June 2022

Janet Lynn (Pasta) Miller passed away June 9, 2022, with her family by her side, after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s.

She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Danny, as well as her three sons, Ryan and wife, Cecilia, Steve and wife, Salina, and Robby and fiancée, Jeanette.

She also had nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Jim Pasta.

Janet was born Dec. 22, 1946, in Enid. Her family moved numerous times as a child, but eventually ended up in El Reno, where she met, fell in love with and married Danny in 1966.

June is National Reunification Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of keeping families involved in the child welfare system together, and recognizing how the community can better support these families.

A memorial service for Betty Agnes (Nail) McMahan will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 25 at Canadian Valley Cemetery in Calumet under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.

Betty, a longtime resident of Noble, died at her home on Aug. 4, 2020. She was born Feb. 6, 1941, and grew up in Geary and Calumet, graduating from Calumet High School in 1959.

She taught kindergarten after her graduation from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

This submitted photo shows the supermoon, or commonly called strawberry moon, over El Reno.

It gets its name because of how close it is to the earth and that it’s a full moon at strawberry harvest time.

Services for Jon “Chris” Christopher Hurley were held Friday, June 17 at Red Rock United Methodist Church in Calumet, with urn burial following at Red Rock Cemetery. Services were under the direction of Wilson Funeral Home.

Chris passed away Saturday, June 11, 2022, at the age of 61 from lasting effects of COVID. He was born in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 1961, to Jon and Lynn Valliere and resided in Oklahoma after his parents divorced.

Chris was adopted by Dan Hurley after Lynn and Dan married in 1963.

After the 2020 elections, GOP leaders bragged that Republicans held 82 of 101 seats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Yet House leadership repeatedly declined to pass bills of significance this year.

A press release issued by House Speaker Charles McCall upon the conclusion of the regular 2022 session provided sad confirmation of that problem.

Roughly half the release focused on last year’s achievements — not measures that advanced in 2022.

A quick review explains why. The House was often the chamber where good bills went to die.

It’s the season of ticks, and while most Oklahomans know how to ward off the creepy crawlers, tick bites are a common occurrence that can cause serious health implications.

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat has announced his appointments for a tax reform working group to study proposals in relation to the ongoing special session.

“We’re committed to a serious, mature conversation about tax reform, conducted in a thoughtful way,” Treat said.

STILLWATER – The world’s fascination with honey bees is linked to a population decline during the past decade that threatens the production of fruit, nut, forage, vegetable and other crops that rely on pollination.

The permanent disappearance of pollinators would be detrimental to society.

After rains played havoc with on-field workouts during spring drills, El Reno High School head coach Russell Cook was not going to let Mother Nature get summer as well.

El Reno hosted both Guthrie and Kingfisher recently to kick off the first of three weekly 7-on-7 passing leagues with the two schools. The first week was canceled due to rain.

The Bluejays were supposed to host the event, but the opening night was moved to Kingfisher due to wet grass at Jelsma Stadium. Kingfisher faced similar field conditions.