
friends@metrolibrary.org.

When compassion saves lives: All Faith Home Care is there

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From left, Lisa Wariboko-Alali, RN, owner of All Faith Home Care has nothing but compassion for her clients and praise for her staff which includes, Brenda Guthrie, RN, DON; and Michael G., spokesman.

by James Coburn, Staff Writer

Lisa Wariboko-Alali, RN, aspired to make a difference in patient’s lives and become a good employer. All Faith Home Care gave her the opportunity to serve the family of mankind as the owner of the company she founded.
Alali earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oklahoma and has been a nurse for 30 years. She began her career working in the post-coronary care unit at Southwest Medical Center before making the transition to home health.
She needed a more flexible schedule when she married and started raising a family. Home health met her needs.
“I fell in love with home health and found my niche,” she said of the business she opened in 1996. “It’s totally enriched my life. I think it’s been my calling. My mother was in the health care profession. As a little girl I watched her care for my sick dad. I watched her care for other families by sacrificing her time. And I think that really inspired me to be a nurse and caregiver.”
Home health is not only a business, but a ministry for Alali as well. Advantage waiver case management was added over a year ago, a program to help seniors stay at home and funded by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.
The staff is what makes All Faith Home Care a success, she said.
“I love my staff so much. They are totally committed,” Alali said. “Some of my staff have been here for 15 years, some for 10 years. They are compassionate and caring.”
All Faith Home Care is also a blessing for families in need of knowing their families are secure.
“That’s so rewarding. It helps us to keep going, especially during this time of the COVID pandemic and nursing shortage. It’s a very challenging time to be in health care right now.”
All Faith Home Care wears personal protective equipment to enhance patient care during the pandemic, said Brenda Guthrie, RN, director of Clinical Services, who has been with the company for 10 years.
“With several COVID patients we make sure we go above and beyond what they need. So, it is a calling,” Guthrie said.
She aspired to become a physician when thinking of a career. Guthrie passed all her tests but could not afford medical school. She chose nursing school and has kept going since 1979.
“I get attached to all of my patients and I can’t imagine not seeing them. I took care of Lisa’s mom, and I took care of my husband while he was dying. I will hold someone’s hand if that’s what they want at the end,” Guthrie said.
Guthrie began her nursing career in an intensive care unit for trauma. She went on to be an ER nurse and did flight nursing. Guthrie also has the distinction of having served as the health services administrator for the state of Delaware Prison System. She managed the hospital there for eight years.
“Then I came back to Oklahoma to take care of my parents and here I am,” Guthrie explained.
Alali understands that her staff has family issues, too, and is given the flexibility to take care of that, Guthrie said.
All Faith Home Care will travel beyond its 50-mile service range whenever a doctor notifies them that nobody else will accept a patient, Guthrie said.
Most Medicaid insurers only provide 36 home health visits a year, Michael said. Currently more than 20 clients have exceeded the 36 visits. But All Faith Home Care did not discharge them. Alali ensures that her clients, some in a rural area, will continue being cared for beyond 36 visits.
“When the poor people don’t have anymore visits, we don’t cast them out,” he said.
Guthrie said their clients are their families and will not be deserted when All Faith Home Care will not be paid to see them.
“Time after time we’ve had patients that would not have lived if All Faith Home Care had not stepped in and provided the services,” Alali said. “There’s been several occasions when Brenda has gotten a call from a patient and has ended up saving that patient’s life.”
On many occasions Brenda will be in a home and do CPR on a patient.
“I just don’t know how to describe it, but I know it’s a divine assignment for her. She has left the office on the way to see a patient and she’ll come up on an accident and she’s there just at the right time to save someone’s life,” she said. “And other times, it’s been a family member and not a patient, and she’s gotten there just in time to save their life. That’s the ultimate calling.”
Guthrie said they have walked into homes with an empty refrigerator.
“All I have to do is call Lisa, and she’s calling Michael or one of the nurses and we’re out buying groceries, and we’re getting them set up with food banks,” she said.

For more information visit: http://www.allfaithhc.com/ or call 405-340-5100.

SITUATION UPDATE: COVID-19

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COVID-19 Oklahoma Test Results

*As of 2022-01-27 at 7:00 a.m.

SAVVY SENIOR: Approaching 65? Here’s What to Know About Enrolling in Medicare

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Dear Savvy Senior, Can you give me a brief rundown of Medicare’s enrollment choices along with when and how to sign-up? Approaching 65

Dear Approaching,
The rules and timetables for Medicare enrollment can be confusing to many new retirees, so it’s smart to plan ahead. Here’s a simplified rundown of what to know.
First a quick review. Remember that original Medicare has two parts: Part A, which provides hospital coverage and is free for most people, and Part B which covers doctor’s visits and other medical services, and costs $170.10 per month for most enrollees in 2021.
When to Enroll
Everyone is eligible for Medicare at age 65, even if your full Social Security retirement age is 66 or later.
You can enroll any time during the “initial enrollment period,” which is a seven-month period that includes the three months before, the month of, and the three months after your 65th birthday. It’s best to enroll three months before your birth month to ensure your coverage starts when you turn 65.
If you happen to miss the seven-month sign-up window for Medicare Part B, you’ll have to wait until the next “general enrollment period” which runs from Jan. 1 to March 31 with benefits beginning the following July 1. You’ll also incur a 10 percent penalty for each year you wait beyond your initial enrollment period, which will be tacked on to your monthly Part B premium. You can sign up for premium-free Part A, at any time with no penalty.
Working Exceptions
Special rules apply if you’re eligible for Medicare and still on the job. If you have health insurance coverage through your employer or your spouse’s employer, and the company has 20 or more employees, you have a “special enrollment period” in which you can sign up. This means that you can delay enrolling in Medicare Part B and are not subject to the 10 percent late-enrollment penalty as long as you sign up within eight months of losing that coverage.
Drug Coverage
Be aware that original Medicare does not cover prescription medications, so if you don’t have credible drug coverage from an employer or union, you’ll need to buy a Part D drug plan from a private insurance company (see Medicare.gov/plan-compare) during your initial enrollment if you want coverage. If you don’t, you’ll incur a premium penalty – 1 percent of the average national premium ($33 in 2022) for every month you don’t have coverage – if you enroll later.
Supplemental Coverage
If you choose original Medicare, it’s also a good idea to get a Medigap (Medicare supplemental) policy within six months after enrolling in Part B to help pay for things that aren’t covered by Medicare like copayments, coinsurance and deductibles. See Medicare.gov/medigap-supplemental-insurance-plans to shop and compare policies.
All-In-One Plans
Instead of getting original Medicare, plus a Part D drug plan and a Medigap policy, you could sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan instead (see Medicare.gov/plan-compare) that covers everything in one plan. Nearly half of all new Medicare enrollees are signing up for Advantage plans.
These plans, which are also sold by insurance companies, are generally available through HMOs and PPOs and often have cheaper premiums, but their deductibles and co-pays are usually higher. Many of these plans also provide coverage for extra services not offered by original Medicare like dental, hearing and vision coverage along with gym/fitness memberships, and most plans include prescription drug coverage too.
How to Enroll
If you’re already receiving your Social Security benefits before 65, you will automatically be enrolled in Part A and Part B, and you’ll receive your Medicare card about three months before your 65th birthday. It will include instructions to return it if you have work coverage that qualifies you for late enrollment.
If you’re not receiving Social Security, you’ll need to enroll either online at SSA.gov/medicare or over the phone at 800-772-1213.
If you need help, get a copy of “Get It Together: Organize Your Records So Your Family Won’t Have To” at Nolo.com for $17.50 for the downloadable versions, or $20 for a printed copy.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

Greg Schwem: The one-day workweek. Because, why not?

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While some workers wish for a four-day workweek, Greg Schwem proposes a one-day workweek would be even better.

by Greg Schwem

Aw, heck, let’s just work one day a week.
I mean, we’re all overstressed, burned out, mentally exhausted and up in arms that receiving paychecks requires us to do something other than attend spin classes whenever we feel like it. Never mind that our parents, their parents, and their parents’ parents clocked in at 9 a.m. and left at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. True, there was no such thing as Zoom to haunt their weekend plans; but there also wasn’t a “Bring Your Dog to Work” day at my dad’s office.
We demand a shorter work week. We want Dolly Parton to sing, “Workin’ 9 to noon, ’cause three hours should be plenty; Boss, my brain is fried, although I’m still in my 20s…”
Bosses and even politicians appear to be learning the new lyrics, or at least humming the tune. Last July, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) introduced a bill amending the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, reducing the standard work week from 40 to 32 hours. The bill is currently languishing in the House and the chances of it remaining there will only intensify if Congress decides to take Fridays off.
Meanwhile, a nonprofit pilot program, 4 Day Week Global, is encouraging companies to sign up and participate in shortened weeks. The website contains a petition, seeking 100,000 signatures from employees who favor working less, even naming specific companies and the number of employees who have already signed. When I checked, the petition had received 114 signatures from Amazon workers, a figure I found shockingly low considering the guy who kept dropping packages at my door the week prior to Christmas appeared to be working about 100 hours a week.
The site points to companies like crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and fintech startup Bolt, which have switched to four-day workweeks. It also posts studies with phrases like “productivity increase” and “laser focused employees” as proof that a three-day weekend is an idea whose time has come.
So, why stop there?
If workers are “laser focused” working four days a week, imagine how sharp they would be if they worked three days? Or two? Or even one? Let’s try it. I hereby present to you a company that requires employees only produce eight hours of weekly work. I’ll call it Slack.
Wait, that company already exists. My bad. Let’s call it Slacker. That’s a movie but not yet a Fortune 500 company.
Before my company is besieged with applications from enterprising workers who want to change the world providing it doesn’t conflict with thrice weekly Pilates sessions, please be aware that working for Slacker does have some drawbacks.
During your one day of employment, you cannot break for lunch.
Red Bull and other energy drinks are forbidden. If you need a “jolt” before starting your weekly eight-hour shift, you’re probably not going to fit in at Slacker.
Don’t even think about asking for paid vacation.
You will be required to work in an office, which will not contain clocks of any type. I don’t need Slacker employees, on their way to the parking lot to begin their six-day weekends, saying, “Man, I thought 5 o’clock would NEVER get here.”
Calling in sick is allowed, but sick days must be made up in full. That’s right, if you’re sick one day, you must work TWO days the following week. If that makes me a tyrant of a boss, just remember there are plenty of jobs available at Kickstarter, where your workload will quadruple!

I will pay you an honest wage, but don’t expect a 401(k) or profit-sharing plan of any type. You’ll have plenty of free time to become a Bitcoin millionaire.
Finally, I will not offer a health care plan, but I will provide gym memberships. Slacker employees are expected to use their off time to stay in shape. I don’t need any workforce members unexpectedly dropping dead on their off days.
From boredom.
Kids be warned; the Great Elf Retirement may soon be upon us.
(Greg Schwem is a corporate stand-up comedian and author of two books: “Text Me If You’re Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad” and the recently released “The Road To Success Goes Through the Salad Bar: A Pile of BS From a Corporate Comedian,” available at Amazon.com. Visit Greg on the web at www.gregschwem.com.
You’ve enjoyed reading, and laughing at, Greg Schwem’s monthly humor columns in Senior Living News. But did you know Greg is also a nationally touring stand-up comedian? And he loves to make audiences laugh about the joys, and frustrations, of growing older. Watch the clip and, if you’d like Greg to perform at your senior center or senior event, contact him through his website at www.gregschwem.com)

Dale K Graham Veterans Foundation Moves to Larger Office

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U.S. Marine Corp Veteran Dale Graham welcomes the crowd during the ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 25 at his namesake nonprofit Dale K Graham Veterans Foundation’s new location in Norman.
U.S. Marine Corp Veteran Dale Graham welcomes the crowd during the ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 25 at his namesake nonprofit Dale K Graham Veterans Foundation’s new location in Norman.

Story by Darl Devault, Contributing Editor

In Dale Graham’s short remarks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 25 for the new larger location in Norman for the nonprofit Dale K Graham Veterans Foundation, he made everyone welcome. Speaking at the front doors at 1233 W Lindsey St., the Vietnam Veteran and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal, 74, shared his pride in how far the group’s mission has grown.
“When I first started out helping veterans sign up for their benefits in my garage 30 years ago, I knew a lot of satisfaction in helping other veterans,” Graham said. “Now I know a lot of these great people gathered here today who have helped thousands in that same mission. We are all proud to welcome you to this new location.”
The foundation is named after Graham, who has dedicated his life to encouraging and helping veterans file their benefits claims. They serve more than 300 veterans each week with a 96 percent success rate for claims filed in 2019.
The main speaker, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, told the crowd of 120 he is prefilling a bill aiding veterans for the new legislative session beginning in February. It will further emphasize that Oklahoma is a welcoming state for veterans, retired and separated from the service.
Pugh’s effort this session is Senate Bill 401, a carryover measure from last year, to exempt military retirement from state income taxes. He said this would keep Oklahoma keep in line with the surrounding states.
“According to our research at the legislature, Oklahoma has more per capita veterans than any state in the country,” said Pugh, a former U.S. Air Force Officer of almost eight years. “The legislature needs to do more in making sure our resources like this new Dale Graham Veteran Graham Foundation center are an example of how Oklahoma can be seen as the number one state for veterans.”
Pugh served as an AWACs command and control officer worldwide as an air battle manager as a captain. Before election to the Senate in 2016, he was an executive at Delaware Resource Group. There he oversaw the local aerospace company’s B-1 Bomber program, an extensive program with millions of dollars attached to it, he said.
Those gathered — veterans and their families, volunteers, veteran’s rights advocates, and Norman and Cleveland County officials, then saw Norman Chamber of Commerce dignitaries welcome the new facility and perform a ribbon-cutting ceremony. After the ceremony, 25 veterans waiting to be helped were invited into the new facility for their appointments with volunteers. On January 27, more than 50 veterans were helped. At the intake event on February 1, 150 veterans are expected to receive services.
The new location on west Lindsey is twice the size of the previous office on Interstate Drive in northwest Norman. The new office provides volunteers a training room and the veterans a computer lab where they can get online and scan their documents to complete their claims. The new computer lab has gone from 40 computer workstations in the previous office to more than 80.
Additionally, there is office space for private meetings. The new office means there is room for the volunteers to give the veterans more privacy as they assist them. This has allowed the Graham Foundation to increase the number of veterans they can help each day.
The Graham Foundation has assisted more than 25,000 veterans across all 77 counties in Oklahoma, 50 states, and eight foreign countries in filing claims with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Many volunteers help veterans fill out forms and submit medical or other documentation supporting their request for service connection to a disability or an increased rating on a pre-existing service-related disability.
Jonathan Foti, Graham Foundation CEO, spoke as master of ceremonies, saying their mission had outgrown their previous office because there are now about 330,000 veterans in Oklahoma.
The Graham Foundation’s seven full-time employees and nearly 100 volunteers help veterans apply for service-connected benefits. To do this, the volunteers have to go through continuing training programs. This ensures they keep current with Dept of Veterans Affairs policies as they change. In addition, the volunteers who are certified Veteran Services Officers have additional training requirements to maintain their certifications.
Most of their volunteers and staff recently attended the Joint Service Officer Training Symposium training from the Muskogee VA Regional Office and the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. The two-day event was held in Norman at the Oklahoma National Guard Training Center.
The Graham Foundation had teamed with numerous other nonprofits and service organizations to provide veterans with additional services, support, and counseling. This means veterans are better able to get the services they need. The VA application process is a dynamic environment that continually changes as rules, laws and federal policy change.
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Chuck DeBellevue, president of the Graham Foundation Board, said, “Our supporters and volunteers have helped many veterans who never sought help in the past. While only a few World War II veterans still visit us, most of the veterans seen by the Graham Foundation are from the Vietnam War era, with visits from Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans on the increase.
This move will allow us to assist more veterans in more ways. You had to show up in person to receive our services in the past. Now you can get an appointment online and be seen virtually. Jon Foti, our CEO, has continually improved the processes and our efficiency. We are all proud to be a part of this effort to help those who served this great country.”
Veterans register online to start the process and are then contacted to schedule an appointment. Details about the next intake session can be found at Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation | Our mission is to serve military veterans and their families. (dalekgrahamveteransfoundation.org)

Honey Springs Battlefield to Host “The First Indian Home Guard” Presentation

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Honey Springs Battlefield is excited to announce a special presentation, “The First Indian Home Guard,” to be held at the battlefield’s Visitor Center on Saturday, February 26, at 1 p.m. Dr. Jane Johansson, professor in the Department of History and Political Science at Rogers State University and editor of the book “Albert C. Ellithorpe, the First Indian Home Guards, and the Civil War on the Trans-Mississippi Frontier,” will speak about the regiment’s unique history in relation to the Civil War in Indian Territory and the Battle of Honey Springs.
“Recruited in Kansas refugee camps in the spring of 1862, the First Indian Home Guard was a unique Civil War regiment,” said Johansson. “Comprised of whites, refugee Muscogee Creeks and Seminoles, and African Creeks, the regiment served in a variety of military operations from 1862–1865. Notable actions that the unit engaged in included Locust Grove, Fort Wayne, Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Honey Springs and many smaller encounters. This presentation will explore the regiment’s background, its composition, notable personalities, military actions, relations with the federal government and the postwar era,” Johansson continued.
Johansson is a native Oklahoman and graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU). After completing her bachelor’s degree at OBU, Johansson attended the University of North Texas where she earned a master’s degree in library science and a doctorate in United States history. She has written three books about the Civil War west of the Mississippi River, and co-edited two volumes of the papers of Will Rogers. Her most recent book, “Albert C. Ellithorpe, the First Indian Home Guards, and the Civil War on the Trans-Mississippi Frontier,” was honored with the Founders Award given by the American Civil War Museum in recognition of “excellence in the editing of primary source documents.” Johansson especially enjoys traveling to historic sites and visiting used bookstores with her husband, Richmond, an English professor at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
After the presentation, visitors will have the opportunity to tour the Visitor Center’s exhibits, view the new “Battle of Honey Springs” film, buy newly stocked items from the gift shop, and tour the largest Civil War battlefield in Oklahoma.
For more information regarding the presentation and Honey Springs Battlefield, please email honeysprings@okhistory.org or alynn@okhistory.org, or call 918-617-7125.
Honey Springs Battlefield is located east of U.S. Highway 69 between Oktaha and Rentiesville. The Visitor Center is located on a hill within close proximity to the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in Rentiesville. Take the second left after reaching the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame Museum (driving from the west).

The Carlstone: CALL TODAY: 405-701-2951

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CALL TODAY: 405-701-2951

The Carlstone Apartments
501 E Robinson St
Norman, OK 73071

https://thecarlstone.com/

Belmont Cove

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https://www.belmontcove.com/

Community  •  Quality  •  Convenience

Belmont Cove Retirement Village 

for the 5o+ community

Belmont Cove sits on prime real estate in Yukon, Oklahoma. Our convenient location boasts easy access to I-40, dining and shopping districts, and a medical center. Our retirement village has walking paths and a community center and pool, which are currently under construction.

Each unit has 1100 Sq. Ft. of quality living space, hard wood flooring, stainless steel appliances, granite, ceramic tile, and so much more. 

Owners Gary and Justin Owens bring more than 20 years of experience to this vibrant & independent retirement community.

Phone:

405-417-6192 (Justin)

405-602-9191(Carolyn)

https://www.belmontcove.com/

Emailbelmontcove@gmail.com

  

TINSELTOWN TALKS: Lana Wood still questions sister Natalie’s death

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Cover of Lana Wood’s book alongside photo of Lana - provided by publicist.
Sean Connery and Lana Wood as Plenty O’Tool in Diamonds Are Forever. Publicity photo for United Artists.

By Nick Thomas

The movie world was shocked when the body of 43-year-old Natalie Wood was found floating lifeless in the ocean off Catalina Island on the morning of November 29, 1981. Forty years later, sister Lana still can’t accept that the incident was nothing more than a tragic accident.
Natalie’s watery demise remains one of Hollywood’s enduring mysteries recently resurrected in Lana’s “Little Sister: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood” published last November, 40 years after the beloved actress’s death (see www.amazon.com/Lana-Wood/e/B001KDRGZ8?).
Despite a morbid fear of drowning, Natalie would often go boating with husband Robert Wagner but, according to Lana, remained especially terrified of “dark ocean water.”
“How did she end up in the sea at nighttime?” asked Lana from her home in Los Angeles. “The circumstances remain a question for many people. I wanted to present the facts about her death in this new book, including the police and coroner’s reports, as well as a new witness who heard screams that night.”
Natalie and Wagner, along with fellow actor Christopher Walken, had embarked on a weekend cruise aboard Wagner’s motor yacht skippered for the trip by Dennis Davern. Although the group had been drinking and the couple apparently argued, Lana doesn’t believe her sister merely fell overboard or that she tumbled into the water while attempting a nighttime launch of a dingy attached to the boat to leave after the argument.
While no one on board at the time has ever been charged with involvement in Natalie’s death, speculation on how Natalie got into the water the night before her body was discovered continues to haunt her sister.
“I wrote another book (in 2011) that looked at Natalie’s life and happier times,” recalled Lana. “But the new book wasn’t as easy to write because I’d get emotional and have to walk away from it periodically.”
Both sisters were close, having been thrust into acting by their mother. But each took a different career path with Natalie working mostly in film to reach true superstar fame while Lana embraced the television route and enjoyed modest success in films such as the perky Bond girl Plenty O’Toole in “Diamonds Are Forever.” And while Lana may have lived in her famous sister’s shadow, she appears to have been comfortable in that shade.
“Natalie loved being a movie star,” said Lana. “Any time she left home, she would put on her make-up, do her hair, and dress impeccably because she never wanted to disappoint when out in public. While I enjoyed working, I didn’t want to be scrutinized everywhere I went or be constantly photographed. I didn’t seek that fame.”
She is, however, still convinced there’s more to the story of her sister’s death.
“I don’t know if the truth will ever come out,” she says. “I hope my book will keep people probing for answers and keep Natalie’s memory alive.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, in Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See www.tinseltowntalks.com.

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