April 2020

MUNICIPAL COURT

Della Paulette Roach, El Reno, speeding, $175.

Oscar Castro, Oklahoma City, driving without license issued and speeding, $417.

Joshua Michael Thomas, Corn, expired tag, $165.

Amanda Brooke Denison, Oklahoma City, failure to stop at stop sign and no insurance verification, $460.

Chelse Leann Bond, El Reno, expired tag, $130.

Alana Wolftongue, Geary, failure to appear warrant, $295.

Bailey Allen Fair, Owasso, failure to appear warrant, $295.

Kylie Brooke Dodson, Arcadia, expired tag, $165.

I left early that Easter morning. I had a two-day drive ahead of me.

The wife at the time and our two children, Aliki and Jack, were already in London, Ontario. We were scheduled to baptize 5-month-old Jack the following Sunday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

I pulled out of El Reno about 5 a.m. I had made the drive to London several times before.

Today a man making a delivery to Riverside School said, “I bet your teachers are happy about having a longer summer break.” My immediate response was no. Then I recommended that he not ask teachers that question.

Some people just don’t get teachers. Teachers are not jumping for joy about an extended summer break. In fact, most teachers use normal summer breaks to plan, attend education conferences and spend their own money to purchase classroom supplies.

Mary Bell, El Reno resident for 49 years, went to be with her Lord and Savior April 11, 2020, in Yukon. She was born July 3, 1935, in Bennington to Roy and Violet Whitmore. On Aug. 13, 1951, she married the love of her life and best friend, Vernon Bell. Together the two of them shared 68 years and 7 months happily married.

Mary, better known as Nanny Bell to everyone she met, loved her family and friends deeply.

Private services for Robert James “Lil Rocc” Meely will be held in the Concho Cemetery under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.   

Lil Rocc died April 12, 2020, in El Reno. He was born Dec. 4, 1979, in Oklahoma City.  He lived most of his life in El Reno and worked in maintenance at Concho.

Metta Bernice Norton, 96, of Salida, Colo., passed away April 8, 2020, at Columbine Manor Care Center in Salida where she had resided the past year.

Bernice was born Aug. 21, 1923, in El Reno. She grew up and attended public schools in El Reno, and after graduation, moved to Wichita, Kan., where she spent most of her adult life. 

Bernice had been employed with Beech Aircraft, Dillard’s and the Veterans Administration. She returned to El Reno after retirement and volunteered at Russell-Murray Hospice Thrift Store for several years. 

Due to a higher demand for COVID-19 testing at the Yukon satellite office, the Canadian County Health Department will be holding a drive-up test location on Friday.

The testing will be done at Yukon’s Middle School from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. No appointment will be needed to get tested for the virus, but residents will need to show some symptoms.

Officers from the Yukon Police Department and deputies from the Canadian County Sheriff’s office will be on site for traffic control.

Downtown El Reno looks very different.

Parking lots are empty, as are the sidewalks. Very few cars are parked on the streets in front of storefronts.

Between the somewhat recent bust in the energy industry and now the fallout from COVID-19, a serious toll has been taken on El Reno’s historic downtown district.

More than 20 downtown shops and offices have shut their doors. At least a dozen of these will not operate in any capacity until the quarantine is lifted.

Turning 16 is a rite of passage. It’s supposed to be the day when teenagers get their driver’s license.

However, for two El Reno High School students and best friends, turning 16 took on a different meaning last week courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of having parties with friends and families, Hailey McBroom and Caroline Huber spent their 16th birthdays somewhat isolated.

They did their required schoolwork, went to jobs or worked on sewing face masks for people to wear as virus protection.

Hundreds of vehicles took to cruising Route 66 last week as a show of unity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was set up on social media as a safe way to get out and see other citizens of El Reno but to keep the social distancing guidelines set forth during the COVID-19 pandemic.