A new Canadian County Fairgrounds should be open for business within a year.
Architect Todd Gralla said the new $15 million fairgrounds is expected to be ready in time to host the 2021 Canadian County Free Fair.
Gralla, with Populous, the Norman-based firm hired to design the first phase of the project, said the new fairgrounds will include a combination expo center/arena that will accommodate crowds of about 2,000, all under one climate-controlled roof.
Mike Crowly has been a wheat farmer for 35 years. He struggles to recall a single season in which the weather and crop yields were better than what the fields in Canadian County have churned out in the month of June.
“This might be one of the first times I have had the situation to where we can cut wheat every single day and not be interrupted by any type of weather circumstances. We started and finished harvesting without any interruptions from the weather,” said Crowly.
On Tuesday, voters will decide a state question related to health care, as well as pick a Canadian County Court Clerk.
Early voting began on Thursday at the Canadian County Election Board. The polls on Tuesday, June 30, will open at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m., or until everyone in line at the time has a chance to vote.
An El Reno man was killed when the lawn mower he was riding was struck by a vehicle that apparently veered off the roadway.
Police Major Kirk Dickerson said Howard Noland, 71, was killed in the June 18 accident. The collision happened about 8:30 a.m. in the 600 block of South Shepard.
Police said the driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene of the accident and cooperated with police.
One state question will appear on the June 30 general election ballot. This Initiative Petition was placed on the ballot by gathering signatures from citizens. The question is reprinted here as it will appear on the ballot followed by a brief summary.
Initiative Petition 419
State Question 802
Summer solstice arrived last Saturday ushering in summer amid global celebrations with a rare eclipse occurring in the Southern Hemisphere. The longest day of the year, solstice occurs when both sunrise and sunset occur respectively at the earliest and the latest times during the year.
At noon the sun was in perfect balance directly overhead and your shadow was not visible at all.
While they were held at the starting line due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smoke on the Water organizers have been throttled down for the past month as the 2020 races will take place as scheduled.
Set for July 17-19 at Lake El Reno, the drag boat racing event was in jeopardy for just the second time in its 20 years of existence. This year’s races mark the seventh year to be held in El Reno after moving from Fort Cobb Lake.
Larry and Connie Hodges will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
Larry Hodges and Connie Coggins were married July 1, 1960, at First Baptist Church of Blanchard.
Larry and Connie have traveled to almost every state and many places in Europe, England, Ireland and Mexico.
They have river rafted and hiked in Colorado and enjoyed water-skiing and snow-skiing and flying in a helicopter that landed on a glacier in Alaska.
They also love to cruise with friends, with the Panama Canal as one of their favorite destinations.
Randy and Terri Hurst of El Reno are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
The couple was married June 27, 1970, in Perryton, Texas.
Terri has been employed for the past 38 years at Canadian Valley as pharmacist and Naturopathy Medicine Practitioner.
Hurst is presently owner of Midwest Music Company in Weatherford and Enid after retiring after 30 years of education, finishing as the high school bandmaster for El Reno High School for 17 years.
Keegan Miller, 9, used his drum skills to draw attention to his lemonade stand. The youngster played, stopping momentarily to pour a customer a tall glass of lemonade. (Tribune photographer/Erin Thompson)
