August 2024

The 2024 El Reno Wranglers Open Rodeo was held over the weekend at the Denny-Crump Arena.

El Reno Public Schools teacher/historian Brian Rukes presented last week’s El Reno Now audience with plans for the upcoming Gold Star Plaza unveiling.

The memorial is set to be unveiled Sept. 27 at Memorial Stadium. It will be accompanied by a C-47 flyover and music performed by Paul Staggs, Rukes said. 

The 2024 Oklahoma Indian Nation Powwow Princesses were introduced last week during a reception at Great Plains Bank.

The Cheyenne and Arapaho hosted the colorful and long-running powwow last weekend, attracting throngs of visitors from throughout the region.

Graveside service for El Reno resident Patricia Ann Halbert will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8 at the El Reno Cemetery with Rev. Mike Moss officiating. Visitation for family and friends will be on Wednesday, Aug. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Huber-Benson Funeral Home.

Patricia died Aug. 2, 2024, at her stepdaughter’s home in Edmond. She was born June 2, 1954, in El Reno. She was a homemaker and a Christian.

On Oct. 25, 1994, she and Roy Lee Halbert were married in Oklahoma City. Roy survives her. 

WASHINGTON – Osage and Kickapoo citizen Joey Allen still recalls the stories of abuse from the days when he attended the Seneca Indian School in Wyandotte, Okla.

“I talked to a girl one time, she was crying and I asked her what’s the problem. She said, ‘I was abused by one of the teachers,’” said Allen, who attended the Seneca school from 1966-1969.  

One of the nation’s largest operators of new, single-family build-to-rent homes will make its Oklahoma debut when SimplyHome hosts its grand opening at El Reno’s Crimson Lake Estates.

The event is set for Saturday, Aug. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Located in El Reno at 1508 Crimson Lake Boulevard, Crimson Lake Estates also is SimplyHome’s first community in Oklahoma. 

Grand opening festivities include face painters and a balloon artist, yard games, bounce house, DJ sounds and food truck cuisine available for purchase. 

Annie Mae OldBear died July 30, 2024, at Pam Health Specialty Hospital in Oklahoma City. She was born Dec. 11, 1971, in Crow Agency, Mont.

She attended the Jones Academy Boarding School in Hartshorne. During her teenage years and 20s, she lived in Wichita, Kan., before moving to Oklahoma City.

She obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. Annie worked in various fields including accounting and volunteered at Feed the Children. She was legally blind.

For the second time in four months, players with Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes affiliations have tasted gold on the basketball court in a high-profile championship.

El Reno’s Carter Roman Nose, Alex Elizondo and brothers, William and Xavier Elledge were part of the boys team for the C&A Tribes R.E.Sp.E.C.T. program, winners of the 2024 Native American Basketball Invitational.

Services for Glynna B. Jackson were held Tuesday, Aug. 6 at Huber-Benson Funeral Home with Rev. Sam Horse officiating. Burial followed at the Concho Cemetery. 

Glynna died July 30, 2024, at The Grand in Bethany. She was born Oct. 15, 1942, in Union City. Before retiring, she worked as a drug/alcohol counselor for the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes.

Glynna is survived by her sons, Bobby Jackson and Everett Jackson; daughters, Anice Seuffert, Kelley Hamby, Mischelle James and Barbara Myers; and 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.