A great weekend of bike racing in OKC and Moore

What a fun weekend this must have been in Oklahoma City and Moore. First, the inaugural Oklahoma City ProAm Classic took place on Saturday. Some 500 cyclists raced in different categories on the streets of OKC, just north of downtown, in a criterium-style race. A total of $25,000 in prize money was available to winners, mainly in the elite events held later in the day. The Oklahoman carried a story about the event, along with some great photos (one of which is posted here).

Then, on Sunday, the city of Moore, where Elliot was assigned for several weeks, hosted a criterium known as the King of Moore. Moore Monthly provided coverage of the race, including photos and video. I can't embed the video on the blog but here's the link and one of the pictures is below.

I don't know if Elliot was aware of either of these races. Saturday's race was just outside his current assigned area, so he probably wouldn't have been able to see it in any event.

Arbor Week in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City will celebrate Arbor Week during the last week of March. Check out the news video about it below. I had no idea Oklahoma City was such a tree-friendly place so I did a little checking. I learned that Oklahoma City has been designated as a Tree City USA community by the Arbor Day Foundation, along with 24 other Oklahoma cities (but not Elliot's current home of Lawton). Elliot's home town of Santa Clarita is also a Tree City USA community.

I also learned that Oklahoma City is home to the Margaret Annis Boys Arboretum. Located in Will Rogers Gardens, the arboretum sits on 10 acres of pristine park land and features hundreds of varieties of trees, including Oklahoma native species as well as specimens rarely found in the state. The oldest trees in the arboretum were planted by famed horticulturalist Henry Walter in the 1930s. The arboretum was renamed after Margaret Boys during a dedication ceremony on September 24, 2009. Ms. Boys was a long-time teacher and philanthropist who donated $1.5 million on her death in 1990 to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, with instructions that it be used to beautify lands in Oklahoma County.

Here's the news video about Arbor Week. Then, after the jump, check out a bunch of really great photos of the arboretum, and a public service announcement from the Arbor Day Foundation.

Wildfires raging in Oklahoma City and north Texas

The unrelenting heat and extreme drought conditions have combined to create dangerous fire conditions all around Elliot in Oklahoma and Texas.  There are numerous reports (see the links below) of fires in and around Oklahoma City and Edmond and in north Texas.  Sadly, many homes and other structures, including the Harrison Bethel Baptist Church in northeastern Oklahoma City (see video below), have been destroyed.  Our prayers go out to those affected by the fires.  If any of the missionaries are affected, the mission president will undoubtedly post something on his blog.

Oklahoma news reports

Wildfire forces evacuations in southeast Oklahoma City

Fire flare-ups continue Wednesday; dozens of homes destroyed

Edmond warns residents near wildfires to evacuate

Texas news reports

Area fires break out

Possum Kingdom Lake wildfire destroys homes, resort facilities


Video reports

Strong winds fed wildfires in Oklahoma that have destroyed homes and forced the shutdown of part of Interstate 40. NBC's Aditi Roy reports.




Firefighters in Texas work to contain wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes. KXAS-TV’s Scott Gordon reports.




Wildfires burned the Harrison Bethel Baptist Church building early Wednesday, August 31, 2011.

Oklahoma City missionaries are all safe

We received a very nice email yesterday evening from Elliot's mission president, Nolan Taylor (pictured with his wife, Rhonda).  Thankfully, all the missionaries in the Oklahoma City mission are safe and accounted for after yesterday's tornadoes.  We appreciate having someone watching out for Elliot while he's gone!  Here is President Taylor's message:

Dear parents:  All the missionaries in the Oklahoma Oklahoma City Mission have checked in and all are safe following this afternoon’s storms.  We experienced a number of significant tornados and severe thunderstorms around the mission this afternoon.  The storms caused damage around the state but it is too early to know the full extent of the damage.  We have emergency procedures in place in the event of severe storms and these procedures are posted in all of our apartments and we remind our missionaries of these procedures regularly.  The procedures worked today but most importantly, we were protected by The Lord today.  We will be assisting the wards and stakes with clean up as needed.  Thank you for your support and love for our missionaries.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

The Murrah Federal Building bombing and President Monson on compassion

Sixteen years ago today, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed in an unprecedented act of domestic terrorism.  168 people were killed, including 19 children, and another 850 were injured.  That singular event continues to shape the history and culture of Oklahoma City and its residents.  For information about the bombing, please visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.  PBS has a compilation of news reports and videos, and there are many other reports on YouTube and elsewhere.

President Thomas S. Monson spoke of the Oklahoma City bombing in an address on compassion at the April 2001 General Conference:

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a most interesting place. In company with Elders Richard G. Scott, Rex D. Pinegar, and Larry W. Gibbons, I presided at a regional conference there just a short time ago. The facility in which we met was packed with members of the Church and other interested persons. The singing by the choir was heavenly, the spoken word inspiring, and the sweet spirit which prevailed during the conference will long be remembered.

I reflected on my previous visits to this location, the beauty of the state song—“Oklahoma,” from the musical production of Rodgers and Hammerstein—and the wonderful hospitality of the people there.

This community’s spirit of compassionate help was tested in the extreme, however, on April 19, 1995, when a terrorist-planted bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, taking 168 persons to their deaths and injuring countless others.

Following the regional conference in Oklahoma City, I was driven to the entrance of a beautiful and symbolic memorial which graces the area where the Murrah building once stood. It was a dreary, rainy day, which tended to underscore the pain and suffering which had occurred there. The memorial features a 400-foot reflecting pool. On one side of the pool are 168 empty glass and granite chairs in honor of each of the people killed. These are placed, as far as can be determined, where the fallen bodies were found.

On the opposite side of the pool there stands, on a gentle rise of ground, a mature American elm tree—the only nearby tree to survive the destruction. It is appropriately and affectionately named “The Survivor Tree.” In regal splendor it honors those who survived the horrific blast.

My host directed my attention to the inscription above the gate of the memorial:

We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever.
May all who leave here know the impact of violence.
May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.

He then, with tears in his eyes and with a faltering voice, declared, “This community, and all the churches and citizens in it, have been galvanized together. In our grief we have become strong. In our spirit we have become united.”

We concluded that the best word to describe what had taken place was compassion.

President Monson concludes his address:

I return in my thoughts to Oklahoma City. To me, it is beyond mere coincidence that now a temple of the Lord, in all its beauty, stands in that city as a heaven-sent beacon to mark the way to joy here on earth and eternal joy hereafter. Let us remember the words from the Psalms, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”  [Psalms 30:5]

In a very real way, the Master speaks to us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.”  [Revelation 3:20]

Let us listen for His knock. Let us open the door of our hearts, that He—the living example of true compassion—may enter, I sincerely pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Aluminum Show visits Oklahoma City

From the "Oklahoma City stuff Elliot likely will never see" department, the Aluminum Show is performing now until April 17 at the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.  Here's a news video and a promotional clip featuring the performers.  Looks like quite a show!