Community briefs
By Staff Reports
Saturday, December 15, 2012
12/15/12 at 2:36 AM
BA will close Main Street for band rally on Monday
BROKEN ARROW - Main Street will be closed to traffic from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Monday for a practice and sendoff ceremony for the Broken Arrow High School band, which will perform in the Jan. 1 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.
The Pride of Broken Arrow will march between the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center at 701 S. Main St. and College Street.
At 5 p.m., the band will gather at the Farmers Market Pavilion at 418 S. Main St. for a rally and speeches. Parking will be available at the Performing Arts Center and other nearby lots.
The band performed in the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade and was the Bands of America Grand National Champion in 2011 and 2006.
"We are so proud of what these young men and women have accomplished, and what better way to allow the entire community to show its support than with a sendoff rally," Superintendent Jared Mendenhall said in a news release.
To help the band raise money for the trip, several Main Street businesses will donate a portion of their sales during the parade or offer services for donations.
ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Thunderbird Academy to open first female barrack
PRYOR - Thunderbird Youth Academy will dedicate its first female barrack at a ceremony Saturday.
State House Speaker-elect T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, will speak at the 9 a.m. dedication, which will be followed by a walk-through of the $500,000 facility.
Graduation for the academy's 39th class will follow at 10 a.m.
"The new building will help recruit and retain more female cadets by improving their quality of life while at Thunderbird," retired Brig. Gen. Gerald Wright, president of the Thunderbird Youth Academy Foundation, said in a statement.
"This building is the first step in renewing Thunderbird Youth Academy's campus and giving a successful program the facilities it needs and deserves."
The barrack's construction began in the fall of 2011 after Thunderbird received federal stimulus funds directed to the Oklahoma Military Department by then-Gov. Brad Henry.
Selser Schaefer Architects in Tulsa designed the building.
Forty to 60 cadets will be housed in the 3,118-square-foot building.
Administered through the Oklahoma National Guard, Thunderbird is a 17-month program that seeks to better the lives of at-risk youth.
Females account for fewer than 10 percent of the cadets.
- from staff reports
