A Third Place Center/Library Expansion

Thanks to a major donation of shelves and books from Stoner Nesbitt and GoodBooks, when they moved from Turley, the library portion of "A Third Place" has more than doubled, and we are going to be making a more attractive children's library and reading section, and we are able to expand the donation room with lots of more shelves. A great way to begin the year. Plan to volunteer. See above post for volunteer orientation times. Or call Ron at 691-3223 or 794-4637.

Turley/Cherokee Reunion May 31, 2008

We are having another Turley/Cherokee Reunion, Saturday May 31, 2008 (weekend after Memorial Day) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Turley/Cherokee School, 6001 N. Peoria Ave. Let us know you are interested in coming. Respond by January 15, 2008. Please call Russell Jones at 918-664-4845 or Charlotte (Sloan) Tuton at 918-369-2778. You may also mail Bob Cooper at 1529 E. 71st St. N., Tulsa OK 74126 or send email to rccoopersr@att.net. Please provide phone number, address, and email. If you have information regarding other alumni, please provide this also so we can reach as many people as possible. Mark your calendars for May 31, 2008 and be here with us to CELEBRATE. See school history at www.geocities.com/turleylog or other links on this site. More information to come.

See old friends, see the old school again, share old photos and stories.

Feel free to forward this information and link on to others.

Turley/Cherokee School Reunion

Those interested in helping with a Turley/Cherokee School Reunion are meeting the second Saturdays of each month at 10 a.m. at 'a third place' community center, 6514 N. Peoria Ave. Tentative date for the reunion is set for Saturday, May 31, 2008 at Cherokee School. Spread the word to all who attended the school. Come help out in the planning.

Turley area demographics show vulnerability

In the post below about the halfway house controversy I comment about the vulnerability of Turley itself. The demographics for our area compared with those of other zip codes in the Tulsa area will show this.

Here is where you can look up demographics by zip code.
http://www.geoselector.com/geoselector/national_demographics/OK/stateDemographics.html

Here are the demographics listed for Turley
http://www.geoselector.com/geoselector/national_demographics/OK/zip_code/74126/demographics.html

Compare to demographics listed for mid-town Tulsa
http://www.geoselector.com/geoselector/national_demographics/OK/zip_code/74114/demographics.html

Compare to demographics listed for Owasso
http://www.geoselector.com/geoselector/national_demographics/OK/zip_code/74055/demographics.html

Recent reports have shown that the Turley area has a life expectancy 14 years below that of mid-town Tulsa and the growing suburban areas.

But stay tuned to this blog for news in the future on continuing efforts to turn that around, from the grassroots up.

Halfway House, Round Two: Public Meeting Aug. 13

This comes from a flier posted around Turley now:
Progressive Rehabilitation Services and Cornerstone Freewill Baptist Church have filed an appeal in district court to overturn the County Board of Adjustment's denial to place the Cornerstone Halfway House in Turley at the site of the former church, 1821 E. 66th St. N. There will be a public meeting organized by the Turley Community Association and area residents to be held Monday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. at the site, now used by New Heights Christian Center, to give an update on the action and the protest response.

You can read the Tulsa World article and comments on the article at the following link:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070724_1_A15_IELDW74441

See my comment below and the posts below for comments on the earlier action.

Grand Opening Fri. June 1st and Sat. 2nd for Turley Library & Community Center

You and your family, friends, neighbors, won't want to miss these events. Come and go as you can but stay as long as you can and meet new people, renew friendships, and support our Turley.

Free concerts, lectures, presentations, events for children, free animal tags, a community-wide potluck meal and game night will highlight the grand opening celebration of "a third place," 6514 N. Peoria Ave., the new Turley Library and Community Center, on Fri., June 1 from 6 to 10 p.m. and Sat. June 2 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The events are open to all Tulsa area residents and visitors, with special invitations to former Turley residents. The new center includes a free library, free internet space, coffeehouse, bargain room, community bulletin boards, meetingplace, art and more.

Events will kick off with a free all-community potluck meal and board game night Fri. June 1 from 6 to 10 p.m. Plates and utensils and cups will be provided. Bring a food item or non-alcoholic drinks to share. We have several board games but feel free to bring others as well as puzzles.

Saturday's program will include all-day free animal tagging sponsored by Saving Pets of Turley, a community volunteer organization, art activities and more for children, a 10 a.m. welcome and talk on the community center, a 11 a.m. lecture presentation "Think Globally, Garden Locally" by Dr. Bonnie Ashing, native and resident of Turley, of Let Turley Bloom, a community volunteer group. See posts below about SPOT and Let Turley Bloom.

Also Sat. noon a concert by Bobby Cooper's bluegrass band "Verdigris Valley Boys," a 1 p.m. Turley history presentation and conversation with Robert Cooper, Sr. and others, followed by 2 p.m. presentation and conversation by the Turley Community Association on Turley's present issues and future and the issue of incorporation and related legislation recently approved by the State House and Senate and signed by the Governor.

At 3 p.m. Saturday there will be a fiction and poetry reading by Turley native and resident Ron Robinson, who received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship among other writing awards, with an open mic for local writers or musicians at 4 p.m. Also we will be taking sign ups for a local writers group and book discussion group. Open mic sign-up by Friday night at contact information below. A solo vocalist will perform at 6 p.m.

The event will conclude with a free concert by the wonderful Rock and Blues Band, "The Remnants" from 8 to 10 p.m. You won't want to miss any of it, but especially not this concert.

For more information or for offers to volunteer, contact the center at 794-4637, a3rdplace@aol.com.

Board of Adjustment Denies Turley Halfway House Project

In a 4-0 vote, the Tulsa Board of Adjustment denied the request for a zoning change to allow a halfway house to be operated for released prisoners in the old Cornerstone Baptist Church. The Board decided it was too intensive a change for the location, especially given the community opposition and the fact Turley already supports one of the area's major halfway houses. See the post below for background. Also see the comments to this post for my own reflection.

It was a packed meeting for over two hours with about 60 to 70 people present to protest and support the proposal (I'd say about two thirds to protest and a third to support, most of whom were connected with the Cornerstone Church.) The attorney for the group wishing to operate the halfway house presented for over 30 minutes and then was followed for another almost thirty minutes by a director of a halfway house in downtown Oklahoma City which was roughly used as a model for what this would be--though that pointed up the difference in the proposals, as Turley is more of a small town rural/urban area as opposed to downtown OKC, and the effects would not be the same. County Commissioner district one John Smaligo (jsmaligo@tulsacounty.org) spoke first on the side of the opponents although he said his arguments weren't the same as many of those who opposed it; his position was that the community already was doing its share and the project would have an adverse effect. Jeff Kirkham, chair of the Turley Community Association, drew applause when he said that if it were true that the project would bring millions of dollars of benefits into the area then why weren't other communities bidding for the project. Many people, on both sides, spoke of the good benefits of halfway houses; some in favor of it spoke of the transforming work it does; some opposed said halfway houses were good but that this one still had logistical problems with transportation and infrastructure issues. Some opposed said it was another incident of North Tulsa and Turley getting something that other areas would be up in arms against.

One member of the Board of Adjustment who initially leaned in favor of the halfway house project said he was stunned to learn that people thought of Turley as its own area, as he had always thought of it, and of North Tulsa, as just parts of Tulsa. Almost all the officials, and those involved in the project, seemed unaware of the Turley Community Association, the history of Turley, and of the years-long effort to incorporate Turley as a city (see post below for latest news).

A good point was made by Jeff Kirkham to those in attendance who opposed the project, that he would love to see such a turnout for the regular community-building work and ongoing projects of the Turley Community, and not just to be opposed to something.

See comments for further reflections.

Legislation Allows Turley to Move Forward On Vote on Incorporation as a City

Word has reached us that Gov. Henry has signed the bill approved by the State House and the State Senate that would fix the earlier problems with legislation approved and which now opens the way for the efforts to proceed on holding a vote to incorporate a portion of our area as the City of Turley.

More information on this and other community matters will certainly be addressed at the next Turley Community Association meeting to be held Tuesday, May 29, at 7 p.m. at O'Brien Park Recreation Center.

At the April meeting it was reported that the legislation had been approved by the state legislative bodies. It was stated that the move is to help the Turley residents to preserve our identity as small town, rural, near urban area, to help with efforts to clean up property, but to fix it so animals can still be on homes and in front yards and all the other things that make Turley unique and special in this era of areas that seem like they all have to look and act alike.

Survey work has to begin now to create the exact legal area that would be covered by the incorporation; then a petition will be circulated to gather the required number of signatures of those in the area who would call for the election on incorporating; the manner of city government would also be outlined ahead of time. It was reported that much of this work has already been done in past presentation, but I suppose nothing has yet been final. More voices will be needed, and more hands to help with taking the process to the next step.

Controversy on Proposed Turley "halfway house"

First, the information: People are then invited to post questions and comments in the comment section.

There will be a second meeting (first was 5-9) to be held tonight, 6 p.m. including dinner, Thurs. May 10, 2007 with a dinner and presentation by the people proposing the new "halfway house." The invitation reads: "Progressive Rehabilitation Services, LLC (PRS) has invited family and interested neighbors to attend an informal meeting at the Cornerstone Freewill Baptist Church at 7770 North Whirlpool Drive. The meeting is scheduled for 6:00 PM and will last til approximately 8:00 PM. They will be serving a barbecue dinner and discussing the plans for the old Cornerstone church facility at 1825 E 66th St North. Cornerstone Freewill Baptist Church 274-3918, Progressive Rehabilitation Services 743-0288 to confirm attendance.
Steve Chamberlain CEO, PRS
Matthew S Crum Executive Director, PRS
Phillip White, President PRS
Rev. Curtis Linton, Advisory Board, PRS"

This relates to a request to the Tulsa County Board of Adjustment that at its Tuesday, May 15, 1:30 p.m. meeting in the Aaronson Auditorium of the Central Library Downtown, 400 Civic Center, it approve a special exception to permit a halfway house in an AG (agricultural?) district (Section 310) at the former Cornerstone church location. For more information call INCOG offices at 918-584-7526. Applicant is Stephen A. Schuller, an attorney.

There is local opposition to this proposal. A petition drive has been started by some residents near the facility and other residents. The petition is available at various locations in Turley, including "a third place" community center. (As coordinator of the center, I would be glad to have both pro and anti petitions available for people). Those opposed cite objections of no access to public transportation for the residents, that the AG zoning is actually O"Brien Park and recreation area, that nearby families include those with children and the elderly, that the facility would put an added strain on the volunteer fire department and area law enforcement already overburdened, and that the existing structures are not designed to support a multi-residential facility.

One flyer opposing the project circulated without any author attribution mentions there will be 99 residents in the facility with up to 300 possible in expansion. This was confirmed at Wednesday's meeting.

It was stated that the church that currently leases the building has it through October and has the right of first refusal on whether or not to purchase the building and property which has been listed in the $750,000 and above price range.

Tulsa World features Turley community center

Go to this link at http://www.tulsaworld.com/community/article.aspx?articleID=070425_9_ZM1_spanc73180 to read the recent news article about "a third place" community center. See post below. And see you all at "a third place" , still a work in progress, and probably always will be. Phone number for it is 794-4637. Its grand opening will be Friday and Saturday June 1 and 2. But even before there will be a major free giveaway event of all kinds of items held there at 6514 N. Peoria Ave. on Saturday May 19 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Add First Baptist Church of Turley

Can't believe I left off from my list of Turley businesses and organizations, until a helpful soul pointed it out to me and I double-checked, the wonderful folks at First Baptist Church of Turley (formerly Golden Hills for those of you who remember it by that name) located at 1407 E 71st St N, in Turley. We will add new businesses and update the list soon but I wanted to add my apologies here and correction. Blessings, Ron.

Turleyschool.com

Go to www.turleyschool.com for news about Turley-Cherokee School history and connections with alumni and plans for future school reunions. The reunion committee needs all the help and support they can get.

Online Turley News

Thanks to Bob Cooper we have more online Turley news to go along with his historical Turley online work. Go to www.geocities.com/turleylog.

Greater Turley "a third place" community center Opens

The New Free Public Community Center
For the Greater Turley Area

6514 N. Peoria Ave., Turley, OK 74126
794-4637. Next to Post Office

FREE LIBRARY & INTERNET CENTER & COFFEEHOUSE & SWAP & MORE

A Safe Place To Relax, Chat, Read, Connect with others and the community, surf the net, play chess and games, watch cable TV, free swap of items, recycle, listen to music, look at art, hear speakers, attend community meetings, and more


Just Come On By or Call First If you Want to See If We’re Open.
Normal Hours Tuesdays, 2 to 6 p.m.( First and Second Tuesdays of the month, 7 to 9 p.m.); Most Wednesdays Noon to 9 p.m.; Most Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, Noon to 6 p.m. Second Saturdays 10 a.m. to Noon
Volunteer Hosts Needed For the Center To Expand Open Hours

To help or with questions, call Coordinator Ron Robinson at the phone number above or email to a3rdplace@aol.com.

A “third place” is:

--informal gathering place where all feel at home--where relationships are built and diversity welcomed--a sense of place and community--a sense of civic pride where ideas and projects are born---companionship and meeting new friends--a spot to relax and unwind--free or quite inexpensive--a place of refreshment and “refreshments”--easy for people to get to by walking, bike, or car--a place to come to often, “where everyone knows your name”

The phrase was coined in the book, “The Great Good Place” by Ray Oldenburg.
The “first place” is your home. The “second place” is your workplace. But people and communities need “a third place” to connect with others, to build community and relationships.

Be A Part of “a third place” for the area of North Tulsa, Turley, Sperry and surroundings. Donations needed of library and computer materials and volunteer time, of money for refreshments, of art shows and musicians, and of new ideas.

A third place community guide:
Welcome ALL regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, economic status, political persuasion, or physical ability. Welcome ALL who seek to welcome ALL.
--Be respectful of others and our common space. Appropriate dress, no sagging pants. Clean up after yourself.
--No firearms. No alcohol (on you or in you). No Smoking (inside or by the doors). No Profanity. No Solicitations. Get approval before posting fliers (but we welcome news of community groups, churches, events). No Pornography or online gaming or illegal use of computers. No animals unleashed.
--You must be 14 years old or accompanied by responsible adult. Youth over 14 must have signed permission of parent or guardian.
--Computer Use: Sign in. No time limit unless there is a waiting line and then one-hour limit. Bring your own copy paper for printing.
--Library Use: Fill out check-out card with name of material and your ID info and date. All books and magazines must be returned in two weeks; all CDs and DVDs and videos must be returned in one week. Limit of three materials out at a time per person. Repeat offenders will be banned from Library Use.
SWAP space—All items left-off must be approved by a volunteer.
-------Come Have a Good Time With Others------