Gordon Wynn

It's that time of year again to celebrate the Edmond Community Picnic. The event will be Thursday, August 18^th, from 6-8 at Hafer Park in the #3 Pavilion. The Community Picnic is free for all Edmond residents. So, give your kitchen a rest for the evening and come on out to enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks.

The event is for residents of all ages. Kids will enjoy a moonwalk, clowns, balloon animals, and face painting. And, everyone will enjoy the Edmond Police Department as they perform a motorcycle demonstration.

Sponsors of the event are the Edmond Sun and Edmond Neighborhood Alliance. Both sponsors are great at helping our community grow strong friendships by getting us all together. The Community Picnic is a great time and place for communicating with other Edmond residents, and sharing stories about Edmond and its great community. You will meet people from all over the community, and run into many people you already know.

At the Community Picnic, you can also meet politicians from the city, the Sun staff employees, city employees, and learn about what's happening in Edmond's neighborhoods.

Edmond, Oklahoma is a small, unique community that cares about its town and its residents interests. So, at the picnic, there will be two awards given out. One is the Sunniest Neighbor Award, and the other is the Neighborhood Newsletter Contest.

This year, the ENA president, will be introducing a fun game called Phantom Coin to attendees at the event.

You will find some of the nicest people in Edmond, Oklahoma. So, come on out to meet them. I hope to see you there.

By 2013, the University of Oklahoma will be using wind power to power the entire university. The school will, over time, purchase all its electric power from Electric's wind power division.

A powerful wind farm near Woodward, Oklahoma will generate the power needed for the university. When the wind farm's construction is complete, it will be called O.U. Spirit Wind Farm.

Oklahoma City, and most of the state, possess very large amounts of wind energy, ranking Oklahoma 6^th in the US with installed wind energy capacity. Adding wind farms in Oklahoma will also help boost the state's economy. And, best of all, most Oklahoma residents are happy about the state using renewable energy.

Early Oklahoma settlers used wind energy to power their well pumps to make farming in the area possible. So, it looks like it's time we do what the early settlers of Oklahoma did and get back to renewable energy.

The University of Oklahoma will also start using more vehicles that are powered by compressed natural gas, and the university will be opening its own compressed natural gas refueling center by November.

On September 5^th 2008, Edmond, Oklahoma will have its first green festival starting at 6:00pm. The festival will continue on Saturday at 2:00 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm at Stephenson Park.

Just three months ago, the Getting Green not-for-profit organization was founded by Mark Neighbors. The Getting Green organization was established to encourage all Americans to be more environmentally friendly. Getting Green, will show everyone how to live ten to twenty percent more green.

Many people across the Nation have already taken small steps, sometimes huge steps, to become more environmentally friendly. But there are still many who think that going green will affect their lifestyle too much. And, that is why Getting Green was so important to Mark Neighbors. He is ready and willing to show everyone that getting green will not change your lifestyle.

The festival will include learning opportunities and entertainment. There will be a new speaker every hour giving you steps and ideas to get green, along with twelve bands for your listening pleasure. Guest speakers topics will include eco-friendly practices for businesses, green architecture and wind power benefits. There will be exhibitors and sponsors with tables set up to show, hands on, how to get green.

Edmond Electric will be providing power for the event by using wind energy during the day and solar energy at night.

Everyone can do simple things to go green, such as printing on the back side of your printer paper, turning off appliances or electronics when not in use, and recycling.

There are green home builders in Edmond, Oklahoma, ready to build your dream home.

Over the years, bathrooms have become a big attraction to potential buyers. So, a small makeover can make a big difference in your bathroom.

Gone are the days of rugs all over the bathroom. It takes more than that to get the attention of a buyer. Changing a few things such as paint color, shower curtain, light fixtures and a rug will do the trick.

Putting a spa rug in front of your bath or shower will not only give the room a new look, it will also feel so good. Choose a popular and soothing paint color such as light gray, light slate blue, light yellows, or other cream colors. The sponge-paint look is also popular for bathrooms now.

Changing the light fixtures with a more up-to-date fixture also helps give the room a different look. Also, replace the towel holder, tissue holder and faucets to match the light fixtures. And, replace your shower curtain with one that is neutral. You want the room to have a warm welcoming feel for everyone.

These small changes in your bathroom, is sure to help in the sale of your home.

The City of Edmond, Oklahoma has so many activities and attractions for kids, and now it will soon have one more. The First Presbyterian Church of Edmond will begin the process of adding a new building for Edmond's youth. The Church received a $410,000 gift for the project.

The total cost of the new building will be around $1.5 million. Now that the church has at least 60% of that, planning has begun. This generous gift has really sped up the process. This will be a great addition to Edmond.

Edmond, Oklahoma is a family-friendly community. If you are looking for a great place to raise a family that caters to its youth, you will find it in the City of Edmond. Our youth have several youth groups, clubs and programs to choose from. There are also many places for the whole family to gather and have fun.

Come to Edmond. You will soon want to make it your home.