January 2022

MUNICIPAL COURT Wesley Don Vandiver, Checotah, speeding, $195. Johnny E. Frost, El Reno, failure to appear warrant, $295. Andrea Beaver, El Reno, failure to appear warrant, $295. Randolph James Youngbull, Geary, failure to appear warrant, $295.

El Reno Public Schools transitioned to distance learning throughout the district after an outbreak of positive cases for COVID-19. The district first said students at Hillcrest and Rose Witcher Learning Centers would switch to remote learning on Tuesday, Jan.11.

Both health-care and public school officials are keeping a close eye on incoming data as the Omicron and Delta variants continue to fuel a recent surge in both testing and reported positive cases of the coronavirus. “I hate COVID-19. It seems to be the same as it’s always been for us.

Mike Grimes, a lieutenant with the Canadian County Sheriff’s Investigations Division, has retired after 57 years in law enforcement. His retirement was effective Dec. 31. Grimes was serving as criminal investigator with the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office.

El Reno Little League wrestler Cooper Coble rolls his Weatherford opponent into a pinning position during an exhibition match last week. The two towns had five youth matches before the high school dual. See related story and photos here.  

El Reno police responded to some violent incidents over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. On Dec. 23, police were called to 416 W. Rogers after receiving reports of gunshots. Officers said they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the calf area of his right leg.

The inmate population has declined in recent weeks at the Canadian County Jail. On Jan. 3, there were 178 inmates housed inside the county’s detention center in El Reno - 25 inmates less than the previous Monday, Dec. 27.

Calumet December Students of the Month, from left, Lila Winegeart, Tina Ortiz, Hunter Navanick and Luis Briseno.

New University of Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables may be the most fortunate man working in a prominent position in Oklahoma higher education.

A majority of state school boards associations have publicly distanced themselves from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) after the national group compared parents to terrorists, and 17 state associations have withdrawn from the NSBA.