Sports hall inductees announced

Inductees
include political icon and OU quarterback J.C. Watts, rodeo champ Roy
Cooper, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and All-American footballer
Leslie Claudis O’Neal, with posthumous inductions of four-time
basketball All-Star Darrell Porter and Amateur Athletic Union
basketballer and Olympic coach Gerald Tucker.

“This
year’s inductees are respected citizens and athletes; a remarkable
group of champions representing rodeo, contributors, baseball,
basketball and football. ... This induction group truly
represents how great the state of Oklahoma is,” said Eddie Griffin,
president of The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame/Jim Thorpe Association, in
a media statement.

The
Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame 2014 Induction Ceremony and Banquet is
Aug. 4 at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE
63rd St. For more information, visit oksportshof.org. — By Jennifer Chancellor

YWCA retools for women’s agriculture
The
YWCA McFarland Branch, 1701 N. Martin Luther King Ave., will soon
become the National Women in Agriculture’s Agriculture and Science
Academy Training and Technical Center.

Donations
and volunteer help are being sought to help restore and update the
building and its facilities, said Destiny Carson of NWAA.

The
center will help educate individuals and families about healthier food,
cooking, preparation and eating options, a media statement said. An
emphasis also will be added on environment conservation and how to live
and earn a living by working the land.

“Our
main focus is to combat generational health and economic poverty issues
through agriculture and health education,” the organization’s official
website says.

The group also provides educational outreach to youth in schools.

The academy is part of a U.S.

Department
of Agriculture initiative to help reduce community poverty issues.
On-site assistance will include job placement, notary public,
afterschool math and science tutoring and horticulture training.

For more information, call 424-4624 or 317-8110, email womeninag@gmail. com or visit nwiaa.org.

Cattlemen’s goes smoke-free
After more than a century, Cattlemen’s Steakhouse is now smoke-free.

Owner
Dick Stubbs built in a smoking room back in 2006. Nearly 30 percent of
his regulars smoked while dining, he said in a media statement.

Over
the years, however, Stubbs said his smoking clientele has dwindled to
less than 1 percent. He wants to more fully use the space and reduce
wait time.

The venue has been in OKC’s historic Stockyards City on S. Agnew Avenue since 1910. For more information, call 236-0416.

Swon Brothers set for Olympics
Catch Muskogee’s Swon Brothers as they perform Feb. 14 on the Today show.

The brothers, who nearly won it all on season four of The Voice, are
headed for Sochi as part of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The pair,
Zach and Colton Swon, will perform their new single, “Later On.”

The
single hits radio stations March 3. The brothers also are finishing
their major-label debut for Arista Nashville, produced by Mark Bright
(who has worked with Carrie Underwood and Sara Evans). The album is
tentatively set for release later this year.

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