February 2024

Burllynn Conner Jr., 82, of Yukon, passed away Jan. 21, 2024.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Cremation was under the care of Wilson Funeral Home. 

Any notions of a letdown after upsetting the district leader two days earlier were quickly laid to rest as El Reno High School’s boys basketball team posted a 68-30 wire-to-wire victory over Elgin.

The win gave El Reno the regular-season sweep of the Owls and moved Rodney Haydon’s squad to 15-5 on the season.

The Indians gained some ground on the top three teams in the District 5A-1 standings as the 38-point blowout moved EHS to 7-4, but still remaining in fourth place.

El Reno High School assistant wrestling coaches (from left) Nick Brooks, Austin Mogg and Jaxen Gilmore react differently while yelling out instructions during a match at the recent Class 5A District 3 Championships.

EHS head coach Anthony McDonald (arms over head) waits out the final outcome as wrestler Matthew Snyder shouts encouragement.

Due to the loss to Carl Albert, El Reno will not be in this weekend’s dual state championships for a second straight season and will not wrestle again until the 5A West Regional Championships in Duncan Feb. 16-17.

Redlands Community College women’s basketball team jumped back into the win column last week with a 79-60 home victory over Northern Oklahoma College of Tonkawa.

The win moved the Cougars into a tie with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Connors State College for first in the NJCAA Region 2 standings at 5-2.

The three teams are a game in front of fourth-place NOC Enid.

Despite a feverish second-half rally, Redlands Community College men’s basketball team was handed its third straight league loss following an 87-86 loss to Northern Oklahoma College of Tonkawa.

The loss dropped the Cougars to 10-11 on the season and 2-5 in the NJCAA Region 2 standings. Redlands slipped to seventh in the league.

The Cougars trailed 48-35 at the break but outscored the Mavericks 51-39 over the final 20 minutes to erase the double-digit deficit.

Paula Jan (Lingle) Smith was born Feb. 13, 1937, in Hydro to Ray and Hazel (Stepp) Lingle. Jan passed from this earth on Jan. 31, 2024, after a short illness.

Jan married Lloyd Charles Smith on Nov. 3, 1962, in New Mexico. She worked as a hairdresser for many years. She also enjoyed quilting and going to garage sales. 

Jan was predeceased by her husband of 43 years, Lloyd Charles Smith; her parents, Ray and Hazel Lingle; grandson, Chase Scott Smith; as well as two brothers and one sister.

Rose Witcher Learning Center will be closed for several days, possibly more, after a water line break led to the discovery of a natural gas leak.

El Reno Superintendent Matt Goucher described the situation as a “blessing in disguise.”

The school is home to El Reno first and second grades.

“We had a scenario at Rose Witcher where we had a pipe (water) burst. We got the call from the night custodian and it had caused a flooded hallway.

During his collegiate playing days, Prince Ezeala was like any other basketball player during an Olympic year, dreaming of representing either the United States or any country on the world’s biggest stage.

“I always wished I could have done that as a player,” said Ezeala.

While those dreams fell to the wayside after graduating from Southwestern Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in education, his future career as an educator and a coach has ended up rekindling those thoughts.

The Indigenous Student Association at Southwestern Oklahoma State University has rescheduled the date for hosting the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Tradition Not Addiction program.

Christian Wassana, actor and director’s assistant in Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone,” and founder of the motivational movement, “I Am, I Can, I Will,” will remain the guest speaker for this event.

The event, scheduled earlier, was delayed by weather. It will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 5 in the East Ballroom of the Memorial Student Center on the Weatherford campus of SWOSU.

For nearly 39 years, it has been illegal for retail establishments to sell alcohol before 2 p.m. on Sundays in Canadian County.

Registered voters on Tuesday, March 5 will have the opportunity to change that if they desire.

County commissioners voted 3-0 to place a proposition on the March 5 countywide ballot that would eliminate the county’s Sunday alcohol sales restriction. That is the same day as the Presidential Primary Election in Oklahoma.

The ballot measure will read: