January 2022

Funeral services for Christian Jessen Hansen Jr. were held Friday, Jan. 7 at First Christian Church in Calumet with Rev. Tim Clausing officiating. Burial followed in the Calumet Cemetery. Services were entrusted to Turner Funeral Home, Geary.

C.J. passed away Jan. 1, 2022, in El Reno at the age of 87. He was born Nov. 27, 1934, in Calumet to Christian Jessen Sr. and Mary Ann (Jensen) Hansen. C.J. graduated from Calumet High School and from SuL Ross State College in Alpine, Texas, where he played basketball on scholarship.

Funeral services for Scotty Dale Bigpond Sr. were held Friday at the Concho Emergency Response Center, with burial following in the Concho Cemetery. Services were under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.

Scotty died Dec. 23, 2021, in Dulac, La. He was born Jan. 11, 1966, in Lawton, and graduated from Coweta High School. Scotty worked in highway construction.

Funeral services for Frank Sage Nickel were held Friday at the Matthews Funeral Home Chapel in Edmond.

Mr. Nickel, 59, of Edmond, passed away Dec. 27, 2021.

Banana bread and sourdough were all the rage in 2020, and 2021 focused on air-fried food and low-waste foods. What’s going to land in your pantry this new year?

Upcoming trends in dining and cooking can be hard to predict, but the continued love for food and the desire to expand the average food pallet can make for more adventurous meals.

MUNICIPAL COURT

Josiah J. Foley, Oklahoma City, speeding, $245.

Amrathal B. Patel, El Reno, improper turn, $175.

Shalonda Lane Roberson, Broken Bow, speeding, $195.

Donnie Max McGee, El Reno, trespassing on private property, $295.

Shane Lee Chauncey, Yukon, speeding, $165.

Carl Lawrence Tisdale, El Reno, petit larceny, $595.

Hilary Rose Robinson, El Reno, failure to appear warrant, $295.

Bailey Renee Robertson, El Reno, disobeying traffic device, $165.

Debra Sue Waggoner, Okarche, speeding, $165.

The 2020 census revealed that Illinois experienced its first population decline since the state first participated in a census in 1810. Illinois’s population decline is not a surprise to anyone who has been watching population trends.

Sporting new singlets for the start of 2022, El Reno High School’s wrestling team showed little adverse effects from a 16-day layoff for the holidays, winning the first seven weights against Weatherford in a battle of top 15 teams.

El Reno used the quick start to cement a 51-21 win over the Eagles, ranked No.15 in Class 4A. The win was the fourth straight for the Indians, ranked No.2 in Class 5A, to improve to 4-2 on the year.

Calumet High School’s girls basketball team kicked off the new year by extending its current win streak to two games last week with a 68-43 decision over Geary in Washita Valley Conference action.

The unranked Chieftains improved to 7-6 on the season and 4-1 in the WVC standings.

Calumet scored in double digits in all four periods, including a game-high 21 points in the second frame. The team closed with a 49 percent shooting percentage after hitting 4-of-14 attempts from the perimeter for 29 percent.

Knocking down 35 baskets from the field, Okarche High School’s boys basketball team logged its third-highest winning margin of the season last week in a 90-49 victory over Cordell.

The 41-point non-conference win sends the Warriors, ranked No.18 in Class A, into this weekend’s Three Rivers Conference Championships with a 10-4 overall record.

Okarche was 25-of-36 from 2-point range against Cordell for 69 percent, but then added a 10-of-26 (39 percent) effort from the 3-point arc. The Warriors closed the game shooting 56 percent (35-of-62) from the floor.

Redlands Community College men’s basketball team started the second half of its season last week with an 80-75 road win over Texas-based Frank Phillips College.

The non-conference win was the fourth in the past six games for the Cougars, who improved to 10-7 on the season. Redlands remained tied for second in the NJCAA Region 2 standings at 2-1 heading into Thursday night’s league game at Connors State.