Latest news with #OklahomaCompany
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Construction company displays the Oklahoma Standard by donating free roof
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A woman is getting a whole new roof for free, while a company is showing what it means to be an Oklahoman. The homeowner's original plan was to fix it one leak at a time. 'The house is old!' said Statia Rector. LOCAL NEWS: Oklahoma Company helps OKCPS Foundation support local students Rector said her home, in northeast Oklahoma City, was built in the 1920's. First, it was her mother's home in the 1950's. Then Rector made it hers in the late 1980's. Rector, 95, said that's the last time they put on a new roof. 'If god has given you the years, then thank him for them,' she said. Last year, she got a leak in her ceiling above her bathtub. Then, a few months ago, another appeared in the dining room. 'That's the ceiling itself that you're seeing and the split there,' she said while pointing out the spot in the ceiling. 'I just went and got a bucket.' Rector called her insurance, who found Joe Knapp with Excel Construction Group. 'When you have a leak, it's probably going to lead to a bigger problem' said Knapp. After inspecting the roof, Knapp said he'd find one issue after another. 'This roof was absolutely not up to code, multiple layers of shingles on top of rotted decking,' said Knapp. 'The water was penetrating through the shingles.' The fix is an expensive new roof. 'I had already decided I was not going to put a roof on this old house,' said Rector. 'Just fix the leaks when they happen.' Knapp talked to the company owners. They decided on a new $10,000 roof on the house, so to speak. 'I put it in the hands of the Lord,' said Rector. LOCAL NEWS: BBB warns Oklahomans of REAL ID scams as deadline approaches 'And I said, 'I guess God put me in a position to help you, so that's what we're doing,'' said Rector. Monday, Knapp's crews set to work adding new decking, new shingles, and proper ventilation. 'We're going to give her a very permanent solution,' said Knapp. The project wrapped up Monday afternoon. It was a real display of Red Dirt Readiness to help out an Oklahoman in need. 'Getting it done freely never crossed my mind,' said Rector. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
102-year-old WWII vet honored at Oklahoma State Capitol
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — He served his country with honor during WWII and now 102-year-old R.D. Lawrence, a former prisoner of war, has been honored with a medal that few Oklahomans ever get when he received the Oklahoma Cross of Valor Monday morning. 'When you get as old as I am, these things don't come easy,' Lawrence said laughing. RELATED STORY: How this Wakita, OK farmer earned France's Legion of Honor medal At 102 years young, however, Lawrence makes ordinary life look easy. The well deserved recognition for the Wakita native at the state capitol came in front of friends, family, including his three kids, and more when he received his medal. 'I didn't know my kids had that many friends,' he said. 'They all showed up.' In 2021, KFOR's Galen Culver highlighted Lawrence's time in the military after he received France's Legion of Honor medal. 'First to Africa then to Italy, Lawrence and his crew flew 37 bombing missions over Europe all with him in his unique vantage point,' Culver said at the time. 'I seen it all. We was lucky,' Lawrence said in 2021. Lawrence flew in the ball turret position in a B-17 flying fortress. He and his crew were shot down over Hungary on his 37th mission. All 10 of them survived the crash, but Lawrence was captured. As the tide of the war turned and the German's retreated, Lawrence was forced to march more than 500 miles between POW camps. Almost 80 years to the day he was liberated in May 1945, he's still going strong. It was a proud moment for his children. LOCAL NEWS: Oklahoma Company helps OKCPS Foundation support local students 'We're very grateful,' Lawrence's daughter Julie Gariss said standing next to her siblings, Leanna Turney and Dick Lawrence. 'I don't know that he thinks he deserves it, but he does it for everybody else that lost their lives.' 'He's my hero,' Turney said. No doubt, he's a hero to many more as well. 'This has been good and it hasn't been bad,' Lawrence said. The last time that medal was handed out was 1998. Lawrence is the last surviving member of his B-17 crew. He now lives and still does some work on his family's Wakita farm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
