Harper's Hut Shaved Ice celebrates Grand Opening of new Berryhill location

Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java celebrated the grand opening of a new snow cone stand Thursday afternoon.

Fellow business owners and Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce members traveled to Berryhill to congratulate CEO William Nozak and Berryhill co-owner Jeff Lyles on their new venture at 3110 South 65th West Avenue. 

The new stand is located in the parking lot of New Home Free Will Baptist Church in the unincorporated community of Berryhill, immediately across the street from Berryhill Elementary South, and less than a quarter mile from Berryhill Elementary North and Berryhill High School. 

Harper's Hut opened its first stand at 1124 East Charles Page Boulevard in Sand Springs in 2014 and has been steadily growing ever since. 

Harper's unique flavors and image can be found at the Case Community Park concession stand in Sand Springs, the Sapulpa Aquatic Center, and Sungate Pool in Tulsa. Nozak owned a stand in Mannford for three seasons before the land they leased was sold for development, and that stand has now been relocated to the Sand Springs location. The Berryhill hut is the original building where the company got its start.

"We've been blessed," says Nozak. "The  community has stood behind us. Other stands have opened, Starbucks has come to town with cold drinks, and we still have a flourishing brand."

Part of Harper's success can be attributed to its family friendly environment, which includes far more than a simple snow cone. Patrons are welcome to hang out at the huts, host birthday parties, and more. 

The Sand Springs stand is fully stocked with corn hole, frisbees, footballs, soccer balls, hula hoops, and numerous other games and activities. In addition to colorful picnic tables, there are also unique hangouts for children like a dugout and a pirate ship. The Berryhill stand is just starting out but will soon include many activities of its own. 

Jeff Lyles, an Assistant Band Director at Sand Springs Public Schools and Berryhill graduate, will run the stand together with his wife, Amanda. Their stand kicked off with a bang and beat the Sand Springs location in sales on day one. 

To book Harper's Hut for a private party or to get information on opening your own stand, contact 918.671.6352. Harper's provides shaved ice, espresso, Italian sodas, smoothies, and more for birthday parties, festivals, weddings, corporate events, and more. 

Berryhill High School senior serves as State Senate page

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Berryhill High School senior, Courtney Buttler served as a Senate page for State Sen. Allison Ikley-Freeman, D-Tulsa, during the fifth week of the legislative session from March 5-8, 2018. Courtney is the daughter of Sand Springs resident Sheree Buttler.

Terry's Classic Coneys presents the Harper's Hut Classic Car & Bike Show, next Saturday in Sand Springs

Three cars that may be at the car show. Photo: Mark Battenfield

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java is teaming up with Terry's Classic Coneys to bring an old tradition back to the Prattville community. Before being acquired by Teri Buckner, the former Ed's Classic Coneys hosted car shows just about every year. On Saturday, September 24th, the show is back and bigger than ever.

"We've spared no expense," says Harper's owner William Nozak. "It's not just car fans who should be there--it's families. It's a big big thing that we've all come together in Sand Springs to do."

Car Show sponsors:

Allstate
Animal House II Pet Store
Battman Collision Repair
Church That Matters
Copper Oaks Bed & Breakfast
Do Overs Furniture
Green Country Federal Credit Union
Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java
Inkwell Custom Apparel
Lucky 7's Custom Creations
Master Lube
Miss Trita's Dance Studio
Mother's Helper Consignment Shop
Sand Springs Autosource
Sand Springs Leader
Shell & Cross Bones Candles
Sullivan's Body Shop
Terry's Classic Coneys
U.S. Army Sand Springs Recruiting Center

The event may be hosted by Buckner and Nozak, but more than a dozen area businesses and organizations are helping to bring the annual event back to life.

The car show will last from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and will have plenty for everybody. DJ Blake Bush will be providing entertainment for the evening. Miss Trita's Dance Studio students will be performing a routine. The Sand Springs Leader will be providing games for the children and the Army will have youth games. There will be several other vendors of food, crafts, clothes, and more at the event as well.

Church That Matters will be preparing breakfast and the Harper's Hut coffee truck will also be on hand. Throughout the day, attendees will be able to lunch on Papa Pat's Barbecue or Terry's Classic Coneys, and follow it up with some shaved ice for dessert. 

The car show itself will feature 21 classes, with trophies going to the top-three in each class. The first place trophies are extra special, however. Nozak traveled three hours to Conway, Arkansas to acquire the trophies that were hand-made by an artist/mechanic from actual car parts. The trophies are very heavy, and very expensive. 

There's a special category for the kids to participate in, and a People's Choice Award trophy. Every entrant in the competition will receive a T-shirt, but the biggest prize goes to the Best in Show winner. That lucky person will receive a one night paid stay for two at the Copper Oaks Bed & Breakfast in Sapulpa. 

There will also be a raffle open to the public, full of great prizes. There's a lamp made out of car pistons, $25 vouchers to the Sand Springs Pumpkin Patch, two meals at Rib Crib, car detailing supplies from AutoZone, a month of free tanning from Touch of Sun, a one-year subscription to the Leader, and even more great prizes. Raffle tickets will be $5.00 apiece, and each prize will have its own bucket so that everyone gets a good shot at what they're wanting. 

The best part of the whole event is that it's nonprofit. The proceeds from the car show and raffle will all be split between the Keystone Fire Department and the Church That Matters Special Needs ministry. 

For more information, contact
William Nozak
www.harpershut.com
www.facebook.com/harpers.hut

City Councilman Brian Jackson sounds off on Senator Dan Newberry

Incumbent Senator Dan Newberry faced harsh words from City Councilman Brian Jackson at a Chamber of Commerce forum Monday afternoon.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce hosted an open forum Monday for Senate seat 37 candidates. All seven candidates were invited, five attended, but the awkward drama between three of them stole the show. Outgoing Sand Springs Superintendent Lloyd Snow is running for the democratic nomination for the seat, and he's found an unusual ally from the other side of the political spectrum. 

Sand Springs City Councilman Brian Jackson is a Republican, but doesn't hesitate to endorse Snow as the best alternative to incumbent Dan Newberry, should Newberry win the Republican nomination. Jackson has even gone so far as to go canvassing with Superintendent Snow. 

Jackson, whose wife is a third-grade teacher, makes it clear that should he be defeated in the Republican primary on June 28th, his campaign won't end there.

"I believe public education is the cornerstone to our democracy, and should be guarded from politicians that want to inflict harm. I do not support any measure such as vouchers that would divert or direct tax dollars away from public education," said Jackson, an obvious jab at Newberry who failed to publicly oppose SB609, which would have redirected funds from public education to private schools. The high-profile bill received major public backlash from the education community before dying in committee. Many District 37 residents expressed frustration that Newberry failed to reply to any emails or phone calls regarding the bill, and never publicly declared his position, should it have been heard on the Senate floor.

Outgoing Superintendent Lloyd Snow will likely carry a large backing from Sand Springs residents with ties to education, but his biggest obstacle to election will be proving his qualifications in non-education fields. 

"Many politicians, including one in this room, will stand behind false over-inflated words that teachers should receive a medal for the work they do. This is merely smoke and mirrors and does not reflect a genuine thought." Jackson also claimed to have overheard Newberry rudely dismiss a Sand Springs educator's concerns on a past trip to the Capitol. "This disrespectful action will not be tolerated and I am honored to not be alone in this race to unseat the disrespectful actions of this politician." 

Newberry has faced a lot of backlash from the education community. Political Action Committee "Oklahomans for Public Education" rated the Senator as "Dangerous" and "Not Supportive of Public Ed" in their most recent list of 2016 candidates. Jackson and Snow, meanwhile, were endorsed as "Pro-Public Education." 

Newberry's not without some high profile supporters, however. Victory Christian Center Pastor Sharon Daugherty, Sand Springs City Councilman Jim Spoon, and former Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce President Mary Eubanks have all starred in promotional videos endorsing the Newberry campaign. Sand Springs Vice-Mayor John Fothergill has also expressed his support via Facebook. 

In defense of Newberry's education record, he did coauthor HB3218 to eliminate End of Instruction Exams, but it was far from a divisive bill. Twenty-seven other senators coauthored on the bill, as did forty-seven house representatives. The legislation cleared the House 95 to 1 and the Senate 45 to 1.

While Newberry faces heavy criticism from the education community, Snow and Jackson face criticism from just about everyone else. Supporters of Newberry have pointed out that while Education is crucial, it is not the only pressing matter for a Senator to deal with. Newberry's challengers have been accused of inadequately addressing the numerous duties a Senator must perform.

"Our state education system, along with other core areas of state government, including transportation, infrastructure, corrections, and mental health, is grossly and recklessly underfunded," said Jackson. That was all he said about the issues before continuing on in his pro-education spiel. 

Superintendent Snow fared about the same when it came to diversifying his platform. "It breaks my heart that we're going to have fifty-one fewer employees in Sand Springs schools next year." Snow failed to touch on anything other than education in his speech.

The Democratic challenger does have his standpoints on some key issues listed on his website. He promises to fix income inequality between equally qualified men and women working the same job. He touches on creating quality jobs and diversifying the state economy, supporting police and firemen, and giving individuals more control over their personal healthcare. Jackson, meanwhile, has no political ideology listed anywhere on his Facebook page or website, except for a brief mention that "illegal aliens-if they want to live here, they need to go through the proper procedures for citizenship." 

"It's not personal with me, it's performance," said Snow. "This past legislature--and I've got good friends there, it's not personal--it was a side-step. It wasn't a step up. Band-aid, band-aid, band-aid. Folks, this budget's gonna fail."

"It's not my ambition and it never was. But I feel an obligation...I may not tell you what you want to hear, but I will always give you 100% every day."

I-44 ramps re-open in Berryhill

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sand Springs residents on the South side of the river can breath easy again now that the I-44/I-244 ramps at 51st Street in the Berryhill area have reopened. The area has been a traffic nightmare for the last half year as the Oklahoma Department of Transportation performed critical bridge rehabilitation repairs.

ODOT giveth and ODOT taketh away...In perfect timing with the reopoening of the I-44 ramps, the department will be closing the 23rd Street bridge in West Tulsa for as long as eight months while crews replace three spans of the bridge and reconfigure several piers. 

Alley LeGrand is headed to HOSA Nationals, and needs your help

STAFF REPORTS

Charles Page High School and Tulsa Tech junior Alley LeGrand recently placed third in her event at the Oklahoma State HOSA competitions this week, qualifying to compete at Nationals this summer in Nashville, Tennessee. The only problem is, only the first place winners get the trip paid for by HOSA. 

The Health Occupations Students of America's mission is "to enhance the delivery of compassionate, quality health care by providing opportunities for knowledge, skill, and leadership development of all heal science education students, therefore, helping the student meet the needs of the health care community."

Despite being a National Technology Honors Society student with perfect attendance at both Tech and CPHS, LeGrand will have to forfeit her spot if she can't come up the money by April 13th. 

LeGrand has already been accepted to her second year at Tulsa Tech for the Dental Assistant program, and is hoping to represent Sand Springs on the national stage and potentially win a scholarship. She's already raised $215 in the first 14 hours, but needs to reach $1,600 by April 13. If you would like to contribute you can donate to her campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/ctxux8rg

Solace Church's Boo Bash draws thousands

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

There’s never been any shortage of Halloween fun to be had in Sand Springs, but one Prattville church is looking to make each year bigger and better than the last.

Solace Church put on their 8th annual Boo Bash carnival Sunday to major success and community involvement. Thirteen area businesses made contributions to the event which was hosted at the Tulsa Community College West campus for the fourth year.

Estimated crowds of between 4-5 thousand people showed up to enjoy the festivities, and there were plenty of fun and unique activities to participate in. 185 volunteers ran the event which included three carnival rides and eighteen inflatables which were all free to participate in. There were also seven food vendors on site selling fair-favorites such as BBQ sandwiches, funnel cake, snowcones, and more in addition to the tons of candy that was being given out.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol gave tours of one of their police choppers and Life Flight was there with a medical helicopter as well. The Oklahoma National Guard, Sand Springs Police, Sand Springs Fire, and Berryhill fire all participated with vehicle tours and candy, as well as the Solace Church Disaster Relief which is specially trained to respond to emergencies as soon as they happen. The Disaster Relief team coordinates with local relief efforts in events such as the 2013 EF5 Moore Tornado which killed 24. Solace and a local coalition of Baptist churches were on the scene immediately after that tragedy, as well as the March 2015 EF2 that destroyed more than 50 homes in Sand Springs.

Other contributors to the event include: Oklahoma Chiller, Oklahoma Medical Eye Group, Rebecca LaFevers State Farm Agency, Advanced Drywall Systems, D & N Fabrication, Heath-Griffith Funeral Home, Chinowth & Cohen Realtors, Dr. Richard Presley and Associates, Ovations Studio and Gym, Janeway Machine Inc., Downes Law Offices, Integrity Lighting, and Mars Candy.

Solace Church just turned 11 years old this August and is in its second year at its new location. In the last two years, the church has grown from an average attendance of 650 to over 1000. Though the church works together with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma for disaster relief efforts, they are a non-denominational church. Their mission is simple: “Love God. Love People.”

• Solace Church is located at 7314 W. 41st St. Tulsa, OK 74107
• Service times are 9:15 & 11:00 AM on Sunday
• www.Solacechurch.com

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