David Lee Eaton, 67, died suddenly Wednesday, March 9 in Oklahoma City. He was born Aug. 19, 1954, in El Paso, Texas, and later moved to El Reno.
He graduated from El Reno High School in 1972. At the commencement ceremony, he was seated next to Shanon Dyer thanks to alphabetical order.
NORMAN- For the second time in four seasons, El Reno High School will play for the gold ball after defeating top-ranked Sapulpa 59-50 in the semifinals of the 2022 Class 5A girls State Basketball Championships.
El Reno was set to play McAlester for the title inside the University of Oklahoma's Lloyd Noble Center. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. Saturday.
The trip to the finals is just the second in school history for El Reno's program, with the win over Sapulpa being the fifth overall on the state level in 12 trips. The Indians take a 24-4 season record into the finals.
The Indians qualified for the Class 5A State Championships being held in Norman. A send-off celebration was held for the team Wednesday afternoon.
Follow the El Reno Tribune social media sites for game updates and see a tourney recap in Wednesday’s print edition.
Final dollar figures are still being tabulated but the 50th Annual Canadian County Junior Livestock Show wrapped up its four-day run with a main sale which officials deemed a success.
“There were a lot of things we learned and it was a tough week but our sale brought in over $20,000 more than last year so I would call that a success,” said Canadian County Fair Board Secretary Brad Tipton.
Canadian County commissioners are moving ahead with plans to replace a roof that’s caving in at the old county jail. Time is of the essence to hire a contractor for the job.
“It will be falling in soon,” Commissioner Dave Anderson said.
Commissioners took no action at their March 7 meeting on a “conditional partial release of lease” between Canadian County and Preservation El Reno for the roof project.
“We’ll have it back on our agenda soon,” Anderson said.
Mayor Matt White said it would be wise for the city of El Reno to consider developing property on SW 27th Street for commercial and retail business rather than schools.
White made the comments at last week’s city council meeting. He asked the council to give him and City Manager Matt Sandidge a “few weeks” to bring a proposal to them for consideration.
White said the city has been in contact with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce about the idea of leasing land to a business or businesses on the city-owned property.
Longtime city of El Reno employees who are retiring were recognized at last week’s city council meeting.
The city offered some veteran employees a buyout option to help the municipal government deal with a somewhat stagnant budget.
City officials have said the current fiscal reality is similar to figures seen in 2012.
A number of employees took the early retirement offer and were recognized for their service.
Among those recognized and their years of service were:
Teresa Carey, 21.5 years
Shelly Dalla Rosa, 14.5 years
Jerry Scott, owner of Frontier Auto Group, stands with Debbie Denwalt at a retirement luncheon held in her honor.
Denwalt worked for 28 years at the dealership. She is an active member of the Blessing Baskets board of directors.
A new Celebrate Recovery program is beginning in El Reno.
Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain or addiction of any kind.
The first group will be a Women’s Step Study on Sunday evenings at 6. There is a Zoom meeting available for men. An in-person men’s group is planned in the near future.
All women are welcome to attend, to connect with a support group and to join others who are searching for answers in their lives.
A bill that would provide the most significant expansion of school-choice opportunity in Oklahoma history has won approval from a Senate committee and will next go before the entire Oklahoma Senate.
“This measure is to give opportunity for kids across Oklahoma and parents to meet the educational needs of their children,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.
Senate Bill 1647, by Treat, would create the Oklahoma Empowerment Account (OEA) Program.
