Story by Darl Devault, Contributing Editor

In the afterglow of the Tokyo Olympics their canoe/kayak medalists and world champions will compete under the lights Saturday at the 2021 ICF Canoe Sprint Super Cup August 21 at Riversport on the Oklahoma River. The free event’s world-class paddlers will be competing for both medals and prize money in the first internationally televised night event being beamed to Europe and China.
“To host this international competition right after the Olympics is a huge honor for Oklahoma City and an exciting opportunity for Oklahomans,” said David Holt, Oklahoma City Mayor.
The free entry ICF Super Cup is 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, with prime seating at the Boathouse District’s Finish Line Tower terrace as the centerpiece of a multi-day race event. It will be a fast-paced event designed to fit the 90-minute TV format.
The Oklahoma Paddlesport Festival will include a World Party, the American Canoe Association (ACA) 2021 Slalom and Sprint National Championships. The weekend also features the USO Experience, a three-day expo event expected to attract thousands of military members and their families from across the region.
“Oklahoma City is known for our hospitality and for all Riversport offers in the Boathouse District,” said Mike Knopp, Riversport executive director. “It’s unique in the world for a city to have both flatwater sprint and whitewater slalom in the same venue. We’re looking forward to sharing this with paddling enthusiasts around the globe.” (story continues below)

The invitational event will be held at Riversport, a $100M outdoor sports and recreation venue in the city’s Boathouse District. In its 15th year of making sports history, the venue is the only permanently lit flatwater course in the world. Completed in 2013, the permanent racecourse lighting along the river was another integral part of the MAPS 3 Oklahoma River improvements,
Spectators’ participation is encouraged to help bolster the new sport of Xtreme Slalom which, will debut at the Paris Olympics in 2024. The ICF Canoe Slalom Ranking Race features top slalom athletes in three boats at a time dropping 12 feet into whitewater, then paddling head-to-head in completing turns, combat rolls and other maneuvers in racing to the finish
“The ICF is extremely excited and proud that Oklahoma City will host the ICF’s Canoe Sprint Super Cup in 2021,” said Simon Toulson, ICF secretary general. “This event brings together only the best athletes in our sport to fight for cash prizes in the amazing river setting of Oklahoma. The night finals are going to be quite unique with a large audience which adds to the important role Oklahoma plays in the sport of Canoe on a world stage. We are indebted to Riversport and the supporters of this event to persevere through the pandemic to host this event”
The 350m sprint distance allows sprint paddlers to take on endurance athletes in the sport. Riversport’s rare course lighting gives these elite athletes an opportunity to race at night. The event, so soon after the Olympics, promises to help keep them in world-class fitness as they prepare for this year’s ICF canoe sprint world championships in September in Copenhagen.
“This event will feature the world’s greatest athletes in canoe/kayak competing under the lights on television around the world at one of the world’s greatest venues for canoe/kayak,” said Mayor Holt. “Let me also add, these Olympians will not have had crowds at the Olympics due to the COVID situation in Japan, so we want to show up and give them the cheers they deserve to hear.”
The weekend will also include an Extreme Slalom demonstration event and the ICF Super Cup Sprint Portage race. The Extreme Slalom whitewater demonstration event will be Friday, August 20 at 7 p.m., in Riversport’s whitewater center rapids. The Super Cup Sprint Portage race will be held Saturday at 10:00 a.m. on the Oklahoma River. The 800m race involves racers paddling a short distance, docking, running with their boats and then re-entering the water to finish the race.
Riversport is working in partnership with the International Canoe Federation, the State of Oklahoma, the Chickasaw Nation and First Americans Museum, Inasmuch Foundation and the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau to host the event. The public is invited to attend the World Party honoring international athletes and coaches. It will be held Friday, August 20, 7 to 10 p.m., in the McClendon Whitewater Center and will feature the Extreme Slalom demonstration event. Tickets are $35 and may be bought online at ICF World Party – Riversport OKC
“We encourage everyone to come out for the ICF Super Cup,” Knopp said. “This is a unique opportunity to see Olympic and World Champions in some of the most exciting races ever staged.”
Riversport is known as an innovator is both Olympic sports and outdoor recreation. The nonprofit Riversport Foundation has developed Oklahoma City’s Boathouse District. It has evolved into one of the world’s premier urban outdoor adventure and water sports venues. It regularly hosts national and international races in both rowing and canoe/kayak. Located at America’s crossroads, the Boathouse District features iconic architecture, world-class adventure sports and recreation, and powerful programming for all ages.
It is an official US Olympic and Paralympic Training Site and a model for other communities to embrace bold ideas and bolster outdoor culture.
The International Canoe Federation is the umbrella organization for all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide.
The full schedule for the weekend events is available online at: Oklahoma PaddleSports Festival – Riversport OKC

In person meetings scheduled to begin in August. Hearing Loss Association of America Central Oklahoma Chapter (HLAA COC) is happy to announce that beginning with the Ice Cream Social in August face to face meetings will once again be held monthly and are open to the public. No admission charge. Meetings are on the third Thursday, 11:30 – 1PM, each month beginning in September. Meetings are held at the Will Rogers Garden Center Exhibition Hall, 3400 NW 36. The Ice Cream Social, August 15, 2-4PM, will host the introduction of HLAA COC scholarship recipients, the inauguration of new chapter officers, and official announcement of programs for the remainder of the year. In the past, the Ice Cream Social was a ‘pot luck’ event but with current conditions, the chapter will offer individually portioned treats, all at no charge.
Speakers and programs announced: September, Dr Patricia Burke, head of newborn screening in Oklahoma. October, Lezley Bell discussing the free telephone and service offered by Caption Call. In November, chapter members Tony & Sharon Howard’s fantastical players with skits, hints, & tricks for managing family gatherings and parties for the holidays will be seen. The December meeting will host the annual Christmas party. Everyone is invited if you have hearing loss, know someone who does, or are interested in the overall health of Oklahoma City residents. HLAA COC is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization with no paid employees. HLAA COC has been active for 29 years assisting Oklahomans with hearing loss to live better in a hearing world. Please look at Facebook, www.facebook.com/OklaHearingLoss, visit our website at www.OklahomaHearingLoss.org, or check out our new YouTube page: Oklahoma Hearing Helpers Room.

By James Coburn, Staff Writer

If you told Ryan Bell when he attended nursing school that he would be a hospice nurse, he would have thought you were “off your rocker”.
Today, Bell is more than content and gratefully enriched by serving as the Regional Director of Operations at Kindful Hospice in Oklahoma City.
“Once I got into it, I fell in love with it,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do anything different. I don’t foresee myself ever going into any other line of nursing.”
Bell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism before switching careers. He has primarily worked in hospice for nine years since graduating from nursing school from Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City.
“We started Kindful about three years ago,” Bell said of what was once a small mom-and-pop, pre-existing hospice in Norman and Ada with 11 patients.
Now Kindful Hospice has grown to serve nearly 300 hospice patients with comfort and compassion. Nobody is treated as a number at Kindful Hospice. Patients are treated like family. (story continues below)

“We are one of the ones that actually do,” he emphasized.
His staff are among the most compassionate people he has ever worked with. They give of themselves until one would think they have surpassed their energy level. But they give some more.
“They just pour into our patients an incredible amount of love and compassion towards them,” Bell explained.
Hospice nurses work with what is perhaps the most vulnerable of patient populations. Case manager Vanessa Rodriguez, RN, keeps her spirit strong by having a good foundation with God. To give of oneself as a hospice nurse is totally fulfilling, she said.
“From my experience, we can help them get their wings. They get to meet Jesus — it’s helping them up through the journey,” Rodriguez said. “Taking care of them is really kind of self-care in itself because you get to spend that time with them, connecting with them, and making sure they’re comfortable in the process.”
She also makes sure to invest in activities that fulfill her soul such as hiking with her children. Recently, she has re-established exercise goals as key to stamina. And she is mindful of the need to be empathetic with family members and their loved ones in hospice. COVID-19 was a challenge for family members visiting loved ones outside a window of a long-term care facility. The nursing staff gave kindness so not to be a stranger sitting beside somebody taking their last breath, she said.
“For me it’s having a strong faith and that’s what helps me,” Rodriguez said. “It’s different for everyone, but I thank God every day for the opportunities to help his children.”
Her grandma is what brought her to hospice. She had been working in intensive care units and cardiac. Rodriguez lost both her parents at a young age, so her grandmother was part of her core strength of inspiration. She was 99.
“When she got sick it was hard for me, and she had a hospice nurse — she had a light over her — and I thought that would be the most amazing thing to ever do,” Rodriguez said. “And so, I jumped in — for me it was my grandma. She just touched my life.”
What she reveres the most about Kindful Hospice is knowing patients and family members who open the door of acceptance for her to be part of their lives. Just walking along beside them in their journey is an opportunity to fortify faith.
“Some of them aren’t believers, and that’s fine. So just to help them with were they’re comfortable is to learn something different about each one of them,” she said. “It’s something that helped me grow in just meeting them where they’re at.”
There are different variations among families. Not everyone is able to be with their dying family members when the final second comes. Every experience is different, and Kindful Hospice embraces the opportunity for the staff to give what is needed.
She is available to help educate the probable timeline when asked the toughest question: How long does mom have?
Rodriguez always tries to prepare family members to expect the unexpected, she said.
“We have a trajectory of knowing the signs and symptoms of what we are watching for. I always try to over prepare versus under prepare. Sometimes you miss it, but you do your best.”
Rodriguez tries not to compare patient to one another but individualizes their care plans to meet their needs.
It’s helping each individual patient reach their end-of-life goal. Bereavement coordinators follow the patients’ families for at least 13 months after their loved on passes away. No one is left alone.
An entire interdisciplinary team offers a circle of care, including doctors, nurses, CNAs, chaplains, social workers, and volunteers have one goal in mind.
“That is to provide the best care we possibly can to the people who are put in our path to care for,” Bell said.
For more information about Kindful Hospice and Palliative and Virtual Care visit:
https://kindfulhospice.com.

* *Includes 27 pediatric hospitalizations.
**Focus, Rehabilitation and Tribal Facilities numbers are not assigned to a specific region as their patient populations reside across the state. Information provided through survey of Oklahoma hospitals as reported to HHS as of the time of this report. Response rate affects data. Facilities may update previously reported information as necessary.
Data Source: Acute Disease Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health. *As of 2021-07-29 at 7:00 a.m.

Story and photos by Darl DeVault

One of the most family-oriented organized bicycle rides in the state kicks off at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, August 15 at Mitch Park, 1501 W. Covell Rd. in Edmond, offering three distances starting in the 133-acre park. The park features several family friendly playgrounds including handicap accessible facilities, multi-use trails, basketball courts, pavilions, picnic tables, and grills.
Begun in 1973, and moved to Mitch Park in 2008, the Oklahoma Bicycle Society Streak has evolved into a family event using one of Edmond’s premier parks as a base. It has undergone changes in location, name and sponsorship, but continues as a cycling community premiere family event. (story continues below)

“I signed up for the 40-mile route because I always have a good time at the Streak,” said Dixie Duff, a retired OKC nurse who has ridden the Streak dozens of times. “There is something for everyone and it’s nice to be able to do something different besides the River Trails, Lake Overholser, and Lake Hefner. The rides are challenging and well supported with several rest stops.”
Organizers emphasize the Streak will go on rain or shine and is not a race. No times will be kept or posted. What is posted are the names of registered riders winning the door prize raffles. Please check the prize board after the ride. Riders must be present to win—no prizes will be mailed.
The ride has been going on for so long seniors have come to see it as an opportunity to help introduce their grandkids to an organized ride. All youth riders (ages 12-18) must be accompanies by an adult rider.
Multiple rest stops with rest rooms are open until 1 p.m. on the half hilly 100K, 40- and 25-mile routes. Download the maps from the OBS site, RideWithGPS maps are available at the 2021 OBS Streak Web Page. Fluids and snack foods will be available in the rest stops. SAG (Support and Gear) support will be provided.
Online Registration is $35 (Discounted to $30 for current OBS members – online only). Online registration closes at midnight on Thursday, August 12.
Day of event registration begins at 6 a.m. at Mitch Park. The Edmond Downtown Community Center at 28 E Main St. offers early registration and packet pickup on Saturday, August 14, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The first 300 riders are guaranteed event T-shirts.
Proceeds from the OBS Streak are used to supply helmets for kids who receive bikes from the Salvation Army Buck$ 4 Bikes program for Christmas.
Day of event registration fees are Adult Rider: $40, – Tandem/Tri, Captain: $40, – Tandem/Tri Stoker: $20, – Accompanied Youth (12-18 Yr. Old): $20
The OBS is a not-for-profit group dedicated to the promotion of bicycle safety. It supports bicycling in all its forms and the furtherance of the sport by defending the rights of bicyclists.
OBS organizes weekly rides all year for riders of all levels. See their web site for more information: www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com which has a link to the Streak registration online.
For the latest news on the club activities, upcoming rides throughout the state and to further the enjoyment of bicycling, the club has a monthly newsletter, The Pathfinder, online. The club asks seniors to consider joining the OBS to help keep bicycling safe.

Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) announced a 20% retroactive rate increase for Community Living, Aging and Protective Services (CAP) and Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) waivered services providers. These interventions, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), are retroactive back to Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2020. Pending approval by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority board, OKDHS is seeking additional interventions for the periods Jan. 1 through Mar. 31, 2021 and April 1 through June 30, 2021. The first payment will be sent in Aug. 2021, with subsequent payments made in 90 day increments.
Home and Community Based Waiver Services (HCBS) include a comprehensive array of services including case management, residential, employment and habilitation services and supports for individuals three years of age or older. HCBS uses a person-centered planning approach where an individual’s team assesses the needs of the individual and develops an annual plan of care to address those needs. Waivers allow the state to offer community-based services as an alternative to institutional or nursing facility services, increasing independence and quality of life for the service recipients.
Waivered services providers are also currently experiencing significant workforce shortages to serve HCBS customers. Higher wages offered by businesses competing for the same labor pool is a primary contributor to the HCBS labor shortage, and the lack of qualified and skilled labor has significantly increased over time, increasing provider costs.
“We are grateful for the retroactive increase as it will help fill the gap in our budget,” said Robin Arter, Executive Director at Think Ability, Inc. “It is a much needed relief in our efforts in supporting Oklahomans with developmental disabilities.”
These temporary add-on payments will help bolster services and address this short-term shortage of qualified staff, allowing providers to meet their immediate needs while OKDHS conducts a rate study to develop a strategy for a permanent solution.
“Our waivered services providers have done a phenomenal job in serving aging Oklahomans and individuals with developmental disabilities in their own homes and communities during a really challenging time,” said Samantha Galloway, OKDHS Chief of Staff and Operations. “These additional funds are a vital, yet short term, intervention to help providers mitigate workforce issues while a longer term solution is developed. We are equally excited about the opportunity to invest additional dollars in things that have a real and immediate impact on people’s quality of life, such as eyeglasses, dental and hearing aid services in a big way that is beyond what has been available in our single year budget historically.”
In addition to the retroactive rate increases, both CAP and DDS will also offer a one-time initiative to purchase eyeglasses and hearing aids, propose development of model smart homes, expand assistive technologies, offer staff education and direct support staff professional development programs, among many initiatives intended to strengthen supports for older Oklahomans and individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
To learn more about OKDHS’ Developmental Disabilities Services, including Home and Community Based Waiver Services, visit https://oklahoma.gov/okdhs/services/dd/developmental-disabilities-services.html. To apply for services, visit https://oklahoma.gov/okdhs/services/dd/areacontactinfo.html.
To learn more about OKDHS’ CAP, including the Advantage Waiver program, or to apply for services, visit https://oklahoma.gov/okdhs/services/cap/advantage-services.html.

A group of lawmakers today sent a letter to Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, in his role as Acting Governor of Oklahoma, requesting executive action to prohibit vaccine mandates for Oklahoma healthcare workers. This letter is a follow up to one sent to Governor Kevin Stitt on July 15, 2021. Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, spearheaded the letter and said that the urgency of the situation necessitates the need to act swiftly and decisively.
“I have been working to identify issues at our state’s healthcare facilities. I have discovered that not only are more facilities moving towards mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are denying legitimate medical and religious exemptions,” said Roberts. “I have received reports from verified healthcare employees that individuals with signed medical exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine are being told their exemptions will not be honored. The collective takeaway from these messages is that the time to act is now and if we don’t, we may be facing a healthcare employee shortage crisis.” (story continues below)

According to Roberts, the transfer of powers to the Lt. Governor when the Governor is outside of the state is found in Article 6, Section 16 of the Oklahoma Constitution. The constitutional provision provides that the Office of Governor is transferred to the Lt. Governor when the Governor is removed from the state. This includes all powers held within the Office of Governor. Roberts, and those signed onto the letter, believe that the current situation requires the immediate action of the state government and has led to the urgent request for Pinnell to act.
“It is unacceptable to force a vaccination on an employee, especially when they have a documented medical issues,” said Roberts. “We have received reports from Oklahoma Families for Freedom that medical facilities have been denying in-person treatment to unvaccinated individuals as well. This is medical discrimination and must stop”.
The following lawmakers signed on to the letter:
Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy
Rep. Lonnie Sims, R-Jenks
Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont
Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene
Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane
Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland
Rep. Mark Vancuren, R-Owasso
Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore
Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener
Rep. David Smith, R-Arpelar
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola
Rep. Wendi Stearman, R-Collinsville
Rep. Chris Sneed, R-Fort Gibson
Rep. Randy Randleman, R-Eufaula
Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow
Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell
Rep. Sherri Conley, R-Newcastle
Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole
Rep. Max Wolfley, R-Oklahoma City
The full text of the letter can be seen below:
Oklahoma House of Representatives
July 28, 2021

Acting Governor Pinnell,
As I am sure you are aware there are many healthcare facilities across the state that have decided to mandate the COVID-19 vaccines to their thousands of employees. These employees are the heroes that stood on the front line of the pandemic caring for those that had fallen ill to COVID-19.
Many Oklahomans are about to have their paychecks used against them to make a medical decision that goes against their beliefs. Healthcare workers are left to choose between taking a vaccine authorized for emergency use or risk losing their job, this goes against “liberty and justice for all.” If we do not protect the individual’s right to choose what goes in their body, we no longer live in a free society.
The Oklahoma legislature had bills introduced last session that were related to these type of vaccine mandates, but none of these bills came to be law. Some other states in the country have taken action on these issues while others already had laws on the books to protect their healthcare workers. For example in Oregon, employees such as health care providers, health care facility employees, clinical lab employees, law enforcement, and firefighters are protected by a 1989 state law that says “A worker shall not be required as a condition of work to be immunized” unless otherwise required by federal or state law.
After talking with healthcare workers and citizens across the state many of my colleagues and I have come to the conclusion this is an issue that requires the immediate attention of our State Government. The quickest and most effective way to protect these workers is an executive order prohibiting these mandates.
Those signed onto this letter and I respectfully request you draft an executive order to deal with this issue. If you deem this to be an issue the legislature needs to take care of, we respectfully request you call the legislature into special session to end medical tyranny and help us secure and protect our most basic human rights and civil liberties.

Story by Bobby Anderson, RN

Oklahoma’s assisted living providers are set to gather later this month for the first time since Covid-19 in what Melissa Holland hopes to be a celebration and a learning event that will benefit Oklahomans.
The Oklahoma Assisted Living Association’s 2021 convention and trade show will be held Aug. 24-26 at RiverSpirit Casino Resort in Tulsa.
This year’s theme will be OKALA’s Roaring to Kick Off a New Decade with a 1920s flapper theme.
Melissa Holland, OKALA’s executive director, said this industry-only event will afford the opportunity for members to interact for the first time since Covid-19 in a comfortable, fun environment to share and learn best practices to serve the state’s assisted living population.
“We’re really excited because it will be an in-person event, back to our annual educational and trade show event,” Holland said. “We’ll have educational sessions for our administrators, nurses, activity directors, dietary, marketing and maintenance so they can come and get a lot of good education courses based on some of the needs they have expressed.”
Former University of Tulsa Head Football Coach and Oklahoma Senator Dave Rader will help kick off the event with a session on team building.
Holland said she frequently receives member requests on how to build strong, more cohesive staff units to better serve residents and Rader is one of the best in the field.
Having coached college football for four decades, Rader is best known for his 12 seasons as head coach of the University of Tulsa. At age 29 he was the youngest offensive coordinator in the Southeastern Conference. Then his alma mater made him the youngest head coach at the time in Division I NCAA football at the age of 31.
Awarded the NCAA District Coach of the Year honor in 1991 after his Freedom Bowl Champion University of Tulsa team finished 22nd in the national polls, he was appointed to the American Football Coaches Association Ethics Committee, and served as the representative of Independent Universities to the now defunct College Football Association.
Many of his student athletes went on to play in the NFL including seven quarterbacks, and many more to productive careers outside of athletics. His Tulsa teams consistently graduated at a higher rate than the university body in general.
He is honored to be a member of four Halls of Fame.
Walt Disney World/Epcot Center and Marriott Hotels alum Toni Fisk will present on her newly-released book #dinewithdignity Unlocking the Mystery of Dementia and Dining. Fisk brings her 35 years in the food and hospitality to bear in tackling an often overlooked senior issue.
The book focuses on the role of care partners and provides insight and tips on ways to maximize enjoyment in the dining environment while answering “the questions that you didn’t know to ask.”
Holland said information will be presented on the Covid-19 vaccine and separating fact from fiction in today’s fragmented media environment.
The pandemic stretched providers in a number of directions in their efforts to keep residents and staff safe.
Holland said her members continued to rise to the occasion.
“They have been phenomenal. They really have,” Holland said. “They have been amazing. When they were locked down I was able to send them ideas and (information) to help them. I”ve never had so many thank-you’s in this last year-and-a-half.”
Assisted Living was founded on a resident-centered philosophy to enable choice, preserve dignity, encourage independence, and promote quality of life.
Assisted living communities offer supportive amenities, service and care in a residential setting with the comforts of home. Assisted living communities have a staff available 24/7 to assist with care, safety and support. When you have seen one assisted living community, you have just seen one. They come in all different shapes and sizes, and offer a variety of features, amenities and prices.
The association offers a number of resources to help you make an informed decision when evaluating the state’s 170 assisted living communities. You can visit their website at okala.org or call them at 405-235-5000.

Do you have a loved one in a nursing facility that needs assistance transitioning back into the community? Oklahoma Living Choice Program may be what you are looking for. The Oklahoma Living Choice Program assists Oklahomans wanting to transition out of a nursing home and back into the community in a residence of their own. The populations served are individuals 65 and over, and individuals 19 and up with a physical disability.
To qualify for the Oklahoma Living Choice Program one should meet the following:
* Be at least 19 years of age
* Qualify for SoonerCare (Oklahoma’s Medicaid Program) for at least one day prior to transition
* Have lived in an institutional setting (nursing home) for at least 60 consecutive days
* Voluntarily want to transition back into the community
* Be willing to play an active role in his/her plan of care
Depending on the individual’s needs there are many services that the Oklahoma Living Choice Program offers, such as: assistance finding a new home, home delivered meals, transportation, skilled nursing, therapy services, personal care, medication management, and there are transitional funds (a one-time allotment of up to $2,400).
Anyone can refer a potential individual that resides in a nursing home for the Oklahoma Living Choice Program by accessing the online referral form http://www.okhca.org/ReferralHome.aspx?ref=LC
If you need more information or have questions about the Oklahoma Living Choice Program you can contact 888-287-2443 or email Oklahoma.livingchoice@okhca.org
If you have a loved one in a Long-Term Care facility and have any questions regarding any concerns you may have, you can contact an ombudsman to assist you.
Areawide Aging Agency Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program advocates for the needs of residents in LTC facilities serving Canadian, Cleveland, Logan, and Oklahoma Counties. You may contact us at (405)942-8500.

On Friday, August 13, at noon the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore will host a wreath-laying ceremony and flyover to mark the anniversary of the August 15, 1935, death of Will Rogers and Wiley Post in an Alaskan plane crash. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Herb McSpadden—relatives of Will Rogers—are invited guests. Pilot and museum Roper docent Tom Egbert will fly the plane for the flyover. The public is welcome to join in viewing the flyover and the wreath laying at the site of Will Rogers’s tomb, overlooking the town of Claremore.
For more information about this event, please call 918-341-0719 or visit willrogers.com. The Will Rogers Memorial Museum is located at 1720 W. Will Rogers Blvd. in Claremore.
The Will Rogers Memorial Museum is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.