August 2020

Redlands Community College will hold a ribbon-cutting event Tuesday to unveil the exterior makeover on the east side of the Ray Porter Academic Complex.

The complex is the main entrance for Redlands and has not been updated since the campus opened in the early 1970s. The ribbon-cutting will be at 10:30 a.m.

All who attend are asked to wear masks and practice physical distancing.

“It was our goal to create a modern but welcoming look for visitors entering our campus, and we are very pleased with the final result.

With Oklahoma facing an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, frontline workers are working to aid those affected by the pandemic.

Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal citizen Dana Tammen-Ogilvie has firsthand experience working in the emergency room (ER) as a registered nurse at SSM Health St. Anthony in El Reno. Ogilvie has been working in the health field as a nurse for more than 28 years.

Ogilvie said her job could be trying at times, especially with Canadian County rising to 667 positive cases with six confirmed deaths.

Marvin Novak has farmed in southwest Yukon for decades. At age 85, he still enjoys the process of plowing, planting and patiently waiting for harvest.

Novak applied farm logic to education while serving on the very first Board of Education at Canadian Valley Technology Center.

“Hard to believe that was 50 years ago,” Novak said recently after a day of field discing in preparation for the next growing season.

El Reno police arrested two men on complaints of burglary in separate incidents and officers reportedly found a gun in the possession of one man.

A 19-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly was inside a garage at a home in the 1800 block of Palo Verde Drive.

Two separate accidents on I-40 Tuesday afternoon sent one man to the hospital in critical condition, while the other closed the westbound lanes after semi trucks collided.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Gary Harold Patterson, 56, of Gresham, Ore., was taken by AirEvac to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a semi. The driver of the semi was not identified. The report said the driver was not injured.

A Yukon woman is listed as among 15 new COVID-19-related deaths reported Tuesday by the Oklahoma Department of Health.

The latest victim is also the youngest to have died in Canadian County, falling in the 18- to 35-year-old category.

She is the sixth death in the county.

According to the health department, Yukon has had 600 positive cases of coronavirus.

That is up from 487 last week, records show.

Abby Jeffrey of El Reno was recently awarded a $500 scholarship from the Canadian County Association for Oklahoma Home and Community Education to be used during her first year of college.

Jeffrey is the daughter of Peter and Kristi Jeffrey of El Reno.

Proceeds from the quilt raffle and quilt block challenge contest at the 2019 Canadian County Fair were used to help fund the scholarship.

Descendants of Elmo and Agnes Finnigan held their annual reunion recently at Roman Nose State Park.

Attending were their sons, Mike Finnigan and family, Josh Finnigan, Teagan, E.J. and Dacien Finnigan and Kaylee Finnigan; Tim and Danella Finnigan and family, Steve and Tammy Dye, Jake and Scarlett Dye, Zac Dye, John and Sally Atkins and Coy Atkins; Pat and Cheryl Finnigan and family, Carson Mahoney, Rowdie and Crete Smillie, Jerzie Finnigan, Monica Griffitts and Ryatt Griffitts.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Department of Commerce (Commerce) has launched the Oklahoma Automotive Accelerator Program.

In a statement, Commerce said one of its primary goals is to continue to diversify the economy to help mitigate industry-related crises.

With this plan, Commerce will place an increased emphasis on recruiting automotive parts manufacturers to the state.

“Oklahoma earned incredibly valuable national and global exposure as a finalist for Tesla’s new facility,” said Gov. Kevin Stitt.

STILLWATER  — Oklahoma State University has formed a technology collaboration with Baker Hughes that will drive cross-industry collaboration and innovation, in addition to the donation of Baker Hughes Energy Innovation Center located in the Innovation District east of downtown Oklahoma City.

Officials called this “a game-changer for OSU and the state of Oklahoma, supporting public and private enterprises in Oklahoma City and beyond.”