Edmond’s Boogie Nights
Readers’ comments are always welcome here. I enjoy when a previous topic draws reaction.
Recently I wrote about boosting the nightlife industry in Edmond. Straight away I received responses reminding me of the available venues after dark.
Attorney Barry Rice said, “Edmond does have the beginning of an entertainment district…Downtown. With the UCO Jazz lab, Hideway Pizza, Boulevard Restaurant, 501 Cafe, Othellos, Mark Neighbor’s new high rise office building, Pete Resser’s beautiful new office building, and Citizens Banks new offices, Edmond’s downtown is just starting a new future.”
“It takes a commitment of the public and private sector to build a central entertainment, residential and retail district, as shown In Bricktown. Our future is in more urban development, less automobile traffic, living and working in close proximity and pedestrian friendly environment,” he said. Attorney Randel Shadid sent an e-mail with this response to Rice’s letter, “ditto.”
At the same time UCO President Roger Webb sent a letter with his thoughts. “For years I have worked to encourage business development along Campbell or Ayers leading from Broadway to campus,” he said.
“When we opened the student apartments on campus, I had an artist schematic of Campbell St. with businesses that would appeal to a younger crowd. Perhaps that will happen some day,” he said.
“I would much rather have our students who party frequent places within walking distance than be driving from Bricktown,” he said.
Students Dig Deep To Help Others
An example of how dedicated and caring Edmond high school students really are will be demonstrated next week during Edmond North’s BALTO, Bring A Light To Others Week.
The annual Edmond North student fundraiser, created in 1994, raised over $185,000 in 2008 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. From that amount, 5 percent went to Edmond’s Common Thread, another charity which all three schools make contributions.
This year the students have set a goal of raising $134,170. Ninety-five percent of the money will go to the Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation, dedicated to meeting the needs of Oklahoma families, caregivers and patients affected by brain or central nervous system tumors. The other 5 percent of the BALTO money will go to this year’s Common Thread recipient, a National Transplant Fund for Diana Caporale, a recent graduate of Edmond Santa Fe who is awaiting a liver transplant.
BALTO Week officially runs Feb.2 to 6 at the school but there are two events being held this week. The annual children’s carnival is from 6-9 p.m. Thursday in the school’s small gym and the 3-on-3 basketball competition is from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday in the small gym.
All of the BALTO events are student-organized and offer something for all ages. The events range from the carnival to a dance marathon to a citywide 5k run. BALTO depends on your generous support by attending the events or making a donation directly. Donations can be mailed to ENHS BALTO,
Has social host ordinance done its job?
Stillwater city leaders are considering passing a social host law similar to the one we have here in Edmond.
The law places responsibility of underage drinking on the host of a party where minors are present. Thirty Oklahoma cities such as Owasso, Enid, Yukon and McAlester have passed social host laws.
Edmond has had a social host law since January 2007. At that time, Mayor Saundra Naifeh was interested in passing the law with the punishment set as a $500 fine or imprisonment not to exceed 60 days.
In 2007, the number of arrests on violating the ordinance in Edmond was 71, and a number of the violators were college students. Imagine the potential impact on Oklahoma State University students if Stillwater passes a social host law.
This month marks the second anniversary of the passage of the social host law in Edmond. Do you think the law has been effective in curbing underage drinking? Is the law tough enough on violators and has it been effective in reaching the right offenders?
I don’t think anyone would disagree with a stand against underage drinking, but one of the arguments at the introduction of the law was it’s better to have students drinking in a home where they can stay than drinking somewhere else and have them out on the roads.
That one doesn’t wash with me. You still run the risk of having drunk drivers on the road as they leave the place where the party is.
Is Edmond’s law tough enough or is it missing the mark?
Edmond Authors Set To Strut Their Stuff
Edmond is blessed with a number of authors.
Our city has many nationally published fiction, romance, historical and Christian writers.
I count myself among them, having had my first book, “The Cost of Deception,” published in 2001. Just the other day I checked to see how sales were doing according to Amazon.com
.
My sales rank was 1,559,344. That puts me in the top 1.6 million of all authors. Move over John Grisham.
What I really want to let you know is the Edmond Historical Society and Museum is having its annual Edmond Author’s Book Fair this month. The book fair is 1 to 4 p.m. Jan. 24. This is a free event for Edmond authors to publicize and sell their books.
If you would like to be a part of the book fair, e-mail your contact information to Christine Gibson at cgibson@coxinet.net.
If you would like more information, go to www.edmondhistory.org or call 340-0078.
The Edmond Historical Society & Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
