The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) recently issued a Cease-and-Desist Order against First Premier Home Warranty Corp. for unauthorized sale of home warranty contracts in Oklahoma. Effective immediately, the company is required to halt all sales activities in the state. The OID emphasizes that any entity offering home warranty contracts to Oklahoma consumers must hold proper authorization from the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready highlighted the importance of consumer protections stating, “Oklahoma consumers rely on home warranty companies to provide essential coverage. Our licensing protocols are designed to safeguard consumers and uphold ethical standards. When companies fail to adhere to these standards, we take swift action to protect consumers.”
The OID initiated an investigation following complaints from consumers regarding the sale of unlicensed home warranty plans in Oklahoma. Consumers are urged to verify the licensing status of any company before purchasing a policy. Suspected instances of fraud should be reported to the OID at 800-522-0071.

The 2024 Oklahoma Senior Follies is being reimagined this year! There will be lots of glitz and glamor as well as some new faces on stage. We will be opening with OKC Chorus (Sweet Adelines). Our variety show will also include Tarpley Tappers, Barbara DeMaio (opera star), our gorgeous beauties, and Mark and Patti Mellow as our Dynamic Duo! This year the beauties will not only be announced but will also participate by singing and dancing in the background in some of the numbers.
Gina Bramlett and Michael Pone are our Co-directors this year. Dr. Matthew Jones is our talented music director. They will be working their magic to make this a show to remember for the entire family!
The show will be at UCO Mitchell Hall on Saturday, June 8th at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 9th at 3:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $30.00 each or $25.00 each for a group of ten or more. Tickets are available on our website at www.oklahomaseniorfollies.com by clicking on purchase tickets, or by calling the box office at 405-974-3375.

The Metropolitan Library System is thrilled to announce the launch of its Strategic Plan Survey, inviting community members to shape the future of libraries across Oklahoma County.
“By participating in this survey, individuals have the opportunity to directly influence the evolution of their local libraries, ensuring they remain vibrant and responsive to the diverse communities they serve,” said Larry White, CEO of the Metropolitan Library System.
The Strategic Plan Survey aims to gather valuable insights from guests to better understand their preferences and needs regarding programs, services, materials, technology and future library locations.
“We hope to build four new libraries in the next decade, and we need to know where to put them,” said White. “We believe that involving our community in the planning process is crucial to building libraries that truly meet their needs.”
The survey, available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, is available at metrolibrary.org/survey. Participants who complete the survey are eligible for a prize drawing, with ten Amazon Fire tablets and ten insulated tumblers up for grabs. The survey is open until May 10.
The grand opening for the new Almonte Library, located at 2727 SW 59th, is scheduled for May 15 at 10 a.m.

The Chisholm Trail Museum in Kingfisher celebrated its 60th anniversary on April 22. To celebrate this milestone, a new campaign dedicated to expanding and renovating the museum launched on May 1.
This project will allow the museum to rebrand as The Chisholm and refocus its mission to provide a more sustainable future while ensuring that Oklahoma’s farming and ranching history, from its early roots to contemporary issues, are shared. Farming and ranching have long played a role in shaping the lives of Oklahomans and our state. This campaign will allow the museum to combine the old with the new.
“At The Chisholm, we will strive to engage, educate, and enrich our community and those who explore it by making the unique stories of Oklahoma’s past relevant to today’s visitors,” reported Jason Harris, executive director of the museum. “We sit at the crossroads of Oklahoma’s wheat belt and along the Chisholm Trail. Our location makes us an ideal place to share exhibits on indigenous agriculture and herd management, the cattle drive era, agriculture mechanization and modernization, conservation efforts, ranch rodeo, agriculture and the environment, and more.”
The museum’s new exhibits will focus on the individuals, families, and industries that have shaped Oklahoma agribusiness through the decades.
More than $1.5 million has been allocated for The Chisholm out of $46 million in Legacy Capital Financing funds given to the Oklahoma Historical Society by the legislature to make improvements across the state to more than 20 sites. The museum plans to raise additional private funds through 2026, with work beginning at the complex this summer. This campaign will enable the museum to completely renovate the museum building and its mechanical systems, preserve historic structures in the heritage village, complete extensive preservation work on the territorial governor’s mansion, and allow for better visitor experiences and care of its collections. The design includes creating new educational and community meeting spaces, modernizing collections storage for artifact care, providing improved ADA accessibility, installing new exhibits throughout the museum complex, and more.
“It is about more than just our buildings,” Harris said. “It is about transforming the museum to appeal to many of our state’s citizens and visitors while helping the OHS meet its institutional goals. Our objective is to provide our community with an invaluable resource while stimulating tourism in the region.”
With more than three-quarters of the state as farmland, agribusiness is big business in Oklahoma. Today, Oklahoma is home to more than 77,000 farms and ranches, ranks second in the U.S. in cattle production, fourth in the number of farms, and shapes agribusiness across the nation through education training.
The Chisholm Trail Museum is located at 605 Zellers Ave. in Kingfisher. Call 405-375-5176 for more information or visit thechisholm.org.
The Chisholm is an affiliate of the Oklahoma Historical Society. For more information about the OHS, please visit https://www.okhistory.org/.

Story by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer – Photos Shelton’s Photography & Design for SNL

Linda Traw

Crowned Ms. Oklahoma Senior America 2024 at The 16th Annual Pageant.

Linda Traw of Tulsa was crowned April 6 as Ms. Oklahoma Senior America 2024 at the 16th annual pageant at the Mustang Performing Arts Center.
The winner will be sponsored by the Ms. Senior Oklahoma Foundation to compete in the National Ms. Senior America Pageant at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Sept. 29-Oct. 4.
“I had no expectations going into the pageant and was really shocked when they called my name,” Traw said. “I’m completely honored to represent the state of Oklahoma for a year, and of course, to compete nationally.”
The pageant is billed as an exciting combination of talent and inner beauty along with the individual fulfillment and elegance.
By giving women 60 years and older an opportunity to display their “inner beauty”, talents, and elegance, the Pageant honors the achievements of senior women and motivates and encourages them to utilize their full potential to share a positive outlook on life with others. Participants represent a cross-section of America.
The Ms Senior America LLC Pageant is judged in two phases: the Preliminary Round and the Finals. In the Preliminary Round, each contestant receives a score, from 1 to 10, in each of the four categories – Interview – Inner Beauty (Philosophy of Life) – Evening Gown and Talent.
Finalists enter the stage of the Final Round with their scores from their Interviews and are judged a second time on their Evening Gown, Philosophy of Life and Talent Presentations.
Traw, a pre-kindergarten teacher in Jenks, said her co-workers and students were excited to see her return to school with her crown and sash.
“I brought my crown and my sash and I took pictures of everybody (students) wearing the crown,” she said. “They thought it was pretty cool to wear a crown. My co-workers are thrilled. They think it’s really amazing.”
Traw became interested in applying for the pageant after watching a friend compete in it last year.
“I went to see my friend, Debbie Hay. She was in it last year, and I was very impressed,” she said. “I thought, “I want to do that. That would be fun.” And that’s what just drew me in.”
As part of her pageant performance, Traw sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the movie “Wizard of Oz.”
“I’m a goal setter and since I didn’t start singing until my 40s this was new territory to me,” she said. “When I find something I really want to do, I usually grab a hold onto it and go for it.”
Traw said her life prior to her 40s was like riding a roller coaster having overcome childhood trauma and losing her mother to cancer at a young age.
“I’ve been through dreams and tragedies,” she said. “In high school I did nothing. I always thought I could sing. I was too inverted and too afraid of the world to pursue it. I lived kind of trapped. I mean, I worked and got married and we had a son, but I lived in this world of denial that I had baggage.”
Traw said that baggage finally caught up with her in her 40s.
“It just caught up with me and somewhere in my 40s,” she said. “I returned to teaching after getting my certification in Oklahoma.”
Traw is a native Kansan and taught special education in the Sunflower state.
“I went back to teaching and taught special education, I realized it had changed a lot and it was too much, it became overwhelming. I realized I needed help,” she said.
Traw said she received counseling.
“I received counseling for probably about maybe close to a year, and learned that I wasn’t a victim, but I had a story that could be shared to help others,” she said.
Traw then decided to pursue her love of singing and performing.
“I took voice lessons and that gave me the start to go and pursue productions,” she said. “I’ve been in a total of four community productions around the Tulsa area, Sapulpa, Sand Springs, Broken Arrow, and I was at the PAC when I did “A Christmas Carol” in Tulsa. I used to sing with the Tulsa Praise Orchestra, which is a big band, and I’ve traveled to New York City for the Statue of Liberty’s anniversary and to Kentucky for the American Legion.”
Traw later created a singing business which included singing in retirement homes, but had to scuttle those plans due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“When COVID hit, I lost that business, and I went back to teaching, and now I’m a full-time pre-kindergarten teacher at Jenks Public Schools,” she said.
Traw said performing at the pageant pushed her out of her comfort zone.
“It’s definitely been a challenge,” she said. “It’s taught me a new skill that I didn’t have before. You can’t just get up on the pageant stage and just be there. You have to prepare. There are nerves that go into it. I think everybody was nervous, and there was excitement, of course.”
Traw said faith plays an important role in her life.
“My faith is huge in my life. I couldn’t be who I was, I can’t be who I am, I can’t do what I do without Jesus. It’s impossible. I totally give Him the praise because He’s the one who set me free,” she said.
Traw said this summer she will be more active in promoting the Ms. Oklahoma Senior America pageant.
“My goal is to make more women aware of it that are mature like me, so there’ll be more interest in the program and maybe more new people to participate in the spring,” she said. “I really want to give light to such a worthy organization. I would love to sing at retirement homes again. I thoroughly missed it, so that would be something I’ll probably be pursuing. My goal is to first serve my community, and then if I’m able to find some places where I can sing and entertain.”

Edmond Mobile Meals is proud to announce its 50th anniversary of serving the Edmond community this month.
Established in 1974, Edmond Mobile Meals delivered its first six meals on April 22. Seven local churches donated $25 each and provided volunteer support to help the program get started. Since that first day, the nonprofit organization has delivered over 1.2 million meals to the homebound elderly and disabled residents in Edmond. Today, Edmond Mobile Meals delivers an average of 275 meals each weekday, 120 weekend meals, and an average of 50 meals for the Edmond Senior Center’s congregate lunch. Over 400 dedicated volunteers assist in preparing and packaging meals each weekday and delivering meals across 100 square miles of Edmond. A program record of over 73,000 meals were delivered last year.
Edmond Mobile Meals is the only organization that provides daily nourishing meals and wellness checks to the homebound residents of the community. The organization provides these services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay for the service. Clients are accepted into the program based only on need.
“Our primary mission is to make sure that no senior in Edmond ever goes hungry or feels forgotten,” said Executive Director, Cristi Twenter. To prepare for the anticipated increase in need for home-delivered meals for seniors, the organization in partnership with the City of Edmond is in the midst of an infrastructure expansion that will result in triple the capacity of meals that can be prepared each day. Twenter continues, “The aging population is surging and will double in the next decade. We are determined to make sure Edmond Mobile Meals is ready to meet the needs of Edmond’s seniors now and in the future.”
“We provide more than just a meal,” Twenter says. “The friendly volunteers who deliver our meals may be the only human contact some clients have each day. We know that social isolation and loneliness are extremely detrimental for homebound individuals. Real friendships are developed between our volunteers and clients. These relationships have a dramatically positive impact on our clients’ health and allows them to remain living independently in their own homes for as long as possible.”
In honor of this milestone anniversary, Edmond Mobile Meals asks for support of their endowment fund held at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. Any gift made to this campaign will receive permanent recognition on a Legacy Wall that will be featured in the organization’s renovated building. Twenter says, “When you donate to our endowment fund, you are giving a gift to our future. Your contribution today will give back to Edmond’s most vulnerable residents forever. It is a wonderful opportunity to honor loved ones, current or former clients, or volunteers.” To donate in celebration Edmond Mobile Meals 50th Anniversary, visit https://edmondmobilemeals.org/donate, or mail a check payable to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation with “fbo Edmond Mobile Meals” on the memo line. The address is 1000 N. Broadway Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73102.

Planned gifts can also be made to the Edmond Mobile Meals endowment fund. Commonly, these are donated through a will or trust. For more information about planned giving to Edmond Mobile Meals, please contact Cristi Twenter at cristi@edmondmobilemeals.org.

Iru Daugherty

(Right) 100 years old. Tulsa – Moved to Tulsa in 1987 to work at Victory Church, her son Pastor Billy Joe asked her to “love on people.” She has had an interesting life with wonderful people & is so grateful for good friends. Her words of wisdom to younger people: “Follow the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Listen to Him. Believe in Him!”

Mildred Cox

(Left) 100 years old. Broken Arrow – Mildred was born in Kentucky but is now a Golden Okie. Mildred was the cashier at Ted & Debbie’s Flower & Garden before retiring in 2017. She loves God and her Family.

Dewey Muirhead

(Right) 100 years old. Wewoka – Served in the Army Air Corps as Military Police (MP) and loved his motorcycle. He cooks himself a big breakfast everyday, enjoys old Western swing music and likes antique car shows. His life advice to others: “Work hard; have fun; love your family and make memories!”

Velma Oliver

(Right) 100 years old. Claremore – Her husband was military so they traveled all over the country & lived in Jurupa Valley, CA for several years. She was a farmer, homemaker, mother & housekeeper, so she never really retired. She enjoys Mexican food & gardening & volunteered at the Salvation Army.

By Marilyn Olson, Executive Director, VillagesOKC

During the 3,691 days that my mother lived with us, there were hundreds of really good days, a few bummers, two or three frightening days and a lot of just ordinary days. Sandwiched in between were some that stood out because they made us laugh until we cried. Today, we laugh all the more when the story is retold. It was one of those that made us say, “You can’t make this stuff up; you gotta laugh.”
It was near the year-end holidays. My friend had given me an “Alexa” for Christmas. (You know, that’s the electronic voice-activated gadget everyone was buying in 2009.) After opening, she was eager to tell me all of its amazing features. She wanted me to know all about how it helps her keep a grocery list, tells the weather for the day, and even orders on Amazon. She was so eager to set it up and show me that she asked my Amazon password and placed a “pretend” order, before submitting – or so I thought.
That next week a small Amazon Prime package arrived; it was a slender bottle of lotion. Although I do not use Avon, I decided to put it away because Mother always is looking for hand cream and it would make a good gift for Mother’s Day. And besides, I hate returning things.
Five months after my friend had made the erroneous Avon order, I presented Mother with the gift of hand cream. Since she already had bottles of lotion open, she put it aside waiting until fall to begin to use it in preparation for a doctor’s visit. It had a delightful fragrance. “I can always use another bottle of lotion,” she said.
The monthly appointment with the doctor was uneventful, and afterwards, we went to Braum’s as usual to celebrate having a good checkup. The doctor applauded that she was walking regularly outdoors even though the days were getting cooler. “Great for Vitamin D,” the doctor said.
We were very busy preparing for Thanksgiving when all the family would be there. Mother said, “I’m really concerned about what is happening to my hands, neck and face. I wonder if you’d call Dr. Craven and see if the nurse can work me in for an appointment.”
When I investigated, Mother was worried about her skin’s yellowish tinge on both hands. Looking more closely, the faint yellowish pallor was even more apparent in the daylight. Mother was a worrier and thought she was jaundiced. And even though I didn’t let her know, I had concerns too. (She stayed very aware of her healthcare lab reports and watched her kidney numbers meticulously.) But it didn’t make sense because there were NO other symptoms.
After two more days of “apparent jaundice” but no other symptoms, I began to seriously investigate yet trying not to worry her.
“Mother, what bottle of lotion have you been using?”
“That one,” she said as she pointed to the bottle on the nightstand.
I picked it up to read the fragrance. It was the Avon bottle I had presented on Mother’s Day. For the first time I read the label aloud, and we both burst out laughing.
“Oh, my goodness! Mother, this is tanning lotion, Avon’s Golden Tanning Lotion. You aren’t jaundiced, you just have a golden tan. Guess I’ll cancel that doctor’s appointment and buy a swimsuit fit for a 98-year-old instead.”
We couldn’t wait to tell the family. And we all laughed until the tears came.

By Nick Thomas

Born and raised in West Virginia, David Selby’s extensive film, television, and stage career included prominent roles in two very different TV shows in different generations: ABC’s gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” in the 60s and the prime-time soap “Falcon Crest” on CBS in the 80s.
“My mother (Sarah) loved that I was an actor,” said Selby from Los Angeles, but she had no background in the entertainment world. Her upbringing in a coal mining town was a tough one, being responsible for raising her brothers and sisters.
“She managed to graduate from high school and met my father who was raised on a farm,” recalled Selby. “Mom continued to work hard at various jobs including the local Montgomery Wards, in a bakeshop, and her last job was as a bookkeeper in an office supply place. But she never liked to talk about herself – at all. Her focus was always on the family. She was also a meticulous housekeeper and did not like messes.”
Tidying, says Selby, is a trait he inherited and for which his family has always ribbed him for his constant dusting, washing, and sweeping. “Sarah is among us!” he says his wife, Chip, will lovingly announce.
To honor his late mother and her influence on his life, Selby wrote “They Don’t Call Me Sarah for Nothing,” a short but compelling monologue he composed for Smartphone Theatre, a live stream digital performance platform presented via Zoom and created during the early pandemic months to showcase original productions. Selby’s reading streamed live in March 2022 and can be viewed on YouTube (https://youtu.be/cm7mFA_VF6c).
“I would act like my mother unconsciously,” he said. “The kids would say ‘grandma says that’ or my wife would say ‘you sound like your mother.’ So, I wrote ‘They Don’t Call Me Sarah for Nothing’ because it was cathartic for me to talk about her and realize, my God, how much she meant to me.”
Despite their loving relationship, young David found her constant working difficult to understand. Nevertheless, he recalled, “she always somehow managed to look like a million dollars! Even taking out the trash or going to the grocery store in our little community, she was always cautious about looking her best.”
As he grew older and with no initial interest in acting, Selby planned to enroll in West Virginia University but needed tuition funds. “So, I went to Atlantic City in the summer and worked at a restaurant, then returned with a pocket full of money to pay for my first half-year’s tuition. I lived at home so I could walk to class as a freshman, but didn’t really know what I was going to do.”
That’s when an adviser for students whose names started with an ‘S’ spotted Selby standing in the enrollment line for classes. “He said, ‘you look like you could be in theater’ and it turned out he was a theater instructor,” Selby remembered. “He talked me into it and, lo and behold, I began doing plays at the university right away.”
After completing his degree, Selby moved to Illinois where he completed a Ph.D. in the arts, but not before moving to the East Coast and accepting his first TV role.
“I didn’t finish my Ph.D. until after I was in New York doing ‘Dark Shadows’ – in fact, I copied my dissertation at the office where we shot the show,” he recalled. His wife even took a job as an editor and then as a college English teacher so David could pursue his acting career (see http://www.davidselby.com).
But what did his mom really think about his acting career?
“She watched every show I did, from the plays at university and summer stock to ‘Dark Shadows,’ ‘Falcon Crest’ and everything else,” he says. “Aside from my wife, my mother was my biggest fan. I loved her dearly.”

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, in Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See https://www.getnickt.org.

Care Providers Oklahoma recently sounded the alarm on an impending crisis created by the Biden Administration’s approval of a new staffing mandate. The new mandate requires nursing homes to significantly increase the number of nurse aides and registered nurses at each facility, without addressing 1) the financial impact of that new requirement or 2) the reality of an ongoing workforce shortage that has already led multiple facilities in Oklahoma to close.
“For months, the White House has been signaling their plan is to mandate that nursing homes hire staffers that do not exist with money they do not have,” said Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck. “This is an impossible proposition that has gone from a bad idea to a federal rule with the force of law. We are sounding the alarm that this policy will absolutely lead to closures, displaced residents, and the loss of quality care for elderly and vulnerable populations.”
Care Providers Oklahoma estimates the new rule requires the average facility to hire two to three new registered nurses at a cost approaching $17 per Medicaid resident per day. Total costs associated with new hires for Oklahoma’s nursing homes will be as much as $76 million annually.
Currently, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority already estimates that nursing homes are funded at $44 per Medicaid resident per day under the projected cost-of-care. The Biden staffing mandate expands that funding gap to upwards of $61 per Medicaid resident per day.
“Oklahoma homes have already been closing at a rapid clip because we are not funded at the cost-of-care,” said Buck. “That is going to increase at an even faster rate, especially in rural areas, unless we can get some help.”
See the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s list of recent closures here.
Buck said that Care Providers Oklahoma was taking the following steps to protect its residents:
1. Asking the Oklahoma Legislature to increase funding to a level equal to the OHCA’s projected cost-of-care;
2. Supporting the federal “Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act,” a bill that would block implementation of the new mandate;
3. Educating the public on the devastating impact that the Biden mandate would have on Oklahoma’s vulnerable seniors.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has already signed a letter, along with 14 other governors opposing the mandate.
Senator Lankford has also spoken out against the mandate and its impact on rural facilities.