September 2021

Delayed a week due to COVID-19 issues, El Reno High School’s volleyball team kicked off the home portion of its 2021 schedule with a 3-0 win over U.S. 81 rival Chickasha last week.

The 25-17/25-13/25-15 win lifted the Class 5A’s 10th-ranked Indians to 9-5 on the season.

El Reno trailed only twice in the match in games one and two, but never more than three points. The Indians rallied from those deficits at the serving line, closing with a 94.5 percent effort (69-of-73) with 14 aces.

The Indians had to forfeit their second straight game this week with Weatherford due to COVID-19 exposure and quarantine stemming from the game with Cache.
 

Union City High School’s softball team snapped a three-game slide last week with a 15-5 road win over Carnegie.

The 10-run victory came on the heels of losses to Verden (12-6) and Class A’s top-ranked Binger-Oney (12-2) as the unranked Tigers improved to 11-8 on the season.

Makinzie DeLong had four hits in the win over Carnegie, including a pair of two-baggers, while driving in three runs and scoring two more.

Jordan Schmidt, Makenna DeLong, Kylie McCoy and Kaitlyn Linson all doubled in the 17-hit UCHS attack.

Doubles from Hayden Anderson, Wyatt Dean and Jaxon Olive sparked a 10-hit performance at the plate as Calumet High School’s baseball team snapped a two-game losing streak with an 11-1 win over Earlsboro.

Calumet, coming off losses to Sentinel (12-7) and Class B’s 11th-ranked Lookeba-Sickles (13-7) in the Panthers Labor Day Festival, improved to 5-7 on the fall season.

Redlands Community College’s soccer team uncorked a season-high 21 shots but managed only one goal in a 3-1 road loss in Arkansas to National Park College.

The setback left RCC with an 0-4 record for the season and in the NJCAA Region 2 standings.

Redlands’ goal came in the first half on an unassisted shot by Yalexy Rodriguez, who logged a team-high 10 shots in the loss.

Delia Palmar recorded five shots, followed by Marissa Kirkendall with two shots.

Jordan Evans, Yesenia Rodriguez, Stephany Soto and Ariana Whitfield added a shot each.

The arrival of college football means it’s time to dust off the decoys for Oklahoma’s early teal and resident Canada goose hunting seasons.

Both opportunities will kick off Saturday, Sept. 11.

Blue-winged and green-winged teal are early migrants through Oklahoma as they fly southward on their journey to wintering grounds in Mexico and Central and South America.

They migrate quickly and don’t stay in Oklahoma very long. Teal are small, fast fliers and usually are seen in flocks of six to 15 birds.

NORTHEAST

Eucha: September 5.
Elevation normal, water 70s and clear.
Largemouth bass good on jerk baits and plastic baits along the river mouth, rocks and shorelines. Channel catfish fair on cut bait and live bait below the dam, docks and shorelines. Crappie fair on jigs and minnows around brush structure and shorelines.

Could the partnership that created the BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center at Fort Reno have imagined how sweet of an education experience the program would become for area students?

Now in its sixth year, BlueSTEM has grown from its original class of three students to 31 this school year. High school students from El Reno, Yukon and Calumet are members of the current BlueSTEM class.

A race has developed for the El Reno City Council Ward 2 seat.

Incumbent Bob Ballhorn will be challenged by Peter Stapperfend for the position that will be decided in the Nov. 9 election.

The candidate winning the most votes will be elected to serve a four-year term.

Ballhorn, 61, currently serves as vice mayor. He said he is running because he wants to help continue the forward momentum he said El Reno is experiencing.

During the Canadian County Fair Family Night festivities, Kate Kearby of Piedmont and Joan Herr of El Reno were recognized with the 2021 Outstanding Canadian County Citizen Awards.

Kearby and Herr were presented with a certificate and the top winning cookie jar fair entries, made by Underwood OHCE and Sunshine OHCE Groups.

Kearby was nominated by Jim and Judy Swaim and below is what they wrote: