Scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation have broken new ground in understanding how the lymphatic system works, potentially opening the door for future therapies.
The lymphatic system is a network of vessels and lymph nodes that spans the entire body. It is critical for good health and for the body to function properly. Defects in lymphatic vessels cause lymphedema, a disease characterized by dramatic and painful swelling in the limbs that often leads to infections.
Lymphedema can result from congenital mutations, surgery, radiation treatment for cancer or infection, and there is currently no cure. In addition to lymphedema, defects in the lymphatic system have been linked to a wide range of health consequences: cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and obesity.
Sathish Srinivasan, Ph.D., and Boksik Cha, Ph.D., at OMRF previously discovered that a particular pathway—known as the Wnt signaling pathway—regulates the development of the human lymphatic vascular system. In new research, published in the journal Cell Reports, they’ve found “the nuts and bolts of this important pathway.”
“We have identified the signaling molecules that activate this pathway,” said Srinivasan. “We also have learned which cells produce the signaling molecules, how they are sensed by the cells and how they are used in lymphatic development.”
Srinivasan was recruited to OMRF from St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in 2013. His lab at OMRF has already identified several target genes for lymphedema. Srinivasan said that, after further study, this new information could eventually help researchers develop better therapeutic options for lymphedema and associated disorders.
“This signaling pathway has proved difficult to study, because it is complex and so little is known about how it functions normally, let alone when it goes wrong,” said Srinivasan. “Wnt signaling is aggravated and increased in breast cancer and colon cancer, but it is deregulated in diseases like Alzheimer’s and lymphedema.”
Srinivasan said drug companies are interested in finding molecules that can be targeted, either to promote or inhibit Wnt signaling, depending on the disease. “Our goal is to find whether such drugs could be used to treat humans with lymphedema and see if their disease can be managed, made less severe or even cured,” he said.
Other OMRF researchers who contributed to this research were Xin Geng, Ph.D., Riaj Mahamud, Lijuan Chen and Lorin Olson, Ph.D.

by Bryan Painter

LOCO – Cattle and horses over people.
Jerri Wilson, raised near Duncan in southern Oklahoma, made that choice about the time she was still shedding baby teeth.
Horseback at every opportunity, Wilson would carry her lunch around in her saddle bags. Why?
“If it was even mentioned about going to town,” she said, “I became scarce out in the pastures.”
She was born to Billie and (Ed) John E Jackson, Jr. and grew up on the commercial Angus cow-calf ranch in southern Stephens and northern Jefferson counties. Ed Jackson purchased the ranch the year Wilson was born, 1959, and expanded it to 23,000 acres.
Billie and Ed had four daughters. Their names started with J so it was called the 4J ranch.
Wilson was the youngest and grew up following her father around taking care of the cattle.
“The others did not take up much to cattle and the country life,” she said. “I was quite the tomboy, staying out with the cattle all day.”
Wilson’s love for taking care of cattle and the land was not a secret. Everyone could see it.
“Our ranch was far from school,” she said. “I was the first one on and the last one off the school bus for two hours each way and spent many hours looking at cattle and pastures along the way.”
Add those round-trips up from grade school through high school and that’s a lot of miles.
Not long after the bus came to a stop near their house, Wilson was out on her paint pony riding through the cattle and across pastures.
“At branding and shipping time,” she said, “myself, and the other kids on the ranch were in the mix of helping. I thank all of the adults from back then for allowing us to be there because it was what shaped my future.”
More responsibility
As she got older, Wilson’s responsibilities grew. She worked cattle, took care of the cattle and horses, and doctored the sick ones.
Wilson also began showing cattle at the county and state level.
“I really think that was the point that I knew I would always have cattle in my blood,” she said. “At that time, everyone would show home-raised steers. I remember running down to the barn and feeding in the dark before getting on the bus.”
At 13, she showed heifers, but they had to be registered.
“I was fortunate that our neighbor, Mr. Phil Lowery, raised registered Herefords for years,” she said. “I had been riding my pony up the road to help him gather his cattle and I told him I needed to buy one of his heifers to show. He said, ‘Pick one out.’”
Lowery gave her a heifer every year through high school as payment for helping him with his cattle.
“His operation was much different than our commercial herd,’’ Wilson said. “I would ride around in his pickup with him and listen to all the pedigrees.”
Lowery kept little breeding books, with a rubber band around them, on his dusty dash. Wilson studied those little books.
“I built my first herd with those registered Herefords and still have a little Hereford patch for sentimental reasons,” Wilson said.
One of her other passions was livestock judging and grass identification. She went to numerous contests and loved all the aspects of learning.
4-H was a big part of her life, and the horses she took to 4-H and Quarter Horse events were not only for showing.
“They were also my cow horses back on the ranch,” Wilson said.
In high school, she started going to the state high school rodeos. That’s where she met her future husband Bob Wilson. The two married after high school, in June, 1977.
“For a couple of years we lived in Elk City,” she said. “Bob worked there during the oil and gas boom and of course I dragged a few cows along with us.”
As her Dad was getting older, he had heart problems, so Bob and Jerri returned to Ed’s ranch where they lived and worked.
The Wilsons had three daughters, Kristy, Kerri and Kayla.
When Jerri Wilson’s father passed away, the family dispersed the ranch and cattle.
Wilson, 30 years old at the time, and Bob, began their own ranching operation near Loco. They put together enough acreage to get a start, so they bought four loads of commercial Angus bred heifers.
“The timing was not great,” Wilson said. “The cattle market was on a low, so Bob began driving a Peterbilt with a flatbed.”
Bob hauled nationwide for a local wire plant which allowed “us to let the cows pay for themselves.”
“As soon as that was done, he stopped,” she said.
While he was gone, Wilson was feeding cattle and taking care of their first grandson.
“By now our two youngest daughters were beginning to show cattle and loved it,” Wilson said. “It had changed dramatically from my days. Hair products and clipping were much different. There was a lot of learning to do.
“Along the way I bought a couple of Simmental heifers for them to show and liked the way they performed and their temperaments.”
So, from artificial breeding the heifers, and purchasing some purebred and percentage bulls, they started breeding Simmental into their cow herd.
“Now we have a SimAngus cow base and have been breeding them to registered Angus bulls,” she said.
A dusty memory
During the fall of 2010, it seemed the Oklahoma skies had started to dry up.
Rains became a dusty memory.
“We had some really tough years during the drought,” she said. “From 2010 to 2013 we culled our cow herd by a third because there was no pond water. We had some wells dug for them but it is very hard to get water in this area.”
Plus, in February 2011, Bob broke his wrist in a shop accident.
“Then in August, him and his horse parted ways on a large crack in the ground from the drought and he broke his hip,” Wilson said. “It was a very tough year for him.”
A hired hand helped for about three years before moving back to Nebraska. Challenging decisions had to be made.
“At the time, there was not enough water so the calves were taken off at 400 pounds and we sent them to a feedlot which is not what we normally do,” she said. “Normally our calves are left on the cows till they are 500 to 600 pounds.
“In the end it improved our cowherd into productive beautiful cows that I am very proud of. We have been selling a lot of our heifers for breeding or as bred heifers. Steers and heifers not for breeding are sold through National Livestock at the Oklahoma City stockyards or sold at home.”
Over the years, Jerri and Bob have purchased more land and have doubled their size from what they started with, “which has been gratifying to improve those areas.” They have done a lot of clearing brush, sprigging Bermuda and weed spraying to improve the grass for cattle, while yet always being mindful of the wildlife.
They are also mindful of the future. In addition to three children, they have six grandchildren.
“So who knows, maybe some of them will continue in a ranching lifestyle,” Wilson said. “In the cattle business it’s a lot of long days and hard work but it is a lifestyle that I love and have a passion for.”

The March of Dimes Oklahoma Chapter recently honored an OU Medicine nurse at its annual Nurse of the Year awards. Mandy Nelson, APRN in the medicine specialty unit at OU Medical Center, was named Nurse of the Year in the Advanced Practice category.
The Oct. 4 event celebrated nurses in more than a dozen categories, all of which were nominated by colleagues, supervisors or families they have served, according to the March of Dimes website. A selection committee of health care professionals selects the most outstanding nurse in each category.
Two additional OU Medicine nurses, Callie Tkach, RN in the NICU at The Children’s Hospital, and Susie Jones, APRN and Vice President of Quality/Safety and Nursing Practice at OU Medicine, were finalists in the Neonatal/Pediatric and Advanced Practice categories, respectively.
“Mandy and our finalists, Callie and Susie, are incredibly deserving of this honor,” said Cathy Pierce, Chief Nurse Executive at OU Medicine. “Our nurses work tirelessly to improve the lives of our patients and families. They truly represent the best in their fields and the best of OU Medicine.”

Cutting-edge, non-surgical treatment at OU Medicine targets chronic stuffy nose
An Oklahoma woman is one of the first patients outside of a clinical trial to experience the benefits of a new, non-surgical treatment for her chronic stuffy nose.
Most of us have experienced a head cold so bad that it leaves you so stuffed up you can no longer breathe through your nose. For Denise Crozier, 56, it wasn’t a cold causing her chronic stuffed up nose or the pain and pressure that accompanied it. The Oklahoma City woman suffered from nasal polyps, soft, non-cancerous growths on the lining of the nose or sinuses.
“When you get a lot of inflammation, the lining of the nose becomes very swollen and redundant, and it forms a round structure that basically fills the nasal cavity,” explained Dr. Kibwei McKinney, an ear, nose and throat specialist with OU Medicine.
Surgery had been the first line of defense for patients like Crozier for whom treatment with oral steroids has failed.
“I had four surgeries in Seattle before moving to Oklahoma, and then since I have been here, I’ve had three,” Crozier said.
Each time, the surgery would initially bring relief, but before she knew it, the polyps would be back.
“Each time, she got some temporary relief, but almost like clockwork, it would come back and she would have a return of her symptoms,” McKinney said.
This time, though, McKinney returned from a recent conference with a new treatment option for Crozier a newly-approved, non-surgical treatment. It utilizes a tiny sinus implant. He explained to her that it could be placed without pain during a visit to his office at OU Medicine.
The implant is a small teardrop-shaped device that when deployed appears a bit like a badminton birdie. It’s placed under the guidance of an endoscope.
“I actually have a camera and scope that I look through to see the anatomical structures and then I place the splint with minimal discomfort,” McKinney said. “It basically stints open the cavity and then over time it treats the surrounding tissue with steroids, which are very effective at controlling polyp growth. As the steroid is leached out, the polyps occupying the space begin to melt away and the pressure associated with them also goes away.”
As a nurse, Crozier did her homework and quickly realized that this treatment could offer relief and save her from another trip to the operating room.
“Anything to keep me out of the OR is fantastic,” she remarked.
The device was placed quickly and without pain during an office visit with McKinney.
“They numbed me up, so I really didn’t feel a thing,” Crozier said.
After several months, she returned to McKinney’s office to have the device removed; and just as it had gone into place under endoscopic guidance, it also was removed that way in just a matter of seconds.
Crozier’s eyes watered just a bit, but she said there was no pain and the relief she has experienced has been incredible.
“It’s wide open in there. There are no polyps or anything. It works. It’s great,” she exclaimed, adding that she would easily recommend the procedure to anyone else facing the same battle she has faced with nasal polyps.
Specialists at OU Medicine say the new treatment provides a valuable option for patients unable to take oral steroids, as well as for those who are not good candidates for surgery or for whom repeated surgeries have failed to bring relief.

story and photo by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

A cough. A sniffle.
You feel something coming on. But what next?
You can call your doctor and hopefully get an appointment sometime in the next couple weeks.
Or you can get in your car and head to the local urgent care clinic and wait with 20 or 30 others doing the same thing.
What if there was a better way?
That’s what Dr. Mark Prather thought in 2013 when he came up with a unique service model that would eventually become DispatchHealth.
“Really anything you can think of you would get in your car and go to urgent care for but more,” Dispatch Community Engagement Manager Tiffany Traxler said, explaining the service that has recently expanded into the metro.
DispatchHealth is bringing back the house call with a modern technology twist. DispatchHealth gives patients ways to access convenient, high-quality acute care in the comfort of their home at the time of need.
DispatchHealth is redefining the healthcare landscape as an extension of a patient’s healthcare team and offering solutions for simple to complex medical problems all from the comfort of your home.
The concept dates back to 2013 when Prather was running the emergency department in Denver for Centura Health.
“They asked Dr. Prather if he could come up with a system that could be delivered safely in the home for patients who go to the emergency room with urgent needs but not emergent,” Traxler explained. “He knew the need and he knew how to make things mobile.”
“He started going out on calls.”
Working with the ambulance service through the 911 system, Prather helped more than 400 patients in 18 months in the comfort of their own homes.
The total cost savings to the health system was more than $1 million.
But saving patients the time, expense and hassle of an ER visit was priceless.
The model has spread like wildfire to Colorado Springs, Richmond, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston, Oklahoma City, Tacoma, Dallas and Springfield.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield – one of Oklahoma’s largest insurers – quickly saw the value.
“Blue Cross and Blue Shield saw what we were doing and the impact we were making,” Traxler said. “For the 65-and-under patient if you have Blue Cross and Blue Shield it’s an urgent care co-pay. For 65 and up all Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans … we bill as an urgent care.”
For some that can mean an urgent care visit in their home for less than $50.
Services include testing such as: blood tests on-site, strep test, flu swab, urinalysis, urine cultures, stool culture, test for blood in stool, pregnancy test, lactate, 12-lead EKG, PT/INR, rapid infectious disease testing and more.
Dispatch also provides medications such as: anti-inflammatories, IV antibiotics, IV fluids, prednisone, lasix, antiemetics, flu medications, laxatives, stool softeners, heartburn prevention, glucose gel, anesthetics, migraine cocktail, antihistamines and more.
IVs can be placed and fluids begun all in your home.
Breathing treatments can also be administered.
AVOID THE BUG
Last year’s influenza outbreak was one of the worst in nearly a decade and the severity of the outbreak was extreme. In fact, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded over 20,000 positive flu tests per week at the height of the outbreak.
While most seek treatment at an emergency room (ER) or urgent care clinic, when leaving one’s home the virus can be immediately exposed to others and cause further spread of the flu. Also, ERs and clinics can easily become overwhelmed with a high number of sick patients during flu season, leading to overcrowding, lengthy wait times and even physician burnout.
Adults can infect others one day before their flu symptoms even develop and can pass on the virus up to a full week after becoming sick.
“Flu comes on very, very quickly. If it’s 2 p.m. and you realize you don’t feel well you’re not going to get into your (doctor’s office),” DispatchHealth Market Director Amy Evans said. “With flu if you can get those anti-virals within that first day or two it cuts down on the length of flu.”
“When you’re talking about the elderly population and people with compromised immune systems that 12 hours means something.” To request on-demand urgent care brought to you call 405-213-0190

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

This fall has been pretty sweet for Belinda Winslow and husband Mike.
In September, she received the blessed news that her 27-year-old daughter was finally cancer free.
October saw her Watermelon Pie creation clean up in the awards category at the Oklahoma State Fair. The pie, an old recipe from her childhood, earned the FAIRest of Them All award as the best overall food creation. The fruity, creamy treat also was named the top overall sweet offering at the fair, dubbed Sweetest of the Sweet.
“We’ve had a good year this year,” Belinda Winslow smiled.
Going up against eclectic creations like deep fried coffee, Frosted Flakes chicken on a stick and Kit-Kat fries, Winslow’s watermelon pie blew away judges at the Great TASTE of a Fair competition which immediately precedes the September fair.
The event, staged to whet appetites and drum up publicity for the fair, was Winslow’s coming out party for her mobile food truck business.
Based out of Moore, the Winslows opened their trailer for business in March 2015 after scores of friends and family kept insisting they bring the watermelon pie to every gathering.
Winslow said some of those invites may have just been for the pie, but it was clear she had something on her hands that people really liked.
“It was a recipe my mom came across and she just loved it and we started making it,” Winslow said. “It just stuck.”
So did the idea of opening her own business. Her and her husband, who runs a full-time paint contracting business, began drawing up a business plan months earlier.
Cost projections outpaced savings for opening a traditional brick-and-mortar business.
“The food truck was the first thing we could think of,” Winslow admitted.
A business on four wheels came with its drawbacks.
Running a business in a trailer meant more prep work. Winslow typically makes her runs to Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart and the Chef Store the Tuesday before an event. Six to seven hours the following day are spent doing prep work, including cutting up some 20 to 25 watermelons by hand.
“It’s hard work, very hard work,” Winslow said of the business. “It’s not something you could just do on a part-time basis. It’s a full-time job.”
“You’ve got to pack it up, move it and have it ready on time.”
The concept also came with advantages.
Being on wheels means that Cutie Pies can be at almost any venue in the state with enough advance notice.
This month the trailer will pull up to Norman and the University of Oklahoma Day of the Dead Celebration. The following day Cutie Pies will be at Integris Baptist with 100 pies for a private event hosted by the radiology department.
Twelves days later you can find watermelon pie at the Luther Pecan Festival.
Outside of the State Fair, Winslow said one of the company’s best events is always the The Old Chicken Farm Vintage Barn Sale in Jones.
It’s a good thing Cutie Pies gets around because it will take you awhile to work through the menu. Watermelon pie may be the star but there’s a talented ensemble cast of banana cream cheesecake, root beer float pie, cherry limeade pie and cotton candy pie.
If sweet isn’t your thing they have savory covered, too, with Winslow’s chicken and corn frito pie.
The twist on the original frito pie includes santa fe chicken layered on Fritos doused in queso cheddar cheese mixed with feta, cilantro and a special chili lime mayo.
Wash it all down with a variety of lemonades – including watermelon, of course.
“This our first year to actually make money,” Winslow said.
And that’s despite a trying year.
Winslow’s daughter battled stage IV ovarian cancer before doctors announced she was cancer-free three days after her last surgery.
Through it all, Winslow has been her daughter’s caregiver, keeping her out of the truck for most events. That’s meant Mike pulling double duty.
“He’s been our savior. He’s saved both of our businesses,” Winslow said of her partner of 20 years.
But it all paid off this fall.
“It was kind of Heaven-sent because (my daughter) finished chemo and we had the fair,” Winslow said. “Right after the fair she had her surgery.”
“But she was still out there.”
All three of Winslow’s kids help in the business including a 21-year-old daughter and a 38-year-old son.
Her two granddaughters pitch in, too.
“They come stay with us every other weekend,” Winslow said. “They love to work on the truck and they hope we have leftovers, which doesn’t happen very often.”
So what’s next? Can she top Watermelon pie?
“I have somethings in the works for next year but I can’t tell you,” Winslow laughed.
You can find out where Cutie Pies Concessions will be next through their Facebook page.

Just a few years ago Nancy Hughes could lift mountains of paperwork, rearrange office furniture and stand on her feet for hours at a time. As executive assistant at the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, the petite fiery redhead put in long hours at her job helping give state employees a voice in government.
Back in 2003, Nancy learned she had breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy, rounds of chemotherapy and the cancer went into remission. In 2014, however, it came back with a vengeance.
“I first noticed something was wrong when I bent over to pick up something,” she said. “I felt something pull, and had trouble walking. After about a month I went to a chiropractor about my back. He took x-rays, and they showed either severe osteoporosis or the cancer was back and in my bones.”
A trip to her oncologist revealed the cancer had indeed spread.
“I had no idea breast cancer could come back like that,” Nancy said. “This time I was scared. During the time I was cancer-free, I had been participating in the Oklahoma American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, and the Relay For Life. I liked being a beacon of hope for others that this disease could be beat.”
So once again she began the treatments, hoping for a positive result.
“This time it was radiation to my hip, spine and right arm,” she said. “It helped with the pain I was having but I do not remember much about that time. I lost control of my body functions, could barely walk and did not eat much. My employer offered me six months of leave to keep my insurance and then social security kicked in, so I took it. I could no longer do my job and was actually a liability to them.”
More than four years after her cancer re-occurrence, the disease has been relentless.
“When it came back, it had spread throughout my bones,” Nancy said. “My right arm fractured, and I had to wear a brace for two years to keep it stable. The bone was almost clear and looked like Swiss cheese. I had the option of getting surgery to put a rod in to stabilize it, but there was a possibility I could lose all the use of that arm. Even having limited use was better than losing it all, so I chose to not have the surgery.”
Using the services offered at the Oklahoma American Cancer Society has been a godsend, Nancy says. The organization offers wigs, scarves, and turbans, all free of charge to cancer patients. They also provide free rides to and from treatment in the Road to Recovery Program.
“Helping people like Nancy is at the heart of what we do every day,” said Jennifer Redman, OKACS program manager. “Not only do we have an entire wig room, but transportation is consistently named as one of the top needs for cancer patients. Our volunteer driver program ensures patients complete their treatment and we can increase the number of cancer survivors. We always need more volunteer drivers and have our own fleet of vehicles. So if you have some time to volunteer, we can always use the help.”
While each day is a struggle, Nancy refuses to let the disease dampen the positive attitude that has carried her through life.
“When I wake up every morning, it is a gift of life,” she said. “I could choose to wallow in pity and feel sorry for myself, but what does that do? I choose to enjoy each day and hope a cure will be found in my lifetime. Sometimes the dark side will come through. Like a day or so ago I realized once my hair is gone this time, I will most likely be bald the rest of my life. That sucks. But I must play the cards I am dealt, so I will save a few bucks on shampoo and conditioner! It’s all about re-framing the negatives and finding the positives.”
Nancy says her family is her foundation. Her husband Mike, their two daughters and four grandsons all pitch in to make life as normal as possible. And throughout her journey, she continually finds new ways to reinvent herself and help others.
“Sharing my story with the Oklahoma American Cancer Society and others is so important,” Nancy said. “I want everyone to know the big ‘C’ word is not always a death sentence. It does not always return like it did for me. Stay hopeful, happy and enjoy what you can. Don’t dwell on the horrible parts, just try to look for the good in everything. Believe me, it is there.”

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

High on my list of want-a-sees in the Finger Lakes Area of New York, was the Corning Museum of glass in Corning New York.
An enthusiastic and knowledgeable docent took me on a whirl wind tour down their educational history of glass exhibition with stops to glass blowing exhibitions in their hot glass shop, and a chance to participate in a glass blowing experience. While I did the blowing the crafts person spun the blow rod and formed the small pumpkin, which when cooled was mailed to me. This is a Finger Lakes road trip stop not to be missed.
Of course I was overwhelmed by their glass gift shop, where I found several pieces from my favorite glass artists. I also found tempting glass in Corning’s Market street galleries. Also downtown is the Rockwell (no relation to the artist) Museum of Western Art which houses the best of the west in the east.
More hands on glass blowing can be had at Corning’s Hands-on Glass: Hot Glass Studio (www.handsonglass.com) where classes are available as well as a small selection of glass for sale. Rodi Rovner and her team work hard to keep the tradition of glass on a personal level alive. My stay at Corning‘s Radisson hotel was convenient and professionally efficient.
If you want to be over fed and have a sensory dining experience, Spencer’s Restaurant should be your Corning dining choice. If you look closely you’ll see church pews accompanied by fireplaces and an inventive menu including eggplant fries!
On my way up to Aurora I just had to make a very brief detour to Elvira to see Mark Twain’s family cemetery plot and to see the near by little writing retreat, which is like a closed in gazebo. What’s a road trip adventure without an impromptu detour? Its this kind of flexibility that makes a road trip all worthwhile.
Of course it made me late for my lunch appointment at the Pumpkin Hill Bistro at 2051 route 90 near aurora. My delicious lunch was waiting for me, and promptly served amid a charming atmosphere of intimate dining.
I was in a bit of a rush as I had tickets for the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn. The professional theatre building was once a merry go round enclosure. Getting off the road, resting and being professionally entertained is a welcome counterpoint to a road tour.
After the theatre there was a brief visit to Auburn’s Willard Memorial chapel with its interior decorated totally with Luis Comfort Tiffany religious stain glass windows and accents.
Then it was off to the Belhurst Chateau to enjoy the grounds and public rooms of this restored and expanded Geneva mansion. An elegant dinner at Edgar’s, with view of the lake was a perfect ending to an adventurous touring agenda. The history of this wine related lodge is felt in every room. To emphasize this wine region, there is even a working wine spicket available to over night guests in the second floor lobby. Now that’s hospitality!
On your drive out of Geneva on your way back to Rochester airport, you can tank up your thirst with award winning 100% fruit juices at Red Jacket Orchards (www.redjacketorchards.com).
While I had a very full Finger Lakes itinerary there is much more to savor, and you may find other areas of interest when you request your Finger Lakes planning booklet. (www.fingerlakes.org) Summer and Autumn are perfect times to tour the lakes, hills and many attractions of this part of America, I call a perfect sampling of Americana.
In our fast moving modern culture it is wise to check details of your stops while planning your trip, as some venues may be closed or have issues with operating times. A road trip is always an adventure and if you have an adventurous spirit, touring the Finger Lakes may be perfect for you.

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zin

Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) Interim Commissioner Tom Bates has appointed Dr. Edd Rhoades as Chief Medical Officer for the agency. Dr. Rhoades has been with the agency for 40 years and is currently serving as the Medical Director for Family Health Services.
“Dr. Rhoades has served the state and this agency with integrity in a number of key positions over the years and it is appropriate that he should be the first person to fill this important role,” said Commissioner Bates. “The establishment of a Chief Medical Officer aligns with the public health structure of many other states and will provide guidance to our core mission.”
The Oklahoma State Board of Health approved creation of the position at their Sept. 14 meeting, following a recommendation that was included in a corrective action plan provided to the legislature in January. The Chief Medical Officer will advise agency leadership on medical and public health issues and provide medical oversight and consultation to agency service areas and county health departments. Under the current organizational structure, the Office of the Commissioner continues to focus on improving the financial operation and organization of the agency to ensure efficient delivery of core services.
A graduate of the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine, Dr. Rhoades also holds a Masters of Public Health in Health Administration from the University of Oklahoma College of Public Health. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and has received numerous awards for his work in maternal and child health and environmental protection. Among his honors are the Joan K. Leavitt, M.D. Award from the Oklahoma Public Health Association and the Mike Synar Environmental Excellence Award.
“I’m looking forward to working with Commissioner Bates and the senior leadership team to provide guidance for the agency as we continue to focus on issues that will improve the health of all Oklahomans,” said Dr. Rhoades. “I’m honored to have this opportunity to share my experiences and promote the great work being done by all of our public health professionals.