June 28, 2023 Issue, Page 1 of 20

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Serving Western Oklahoma Wednesday, June 28, 2023 Staff Writer Takes Home Third Place Feature Story at OPA State Convention Elk City Grad Says, ‘Make the World Tell You No’ Pictured are Lauran Larson with her husband Zachary and two children Eliza and Theodore. Courtesy photo. Pictured is Frank Letto, publisher of Elk City News, at the Oklahoma Press Association Convention, looking over the first-place winners of the Better Newspaper Contest Winners that were on display throughout the weekend. Photo credit OPA. See White page 2. The Oklahoma Press Association held their annual conven- ‘Ihe top three finishers for the Division 3 Better Newspaper tion June 9th and 10th at the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in Contest were the El Reno Tribune - Sequoyah Award and 380 Shawnee. ‘The Elk City News was represented by their publisher points, the Duncan Banner, second in points at 360 points, and Frank Letto, Ponca City, at the convention where Sheryl Ponce the Yukon Progress with 340 points. The category of News Con- received a third place in Division 3 - Semi- and Tri-Weekly Publi- tent, El Reno Tribune won first, Yukon Progress won second, and cations in the Feature Story category. ‘The Duncan Banner won third place. ‘The feature titled, “Elk City Grad Says, ‘Make the World Tell ‘The first place in the Feature Story category was Lynn Adams, You No,” was the winning piece that was published in the Sat., Sequoyah County Times with “Man's 900-Mile Walk of Faith Jan 22nd, issue of the Elk City News. The story was about Elk with a Cross.” Second place in the Feature Story category was Pictured are Lauran Larson with her husband Zachary City High School graduate, Gregory White who now teaches oth- Lynn Adams, Sequoyah County Times with “Running the Bulls.” and two children Eliza and Theodore. Courtesy photo. ers to pilot helicopters. Individuals could receive awards in 14 categories that includ- Johns Hopkins “The writer opens with a good anecdote of the subject meet- ed news story, feature story, sports story, business story, edu- ing a big challenge that sets up the rest of his life. Nice focus on cation story, in-depth reporting, column writing, small space a colorful individual in a dangerous profession,” wrote the judge about the article. See OPA page 2. Welcomes Bloomberg Fellow Lauran Larson to Its Ranks By Sheryl Ponce The Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath recently an- nounced the 2023 Bloomberg Fellows recipients. Elk City’s 2008 graduate Lauran Larson was one out of 10 who received the scholarship to pursue a Doctor of Public Health degree. ‘the initiative was established in 2016 and addresses im- minent challenges to health in the country. This is through www.fosslakechristmasinjuly.com « 580-592-443 education, research, and practice. Larson's initiative is for Banners are up around town. food systems for health, and because she will be incorpo- rating the Oklahoma State Department of Health in her Celebrate Early with Foss Lake research, she believes it is a reason she was awarded the fel- lowship. “Tt is not just about me. I also have to write about my or- Christmas in July Festival ganization because we become a collaborating organization,” Larson explained. “What that means is it’s not just about me, but a collab- oration. They expect me to work here (Dept. of Health) the By Sheryl Ponce at the Cedar Point pavilion following the program. ‘The festival entire time that I'm in this program and one year after I fin- celebration will continue with a free concert by the Dean Jackson ish. Thad to sign an agreement that saidI would stay at the Lake lovers come from all over western Oklahoma to partic- Band which runs from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Department of Health. They also chose me because they feel ipate in the 33rd annual Foss Lake Christmas in July Festival. Runners will be up early Sat. morning to hit the ground run- Coordinators Joe and Neva Pyatt are getting ready to host the ning at 7 a.m. for the 5K Run for Fun Across the Dam. Check in like the organization andI can really impact health. Basically, anticipated event that celebrates the holiday season. ‘This year it starts at 6:15 a.m., and registration details can be found at http:// we'll be learning from each other, implementing best practic- will kick off Friday afternoon, July 7th, from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., bitly/SK-fun-run. At 10 a.m. the Kayak “Trail Ride - Chinaber- es, and their goal is to have a big impact with this program.” and run through Sat., July 8th, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m, There will ry” will start, and the Foss Lake Little King and Queen contest She has been working in public health for the past ten be free parking throughout the weekend. will take place on the main stage at 10:30 a.m. years. Six and a half of those years she worked at the local Friday events include vendor booths that open at 1 p.m. The Another big event is the Beckham County Baggers Cornhole level on tobacco free policies and wellness policies, helping opening ceremonies will be honoring area veterans and first re- Tournament at Cedar Point that starts at 11 a.m. The tournament organizations change policies to support wellness behaviors at the Oklahoma County Health Dept. sponders. The Elk City Honor Guard, made up of Fireman will is being hosted by the Beckham County Baggers and the H20 “T've been working at the Oklahoma State Department be conducting the presentation of the colors at 6 p.m. Master Baggers. They will have a guaranteed payout of $2000. ‘The upper of Health for the last two years. In this role, I work on a lot of Ceremonies, Shawn Wilson, will introduce Gene Smith, Jr., a division prize breakdown is first place -$800, second place $400, Vietnam veteran, who will be the keynote speaker. Refreshments for the veterans, their families and the first responders will be See Foss page 2. See Bloomberg page 2. <itummtuimmy Weather, Weather 0/73 Vol. 120, No. 54 75 cents, 8 pgs. Mail delivery 580.225.3000 View online elkcityoknews.com