WestFest offers free fun for all

Sure, pumpkin patches are fun. What kid wouldn't want to visit one this time of year? But they can also be pricey. If you are watching your wallet like I am, you might want to take your kiddos to WestFest this week. WestFest is a fall festival at TCC's West Campus that includes a free concert, free hot dogs, chips and water for the first 500 people, and free carnival games for the kids. And, costumes are welcome.

There will be a few things at WestFest that charge a fee, and proceeds go to student organizations.  Veterinary Technology Student Organization will have pumpkin decorating for kids with each pumpkin costing $1; Phi Beta Lambda will hold a $1 cake walk; and there will be a Haunted Trail that costs $2.

The concert will feature Michael Boggs, a nationally known Christian music artist and songwriter. Michael is from the Berryhill area, which is near the TCC West Campus.

WestFest is 6-8 p.m. today, Oct. 24, in the Student Union on the TCC West Campus, 7505 W. 41st Street South.

http://www.tulsacc.edu/westfest

Children, teachers build blue ribbon tree to raise awareness

A student in the Fireflies class at the TCC Child Development Center ties a blue ribbon onto a tree, a symbolic representation of child abuse prevention awareness.

Children who attend school at the TCC Child Development Center on the TCC West Campus tied blue ribbons onto a tree with help from their teachers and families on Friday as a reminder to help keep children safe by preventing child abuse. Children also paraded across the campus. Last week marked the conclusion to the national Week of the Young Child.

Tragically, child abuse is not absent from our society. The Tulsa World published an article yesterday on child abuse from a child welfare worker's perspective who works in Tulsa County.

Every year TCC's Child Development Center conducts activities throughout the Week of the Young Child to raise awareness of the importance of early childhood and promote child abuse prevention.