by Traci Chapman

For Mick Cornett, standing still is not an option. Moving forward has always been his style – for 14 years he’s done just that, in the process taking with him Oklahoma’s largest municipality and changing both its landscape and its people.
Now, as he winds down his career as Oklahoma City’s 35th – and longest-serving – mayor, Cornett has set his sights on again moving forward, this time looking to address what some might see as insurmountable obstacles in putting the state back on the right track as he heads toward a Republican primary that could be the first step for the state’s next governor.
But, challenges are what Cornett is all about, those who have worked with him said. They are challenges embraced by a man whose campaign slogan is aptly entitled, “fix the mess.”
“Over and over as Terri (his wife) and I traveled the state, that’s what we heard from people – to ‘fix this mess,” Cornett said. “We listened, we saw the people are emotional; there’s frustration, there’s disappointment, there’s downright anger, and their expectations are not being met.”
Among those perhaps the most vocal about their dissatisfaction are Oklahoma seniors. Not only are seniors vital to the state’s success, they are almost always major constituency in any election. That’s a fact borne out by studies conducted by United States Election Project, which reveal consistently higher voting rates for voters ages 60 years and older across the country.
For those voters, taxes are key, Cornett said. While personal income taxes are important in any arena – federal, state, county or municipal, he said, a heavy hand can backfire, resulting in revenue drops that come about when wealthy residents choose to find a more attractive place to live.
Quality of life is another concern – and, for seniors and those who care for them, health and wellness are crucial to maintaining the kind of life they want to live. That’s where Oklahoma City’s $52 million senior health and wellness project comes in, Cornett said.
“This project is so important because it impacts that basic health and wellness issue,” he said. “It’s proved to be everything we thought, as we look at the 4,000 members we already have – they had to take a leap of faith, and it paid off.”
Part of MAPS 3, a 1-cent sales tax, $777 million capital improvement program approved by voters charged with making debt-free investments in public facilities, the senior health and wellness project encompasses four centers, to be scattered throughout Oklahoma City. The first 40,272-square-foot building, located at 11501 North Rockwell Avenue, offers everything from workout facilities, gymnasium, aerobics and heated indoor saltwater swimming pool to fitness, cooking, art classes and classrooms, a lounge, health screenings and other amenities.
A second facility, located on South Walker Avenue, is set to open this year; two more – one slated for northeast Oklahoma City and a fourth likely situated in the city’s southern sector, but with a location not yet determined – are expected to open in the next three years or so.
The overall project and its four centers are a testament to Cornett’s determination and ability to forge partnerships to get things done, city officials said – and, partnerships are key to the project’s success, with independent entities given responsibility for operating each facility, while Oklahoma City funded construction and major maintenance costs.
Nonprofit Healthy Living and Fitness runs the Rockwell Center, while NorthCare – an established mental health and substance abuse service provider – will operate the second, 39,000-square-foot Capitol Hill facility. Langston University is set to partner with Oklahoma City on the northeast space, anticipated to open sometime in 2019, officials said.
Cornett said an important aspect of the centers was accessibility – while those who can afford to pay a membership fee will be asked to do so, those fees would be assessed on a sliding schedule based on income. Centers are open to anyone aged 50 years or older, whether an Oklahoma City resident or not.
“We won’t turn them away – we’ll find a way to get them there,” he said.
Promoting health and fitness is nothing new to Cornett, who by 2007 had not only celebrated his own weight loss but challenged others to do the same. Putting Oklahoma City on a diet, less than five years later residents across the municipality collectively met the 1-million-pound weight loss goal.
It was an achievement that illustrated one of the most important tenets of his life – to face challenges head-on and to fulfill the promises he’s made in the process.
“That’s one of the things I am most proud of – we’ve done what we said we’re going to do,” Cornett said. “I want to do big things, and I believe it’s easier to accomplish when people know you’re telling the truth, they know you’re going to do what you say you’re going to do.”
“Big things” are what those who worked with Cornett said they’ve come to expect. He first took office in March 2004, after serving as a city council member since 2001. The only four-term mayor in the municipality’s history, officials said Cornett was essential in a variety of accomplishments, from bringing the NBA to the city to increasing investments in infrastructure and schools – which, in turn, led to a spike in job creation and private sector investment.
MAPS for Kids was completed on Cornett’s watch, while MAPS 3 was one of his overriding passions, a myriad of quality of life projects including not only the four-facility senior wellness center package, but also a 70-acre downtown park, streetcar system, whitewater rafting facility, new fairgrounds expo building and convention center and hundreds of miles of sidewalks and bike trails across Oklahoma City.
Beyond MAPS, Cornett focused on what officials called one of the most extensive public school capital improvement projects in the country, a $700 million effort aimed at renovating or building schools throughout Oklahoma City. That program impacted more than 70 schools and resulted in the 2014 opening of the $12 million John Rex Charter Elementary School, located downtown.
Project 180, a 2009 $140 million downtown street and sidewalk redesign effort overseen by Cornett was a glimpse into yet another major effort, the 2017 Better Streets, Safer City initiative, passed by voters in September. Championed and led by Cornett that 13-item, 10-year, $967 million package will fund a range of items, including streets, police and fire department improvements, parks and more, officials said.
“For a time, it seemed we kept waiting for somebody to save us, but I knew that would never happen until we invested in ourselves,” he said.
That investment has led to 10,000 new businesses and 100,000 new jobs across the Oklahoma City metropolitan area since Cornett became mayor, he said.
Cornett’s achievements – and a list of honors from a multitude of sources – transcend Oklahoma City government. In 2015, he teamed up New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to demonstrate mayors’ bipartisan support for a fully funded transportation infrastructure bill – an effort that helped spur a five-year, $300 billion federal transportation programs and infrastructure bill.
A fifth-generation Oklahoman, Cornett was born and raised in Oklahoma City, attending Putnam City Public Schools, where his mother worked for years as a first-grade teacher. His father was a postal worker. They were parents whose lives had been lived under the specter of the Great Depression and who passed on their work ethic to their children – something Cornett said he never left behind.
Graduating with a journalism degree from University of Oklahoma, Cornett worked for about 20 years as a broadcast news reporter anchor and manager. In 2009, realizing his formal education was a “little outdated,” he enrolled in New York University’s Executive MBA program, taking 45 trips back and forth to that school for a degree he completed in 2011.
While Cornett is well-known across Oklahoma City, he said he knows serving as governor is much different. That prompted his statewide travels, speaking – and, more importantly, listening to – people from all 77 counties, he said. Now the countdown is on to the June 26 primary; if necessary, runoff primaries will be held Aug. 28, while the general election is set for Nov. 6.
“I’ve always had Oklahoma City’s best interests in mind, of course, but I’m an Oklahoman – and I care about our state and all its people,” Cornett said. “Now, it’s time to look to the future for all of us.”

This year’s flu season proved to be one of the worst in decades, and new evidence shows it isn’t over yet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning this week that a new strain of flu is making a push in the U.S.
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation immunologist Eliza Chakravarty, M.D., said the predominant strain for this season’s outbreak has been influenza A, specifically H3N2. Cases of this strain of flu are now on the decline. But flu cases involving another strain—influenza B—appear to be surging.
“Flu season is generally winding down, but we aren’t in the clear, and people need to remain vigilant in protecting themselves and their families, especially young children,” said Chakravarty. “Influenza B can be just as serious as influenza A, and it has been known to be severe in young children.”
Even though this year’s flu shot proved largely ineffective against H3N2, it does appear to be far more effective in preventing influenza B. This means getting a flu shot is still your best possible defense against contracting the virus.
“It is actually possible to get sick with multiple strains of the flu during a single season,” said Chakravarty. “The flu is miserable. Don’t go through it if you don’t have to, especially twice.”
From Sept. 1 through March 17, the Oklahoma State Department of Health reports 242 flu-related deaths in the state, as well as more than 4,450 hospitalizations.
“If you can physically get the flu shot, do it, even this late into the flu season,” she said. “This virus is deadly. You will not get the flu from the shot; that is a myth that needs to be eliminated. The shot can save your life or the life of someone you love.”

Sex crimes. Guns and nuclear weapons. Uncertain leadership. Hurricanes. Mass shootings in our schools and malls.
Those topics drove the daily news on both local and national levels in 2017.
Other news dominates the prayer time of church services at the nursing home where I live: people diagnosed with cancer, family who doesn’t visit, children who’ve gone astray, friends who’ve died, service men and women.
Some of the prayer requests are repeated word for word, week after week. At times, I struggle to empathize with the person who’s crying for someone to see the world as she does, to care, to make the daily rounds of discouragement stop.
But then I recognize I have a tendency to do the same thing. When I hear myself repeating the same request several times, I realize that struggle is my norm. Some days, I feel wide awake and can work with a clear head for several hours. Those are the exception. Other days, like today, I wake up with a headache and muscle pain. Somehow the normal, not-so-good days, strike me as more noteable than the so-called good days.
The media also reports stories of heroism and larger-than-life personalities. We celebrate the stories, but worry about the scary stuff, casting gloom with social media tidbits. At the nursing home, we welcome happy news of birthdays, births, anticipated visits. It’s not always easy to find.
After one sleepless night, I gave passing thought to staying in my room. Instead, I decided to go to the service. As soon as I arrived, I spoke to the leader. “I’m here by faith today. Please pray for me.” My physical health didn’t improve but my attitude did. As I told the teacher, God is good even when I don’t feel it.
So, was it bad news-illness? Or was it good news-God’s faithfulness? Apparently, my perception decided where on the good-to-bad scale the day fell.
My granddaughter’s high school graduation arrived with news of her unwed pregnancy. The unexpected development has become has become a case for great rejoicing within the family.
Last month, I spent three days in the hospital after a possible heart attack. They gave me a multitude of tests before releasing me. My heart was in the same shape it was in ten years ago. That’s a miracle!
The last time I awaited surgery, I wrote cheers to fight the fear of death I struggled with. This time, I faced the possibility of heart stints and blood transfusions in absolute peace.
My son, Jaran, has endured more than many men his age (38). All his wife’s elder relatives have passed away over the past ten years. His family deals with a never-ending cycle of difficulties ranging from illness to injury, divorce, and the like. In spite of it all, their faith grows, my son has favor with his employer, and he actively shares his faith.
My cousin Jan experienced an early brush with simultaneous loss-her mother’s death and divorce. They prepared her for the ordeal when her son almost died from a traffic accident.
Look at presidential elections. Every four years multiple camps fight, convinced their candidate is the best for the country. After election night, a good percentage of the population is disappointed with election results-bad news to that party or candidate.
If I allow myself to be afraid of bad news, I’ll in a constant state of distress.
In my life, I’ve decided that when rain falls, it sometimes creates natural disasters as often as if provides necessary refreshment. The news, like the rain, is neutral by itself. What varies is how I respond.
When I first started to earn additional income from writing, I planned to use it to pay down debt or build a small savings amount. Instead, it would arrive when my car needed repair or my glasses had broken. The pay I had anticipated as good financial news instead could have become a matter of discouragement. It happened often enough that I learned to thank God for providing for unexpected expenses and letting go of my plans.
We don’t know the author of Psalm 112, but he says people don’t have be afraid of bad news. That’s good to hear, because it comes our way frequently.
The psalmist isn’t concerned about the news, good or bad. The point is “their hearts are steadfast, trusting the Lord.”
That’s how we can be sure we can withstand daily news: To stand secure in the circle of God’s loving care.

When not writing best-selling fiction, Franklin pens a column for Book Fun Magazine, “The View Through My Door,” her unique perspective on life from a nursing home. Franklin’s titles are available at online retailers as e-books and in print. Her complete list of fifty, as well as dozens of collections to which she contributed, can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Darlene-Franklin/e/B001K8993A.

by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

It was the year 1919. The little red-headed girl, Ruby Luegene Cook sat between her brother and sister in the back seat of the Model A, dodging the giant mud holes along the gravel road. This was a new beginning for the Cook family as they made their way from Bloomer, Arkansas to a town close to Maysville, Oklahoma. A very small place called Story, Oklahoma. As a five-year-old, Luegene still remembers helping her mother and siblings hold down the wire fence that stretched across the road while her uncle continued to drive the Model A, slowly puttering forward to their destination.
Luegene’s father had set out a few weeks before with their belongings. The team of horses pulled the covered wagon, as it carried their family’s possessions. The trip took 9 days with a few stops along the way to rest. The Cook family felt honored to move to a land that had become a new state in 1907.
As a young child, Luegene lived a happy life with her parents and brothers and sister. She was known as the little girl with long red hair; perhaps this is why she was given the name ‘Ruby.’ The children walked down the country road to the two-room school house; small in size yet big enough to hold the town’s children and two teachers with comfort. On one side of the small school house was the church. On the other side was a small store. “Every time you would walk by the store, there were always two tables by the front door. That is where the men would gather to play dominoes. That’s all they ever did,” Luegene said with a smile.
The Cook children (Luegene, Juanita, Harold and J.W.) were early risers as they had their chores to do before school; feeding the chickens, gathering eggs, and milking the cows. “Sometimes, the cow’s foot would end up in the bucket and the milk would splash, going everywhere. After that, I knew for a fact that we smelled terrible when we walked to school. Of course, I guess everyone did,” she said with a laugh.
“We had other chores after school. We worked at hoeing the young cotton plants, harvesting acres of cotton in the fall. I sure started hating cotton,” she added. “Sometimes, we would hoe the neighbor’s cotton fields too. Back then, that was just the thing to do.”
“My mother, Estelle made all of our clothes. She would flip through a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog to find pictures of dresses. She would look at the picture and without a pattern, begin cutting the material. Our clothes were nicer than the ones in the catalog.”
In 1932, Luegene graduated high school from Maysville, Oklahoma. The next year, she married the boy next door, William Sam Merritt. They had three daughters, Donna, Kay and Phyllis. “One thing we made sure of was to make sure our daughters went to Sunday school, church and would do well in school. I am proud to say that all three did exactly that. They all went to college and became educators. I am so proud of all of them,” she said.
Soon, the married couple had their hands full with three daughters and fields covered with cotton and broomcorn. Both crops took lots of hand labor and they hired about 60 workers that they called Broomcorn Johnnies to harvest the crops.
“During mealtime, the Broomcorn Johnnies would gather around the massive boards that served as tables. With the help of some of my friends, we prepared roasted corn, beans, cornbread and ham, followed with fresh blackberry cobbler. Those Broomcorn Johnnies ate well,” Luegene commented.
Luegene and Sam loved spending time with their three daughters. They attended Story Baptist Church. Later on, when the girls moved away, Luegene was a member of Maysville Baptist Church. At one time, she worked at Storm Plastics gluing lures in the fishing lure plant. With her full schedule, she still managed to find time to play the piano, make beautiful clothes, win state fair ribbons, placing first place as a seamstress. The ribbons didn’t stop there; she also won ribbons for her canned peaches, pickles, along with her first place angel food cake and divinity. In the year 1949, Sam and Luegene Merritt were also declared the Corn Champions of the State of Oklahoma for producing the most corn per acre.
It was a year ago that Luegene decided to move into Heritage Assisted Living; nice and comfortable accommodations where she receives the best of care.
Asking Luegene how she managed to live such a long, happy, successful life, she said, “I just do the best I can, doing what’s right and looking to the future.”
Luegene is looking forward to celebrating her 104th birthday, with family and friends on June 1st, 2018.

What are you looking forward to about spring? Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area Command

Sunshine and not having to wear four coats. I love the sunshine.  Lisa Sydnor

Outside activities – I love to fish and I love to do yard work.  James Dixon

It doesn’t make a lot of difference because I can’t tell the difference between winter and spring.  Kenneth Tolle

I love my gardening and the outdoors and helping others because in winter everyone hides. Linda Garza

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Pull up a chair and feel like you’re at home.
That’s the philosophy Marty Hall has brought with him to work every day for nearly five decades in the restaurant business.
And it’s how you’ll feel when you take a seat at Sid’s Diner in El Reno and Hall spins around and asks ‘How ya doin?’”
“I love the people I meet,” said Hall, who has turned the tiny onion burger joint into a destination.
Hundreds of people daily flow into Sid’s, which is just 880-square-feet of real estate (including the walk-in cooler).
“I didn’t have any money left,” Hall said of why it’s not bigger. “When I opened the door I had $300 to my name.”
Hall built the diner in 1990 after owning the old-style walkup Dairy Hut just around the corner along Route 66 which his mother and father helped him purchase when he was 21.
Hall started working in the restaurant business at age 13, peeling onions and washing dishes at 50 cents an hour.
He also got to eat anything he wanted.
“I had to work. I was just trying to help my folks out,” Hall said.
The restaurant’s namesake – Hall’s father Sid – was a highway foreman who supervised I-40.
“Dad never saw this place. He died before I could get it done,” he said. “A year from retiring he passed away from a heart attack.”
A NATIONAL SUCCESS
The walls of Sid’s Diner are covered with magazine and newspaper articles from food critics who have made the trek to El Reno – population 18,000 – to see what all the fuss is about.
“I’ve got magazines I haven’t even put up yet,” Hall giggled.
Adam Richman brought the The Food Channel’s Man Vs. Food show to El Reno a few years back.
What he found at the corner of Wade and South Choctaw blew him away before meat even touched flattop.
“We make our own spatulas. We don’t buy them,” Hall told Richman. “We use brick trowels.”
Hall used one to flatten a freshly-formed third-pound of ground beef on the seasoned grill and topped it with a heaping handful of thinly-shaved Spanish white onions.
Hall says there’s nothing fancy about any of it. The 200 or so burgers he smashes out every day for lunch trace their roots back to the Great Depression, which, as legend has it, was when Ardmore restaurant owner Ross Davis paired five cents worth of beef with half a onion.
Oklahomans and travelers along Route 66 have been enjoying the meaty marriage ever since.
Hall’s diner has been featured in Best Roadside Eats, Delicious Destinations with Andrew Zimmern, Favorite Places on Route 66 in Oklahoma, Top 5 Burgers in America by the Food Network, Is this a Great State or What with Galen Culver and Discover Oklahoma to name a few.
Visitors have come in from as far away as Africa and Korea.
LEAVING A LEGACY
Hall was born at Tinker Field while his dad was fighting in Korea. His mother used to tell the story of how she went into labor around 10 p.m. one May 7.
His grandparents put his mother into dad’s 1948 Chevrolet and sped down Route 66 until the wind and hail forced them to pull over.
“They got caught in a storm and mom said it was a bad one,” he said. “She was pretty sure there was a tornado but they made it.”
Eight months later his father came home to meet him for the first time.
“I wouldn’t change a thing. I love what I do,” Hall said.
Working six days a week, Hall swaps off with son Adam on long and short weeks, with one working 32 hours and the other working 42.
Sid’s will one day become Adam’s, who at 35 is the same age Hall was when he built the diner.
This December, Hall’s book detailing it all showed up on Amazon.
A Burger Boy on Route 66 contains decades of stories and photos of those who traversed Route 66 and stopped by for a bite.
The flip was switched a few years back for Hall to write a book. “I’m a Christian and my wife is the one who really encouraged me,” he said.
The gravity of it all struck him a few years back.
A friend and her mother stopped by for lunch. She asked how he was getting along.
“I always say I’m doing fine, I’ve got a really good shepherd,” Hall said. “She said ‘I know. He likes to watch you cook those hamburgers.’ I had never thought about it that way.”
Hall paused.
“There’s a whole lot more going on here than cooking hamburgers.”