News Updates

Time for a Dip

Tulsa Parks officials have not reached their goal of raising $300,000 in donations to open five pools for the summer, but they'll be opening those pools anyway and operating them through the middle of August.

Bob Hendrick, the department's special event coordinator, said the "Break the Ice" fundraising drive had netted $100,000 as of May 24 -- well short of the $300,000 officials were hoping to come up when they initiated the effort last winter. But he said the department had some donations left over from prior years and is hoping more money will be donated in coming weeks.

"We've definitely got enough to open those five," he said.

The five pools that will be operated this season are Berry Pool, 5002 N. Wheeling; Lacy Pool, 2134 N. Madison Place; McClure Pool, 7440 E. 7th St.; Reed Park, 4233 S. Yukon; and Whiteside Pool, 4009 S. Pittsburg. Whiteside is for children ages 14 and younger.

McClure will open Saturday, June 5, while Lacy and Reed will open Sunday, June 6. Berry and Whiteside will open Monday, June 7. All pools are scheduled to close Aug. 13. Admission costs and operating times vary.

For more information, visit the Tulsa Parks Web site at tulsaparks.org or call 596-PARK.

Emergency Report

A group charged with developing a hazard mitigation plan for Tulsa's historic and cultural resources expects to wrap up its effort within the next week and issue its findings to the state.

Tim Lovell -- executive director of Tulsa Partners Inc., a nonprofit firm that has been subcontracted to work on the issue -- said last week that some final information is being compiled and entered for the report on individual sites. When that effort is complete, he said, the report will be sent to the state Department of Homeland Security before it is forwarded to Federal Emergency Management Agency for review.

The project is intended to serve as a plan for saving Tulsa's cultural treasures and historically significant structures in the event of a man-made or natural disaster.

As part of that effort, Lovell said emergency response team training sessions sponsored by the state will begin Thursday, May 27 at the Philbrook Museum of Art, 2727 S. Rockford Road. The sessions will be held from 9:30am-11:30am each week for 10 weeks.

Lovell said the training focuses on preparedness for individuals and families. Team members will be taught how to work together in neighborhoods and businesses, as well as how to work with search-and-rescue teams and first-responder units.

The training is open to anyone, he said; although it is targeted for representatives of historic and cultural institutions, and those individuals will receive priority status. Lovell said the class is limited to 30 members. So far, he said, representatives of the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture and the Philbrook have indicated they will have staff members in attendance.