November 2023

Services for Michael Ray Hambrook will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21 in the Benson Memorial Chapel with Rev. John Hancock officiating.

Burial with military honors will follow at 2 p.m. at Memory Gardens Memorial Park in Guthrie under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.

Michael died Nov. 15, 2023, at the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City. He was born Feb. 16, 1948, in Guthrie. He served in the U.S. Army and worked as a roustabout in the oil fields.

He is survived by his daughter, Michelle Hambrook of Guthrie, and brother, Ronnie Hambrook of El Reno.

El Reno Public Schools Foundation celebrated the lives and achievements of three EHS graduates at its annual Distinguished Alumni Banquet.

In a written welcome, Justin Tate, president of the ERPSF, welcomed those attending the event at the Canadian Valley Technology Center.

Tate said the foundation was started in 1988 and over the years it has provided more than $250,000 in scholarships to El Reno High School graduates. It has also provided more than $550,000 in grant funding to educators.

With the current bond measure set to mature in 2026, the El Reno Public Schools Board of Education voted last week to hire an old friend to direct future needs for the district.

Superintendent Matt Goucher recommended an agreement with Chickasha-based CMS Willowbrook Inc. to become the construction manager for future projects.

The board approved by a 4-0 vote.

It’s called giving back.

On Thursday, Javier and Rosalia Pecina, along with family and friends, plan to hand out, for free, traditional Thanksgiving dinners to anyone and everyone who shows up asking for one. Or in some cases, two.

For the owners of Pecina’s Mexican Cafe, this will be the fourth year to provide Thanksgiving meals to the community. Located at 316 S. Choctaw, the restaurant is tucked inside a small building that regularly sees vehicles parked in front of it during the noon and dinner hours.

More than three years after opening the Canadian County Expo and Event Center, county officials are studying future management and operation of the old county fairgrounds.

The seven-acre property at 220 N. Country Club Road houses the Canadian County OSU Extension Office, Education Building, livestock barn, greenhouse and storage building.

Part of the site is rented for a truck driver training academy and booked regularly for private events.

Several Okarche veterans were honored by the Okarche Sisterhood of Quilters with a Quilt of Valor.

Veterans are pictured with their quilts wrapped around them as part of the Okarche Public Schools Veterans Day program held last week, hosted by the OHS National Honor Society.

Veterans were treated to breakfast and an honorary program tribute.

If you’ve been around El Reno long, you’ve almost certainly heard about El Reno High School's annual Gifts for the Yanks program. You probably already know the following:

► We have been doing this program continuously since 1945.

► Through the program, we raise money to purchase gifts which EHS students wrap and personally give to the veterans at the Oklahoma City VA Hospital.   

Pictured are the Okarche Sisterhood of Quilters, from left, Janet Renner, Robin Rother, Debbie Crossley, Jan Krittenbrink, Marian Rother, Cinda Schaefer, Jan Wittrock, Diana Helt of Kingfisher, Julie Foster, Theresa Liebl, Vicki Wittrock, Margaret Stangl, Juanita Krittenbrink and Dannette Wittrock.

Lamplighters OHCE of Canadian County met recently at Mount Zion Global Methodist Church. Carol Stine opened the meeting, while Donna Wehmuller led in the Pledge of Allegiance. Jan Maddox read the devotional titled “Sayings of Jesus.”

Maxine Little read minutes of the previous meeting, with Patricia Morrison giving the treasurer’s report.

Stine gave a report on the OHCE executive meeting she attended.

Subjects of the leader lessons for the coming year were passed out.

Little gave the leader lesson on the “History of Buttons.”

What exactly is luck? Why do some people appear to be luckier than others?

Is luck a question of chance, fate, or are there things you can do to improve your luck?

Actually, being lucky isn’t just a matter of luck at all.

Luck is a combination of attitude, mental orientation, preparation and opportunity. Typically, lucky people have an approach of possibility, whereas unlucky people have a mindset of impossibility.