Collective Arts Productions, a Norman-based performing arts group dedicated to the incubation of emerging Oklahoma theater artists, presents its fourth season of new plays. The season of five plays spans June through October. Tickets for each play are priced on a sliding scale, allowing theater lovers to pay at a level that makes sense for them.
To purchase tickets, visit coartsproductions.com/tickets
First up is Where the Rabbits Roam No More by playwright Olivia Akers and directed by S M Boyer. “When Vel is knocked out by an unknown disaster, he awakes to find himself trapped underground and surrounded by four strangers. Facing the constant threat of starvation, Vel must soon decide who he is, who he loves, and, most importantly, who will help him escape.“ June 7-9 at The University of Oklahoma’s Old Science Hall.
Then, Co.Arts presents staged readings of two cutting-edge plays-in-development. First, The Fading People by playwright Lilia Ruiz Cruz and directed by Elise Bear explores a dystopic reality where loss of language separates us from our ancestors. Then, Influenced by playwright Anna Sofia McGuire, directed by Jenna Rowell, questions fame and consent in a coming-of-age story about an elite boarding school for creating online starlets. June 28-29 at The University of Oklahoma’s Old Science Hall.
Next is playwright Avery Ann Wolfe’s new play Lascaux, a historical fiction directed by Co.Arts Artistic Manager Morgan Simon. “In September of 1940 in Nazi-occupied France, just outside a rural village, two teenage boys discover a cave filled with the mark of early humanity; wall to wall, it brims with paleolithic art. Moved by what they find inside, two of these boys decide to return to guard the cave’s entrance. Lascaux imagines what those nights in the December cold might have looked like, at the confluence of pre-history and history.“ August 23-25 at Resonator Institute in Norman.
Finally, Co.Arts presents its sophomore creation from The Co.Hort, a form and genre-bending new play collaboratively written and performed by OKC’s most innovative emerging performance artists. Following last year’s inaugural Co.Hort creation, The Co.llective Arts Puppet Circus for Oklahoma, the 2024 Co.Hort promises to deliver an exciting, experimental creation. Stay tuned for more details!
To learn more about Co.llective Arts Productions, visit
https://coartsproductions.com/, follow on social media @coartspro, or email co.artsproductions@gmail.com

Angela Maness

Currently training to become a certified Post Veteran Service Officer at American Legion Post in Norman.

Story by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer

(Retired) U.S. Marine Corps SgtMaj Angela Maness joined the Marine Corps in 1987, graduating as the platoon honor recruit from Parris Island, S.C.
Her journey includes duty stations across the globe, from Camp Lejeune to Okinawa, Japan, and multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Recognized for her outstanding service, Maness holds multiple personal awards including the Meritorious Service Medal (2 stars), Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3 stars) and more.
Maness is currently training to become a certified Post Veteran Service Officer through the American Legion Post in Norman.
“I’ve been a member of the American Legion for five or six years, but when I came up here in 2020 because of COVID, I saw the Norman (American Legion) Post and decided to check it out,” she said.
Maness walked through the front door of the Norman American Legion and saw they had just two service officers, and only was credentialled.
Accredited American Legion service officers are specially trained to provide expert assistance, free of charge, to veterans and their families. While the majority of a service officer’s work involves application for VA disability benefits, these compassionate professionals also provide information, referrals and resources on education, employment and business, death benefits and other important topics.
The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veteran’s organization. Focusing on service to veterans, servicemembers and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at nearly 2 million in more than 13,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.
Maness is engaged to her fiancé Sal Cenicacelaya, a US Marine Veteran who served from 1983-1989 as a 0311 Infantryman.
The duo was asked by Master Chief Petty Officer Larry Van Schuyver, the State Commander of the Department of Oklahoma Military Order of the Purple Heart, to become Ambassadors to the MOPH.
“He invited Sal and I to become Ambassadors to the MOPH and we gladly accepted about six months ago,” Maness said. “He later informed us that we were also nominated for volunteer “Veteran of the Year” and female “Veteran of the Year.” Master Chief has informed us that we will receive the plaque and official recognition sometime early August 2024 when they have their organizational meeting.”
Maness is also working to become a certified motorcycle rider instructor.
“I’m taking this course to become certified as a coach here in the state of Oklahoma,” she said. “It’s a rider’s coach course teaching the coaches themselves how to prepare the class for the basic rider course, and we’re in the advanced portion of it. It takes a lot of my time, but it’s worth it to me.”
Maness and her fiancé help give back as members of the Flag Poles Honors our Veterans (FPHOV) which erects flagpoles for veterans around the state of Oklahoma.
“It’s just so much fun,” she said. “If you’ve never had the privilege to witness what these outstanding Patriots do every Sunday, you’re missing out.”
FPHOV installs 5-10 flag poles around the state of Oklahoma and arrive at each home with a parade of motorcycles.
“The majority of the “Red, White and Blue Team” are civilians who just happen to own motorcycles and have a deep appreciation for Veterans who have sacrificed for this country. The best part – it’s all free for the veteran,” Maness said.
“Maness continued “Every Sunday they go out and they pick a town or region in Oklahoma, and they all ride to the veteran’s home. They show up on 10, 12 Harley’s making loud noise through the neighborhood, so it wakes everybody up and they park in front of the home. They go and place the flagpole. It’s an amazing process to watch. It’s about the ceremony that they perform, about the prayer service that they actually do right there in the Veterans front yard.”
Maness said the flag pole ceremony becomes a community affair.
“All the neighbors usually come out to watch and ask questions,” she said. “They are usually very excited to be part of the process and some actually participate in helping us dig the hole and perform the dedication. We always explain why we are here, why we are honoring this veteran, his service, his family, and his dedication to this country. Then, we recite the 13-folds of the flag and we hand it to him while the cement dries and we ask him to fly the flag the very next day. At this point, there is usually not a dry eye – so we get back on our bikes and make our way to the next home. It is an honor to give back in this fashion and I hope to continue as much as my schedule will allow.”
Maness comes from a military family. She and several of her siblings followed suit and joined the military. Her father was a Marine for 27 years, and her mother was in the United States Navy.
Maness said her parents both met while serving at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in 1960.
“There are five kids in my family. One has already passed. Of the four left, three of us have served in the Armed Forces (two Marines and one Army) while the other is a military supporter who works with Marines as a government employee,” she said. “This is just something that my family takes pride in doing – serving our country in some fashion.”

Mark Cope, Community Relations for Nerve Renewal gave an interesting and understandable explanation of neuropathy and the unique Nerve Renewal protocol.

“Neuropathy is a tingling, numbness or pain in your hands and feet, basically your peripheral nervous system, it is everything that is not your brain or spinal cord,” he began.

“Our treatment is unique in that it is drug free. We aren’t adding any medicines to the medicine cabinet. It’s non-invasive, non-surgical and it’s covered by insurance. Medicare, Medicaid, VA and most private insurances will pay for our treatment. Mainly because what they really like to see is fall prevention. So they are willing to do some kind of preventative treatment,” he continued.

Jamie Crowe, Membership Director for South OKC Chamber, asked “How do you actually treat this without surgical or invasive procedures?”

“Our specialized equipment modulates the nerves on a deeper level. The muscles don’t contract with our therapy. We are going right to the nerves themselves. So we are able to depolarize the nerve cells – we turn the nerve signal off completely while they are in therapy,” Cope replied.

“At the same time we are injecting a vitamin solution at the area of the neuropathy. So that is a dual benefit. You have the pain signal being shut off and at the same time the nerve cell is allowing nutrients in from the blood stream. So it’s really creating conditions for nerve cells to improve functionality,” he continued.

“We are naturally helping the body into a state that is reducing the nerve signaling from whatever disorder has caused the pain.”

How many treatments do you typically go through if you were to need your services?” Crowe asked.

“Most get prescribe 24 treatments, coming in twice a week for 30 minutes. So the biggest commitment on a patient’s side is time. But about half way through the treatment they are feeling so much better that the time is no longer a factor,” Cope concluded.

Call today to schedule an evaluation:

OKC – South

9821 S May Ave.

(405) 655-5856

Longtime Oklahoma City resident Patty Kelly Stevens faithfully displays the U.S. flag outside her Nichols Hills home for most holidays. But Flag Day, June 14, is extra special to the 99-year-old American patriot, who at an early age lived through shattering experiences that bonded her with her country’s flag.
Watching recent televised reports of students protesting on U.S. college campuses and taking down the American flag has shocked and upset her. “Yeah, that flag means a lot to me,” she says. “For me, it’s mostly about freedom.” As for those protesting students taking down U.S. flags and replacing them with other flags: “They need to ship ‘em out.”
Her impatience with the protesters’ lack of respect for the U.S. flag is better understood in context with her experiences in 1941 as a 17-year-old American high school senior in the Philippine Islands. Abruptly arrested by Japanese soldiers when World War II began, she was classified as an “enemy alien” and sent to the infamous Santo Tomás Internment Camp in Manila. After three years at Santo Tomás with thousands of other American civilian prisoners and suffering badly from malnutrition, she and her mother volunteered to transfer to another internment camp, Los Baños, thirty miles south of Manila.
Patty and her mother had hoped for better conditions at the new camp, but by January 1945 they and the Los Baños camp’s 2,150 other prisoners were on the verge of starvation and a possible mass execution. To their surprise and delight, the captives awakened one morning to find their Japanese guards gone. Thinking the Japanese soldiers had fled from approaching American troops, the prisoners began a celebration.
“We broke into the guards’ food warehouses-we called them bodegas-and started eating like kings and queens,” Patty recalled. “Then someone asked if anyone had an American flag to put up. I was shocked when my mother pulled out the large American flag that had been presented to my father by Philippine Governor-General Leonard Wood around 1921. It had been a family heirloom since way before the war. I didn’t even know my mother had smuggled it into our camp and was hiding it.”
As someone played a recording of the “Star Spangled Banner” over the camp’s loudspeakers, the captives sang along while saluting the raised 48-star flag, many weeping openly. They renamed their former prison “Camp Freedom.”
The gorging and celebrating went on for several days-until the Japanese guards unexpectedly returned one night. “They were furious when they found out someone had put up an American flag,” Patty said.
Fortunately for Patty and her mother, their flag had been taken down as a precaution and hidden before the Japanese returned. “The guards searched our barracks three or four times trying to find it,” Patty recalled. “I remember sitting outside the barracks when they searched and getting so upset. My mother kept telling me, ‘Don’t get all worked up, Patty, don’t get all worked up. They won’t find it.’ They would have killed us if they found that American flag.”
She never learned where her mother had hidden the flag. With conditions worsening in the camp, in the early morning hours of February 23, 1945, Patty and the prisoners were stunned to see a company of U.S. paratroopers from the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment drifting down just outside their camp. The troopers had been ordered by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to rescue the suffering civilians in a special operation. MacArthur and other officials worried the captives would be executed by their Japanese guards in the closing months of the war.
“God, those parachutes falling were a wonderful sight,” Patty says nearly 80 years later. “I’ll never forget it. Whenever I’m a little down or depressed, I just think about that sight.”
The famous airborne rescue of these 2,150 civilians behind enemy lines at Los Baños was described in 1993 by Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell as “the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies.” The complex operation was the subject of a 2004 documentary, Rescue at Dawn-The Los Baños Raid, which aired as recently as last summer on the television network History (formerly The History Channel).
Barely 20 years old when freed by U.S. troops, Patty was soon to meet her future husband, Paul J. Kelly, a 22-year-old first lieutenant from Oklahoma City who had dropped out of the University of Oklahoma to join the war effort. Paul was serving with the First Cavalry Division, which had liberated Santo Tomás Internment Camp in early February 1945 and was stationed in Manila in the closing months of the war. After a whirlwind courtship following the war, the two were wed in Oklahoma City on February 24, 1946, one year and a day after Patty’s liberation from Los Baños.
Long after the war, Paul Kelly founded Guaranty Bank and Trust in Oklahoma City. The couple had two children who grew up in the city, Paul Jr. and Carole. At her husband’s funeral in 1971, Patty had his coffin covered with the U.S. flag that had flown at “Camp Freedom” in January 1945.
With the storied flag nearing 100 years old in 2018, Patty and Paul Jr. found a permanent home for the flag at the U.S. Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, N. Carolina. Patty and her family delivered the flag to the museum where it was honored in a ceremony around a special display in the museum’s front lobby.
Reciting the flag’s proud history, museum director Jim Bartlinski said at the ceremony, “We have an obligation to care for that flag until the end of time.”
Still active and regularly driving herself to an exercise class in north Oklahoma City, Patty finally decided to put in book format the story of her family’s famous flag, her early fraught years as a Japanese prisoner, and her dramatic rescue by U.S. airborne troops. She worked with a local historian and author to complete Waiting for America: A Civilian Prisoner of Japan in the Philippines, published in late February.
As one of the last living witnesses to these historic events, she has recounted parts of her story at several local book signings and is excited about several more planned around the state. And she gets a special thrill displaying her American flag outside her home.
“Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of July-these are all holidays I take special pride in flying my Stars and Stripes,” Patty says. “Those few of us still around who lived through those hard war years have a special connection with that flag. I wish more Americans did. But most have never lost their freedom for more than three years and been denied the right to fly that flag.”

Dr. Joseph Jamison is a board-certified primary care physician specializing in Family Medicine. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rice University and attended medical school at Texas A&M College of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Oklahoma and served as the Chief Resident in Family Medicine.

Dr. Jamison was initially drawn to a career in medicine because it offered him an opportunity to practice in a challenging field. As a provider, he enjoys interacting with patients and believes in taking the necessary time to truly listen to their concerns so he can help them feel their very best and stay healthy. In his free time, he enjoys history, genealogy, reading, traveling, hiking, and kayaking.

“I like that the VIPcare model allows doctors to not only address patients’ active problems, but also to help patients avoid problems. The focus on prevention helps patients have a better quality of life. As a physician, I really enjoy having the opportunity to help patients live a healthier life.” Dr. Jamison

Dr. Shires is a dually trained board-certified/eligible physician, specializing in Internal Medicine. She earned her medical degree and completed residencies at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

Dr. Shires has been an Oklahoma practicing physician for over 35 years. She has been a member of several medical organizations, received numerous accolades from the medical community, and has served on hospital and clinic boards throughout her years of practice.

Dr. Shires considers it a great honor to have earned the trust of so many patients throughout her years, and she is dedicated to creating individualized healthcare plans while utilizing the latest global evidence-based medical information

“I spend every minute of the appointment listening to my patients and gathering information that I may better serve them. Because they deserve quality with their longevity.” Dr. Shires

Edmond has a new primary health clinic for seniors over 65! VIPcare has recently moved into a state of the art clinic located in the same shopping center as Natural Grocers off 33rd and Blvd.

VIPcare’s goal is to always provide a better healthcare experience for their patients: Less time in the waiting room, more time with the doctor, and more time to care

By focusing on a senior care model and increasing access to high-quality care, VIPcare’s model is at the forefront of the future of healthcare, as opposed to the current system the healthcare organization refers to as “sick care.”  Patients are encouraged to see the doctor often instead of only when they are sick, contributing to their success in patient outcomes.

VIPcare’s goal is to always provide a better healthcare experience for their patients: Less time in the waiting room, more time with the doctor, and more time to care.

VIPcare promises to be there when their patients need them the most with same-day, urgent care appointments, 24/7 on-call provider, and transportation assistance.

VIPcare is committed to delivering compassionate and preventive healthcare, specializing in primary care for individuals 65 and older. They accept most Medicare Advantage plans and work personally with insurance plans to ensure families receive the coverage they need and deserve.

VIPcare advocates better healthcare as opposed to ‘sick care. Because their doctors only see an average of 12 to 15 patients a day instead of the industry standard of 25 to 35, they’re able to spend more time with patients, sometimes up to an hour. This allows for a different mindset and a different way of providing care.

VillagesOKC has announced a collaboration with Navigating Medicare to offer that agency’s services to provide answers to individual Medicare questions in the VillagesOKC office during business hours – 10 am-3 pm on Mondays through Thursdays. The consultations are free.
“For six years, Navigating Medicare has been the trusted Medicare educator for VillagesOKC members,” said Executive Director Marilyn Olson. “Now we are able to make it even easier by providing space for them in our Bethany office.”
Olson said local hospitals such as Mercy Health and Integris also trust the agents at Navigating Medicare to provide the truth about Medicare Supplements, Advantage plans, and the impact of financial, healthcare, and specific physician selections.
“Because of the experience and integrity of Ginny Curtis-Gillespie, founder and owner of Navigating Medicare, many VillagesOKC members have found solutions that matched their unique health, dental, travel, financial, and location needs – even when they first purchased from another Medicare agent,” Olson said.
Curtis-Gillespie said, “So much of insurance these days is made to seem complex, difficult, and tricky. At Navigating Medicare, we strive to make insurance decisions simple. Our agency is built on our family values which are a commitment to honesty, integrity, togetherness, and support.”
Olson explained that since questions come at age 57- 65, it is important to have honest advice that is easily accessible. Medicare plans change every year, and 2025 has more changes than typically. Doctors and dentists also change plans – even mid-year.
“Staying informed is essential for everyone as they age,” Olson said. “Empowering adults to make good decisions about their lives is a key component of our mission to help everyone age with vitality and purpose.”
In addition the onsite availability of Navigating Medicare agents, VillagesOKC and Navigating Medicare are holding free information meetings to address the many changes coming next year.
“Navigating Medicare: Truth and Changes for 2025” will be presented at VillagesOKC, 3908 N. Peniel Ave, Suite 400, on the following dates June 8: 10-11 am, June 15: 10-11 am, June 18: 6-7 pm, June 29: 10-11 am, July 13: 10-11 am, July 16: 6-7 pm and July 27: 10-11 am.

The sessions are free with RSVP at info@villagesokc.org or (405) 990-6637.

Harold Flasch

(Right) 100 years old. US Military Veteran of Guthrie. His many years of wisdom for us: Love and Honor God; Be A Christian; Love your Wife/Spouse and Family; Honor your Parents and Enjoy the Comradeship of Friends; Participate in Sports; Stay Active and Eat Healthy; Count Your Blessings Every Day and Have a Sense of Humor.

Margaret Moore

(Left) 100 years old. Broken Arrow – She was born in Mississippi but lived on four continents with her husband Don and two daughters. Margaret dedicated her life to volunteering for many organizations including the Salvation Army, Girl Scouts, Church, PEO and DAR.

Al Rutledge

(Right) 100 years old. A lifetime of achievements, including a degree from OSU, serving in the US Navy, and being a beef cattle producer, he shared his wisdom, saying, ‘Listen more than you talk.’

Hank Warren

(Right) 100 years old. He graduated from Central High School in 1942 and won an award for 12 years of perfect attendance. He attended Wheaton College, OCU and University of Oklahoma, earning a BS degree in Geology. Hank had a career as a Geologist until he retired in 2008. Hank is a US military veteran of the Army Air Corp, serving from 1942-1946 and Air Force Reserve, serving from 1946-1949. As a child, Hank was only allowed to play one sport in Junior High and High School. As an athletic trainer in the service, he played baseball, softball, volleyball, golf and football.