Cancellations Galore: A sketch of three Oklahoma activities/events canned over COVID-19
Published: March 25th, 2020
Recreation Centers at Oklahoma City parks and the visitors center at Martin Nature Park were closed Monday (March 23) and will not reopen until April 12, if then.
A press release the city government said, “One of our key values at OKC Parks is bringing our community together. As the situation constantly develops, parks staff made the difficult decision to temporarily close these facilities to follow public health guidance to restrict gatherings of 10 or more people.”
Senior centers were already closed and will remain so until at least April 12.
Outdoor grounds at Martin Nature Center, the Will Rogers Gardens and open areas in neighborhood parks remained open, for now. However, in a March 25 release, the city communications director stressed, “Public Health Officials recently shared evidence the virus can survive on hard surfaces. The Parks Department will be placing signage up in the area. Walking is in parks is encouraged, but please don’t let your children use the playground equipment.”
Federal and state public health officials “have offered no specific guidance for parks beyond basic social distancing practices like avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people, staying about 6 feet away from others, and washing your hands often with soap and water (or using sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when soap and water aren’t available),” the release explained.
OKIE AND OU fans will have to wait on IDF veteran Joel Chasnoff
The private sector is largely following the local government’s lead. Supporters of the OKlahoma Israel Exchange (OKIE) and OU Hillel had scheduled “LOL with Comedian Joel Chasnoff” for Sunday evening, April 26. Chasnoff is a stand-up comic and best-selling author – and so far as we know the only comedian who is also a veteran of the Israeli Defense Force.
Chasnoff is described in publicity materials as “clean, hip, and wonderfully original.” Despite the cancellation of his local appearance, this writer still hopes, one day, to hear Chasnoff chat about “The 188th Crybaby Brigade.”
OSU Accounting Honorees Named, to be feted next year
The Oklahoma State University School of Accounting will not holed the Wilton T. Anderson Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet on April 30. A great grouping of Hall of Fame inductees will, it is hoped, be honored in 2021 along with a new class. The honorees for this year were:
* Stephen (Steve) Jay, a two-time OSU accounting graduate with bachelor’s (1967) and master’s (1969) degrees, is a semi-retired CPA in Tulsa.
* Janet Kimbrell earned her doctorate in accounting from OSU in 1979 and taught accounting classes at OSU for 28 years until her retirement in January 2007.
* Jeff Ronsse, an OSU accounting and marketing graduate (1999), is the managing partner for the Colorado and Utah offices of BKD, a national CPA and advisory firm.
Designated a “distinguished friend of the School of Accounting” is Bob Sandmeyer, who “spent 17 years (1977 to 1994) as dean of the OSU College of Business Administration (now the Spears School of Business) and led the effort for the OSU accounting department to be recognized as the School of Accounting.”
The early career “rising star” honoree is Michael Madsen, a 2008 OSU accounting graduate. Madsen is a BKD director who invests significant times at his alma mater and other local colleges and universities as the recruiting director for BKD’s Oklahoma offices.
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