Community briefs: Find out where to get a free mammogram, and learn about OKC-area events

Free mammograms to be offered in OKC

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department, in partnership with OU Health, Stephenson Cancer Center and Susan G. Komen, will provide mammogram screenings at no cost on Wednesday, July 27. The mobile mammography unit will screen women over the age of 40.

The screening is free, and if any abnormalities are found, diagnostic testing and follow-up also will be offered at no cost. The OU Breast Health Network Mobile Mammography Program will be onsite from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department Drive-Thru, 2600 NE 63. Community Health Workers also will be onsite to connect patients with other resources.

Appointments are needed and can be made by calling 405-419-4232 or 405-419-4257.

Register for Norman city garage sale

NORMAN — The city of Norman's Citywide Garage Sale will be Aug. 12-14, andregistration to participate will be open through noon Aug. 5.

By registering, the addresses of participating residences and corresponding sale days will be made available through a list for shoppers at the city of Norman website, City Hall and the Norman Police Department beginning at 3 p.m. Aug. 10.

Those registering to have a garage sale can choose to participate in one, two or all three days of the citywide garage sale.

To register, contact the Action Center at 405-366-5396; send an email to Action.Center@normanok.gov with name, address and the date(s) participating; or go to https://www.normanok.gov/events/2022-norman-city-wide-garage-sale.

No city garage sale permit is required for sales during the citywide event. Registration is optional and not required to host a garage sale. Signs will not be provided to residents for the event.

Young Marines group starts Norman unit

The Young Marines national youth organization has announced a new unit forming in Norman, the Sooner Young Marines. It will be led by Unit Commander Sal A. Cenicacelaya, of Norman.

The Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through high school graduation. The program focuses on character building, leadership, self-discipline and promoting a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

“Feeling the need to continue my volunteer work with youth programs, I decided to start up a new Young Marines unit here in Norman," Cenicacelaya said. "My primary focus is to build a solid foundation of adult volunteers before we recruit interested young people.”

Cenicacelaya served in the Marine Corps for four years and was honorably discharged in 1987. He has coached youth wrestling programs and youth soccer.

The Sooner Young Marines will participate in local civic activities, such as providing color guards for athletic events, engaging with the local veteran population, marching in local parades and activities, and promoting and reinforcing good citizenship.

“I have had a great deal of help from other Young Marines Adult Volunteers from across the nation,” Cenicacelaya said. “They have been an essential asset to me in building the new unit here in Norman.”

For more information on how to join and volunteer, call Cenicacelaya at 973-713-7157 or go to https://youngmarines.org/unit/sooner/page.

Uptown 23rd plans block party

The Uptown 23rd District Association and Business Improvement District will host a free block party beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 30.

The inaugural Uptown Outside event will offer food, live music and community at the intersection of NW 23 and N Walker Avenue in the Historic Uptown 23rd District. Street closures in preparation for the event will begin at 10 a.m.

An outdoor stage presented by Friends of Uptown will include performers SPORTS, Holy Wave, Nia Moné, Wood Willow, LEX and Free Mode and the King Cabbage Brass Band.

Uptown Outside also will feature a skate park created by $ Ruins Everything. The skate park will be open to all skaters and will feature skate performances throughout the day.

“Uptown is largely made up of local businesses, with owners who live in the neighborhoods nearby. This event gives us a chance to welcome people back to the district in the form of a big party,” said Chelsea Banks, Uptown 23rd District Association board president.

Many businesses will offer specials and other performances in their locations for the event. Food trucks and retail vendors also will be present.

Byron’s Liquor Warehouse will host alcohol tastings in the Friends of Uptown VIP Tent. Admission is granted by becoming a Friend of Uptown for $50. To join Friends of Uptown, go to uptown23rd.com/friends.

For more information, go to uptown23rd.com/uptown-outside.

Round Barn to feature Scott Taylor

ARCADIA — Singer-songwriter Scott Taylor will headline an Elm Tree Concert at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 31, at the Arcadia Round Barn.

Taylor, who lives in Bartlesville, has been singing since the age of 3, getting his start in church and school choirs. He has a special love for cowboy and Western songs. Music from his CD entitled “Friends Along the Trail” has been used for the television program “Best of America by Horseback.”

Admission is free to the Elm Tree Concert Series, which continues most Sunday afternoons through Sept. 25 beneath the giant elm tree on the north side of the Arcadia Round Barn.

Donations are accepted for the maintenance of the barn, which was built in 1898.

The Arcadia Round Barn is six miles east of Interstate 35 on historic Route 66. For more information about live music at the barn, call Joe Baxter at 405-833-1350.

Youth Council applicants sought

NORMAN — The city of Norman is seeking high school sophomores, juniors and seniors who are active in their school and community and interested in learning about local government.

The city is accepting applications for the 2022-23 Norman Youth Council Class. In addition to providing a completed application, students will need to provide two letters of recommendation from adults familiar with their leadership skills and service to the community. Applications are due by Aug. 12.

Successful applicants will serve a term from September 2022 through May 2023 and are limited to two terms of service. The Norman Youth Council will meet on the second Monday of each month during the school year from about 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and will have the opportunity to receive briefings from the city of Norman staff about current city programs, tour city facilities and learn more about the city’s daily operations.

To learn more, go to https://tinyurl.com/mr2yj4t7 or contact Deedra Vice at 405-366-5422 or deedra.vice@normanok.gov.

Tech students share 'Beautiful Days'

Each month during the school year, surgical technology students at Canadian Valley Technology Center’s Chickasha campus celebrate alongside Grand Elementary schoolchildren who have birthdays. Pizza and cupcakes are served, courtesy of a Duncan-based nonprofit, and each child is told they matter, said Andrea Verser, Canadian Valley Technology Center instructional coach and teacher.

The Beautiful Day Foundation’s model has been franchised by dozens of other school districts that provide “Beautiful Days” for elementary and intermediate children throughout Oklahoma.

A recent Oklahoma Blood Institute fundraiser resulted in a $560 contribution from the Chickasha campus to support the Beautiful Day Foundation’s mission.

Verser said students at the Cowan campus in Yukon also will volunteer for similar activities at Redstone Intermediate, Yukon’s newest school in the Surrey Hills area.

Julie Simeroth, manager of financial services for the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, serves as the Beautiful Day liaison at Independence Intermediate School in Yukon.

“The goal is to make each child feel loved and cared for and appreciated,” she said. “We started doing this in 2019, and we soon found out some children never had a party before. With tears in their eyes, we had children asking if they could have a second piece of pizza.”

Surgical technology is an adult-only program in which students learn to provide quality patient care before, during and after surgeries.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Community briefs: Free mammograms, other events planned in OKC area