Community leader Nancy Wilson Payne Ellis will be presented The John and Joy Reed Belt Leadership in Arts and Education Award by Harding Fine Arts Academy at a dinner on Tuesday April 18 at 6:00 pm at the OKC Petroleum Club. The award was initiated in 2013 by the HFAA Board with the purpose to increase overall public awareness of the school, honor community leaders for their inspiring and dedicated leadership, showcasing Harding Fine Arts Academy student talents and increase sustained financial support for academic and arts programming. Nancy is being recognized for her ongoing outstanding leadership in furthering arts and education in Oklahoma.
Nancy is a 1959 graduate of Harding High School. She is Past Chairman and Lifetime Trustee of the OKC Museum of Art. Nancy is a founding member of The Payne Education Center which trains teachers to teach children with learning differences. She was the first female chairman of the Oklahoma State University Foundation Board of Governors and was inducted into the OSU Alumni Hall of Fame in 2004 and into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2005. Nancy was honored by the Boys and Girls Club of Oklahoma County with the Champion of Youth Award in 2012. In addition she received the Oklahoma Commerce & Industry Hall of Honor Lifetime Achievement Award at Oklahoma City University Meinders School of Business. Nancy has served as a Deacon, Elder and Trustee for Westminster Presbyterian Church. She is married to Dr. Robert Ellis and together they have 8 children and 17 grandchildren.
Nancy stated, “My six years at Harding High School were a very important time in my life. With excellent teachers that I can still name today, to my many friends that I have stayed in touch with over 50 years, the impact on my life has been personal and permanent. Beginning with art classes in the ninth grade at Harding to the many opportunities I have had to bring arts education to the community, my life has been enriched”.
Harding Fine Arts Academy is a tuition-free, non-profit charter high school founded in 2005. The school’s mission is to prepare students for college in an academically challenging arts integrated environment.
A lively evening is planned with James Pickel serving as emcee, featuring student modern dancers, vocalists from the spring production and a guitarist. Patrons may support school and student needs by donating to a variety of projects through “Pic Your Passion” teacher-posted projects which range from science classroom equipment, novels and concert amplification equipment. Donations opportunities towards these teacher projects in honor of Nancy Payne Ellis will be available at the event or online at: harding finearts.org/lae. Pic your Passion donors or interested sponsors can also contact Linda Lightner at (405) 702-4322 or emailing lightner@hfaaokc.org.
Sally Bentley and Alison Taylor are Co-Chairmen. Committee Members include Kaye Adams, Kelley Barnes, Joy Reed Belt, Susan Gabbard, Dee Harris, Kirsten Hurley, Nancy Leonard, Linda Lightner,Carol McPheeters, Kathy Rogers, Matt Schein, Bob Spinks, Beth and Jim Tolbert and John Yoeckel. Reservations for the dinner are $125 and can be made by calling (405) 702-4322. Visit htt://hardingfinearts.org/lae. Sally and Alison said “This event recognizes the impact of arts and education in shaping the future of our students’ lives. We’re thrilled to celebrate a past Harding School Graduate, Nancy Payne Ellis, in recognition of her lifetime commitment to the arts and education in our community and state”.

Dr. Holly Van Remmen asks lots of head-scratchers. Like why do some diseases only happen when we get older? And what can we do to slow the aging process?
As head of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation’s Aging and Metabolism Research Program, she’s well served by her inquisitiveness. Indeed, it’s a trait that comes naturally to her.
As a child, Van Remmen loved to figure out how things work. Even her little sister’s supposedly indestructible Fisher-Price transistor radio couldn’t escape her inquiring mind. “I used butter knives, screwdrivers and all kinds of things to get inside it,” said Van Remmen. “I just had to know what made the music play.”
In college, a part-time job in a nursing home again stoked the fires of her curiosity. What, she wondered, was driving the biological changes she saw in the elderly men and women she helped care for? She decided to figure out for herself by enrolling in a graduate program focused on physiology and aging. After earning her doctorate, she spent more than two decades as an aging researcher at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, then joined OMRF’s scientific faculty in 2013.
Van Remmen’s work focuses on age-related muscle loss and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. During her career, she has made a series of important insights on muscle degeneration, and this past year she led a study that found new links between traumatic brain injuries and neurodegenerative conditions. “The ultimate goal of this work,” said Van Remmen, “is to help people to be stronger for longer.”
In June, the American Aging Association recognized her work with its highest honor, the Denham Harman Award. Established in 1978, the prize is a lifetime achievement award that recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of research in aging.
“This is such a nice honor for me personally,” said Van Remmen. “But it also says that our colleagues across the country now recognize Oklahoma as a force in research on aging.”
Dr. Arlan Richardson, Van Remmen’s former mentor and now a professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, agrees.
“Holly is a tremendously hard worker and has a gift for fostering collaboration,” he said. “She has grown into a noted leader in aging research and is one of the top women of her generation in the field. Her selection for this award symbolizes that growth, and having her here draws more attention to Oklahoma and helps all of us, both at OMRF and OU.”
In 2015, working with a team that included Richardson, other OU and OMRF scientists, and researchers at the VA Medical Center, she helped secure a federal grant to establish a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging in Oklahoma City. She and Richardson now serve as co-directors of that Shock Center, one of only six nationwide. Work at the Shock Center focuses on geroscience, the study of how aging impacts disease and how changes that occur in aging predispose people to disease.
The Oklahoma scientists hope their work will provide clues to understanding conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s to age-related muscle loss, a topic of particular interest to Van Remmen. But regardless of what she finds, Van Remmen pledges to keep pushing ahead.
“Research is a journey,” she said. “As you put together more pieces of the puzzle, more questions arise, and you have to follow where they lead.”

Dear Savvy Senior,

Over the past few years my 57-year-old husband’s snoring has gotten much worse. It’s to the point that I have to either wear earplugs or move to a different room. Any suggestions?

Sleep Deprived Susan

Dear Susan,
Snoring is a very common problem that often gets worse with age. Around 37 million Americans snore on a regular basis according to the National Sleep Center.
Snoring occurs when the airway narrows or is partly blocked during sleep usually due to nasal congestion, floppy tissue, alcohol, or enlarged tonsils. But you and your husband also need to know that snoring can be much more than just an annoyance. It can also be a red flag for obstructive sleep apnea, a serious condition in which the snorer stops and starts breathing during sleep, increasing the risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 34 percent of men and 19 percent of women who snore routinely have sleep apnea or are at risk for it.
Self-Help Remedies
Even if you are unsure whether your husband has a primary snoring problem or sleep apnea, sleep experts suggest you start with these steps.
Open a stuffy nose: If nasal congestion is causing your husband to snore, over-the-counter nasal strips such as Breathe Right may help. Or, if allergies are the cause, try saline nasal sprays.
Elevate his head: Buying a foam wedge to elevate his head a few inches can help reduce snoring, or buy him a contoured pillow to lift his chin and keep the tongue from blocking the back of his throat as he sleeps. Also check out Nora (smartnora.com), a wireless snoring device that slides under the pillow and gently moves the head to a different position when snoring is detected. This, they say, stimulates the relaxed throat muscles and opens the airway.
Sleep on side: To prevent back sleeping, which triggers snoring, place a pillow against your husbands back to keep him from rolling over or sew a tennis ball in the back of his pajama shirt. Or check out the Night Shift Sleep Positioner (nightshifttherapy.com), a device that’s worn around the neck that vibrates when you roll on your back.
Avoid alcohol before bed: Alcoholic beverages can relax the muscles in the throat, and constrict airflow. He should not consume alcohol three to four hours before bedtime.
Lose excess weight: Fat around the neck can compress the upper airway and impede airflow and is often associated with sleep apnea.
Quit smoking: Smoking causes inflammation in the upper airways that can make snoring worse.
Need More Help
If these lifestyle strategies don’t make a big difference, your husband should see his doctor, a sleep specialist, or an otolaryngologist who may recommend an overnight study to test him for apnea.
For primary snoring or mild to moderate sleep apnea, an oral appliance that fits into the mouth like a retainer may be prescribed. This shifts the lower jaw and tongue forward, keeping the airway open.
Some other options are Theravent snore therapy (theraventsnoring.com) and Provent sleep apnea therapy (proventtherapy.com), which are small nasal devices that attach over the nostrils to improve airflow.
But the gold standard for moderate to severe sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, device. This involves sleeping with a mask and is hooked up to a machine that gently blows air up your nose to keep the passages open.
If these don’t work or are intolerable, surgery is an option too. There are procedures available today that remove excess tissue in the nose, mouth, or throat. And a newer procedure called hypoglossal nerve stimulation that uses a small device implanted in the chest to help control the movement of the tongue when it blocks the airway.

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.

The Community Caregivers Support Group’s fourth annual FREE Seminar will be at Council Road Baptist Church in Bethany on Saturday, April 1, 2017. This year’s theme, “Planning for the Future while in the Present”, will focus on eldercare/caregiving, and, as always, will provide pertinent, readily available information resources. Join us for coffee and donuts at 8:30 a.m. The seminar begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 11:45 a.m.
Our keynote speaker for the first session will be Dr. Mark Stratton, a recently retired professor from OU Medical Geriatric Education and author of a commentary on “America’s other Drug Problem”, which addresses the problem of over-medication and the effectiveness of medication to the aging body. His topic will be Using Medications Safely: A Key to Your Health. The options for session 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:40 a.m., will be 1) Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning led by Kathy Lee Hackett, CFP®, CEP®, and the Director of Estate Planning for The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma and 2) Final Arrangements led by Gary Mercer with Mercer-Adams Funeral Home.
Session 3, from 10:50 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., offers a choice between 1) Clarifying Medicare with Anna Farha, representative from the State of Oklahoma Insurance Department, or 2) Addressing Dementia and Alzheimer’s led by Carla Scull, Education Coordinator for Oklahoma Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Council Road Baptist Church is located at NW 30TH and Council Road. The south entrance to the chapel is next to the playground. You may register online at www.councilroad.org or by calling Claree Cox at (405)789-3175 or Gaylene Turner at (405)787-0300.

On Tuesday, March 7, Oklahoma City’s Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble will present its fourth concert of the 2016-17 season, “Romanticism Revisited.” The ensemble will revisit chamber works by three of Romanticism’s greats: Carl Maria von Weber, a contemporary of Beethoven and one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school; Richard Strauss, himself heavily influenced by his idol, Johannes Brahms; and Sergei Rachmaninoff, a major composer of the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The concert features works spanning the Romantic era of the 19th century, from the trio by Weber to the works of Rachmaninoff and Strauss, both written toward the end of the century.
The evening starts with the Weber trio, a melodic and virtuosic work; continues with the one-movement trio by a 19-year-old Rachmaninoff, and concludes with the energetic quartet of Strauss.
The program includes:
Carl Maria von Weber, Trio in G Minor for Flute, Cello & Piano, Op. 63;, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Trio Élégiaque No. 1 in G Minor (for Violin, Cello & Piano); and Richard Strauss, Quartet in C Minor, Op. 13 (for Piano, Violin, Viola & Cello).
Six musicians will appear in this concert: Gregory Lee (violin), Mark Neumann (viola), Jonathan Ruck (cello), Parthena Owens (flute), Amy I-Lin Cheng (piano), and Ruirui Ouyang (piano).
The performance will take place at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, March 7 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW 7th Street (at Robinson). Individual concert admission is $20 per ticket. Children, students and active-duty military personnel are admitted free with ID. In addition, anyone suffering financial hardship due to to a layoff in the energy sector may attend free of charge by stating that they are “a guest of the musicians.” More information about this concert is available on Brightmusic’s website at http://www.brightmusic.org.

A Tulsa man who filed a bogus insurance claim and assaulted an insurance adjuster has been sentenced to life in prison. Prentice E. Ponds II, 43, was on parole at the time of the crime. He has a long criminal history with multiple felony convictions.
“Oklahoma is a safer place with this man behind bars,” said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak. “While it’s common for insurance fraud to be committed in conjunction with other crimes, we don’t typically see violence like this. But it does happen. I am extremely proud of the work done by our Anti-Fraud Unit to get this violent criminal off the streets. I also want to thank the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office for its excellent work on this case.”
Ponds was arrested in August 2015 after an investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit. Investigators found that Ponds filed a fraudulent insurance claim on a 2014 Chevy Camaro with preexisting damage he’d purchased off eBay. When an insurance adjuster went to Ponds’ home to question him about the claim, Ponds became angry. He attacked the adjuster and took his file and audio recorder. The insurance adjuster was later treated for a head laceration and broken ribs.
Last week a Tulsa County jury convicted Ponds of robbery and insurance fraud. He was sentenced to life for the robbery conviction and 25 years for the insurance fraud conviction. Ponds’ prior felony convictions include assault and battery, robbery and burglary.
“I could not be more pleased with the jury’s verdict,” said Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Reagan Reininger. “The jury was able to evaluate the evidence and send a message that making a fraudulent insurance claim and robbery by force or fear are crimes that will not be tolerated in our community. A violent criminal was taken off our streets with the help of the Tulsa Police Department and the thorough investigation of the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Because of our collective efforts, the hope is that this criminal will never be able to victimize again,” said Reininger.
“Repwest takes insurance fraud very seriously and works closely with authorities to fervently pursue justice,” said Robert Pirmann, vice president at Repwest Insurance Company. “On behalf of our team, I want to commend the Oklahoma Department of Insurance, the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement for their diligent efforts in this case. The violence exhibited against our insurance investigator should never be tolerated.”
About the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Ask Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby what he’s most proud of during a term of office that dates all the way back to 1987 and you’d better pull up a chair.
The bright-eyed, beloved 30th governor of the 12th-largest tribe in the U.S. oversees nearly 14,000 employees, more than 300 tribal programs and services and more than 100 tribal businesses.
The latest in that line is a joint venture that should breathe new life into the surrounding Lake Texoma area and Southeastern Oklahoma in the heart of Chickasaw Country.
Late last year the state of Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation announced plans to develop a resort hotel and other amenities at Lake Texoma.
It’s an effort to resurrect a failed project that aimed at privatizing the state resort 10 years ago when it was sold to out-of-state investors.
The project excites Gov. Anoatubby on multiple levels.
“This development is another component of our economic development initiatives designed to have a positive impact on the state and local economy,” Gov. Anoatubby said. “It will directly employ dozens of local residents in a number of occupations. We believe it will also have a kind of ripple effect which will strengthen existing businesses in the area as well as bringing other new businesses to the area as a result of increasing the number of visitors to the area.”
“Tourism affects businesses from gas stations and convenience stores to restaurants, sporting goods stores, fishing guides, antique shops and farmers’ markets – and the list goes on.”
The initial plans call for the Chickasaw Nation to construct a three-story hotel, a restaurant and gift shop, a casino featuring up to 300 electronic games and as many as 10 lakefront fishing/boating cottages.
The project covers 50 acres of lakefront property, overlooking Lake Texoma and the historic Roosevelt Bridge. It also involves about 11.5 acres of land acquired by the Commissioners of the Land Office (CLO) from the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.
“We believe this new development will help launch a transformation of this area into a major tourism and recreation attraction,” Gov. Anoatubby said. “This is an incredibly beautiful area with so much to offer, it is really exciting to think of the long-term impact this project could have on the area.”
Gov. Anoatubby envisions the project as the kind of place seniors can take their families. There’s something for everyone.
The hotel will include a lounge and meeting rooms, an outdoor pool and recreation area, a fitness center, gift shop, restaurant and a business center, he said.
The development will be off U.S. 70, across from the Chickasaw Pointe Golf Course near the site of the old Lake Texoma State Lodge. Preliminary plans allow for future expansion of the hotel and the construction of additional waterfront cottages.
Gov. Anoatubby said the state has so much to offer with its natural beauty. It’s one of the reasons the tribe has invested in the state through its Adventure Road program, which highlights different areas up and down I-35.
Designed to bring more tourism to Oklahoma, the Adventure Road initiative generated more than 385,000 new trips to the area last year alone, bringing in approximately $647 million in spending from March to September, according to Gov. Anoatubby.
The tribe is also investing in a new information center in Tishomingo, closely located to Lake Texoma which will complement the project.
It’s another feather in the cap of an already stellar career.
“Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of the Chickasaw people so it is gratifying to see the results of our efforts,” Gov. Anoatubby said. “Many of our services are designed to offer opportunities to pursue a higher education, advance in one’s career, or start a business.”
There are countless examples of Chickasaws who have seized those opportunities and achieved success.
“It is gratifying to see Chickasaws who have utilized tribal services, make it a point to come back home to work for the tribe.”
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said she has been a long-time believer in the potential of the Lake Texoma area to be an economic driver in Oklahoma.
“This project will create jobs and revenue for southern Oklahoma while at the same time maintaining the beauty of the site,” said Fallin. “The Lake Texoma lodge and golf course for many years were a top tourist attraction in the region. This hotel and commercial development will be the catalyst to stimulate significantly greater economic development in the future. I appreciate Governor Anoatubby’s vision and willingness to partner with the state of Oklahoma to continue our joint efforts focusing on tourism in this beautiful and strategically located part of our state.”

story and photos by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

The state of Guerrero, Mexico is a juxtaposition of two worlds.
The resort city of Acapulco, backed by the Sierra Madre Del Sur mountains spills into the Pacific Ocean.
Cliff divers entertain throngs of sunbathing tourists daily plunging some 136 feet into the crashing waves below.
But travel a few miles in any direction and you run the risk of becoming entangled in the violence and death associated with what you might expect from Mexico’s heroin capital.
Oklahoma Heart Hospital RN Shawn Watts walked that fine line a few weeks ago, going on a medical mission trip that provided help and hope for hundreds of families.
Watts realized the world is a very different place outside the walls of Oklahoma Heart Hospital South.
An outdoor covered basketball court served as the mission trip’s staging ground surrounded by a dense urban population eager to seek medical care.
Watts served as triage nurse sending patients to either a dentist, optometrist, pharmacist, family practice doctor or pediatrician based on their needs.
“They’re so worry about their kids staying healthy they wanted their kids to get vitamin shots and even antibiotics when it wasn’t appropriate,” Watts said.
At OHH all Watts has to do is walk into a supply room to get whatever he needs to take care of patients.
“They gave me a box of IV catheters, tubing and medication,” Watts said. “It’s field medicine. That’s exactly what it is.”
Fifteen minutes away was storied Acapulco.
“You hear that and think ‘Oh, how nice.’ It’s not,” Watts said. “In Mexico they develop a resort community and you go two miles beyond and it’s gone. That whole culture is gone. You have true Mexico. They have chickens hanging for sale gutted in the streets. They burn their trash in the streets at night.
“Fish are laying out all day long for sale not even iced in the market. You drive whatever direction you want to. It’s just the culture.”
So Watts assumed when he arrived he’d bunk up in a corner in someone’s house on the floor.
Little did he know he would find a resort hotel room for $43 a night.
People from all over would line up early in the morning to catch the clinic as it opened. Some rushed out the door without even taking their morning medication.
“I would check their blood pressure and it would be 180/110,” said Watts, who traveled with the medical-based Fishers of Men. “We couldn’t tell if their medicine was working for them.”
Multivitamin IV solutions, or banana bags, flowed freely for most of the day as the group did what it could for whomever showed up.
Despite residents not always having access to medical care or the medicines they needed, Watts said the culture had a few things working for it.
“You have no choice but cardiac health there because everything was uphill and you walk to everything,” Watts said. “These little old ladies their blood pressure was well controlled just on basic medicines. They didn’t use medications like we do. They used medicines that were more basic, been around for years and didn’t require monitoring afterwards. Long-term they weren’t the best but they were the most practical for that area.”
Diabetes, malnourishment and dehydration were all issues.
In the hot Mexico sunshine, Watts would go through 6-7 bottles of water daily with no access to a restroom.
“We left there at 6 p.m. and we all went to the restroom after that,” Watts said.
The days flowed for Watts.
“I triaged them so fast that I made the doctors and the dentists mad because I set up extra lines,” Watts laughed. “I had a couple CNAs with me and we did blood pressure, scales, temperatures, measurement. I started slotting them so fast the director of the mission board said ‘You come back. You organize. You’re good. You get everything done. You come back.’”
That’s no surprise. ER, ICU and now CCU at Oklahoma Heart Hospital have been Watts’ sandbox for the past 17 years.
His first calling was in applied ministry as a youth minister in an inner city.
He started doing home health on the side.
“It flowed,” Watts said. “I became an aide and did home health for four years and went to nursing school and worked three jobs during that.”
He would go to class for three hours and see patients on his lunch break before repeating the cycle in the afternoon.
“I love it. It just fits,” Watts said. “I’ve tried to slow down and thought about an office job since I’m 50. I just don’t have the gears for it.”
That’s a good thing not only for the people of Oklahoma City but the residents of Guerrero as well.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? AllianceHealth Seminole

I enjoy volunteering. I wanted to for years. I volunteer other places because when you work for free you’re in demand. Bettie Conn

I feel very much at home here at AllianceHealth Seminole. I worked here a long time ago. Mary Jo Lofgren

I get to spend time with patients on the front lines. Sharon Carr, RN

I guess it’s that certain satisfaction I get when I help people out.  Dedra Johnson