July 15, 2023 Issue, Page 1 of 8

Page Text

Serving Western Oklahoma Since 1901 Weekend Edition Indulge a Sweet Tooth at the Arrowhead New Downtown ‘Candy Shack’ Center’s After School Program Announces Enrollment By Sheryl Ponce ‘The Arrowhead Academy is an after-school program that hosts third through sixth graders in Ek City and surrounding communities. It is not associated with any school or any other grant or federal programs. It is a program that is being built from scratch to enhance growing members of the those at- By Sheryl Ponce tending by making them feel seen, heard, and loved. Wendy Wheeler grew up in Carter and knew she wanted to In May the center hired Courtland Wood to be the program own her own business. Eventually she opened The Shack snow director. She was born and raised in Elk City and graduated cone stand, located on Route 66, west of Elk City, with her sis- from Elk City High School in 2013. After high school she at- ter, Jaime Fite. Together they built the business. tended OSU and earned a degree in elementary education. For “My nephew, Brendan Flowers, tagged me in a post on Face- the past six years, she has been teaching elementary school. book for the Ice Shack. I call it The Shack now. He tagged me ina She is a wife and mother of two daughters. post with this little, small building. It was the smallest building you could ever imagine. And somehow, we're like, ‘Let’s make Since May, Wood has been developing the Arrowhead snow cones out of it,” Wheeler explained. Academy. According to Ell City Sports’ announcement about She could not afford it by herself, therefore, Fite joined her enrollment, the response to the program has been positive. in purchasing the building. Flowers joked with them, that he Enrollment is limited, therefore, parents who would like their was the third partner because he found the small building. children to participate need to act fast. “But my sister, two years into it, decided she loves her sum- Kids will have the chance to explore a variety of topics that mers. She decided to step away, but I was able to buy her out. may not be covered in their classroom lessons. Some of the So I built that for the next few years, and I've owned it for eight topics include art, gardening, photography, coding, and oth- years,” Wheeler continued. ers. The goal is to help the children continue their education Although she had not thought about opening a candy store, she enjoyed taking her children to them as they traveled on with instruction, freedom, and the opportunity to have fun vacations. She is married to Brandon Wheeler, and they have and grow as individuals. three children, 17-year-old Harrison, 19-year-old Ella, and The fee for one child is $200 per month or $650 per se- 21-year-old Emma. mester. Those with two children will receive ten percent off for “We would always end up in a candy store or in an ice cream the additional child, while three and more children get 20 per- parlor on vacations. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is something I cent off. They will take payments that are due the 15th of each always wish we had here,” Wheeler said. month. Semester payments will be taken the 15th of August As she was taking her son Harrison to visit a college in Chickasha, she was in the passenger seat wanting to occupy her Pictured are Wendy Wheeler and her son, Harrison and the 15th ofJan. There will also be $50 application fee. time and thinking about having a candy store. She called her Wheeler. Staff photo by Sheryl Ponce To apply for the Arrowhead Academy, email the Wood at husband and told him her ideas, and although he was not on [email protected]. Enrollment is open until July 26th. taking on the business, she knew that it was what she had to do. board at first, he agreed to look into it. Her idea was for him to “Twas like, ‘It’s going to happen.’ I started asking people, and buy her a building, but that did not happen. Instead of purchasing a building, they found the space on Main St. that was becoming empty. She wrote a letter to the I was messaging them. Some people warned me about the road being shut down, and I was scared at first. I wrote a letter to the Delta Dental of owner, and she agreed to let her rent the new location at 109 S. Main Street. Wheeler said that although she was scared about See Candy page 2. Oklahoma Offers Free Resources to EC Motorsports Park Hopes for Racing Weather Uninsured, La Underinsured Elk By Sheryl Ponce The Elk City Motorsports Park racing will be hosting the Sooner Limited Modified Series on Sat. July 22nd. Rod Fauver and Joe McConnell have had to cancel several races due to the weather over the past month and hope that next weekend they City Patients will be able to have a full night of racing. ELK CITY — As Medicaid unwinding continues, Delta Den- ‘There will be Sooner Limited Modified, ECMP Factory Stocks, tal of Oklahoma (DDOK) and its Foundation are helping Elk Dirt Dog 305 Sprints and USRA Tuners hitting the circle track. The 100mph dirt dog 305 sprints will be racing, where fans will City residents access critical oral healthcare resources, regard- see local, regional, and national racers. The race is sanctioned by less of their insurance coverage status. Summit Racing Equipment. Estimates show that 300,000 Oklahomans will lose cover- Grandstands will open at 5 p.m., and racing starts at 7 p.m. age by the time SoonerCare renewal reviews are complete. This Adults, 16 years of age to 64 years old get in for $15; youth 8 estimate, in addition to the existing 600,000 uninsured Okla- years-old to 15-years-old and seniors 65 and older, as well as mili- homans, means neatly a quarter of the state’s population will tary and first responders will get in for $10; and kids under eight lack coverage and accessibility to necessary health and dental are free, ‘The pits open at 3 p.m. with $25 pit pass, and kids five and un- care, der are $10 for a pit pass. The concession stands seem to be a hit “As the state’s only not-for-profit dental benefits provider, for the night with specialty items like no other racetrack offers. our mission at Delta Dental of Oklahoma is to advance the oral ‘The number of racers traveling from across Oklahoma, Texas, health of all Oklahomans — including those who do not have and Kansas are increasing. Fauver and McConnell need the com- dental insurance,” said John Gladden, president and CEO of munity to come out to see how racing has been evolving for Elk Delta Dental of Oklahoma. “Our Foundation has a number of City and all of western Oklahoma. They have been putting in the resources available to ensure Elk City residents have access to time and the money to produce quality racing. Now is the time to City, to see how racing entertainment has changed over the past go out to the track, located at 5612 W. 20th St., just west of Elk few years. See Dental page 2. Weather ) Vol. 120, No. 59 Mail delivery View online ¢ IM 3 tomorrow . / 78 75 cents, 8 pgs. 580.225.3000 elkcityoknews.com