April 2021

Kaleb Melvin saved one of his best pitching efforts of the season for his final home game as Calumet High School’s baseball team won the Class A, District 16 Championship.

Melvin tossed a seven-inning no-hitter as the 16th-ranked Chieftains defeated Binger-Oney in the championship game 7-0.

Calumet, now 17-4 on the season, defeated Oklahoma Christian Academy (5-3) in the first round before handing the Bobcats their first loss of the double-elimination tourney by an 11-1 score.

Redlands Community College’s soccer team went into weekend action looking to snap a seven-match losing streak after dropping a 4-2 decision to Murray State College.

Redlands, which defeated the Aggies earlier this season, slipped to 1-8 on the season and in the NJCAA Region 2 standings. The Cougars fell to eighth in the league.

The setback came two days after a close 3-2 loss to Northern Oklahoma College of Tonkawa.

Stepping up its offensive attacks, Redlands had 22 shots in the two matches. Katy Eddy led the way with seven shots, two goals and an assist.

Braydon Armstrong struck out the final batter with the tying run at second base as Union City High School’s baseball team defeated Thomas/Fay-Custer 5-4 to win the Class A, District 14 Championship.

Union City, ranked 14th in the state, improved to 22-8 on the season with the win over the Terriers, its second of the tourney after a 12-5 win in the semifinals. The Tigers opened with a 10-0 shutout of Southwest Covenant.

Memorial service for David Alton Langley was held Monday, April 26, 2021, in the Clyde Gene Miller Gymnasium at Maple School. Services were under the direction of Wilson Funeral Home.

David passed away peacefully April 21, 2021, surrounded by his family in Calumet. He was born March 14, 1943, in El Reno to Alton and Alma Langley. He graduated from El Reno High School in 1961.

Debbie Maguire sat in the crowd gathered for the 2021 Crime Victims Vigil holding her daughter’s hand and listening to grandmothers Anita Gibbins and Terri Heinley talk about how violent crime changed their lives forever.

It was a feeling Maguire knows all too well.

“I felt so much of the family’s pain. Sitting there listening to them tell their story and then seeing the picture in front of them, I knew I needed to talk,” said Maguire.

Holding back 30 years worth of tears and heartbreak, Maguire spoke about the day her two children were shot to death.

The conference center at Redlands Community College was all about science as students from county high schools showcased their research and discussed their findings as part of the BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center’s 2021 Agriscience Symposium.

Some 19 students representing El Reno, Yukon and Calumet high schools took part in the Tuesday evening symposium.

The BlueSTEM Center is a partnership between the USDA and its Grazinglands Research Lab at Fort Reno, Redlands and El Reno Public Schools.

Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority is asking the assistance of all curbside recycling participants to adhere to the current recycle standards.

David Griesel, general manager of OEMA, said crews are finding all sorts of items in the recycling containers that do not belong.

In fact, some participants cause the entire efforts of those that want to recycle to be rejected due to contamination.

Northbound and southbound U.S. 81 will be intermittently narrowed to one lane in each direction between Okarche and County Road 840 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for survey work.

Work mostly will occur along the shoulders. Motorists are advised to expect delays and to watch for workers in the area.

Canadian County commissioners signed off on nearly $1 million in newly financed county landfill equipment.

Commissioners approved proposals for the Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority (OEMA) to purchase financing for a landfill compactor and front-loader truck.

“As beneficiary of the trust, we approve the debt they incur,” District 2 County Commissioner David Anderson said.

Anderson, Canadian County’s representative on the OEMA board, said both pieces of new equipment are already “in the fleet and working.”

The Oklahoma Media Center recently selected the name “Promised Land: A Supreme Court Decision Places Oklahoma at a Crossroads” for a shared topic in 2021.

The collaborative will cover the affirmation of tribal sovereignty after the Supreme Court ruling last year.