December 2021

On Tuesday, hundreds of visitors from Oklahoma and across the United States gathered at the USS Oklahoma Memorial to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

When Japanese dive bombers descended over Pearl Harbor, the USS Oklahoma was among the first battleships to be attacked, taking eight torpedoes and sinking with 415 Sailors and 14 Marines aboard.

The loss of life was second only to the USS Arizona, which lost 1,177 Sailors and Marines.

Three well-spaced offensive runs helped El Reno High School’s girls basketball team, ranked third in the first Class 5A poll of the season, keep Shawnee at bay in a battle of top 10 teams.

The Indians defeated the ninth-ranked Wolves 51-30 in the season and Suburban Conference opener for both teams.

The 21-point victory extended EHS’ current win streak over Shawnee to six games. It’s the third straight year for El Reno to open the season on a winning note.

Oklahoma State came within inches of winning the Big 12 Championship over the weekend but was turned away 21-16 by Baylor.

While the majority of its scoring came from closer to the basket, El Reno High School’s boys basketball team had four first-half shots from the perimeter which were game-changers.

The Indians, ranked 13th in the first Class 5A poll of the season, defeated No. 7 Shawnee 51-33 to win their second straight season opener under head coach Rodney Haydon and snap a four-game losing streak to the Wolves.

It was the Suburban Conference opener for both teams.

El Reno High School’s wrestling team continued its tough season-opening run through the cream of the crop in Class 6A, losing 54-16 last week to Edmond North, ranked third in the state.

El Reno, ranked second in Class 5A in the first tournament rankings of the season, slipped to 0-2.

The Indians got a win at 106 pounds as Niko Gonzalez scored a 4:44 fall over Jaiden Rutledge, but gave those points and more back as Terry Guzman (113) and Hunter Davidson (126) suffered falls. El Reno’s Hudson Brooks dropped a 12-0 match at 120 pounds.

Though you won’t be able to see them, dinosaurs will be walking the streets of El Reno.

Filming for a Lionsgate live-action movie titled “The Adventures of Jurassic Pets: The Lost Secrets” is set to begin in downtown El Reno and other locations around the city Dec. 18.

“This is actually a sequel to the first movie we did called ‘The Adventures of Jurassic Pets’ which was released in 2019. This movie will not have the same people but will take place in the same town.

Rev. Aaron Kotila arrived in El Reno in September of 2020.

The new pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church got here just in time to experience a crippling ice storm in October as well as the lingering and at times, devastating local effects of COVID-19.

Throw in the sub-arctic blast that arrived in February of this year and one can’t blame Kotila for wondering if he’d made the right decision to move from Illinois to El Reno.

“It’s all in God's hands,” Kotila said, laughing as he thought about his first year as a resident of Oklahoma.

Work on the new City of El Reno Christmas Tree shifted into high gear last week as well as work on all the holiday decorations around Petree Plaza.

The 23-foot pre-lit artificial tree was assembled off a base that is secured into the ground and can be taken down after the holidays.

Calumet cheerleaders wore pink shirts and used pink pom-poms, while players wore pink warm-up shirts. The district was taking part in the nationwide Coaches Versus Cancer Drive.

Through different fundraising events, Calumet schools raised $2,794.72 for the American Cancer Society, according to officials.

The 2021 wheat harvest yields top the charts in many fields throughout Oklahoma.

The 2022 crop looks very promising for area wheat farmers. The OSU Extension Service is dedicated to assist Oklahoma farmers as they manage the 2022 wheat crop and continue to expand their yield potentials for this new crop, based upon research information from the OSU Small Grains Research Team.