Rare restaurant, medium ride
A rare new dinner spot for fearless beefeaters has opened in Newcastle.
Brush Creek Steak House offers steaks, pork loin, chicken, lamb fries and shrimp. The restaurant is owned and operated by Tim Hart, a cattleman who raises the restaurant fare on a nearby 177-acre spread.
Brush Creek Steak House is at 1900 SE 16th St., 236-0328. Hours are 5 to 9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.
From Norman, take Highway 9 West to the Highway 62 junction, then three miles north to 16th Street and 11/2 miles east on 16th. Look for the barbed wire fence out front.
New resort takes dogs, cats
Top Dog Pet Resort and Daycare has been operating since May in a 3,800-square-foot building at Broce Industrial Park.
Owned and operated by Carol Whitman, Top Dog provides boarding, daycare and recreational activities for both dogs and cats. The facility has climate-controlled dog runs and spacious “cat condos.” Dogs who play well with others exercise outside in secure fenced yards. There is a playroom for cats. Padded beds are provided for each animal.
Special services include one-on-one playtime, bathing and grooming. Costs range from $20 a day for boarding to $16 a day for daycare and $15 a day for cats.
Top Dog Pet Resort and Daycare is at 2856 Broce Drive, behind Norris Marine. The number is 360-8799. Hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 8 to 5 Saturday and by appointment on Sundays and holidays.
Pedecab rides to games free
Brickshaw Buggy, a Bricktown Pedecab company, is offering free rides to OU fans during home football game days.
The company, operated by licensed student drivers, will pick up riders on Norman streets and deliver them to the stadium for tips only. Boundaries for the service are Classen, Lindsey, Flood Avenue and Campus Corner.
Rides can be scheduled by calling 733-3222.
Workshop for new homebuyers
Home Creations will host a free homebuyer workshop Oct. 3.
Topics include benefits of buying a new home, construction amenities, new home warranties, title and homeowners’ insurance and mortgage and credit information. A question and answer session will follow.
The 6:30 p.m. event will be at Home Creations, 224 N. Broadway Ave. in Moore. For more details and to RSVP, call 364-9999.
Dollar store opens in Moore
A new Dollar General store has opened at 1020 NW 27th St. in Moore.
The 8,100-square-foot store stocks food, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares and seasonal items at discount prices. About a third of the merchandise is offered for $1 or less.
Dollar General is a Fortune 500 company with over 8,000 stores nationwide.
Rambling Oaks sponsors event
The Norman Chamber of Commerce monthly Business Before Hours mixer is scheduled 8 to 9:15 a.m. at Rambling Oaks Assisted Living, 1060 Rambling Oaks Drive.
The event is free and open to chamber members and their guests.
August jobless rate crept up
August unemployment crept upward throughout the metro area but remained stable in Cleveland County.
A preliminary report from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission indicates 117,580 Cleveland County residents were employed and more than 3,900 unemployed in August, an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent. County unemployment was 3.2 percent in July and 3.3 percent in August, 2005.
Among McClain County’s workforce of 14,770, the preliminary August unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, up from July’s 3.3 percent but below the 3.6 percent in August of last year.
In Pottawatomie County’s labor force of more than 31,200 workers, 4.6 percent were unemployed in August and 4.5 percent in July. Unemployment a year ago in July was 4.8 percent.
Oklahoma County’s nearly 345,000 workers experienced 4.1 percent unemployment in August and 3.9 percent in July. A year ago the unemployment rate was 4.3 percent.
In Grady County, with 24,000 workers, the August unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, up from July’s 4.7 percent and the July, 2005 rate of 4.1 percent.
Throughout the seven-county metro area, more than 568,000 were employed and 22,750, or 3.8 percent, were unemployed in August. That was up from July’s 3.7 percent but below the August 2005 3.9 percent unemployment.
— Compiled by Randall Turk
