Hands Across the River

September 29 at 9:30 am
96th street pedestrian bridge

Free tshirts to the first 350 people to arrive.

Join citizens of Tulsa and show support for the Arkansas River development this Saturday, September 29 at 9:30 am. This event will rally momentum for the river vote on October 9. Bring neighbors, friends and family to the 96th street pedestrian bridge. Parking is available at the RiverWalk center parking lot.

This river project is meant to unite the surrounding cities and develop a better quality of life for our families who depend on us for their future in Tulsa.

Mark your calendars for September 29 at 9:30 AM. Reply to Marnie Ducato at Marnie@rexpr.com with the number of attendees. We look forward to seeing you come out in support of our river

Happy Hands is a Center for families with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and children with other communicative disorders. Our purpose is to empower these special needs children with confidence, education, life skills and the abilities necessary to achieve all of the dreams they may have.

We strive to provide the opportunities necessary to help these children and their families flourish in every area of their lives. Happy Hands is funded by private donations and community fundraising projects. We invite you to enjoy OK Kids Day 2007.

Hunt Spinal Care and Grace Church are hosting this event Saturday September 22, 2007 on the grounds of Grace Church at 9610 S. Garnett Rd. Noon to 3 p.m. rain or shine!

It is a free event with spinal, dental and hearing screenings, face painting, balloons, carousel rides, jupiter jump, food, children's i.d. kits, prizes, a national guard helicopter and much more.

The event benefits Happy Hands. Let's have a fantastic turnout!

please check out www.happyhands.org
Jan Pride,Program Director janpride@yahoo.comHappy Hands Education Center 5717 East 32nd Street Tulsa, OK 74135 (v/tdd)918-665-1200 (fax) 918-669-9030

One Mans Trash Is Another Mans Treasured Home

Everyone has heard the cliché one mans trash is another mans treasure. How about one city’s trash incinerator is another man’s treasured home. For one celebrated artist this could not be more true.

Built in 1939 just on the out skirts of what was then the city limits was the city’s trash incinerator. For about $50,000 the building was constructed with 6" and 17” brick walls and if examined it would unveil bricks stamps from factories all over North America and Mexico. As the city grew to new size, the city limits were reestablished. Ordinances prohibiting trash disposal within the city limits was cause for the incinerator to be relocated. The abandoned structure remained filled with ashes for years.

While scouting for a separate project, renowned wood turner, Ron Fleming discovered the building. Much in the same way Pablo Picasso famously transformed bike handles into horns for his work The Bull, the native Oklahoman’s vision of a smoke stacked spiraled into a four-story lookout tower. Literally digging into this passion, shovel by shovel, Ron and his family reinvented a city’s forgotten incinerator into a conceptual piece of art.

Designed for a private home and studio workshop http://www.heartstonestudios.com/ for him and wife Carolyn the house is as unique and personal as their artwork. Just behind the two, 8’ hand carved arched walnut doors that stand salute at entrance is a two-story atrium, which is the focal point of the house. Meandering walls showcasing works of art lead you through the distinctive floor plan and open to an east sunroom and observation deck. Gardens abundant with wildlife make good use of a sixty-foot city easement adjacent to the property. This house isn’t void of many modern conveniences.
Today, Tulsans can be proud of the contribution made by the visionary artist and be appreciative that one mans creativity and inspiration for a home, fashioned a treasure for our entire city. For a complete property details go to http://darrylbaskin.com/luxury_homes

Backpacks for Kids!

Tulsa Realtors send over 500 kids back to school with new backpacks and school supplies this year. The largest number of backpacks donate in one year so far! The giving attitude of Tulsa area Realtors made going back-to-school for many children a fun experience with the simple gift of something new. Family and Children's Services made sure the children who received the back packs were those who needed them. The backpacks included clothing and school supplies and are intended to give at-risk children a positive start to their school year and encourage interest and participation in school rather than a poor and lacking self-image among other students who begin school fully equipped with supplies.

The event is sponsored by the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors. Food was provided by CiCi's Pizza, Chik-Fil-A, and Blue Bell Ice Cream. the event was held at The Tulsa Home Builder's Association.

Grace Church Supports Happy Hands School

Oklahoma Kids Day at Grace Church – Saturday, September 22, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m.
This fundraiser for Happy Hands is dedicated to children's health, safety, and environmental awareness. We will have a booth and there will be other booths and fun activities for families to enjoy. This event is sponsored by Hunt's Spinal Care and Dr. Hunt's staff would like for Happy Hands to help provide volunteers to set up, work the event, and help with clean up. There are three shifts available to work and we have committed to provide 10 to 12 volunteers. If you would be willing to commit to work an hour or two at this event, we would appreciate it. Please contact me and I can give you specific times. Fliers will be made available to us by the first of September, so more information will be available then.

School for Hearing Impaired Children Raises $3000

Dr. Brandy Vowell, Audiologist "Swing Into Action"
Last week, Dr. Vowell had a live remote, at her new office, and she gave Happy Hands the opportunity to share in this pre-PGA event. Jan did an awesome job talking live on 97.1 and we heard that she made the evening news as well. Dr. Vowell had a silent auction and raffled off some sports memorabilia that she collected.  She raised $3,000 for Happy Hands and it was an exciting event to participate in!

Happy Hands is an early learning center for hearing impaired children.

Tulsa Cracks Down on Signs

The City of Tulsa is taking a hard look at yard signs and enforcement of the current policies. Recently, the budget was increased to allow for more sign inspectors and enforcement. The reason might have a lot to do with out of control real estate agents placing multiple signs for one listing. In some instances five signs were counted (directional arrows) for one single home. Multiple signs is a common practice for homes in rural areas but this is happening in town where one sign is sufficient. The only reason is to make the public think an agent or company has more listings than it really does, therefore attracting more home sellers and buyers. With approximately 6500 homes for sale in Tulsa and surrounding communities, you can see how this abuse could get out of control. It is important to note that most Realtors are not practicing this overkill on signs but it only takes a few to make a problem.

As a resident of Tulsa you can help the problem by complaining or making your opinion heard when talking to real estate agents who post too many signs in your neighborhood or when you see abuse while you are looking at homes. Public pressure helps our city stay clean.