Growing Together Moore, Norman and I-35 Bridging the Gap MNTC Teacher Preperation Program HeyDay Winter Activities for All BAKER'S LEGACY January | CONTENTS 2018 ISSUE 3 - VOLUME 1 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mark Doescher MANAGING EDITOR Chip Minty SENIOR EDITOR Lindsay Cuomo PHOTOGRAPHY Mark Doescher Lindsay Cuomo Bunni Bishop - OU Insider CONTRIBUTORS Roxanne Avery Sharla Bardin Whitney Bryen Lindsay Cuomo Chelsey Kraft Chip Minty Chris Plank Catherine Poslusny Sarah Rogers ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Tracie Gray - [email protected] Trevor Laffoon - [email protected] Perry Spencer - [email protected] 30 PUBLISHER Randy Laffoon Growing Together 6 by Chip Minty I-35 at the center as Moore, Norman face future together. Treating the Whole Person SportsTalk Media by Lindsay Cuomo 10 2020 E. Alameda Studies link acute conditions like diabetes with Norman, Oklahoma 73071 depression. Phone: (405) 321-1400 E-mail: [email protected] Copyright © SportsTalk Media Any articles, artwork or graphics created by SportsTalk Media or its contributors are sole property of SportsTalk Media and cannot be reproduced for any reason without permission. Any opinions expressed in Bridging the Gap SportsTalk are not necessarily that of SportsTalk management. 14 by Whitney Bryen Moore Norman Tech Center to nurture future teachers. Challenging Innovations 18 by Sarah Rogers The inaugural NEDC Innovation Challenge celebrates young entrepreneurs. Turning the Page 22 by Whitney Bryen Moore’s Randall University boasts new education school in advance of 60th anniversary. A Signature Difference 27 by Chelsey Kraft Local Homebuilder Looks to Make a Difference in the Community. Baker’s Legacy All in the Family 30 by Chris Plank 36 by Roxanne Avery Mayfield looks to leave more than a statue in Heisman Chick-fil-A restaurants in Norman, Park. Moore, about people, service, each other. Winter Wonderland Great Pizza Gives Back 34 by Sharla Bardin 38 by Catherine Poslusny HeyDay offers activities, games to wow visitors all Hideaway Pizza was founded in 1957, winter long. which makes it one of Oklahoma’s first pizzerias. 4 | January 2018 COMMUNITY BY: CHIP MINTY Growing Together Artist rendering of the new 34th street bridge over I-35 in Moore. I-35 at the Center as Moore, Norman Face Future Together ventually, the open space that sep- That is a concern, he said, because the arates Moore and Norman is going Oklahoma Department of Transporta- Eto disappear and the two cities are tion has made it clear that they have no going to meld into one greater com- more room to add lanes to the interstate. munity connected to Oklahoma City’s The only solution will be to find ways southern border. of managing the traffic better though Shoppers in Norman are already driv- improved bridges and exchanges. ing to Moore and residents in Moore Norman Public Works Director Shawn will continue traveling to Norman, just O’Leary said traffic improvement along as they’ve been doing for years. Soon, the interstate is not just talk. It is an however, it may be more difficult to tell initiative Norman proposed last year, where Norman ends and where Moore which resulted in an agreement be- begins. tween the City of Norman, the City of Leaders in the two communities recog- Moore and the Oklahoma Department nize what is coming, and they are be- of Transportation. ginning to prepare for the inevitable. Administrators met for the first time in At the center of it all, is Interstate 35, July to outline common concerns, and which has been carrying tens of thou- they agreed to commission a highway sands of cars and trucks through Nor- study by EST, a local engineering firm man and Moore for years. Now, I-35 is based in Oklahoma City with an office in serving as a local thoroughfare for driv- Norman. Results from the study will be ers commuting between Norman and presented in public meetings this spring, Moore to shop, eat out, take in a movie outlining solutions to traffic control con- or go to a game. cerns up and down the eight-mile stretch of interstate, O’Leary said. Moore City Manager Brooks Mitchell said traffic between the two cities is cer- Future projects of particular interest tainly not going to get any lighter. include the 60-year-old bridge and ex- change at I-35 and Indian Hills Road 6 | January 2018 in Norman, O’Leary said. Norman also ment in our city,” O’Leary said. needs an exchange at Rock Creek Road, Norman Chamber of Commerce Pres- and the bridge and exchange at Robin- ident Scott Martin said the highway son Street is now 20 years old and will study is another step toward strength- soon need attention. ening Norman’s relationship with its While there are concerns about conges- neighbors to the north. tion on the 19th Street bridge in Moore, “The exciting thing is that we are actu- Moore City Manager Mitchell said com- ally planning for the future and not re- pletion of the planned interstate bridge acting to the future,” he said. at 34th Street should help. But, the city Jason Smith, president and CEO of the still needs an interchange there to fur- Norman Economic Development Coali- ther alleviate the problem. tion, said there is interest in developing He said the 34th Street bridge over open areas along I-35, but no projects the interstate is likely to be a catalyst are planned. to spark further development toward Developers have a vision for the future Moore’s southern boundary near Indi- of that area, and that vision would bring an Hills Road, he said. something that is impactful, unique Once that happens, any remaining de- and interesting, said Smith, who did velopment along the I-35 corridor will not elaborate. So far, however, devel- be on the Norman side of the boundary, opers have not found the right project said Deidra Ebrey, director of economic with the right economics. development for the City of Moore. Meanwhile, there have already been The highway partnership between some exciting developments along the Moore and Norman is unique, and it interstate between Indian Hills and U.S. may be unprecedented, said O’Leary, 77, he said. who has been with the City of Norman Over the past couple of years, Norman for 11 years. has seen a major expansion at the John- “We really appreciate our relationship son Control Plant, development of the with Moore because we have so many Evans Enterprises plant and the Okla- common interests that are related to homa Electric Cooperative Solar Gar- transportation.” den, he said. O’Leary said redesigning and replacing “We should be encouraged that we all the interchange at Indian Hills Road have so many opportunities in that cor- will be Norman’s highest priority along ridor,” he said. – 19SM the interstate. “That northwest part of Norman is one of the most desirable areas for develop- 19th STREET MAGAZINE | 7 LUNCH DINNER BRUNCH TAKEOUT NOW OPEN IN NORTH OKC AT THE INTERSECTION OF 150TH & PENN NORTH OKC: 2201 NW 150TH • (405) 607-8822 MOORE: 1199 S SERVICE RD • (405) 799-0300 WWW.HOLLIESSTEAKHOUSE.COM COMMUNITY BY: LINDSAY CUOMO Treating the Whole Person Dr. Farhan Jawed, medical director Norman Regional’s Behavioral Medicine Services Studies Link Acute Conditions like Diabetes with Depression or many years, the brain and how including heart disease and especially it functions was a bit of a medical diabetes, are two times more likely to Fmystery, which limited the under- develop depression. Changes in blood standing of many mental health condi- flow, nutrition and metabolites affect tions including depression. the brain too, shared Jawed. “The brain is the most important or- “We must look at the body as a whole. gan,” explains Dr. Farhan Jawed, med- Any changes in brain function includ- ical director of Norman Regional’s ing sugar levels and blood flow can Behavioral Medicine Services. “We’ve cause lack of focus, attention, concen- always understood the anatomy of the tration and energy which leads to de- brain, but we weren’t able to see inside pression,” Dr. Jawed explained. an active mind until recent years.” Why is this connection important to un- As technological advances made fur- derstand? ther research possible, there is now a better understanding of the connection “If you do not treat the whole patient, of mind and body, especially in how mind, body and spirit together, they brain activity impacts quality of life. aren’t going to get better. If depression is in the picture, it is almost impossible “We have a better understanding of to move forward with what you need how the chemicals within the brain to do to be healthy unless to treat it as work and help the brain communicate well,” Jawed said. with the rest of the body,” Jawed said. “If you have diabetes and it is not con- With a better understanding of these trolled, you aren’t able to have a normal connections, we now know that the life. If you have depression, you aren’t patients with chronic medical illnesses, able to enjoy activities, just like some- 10 | January 2018 one with diabetes,” Jawed said. “I treat “A happy, healthy lifestyle will help mental illnesses just like any illness.” you prevent diabetes and depression,” Jawed agreed. “And sleeping well and The diagnosis of an acute illness in it- taking medications appropriately.” self can cause distress. The good news is that this awareness “There are so many things patients are really means better patient care. Brown bombarded with at once and they can says doctors at the diabetes center con- shut down,” said Teresa Brown, super- duct depression screenings as part of visor of Norman Regional’s Diabetes their chronic illness care.