Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome Muggama's time
now for our community connection right here on Kine one of the one you Trust,
brought to you by get Real Ministries, Arnold Moore and Knee Camp Funeral
Home and Tall Grass Motors. And today we have Bartlesville Superintendent of Schools Chuck
mccally, and also from the Foundation we have Blair Ellis. Nice to have
both of you in here today. It's a beautiful fall morning. And you
know something I was just telling you, shuck earlier, I said, this
is about the coolest normalist school year I've seen in the last several years.
We even had the parade for homecoming that was downtown. That was an awesome
site, that was great. It was really You're right, it's been a
very normal school year and I think because of that, the year just really
flying by. There's so many activities going on, and that homecoming prey was
a wonderful event and it's really I believe, I mean, it's the largest,
the largest participation that I can remember in my time in Bartlesville, and
so it's always fun to be able to do that through the downtown and for
all the involvement for all of our You had so many kids, so many
youth that were involved, and they really did a nice job. And of
course the weather cooperated, which was good. It seemed like we a lot
of times we have that homecoming early when it's a little warmer. But it
was beautiful. Yeah, it was really a It was really a great event.
So I know Eric cart who organized it, said that I think there
are just a couple of parade floats short of the Christmas Bred, so almost
as big as the Christmas Bread. Yeah. Yeah, it was really great.
We'll start televising that TV. Well yeah, never say never telling me
that yeah it's been Yeah, it's gone great. And we just finished up
our We had our October school board meeting this week and our spotlight that we
had Blair come speak because she had an event coming up and some exciting things
with the foundation, so we invited her to share some updates from the foundation.
Thank you. Uh yeah. First off, we have well Monday,
so less than a week away. We have our art auction for good Night
Bartlesville. So you might remember that we published this good Night Bartlesville book,
the book a few years ago now, but we are releasing a special edition
hard copy of the book, and then we on Monday will be auctioning off
the original artwork from the books. We've got some great illustrations in here.
This is kind of your one time chance to purchase one of those original illustrations
and bring them home. So we're doing that at Cooper and Mill from four
to six pm on Monday. Tickets are still available. Tickets come with a
hard backed version of the book as well as some appetizers from the eatery and
some drink tickets from Cooper and Mill. So a really great deal, really
fun event. We don't often host these kind of casual, fun community events
like this, so we're excited to do this for a one time event.
Well, you know, that book is the gift that keeps on giving.
I was joking with Blair earlier. I said, you know, I remember
when the book came out. It was really kind of cute and kind of
nice. The next thing, you know, we need to print more and
more and more. They just I mean, they support our schools left and
right, and I think everybody loves our town and all the landmarks in our
town. So this is a great way to feature that and support ours.
Got a nice teacher. Yeah. So also we have our Bruins on the
Run program, which of course is our after school running and mentoring program for
fifth graders that we started. I think we're in our fifth season. We
started this program with just kind of a pilot program at Caine and Jane Phillips
Elementary. We had thirty kids and fifteen teacher mentors at the time. This
year we've quadrupled that. We have one hundred and eighteen fifth graders. All
six of our elementary schools participate fairly even distribution, and we have almost sixty
mentors this year, so the program is just exploded. They started running right
after school started in August. They're finishing up their fall season this week they'll
be running in the wool Rock eight k, which is of course to run
the streets events. It's a great event. It's a great time of year
to be out at wool Rock running a very hilly five mile race. So
we have a lot of kids in the program. We're really focused on kids
who aren't in extracurricular activities. We want them to have that experience and that
exposure to physical activity as well as those mentoring relationships. So we have a
lot of kids that have never run before that are really making huge progress in
the program, both with their mental and physical and emotional health. So we're
really proud of our kids. We've got some kids who are trying to beat
the superintendent this year, and I'm gonna ask you about that. Check.
Yeah, I've try training really hard. I'm sure to keep those kids behind
him, but we'll sure have some of those that are gonna beat him across
the finish line. So he's been nice enough and humble enough to let us
award these T shirts to highlight that. But we're equally as proud of those
kids who are just trying to cross the finish line. Right. They've set
a goal to finish the program and complete this eight K, and we just
want him to get there. So that's really what the program is focused on,
and we're just so proud of those kids and the mentors and the program
and Chrenck, this is something that's close to your heart. This is something
you've been doing all your life and you know the benefits of it. I
mean not only physical, but also internally mentally and things like it gives you
a certain clarity and imagine that's where the kids are fighting too, it does,
and so I know I talked to our team often about just investing in
yourself as well. It's important to take care of yourself so that you can
take care of others, and I think exercise is a way to do that.
I know it does enough. I feel like it benefits me personally,
probably mentally as much or more than physically. And so I'm rarely Jennifer and
I are big supporters of Run the Streets. We sponsored at a level where
our employees can participate in this race just for the cost of the shirt,
and so Wilson Elementary they have won that contest. We have a contest by
school in terms of the most participants, and they're leading the way again,
but which is no surprise of the most competitive people in the world, my
friends over at Willson Elementary. But yeah, we'll have over one hundred and
fifty Bartlesville Public School employees along with one hundred fifth graders participate over at wool
Rock on Saturday, and it looks like it's just going to be a beautiful,
beautiful day. And really it really warms your heart when you see our
kids accomplish that, because, like said, you know, a lot of
the kids are involved in the program, you know, they're not playing football,
or they're not playing soccer, or they're not doing the things. We
got a lot of kids doing that, which are wonderful things. But to
be able to set that goal and have that vision about something, a long
term goal, and working towards that and then accomplishing that really sets them up
for success. You know. In our cross country program, which is what
they won several state championships, is very successful every year, and I know
coach Airs he talks about this is one of their biggest recruiting things is from
this Bruins on the Run program, so kind of opens kid's eyes to possibilities
for them as well. You know, I was told by a few of
the cross country fellows that I grew up with. He said, yeah,
that's great that you play football in baseball. You know, we're you going
to get you know, seventeen other guys to get a game up, or
are you going to get you know, wanting some other guys to get a
game up. I can do this running as long as I'm fit to walk,
and I can do this the rest of my life until God says you
can't do it no more. And Wow, that's a pretty good limit,
you know. Yeah, you're pretty much in charge of your own limit on
I mean we kind of we say all the time that running is kind of
just the vehicle, right The idea is really just just the idea that you
need to start a program and commit to doing it, set some goals,
and then finish it out. So showing up every day. We require a
lot from our kids in terms of their commitment and their attitude and their effort.
But beyond that, we don't care again what time they cross the finish
line in. We just want them to finish. So that's good for the
youngsters out there. Just remember there are people who are in their seventies and
eighties and some in their nineties that are still running half marathon to marathon.
We have one of our mentors that can I think is in her eighties and
she's one of our greatest mentors and greatest assets. So she volunteers. It's
not many volunteer too, and she's great. She mentored my son last year,
so and it's you know, and I think that mentorship piece is so
powerful for our you know, we have, like Blair said, fifty nine
or sixty of our adult mentors that volunteer. They do this for nothing.
They volunteer their time a couple after school a week and they've been doing this
for weeks training you know this. We can't remember what the temperatures were like
when they got started. It was really tough. Uh and then so and
and really it's so powerful for our kids to have that build that relationship with
adults that care about I'm not just in the classroom but outside the classroom and
so Uh, it's a it's a wonderful event and and really warms my heart
and really glad that we have that option available for our kids. And look
and looking forward to Saturday. It's gonna be fun. I know. I've
had a couple of kids ask me how fast I run well and then,
uh, it just pointed out to me someone looked up my previous time and
that's how I gotten slower the last few years. I said, well,
I'm gonna be a little slower this year than I was last year, but
I will fish that's right, and we'll work. It's such a cool place
and talk Kevin Hoak. Last night we're at an event and it's uh and
nothing else. Another reason is just for open people's eyes to that treasure just
right outside Bartlesville, and people need to uh to come take advantage of that,
and they always do a good job keeping the bison away from the actual
running course. Actually, that could improve your time. That's tell you what.
We've got a lot more to go, and I know that mister McAuley
has a list here that good things that we need to highlight. But we're
going to take a quick break and we'll be right back after these words.
Get real ministries, all grass motors and Arnold morning. You can't fun home.
The first conversation I have with someone's loved one, and I don't care
if it's three o'clock in the afternoon or three o'clock in the morning, that
first conversation is, mister X, this is Tim how with Arnold Moore and
you can't funeral home. First of all, sir, let me say I'm
very sorry we're having to have this conversation right now. And to the nth
degree, those people always appreciate you taking a moment to just pause and say
I'm aware that someone you care about very much has just left you, and
I'm sorry that we have to do this, but we have to do this
and if it's three o'clock in the morning, I try to be brief but
concise and say do you have any questions or in thing I can do for
you right now before we meet at our arrangement conference. And sometimes I say,
you know, can you call my priest? Can you call my pastor?
And I don't mind doing that. It'll be all right. We'll walk
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Pastor Rando and Pastor Shiloh with get reel Ministries and this is your Get real
minute. Most everyone has heard the scripture John three point sixteen. For God
so love the world that he gave his only begotten son, whosoever should believe
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I believe that that
scripture is really of no avail if not followed up by the very next scripture
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And that is the foundational scripture by which get real Ministries was founded. Come
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Get one News Time is now eight forty five and you're listening to community Connection.
We have special guessing studio Blair Ell that's with the Barnswille Public Schools Foundation
and bartles Will Public Schools Superintendent. He even got a T shirt for it
here, Truck McCauley and Chuck. We've been talking a lot about the foundation
Bruins on the run, but we've got a lot of great highlights at the
school. Is a kind of a milestones we've hit along the way. Yeah,
we'll talk about kind of what's going on here in the fall. And
also at our board meeting, had a short meeting, but we did have
another clean audit that was approved this week and really really thankful for our hard
working staff. Preston Burke and his group does a great job with that.
So I wanted to highlight them and and I'll mention this a couple of things.
Construction wise, the agg facility by the high school is progressing very nicely.
We're gonna be all signs look like we're going to be in it around
spring break, so our kids will be able to do that. Yeah,
the fourth nine weeks and that's gonna be fun. That's really gonna be a
a great thing. The Wayside expansion is also moving along. It's similar timeline
in terms of the expansion should be down around spring break and then we'll work
on the renovation side with the goal of having that all open and by August
of next year. And then Ranch Heights has a real similar timeline, except
it's a year behind, so we plan on getting starting only that next summer,
which is opening up the August of twenty twenty five. And then over
on the activities front, we talked a little bit about homecoming and we're kind
of that right in the middle of October, which is I think is my
favorite time of the year here in Oklahoma. We talked about the homecoming piece.
You know, softball and volleyball, they just finished up their seasons across
country. They have their regional other junior high boys and girls finish up their
cross country conference meet last week. Our high school kids will on Saturday,
boys and girls and hopefully we'll get both those teams will all qualify for state.
Anticipate that they will. And then football is you know, we have
three games left in the regular season and we're vuying for our home playoff game,
which is fun. We're at sand Springs tomorrow. We have Muscogie coming
in next week, which they are probably the best team on our schedule,
so it'll be a fun game. And then after that last week at Tahlequah
will hopefully get at least one playoff game at home, which has been I
think since twenty fifteen as the last time we hosted one. So really out
of their work. And then want to highlight the marching band. They had
another success. They went to had a competition over at Branson and finished third
overall. Nice. Our show is really coming along. That's another great reason
to come out to the football game next Friday this year. Those kids work
hard and they've done a great job Chris and Heather Caine's leadership. They have
tremendous numbers coming in our middle school up to so I think that program is
really going to flourish in the future. And then also just to mention that
since our last time, you know, our FFA program is receiving that national
recognition. You know, there are top three Model of Excellence in Premiere Chapter
Award and they're going to be at the national National Convention in Indianapolis here in
just a couple of weeks. And so that's really excited for them. It's
incredible. You know, it's their fifth year in existence, and what a
nice edition it he's been. Yeah, it's been really really cool. I
think Grayson's involved in that. He is, Yeah, he was, He
was not interested in AG but we put him in the program and he is
loving it so well. There's a lot to strive for it when the teachers
are amazing, and Dale and Marty Jones, you have two of the biggest
cheerleaders of that whole school right there. Yeah, that's that's exactly right.
Their religion is great thing. You know that our ACT program and our aviation
and STAM and those numbers continue to climb and so I'm just proud to be
able to offer those here in our community. Blair, wann't we give an
update on on the tax credit shore Yeah, y, yeah. It is
that time a year to start thinking about year and giving. And you might
remember I was in here last year talking about the new tax legislation. So
it's now been in place for a year. But any gift to the Bartlesville
Public Schools Foundation, assuming it meets some basic criteria, can qualify for up
to seventy five percent of that gift that taxpayer gets it back in the form
of a tax credit. Having done it for a year, I know some
people were kind of nervous how it was all going to work. We did
have about fifty donors take advantage of it last year with our annual campaign.
I was one of those, and I can tell you it was easy to
take that amount off of my taxes. I did get seventy five percent of
my gift back in the form of attack credit, So it's easy to do.
People who use turbo tax will say it's very easy to do, but
it does in fact work. So it's a great way to redirect your state
income tax liability to our public schools affecting Bartlesville, and we know exactly where
that's going and the programs that it's supporting. So just a reminder. If
anybody wants more information, they can of course visit our bpsfoundation dot org website,
or they can reach out to me at the Education Service Center. I'm
happy to talk all day long about tax credits. Can you give us a
quick rundown on the book The Big Yes. Just reminder, we've got our
one time only event. It's art auction auctioning off the original illustrations in this
good Night Bartlesville book. This is the Course, a bestseller a couple of
years ago. We're printing limited edition hardback versions of the book. You can
get tickets to that event on our website Bpsfoundation dot orger. That event is
Monday. It's Monday. Thank you. It's Monday. Probably need to know
when it is. Monday, October the twenty third, from four to six
pm at Cooper and Mill Super dude, Charles, anything else. Thank you.
Appreciate your for time. Thanks for having