August 2024

Emmy train

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Art Peters has spent 18 years tracking down the history in and around Hinton. That effort helped earn the 1976 El Reno High School graduate a Heartland Regional Emmy for his role in an OETA documentary.

Peters is the curator at the Hinton Historical Museum. He’s been in that position for 21 years.

Art Peters holds up his Heartland Regional Emmy Award

Questions arise from regulators decision to take campaign funds

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Not all of Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett’s friends really understand his role in state government.

Hiett said they assume he is a county commissioner, putting down gravel and building county roads.

However, Hiett sits on a three-person board that regulates a range of industries including transportation, oil and gas, towing and public utilities.  

First day at Sacred Heart

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More than 100 students started class last week at Sacred Heart Catholic School.

The school offers education from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.

Emily O’Hara’s kindergarten class listens as she talks about school procedures

Teresa Whinery

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Teresa Ann Whinery died Aug. 6, 2024, at her home in El Reno. She was born in Dutton on Aug. 2, 1930, to James and Alice (Burns) Downey. 

Teresa Downey and Frank Whinery were part of the 1949 graduating class (consisting of five girls and five boys) of Sacred Heart Academy. They married in 1951 at Sacred Heart Church.

Teresa Whinery_obituary

Public Records - 8/14/2024

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LAWSUITS

Discover Bank vs. Shauntrel Thomas for $1,744.57 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Discover Bank vs. Alice Emory for $2,325.94 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Citibank N.A. vs. Wendy Haggard for $7,051.55 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Citibank N.A. vs. Tamara Drake for $2,167.48 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Citibank N.A. vs. Kyle Hatch for $3,929.72 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

El Reno spikers hope to blend youth, upperclassmen into wins

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With only five upperclassmen on its roster, El Reno High School’s volleyball team was set to open the 2024 season with the proverbial “young squad” tag.

Just so happens, that tag may also be one of the team’s assets according to head coach Kristin Koehler.

“All of our girls played on varsity last year and we have only two that didn’t get too much playing time. We’re going to rely a lot on sophomores this season but they do have a lot of experience from last season,” said Koehler.

Mary Gonzalez makes a pass during a recent intrasquad scrimmage

Football fever returns

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El Reno High School joined hundreds of other schools across the state of Oklahoma by opening preseason football workouts Monday morning at Memorial Stadium.

Head coach Russell Cook said 56 players in grades 10 through 12 checked out equipment.

El Reno will have four days of heat acclimation drills before putting on pads for the first time Friday.

Lathen Pruitt hurdles a trash can used as a simulated defender

Diana Snyder

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Diana Mae Snyder, age 81, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. She was born Oct. 25, 1942, in Oklahoma City. She grew up in El Reno, where she was a 1960 graduate of El Reno High School. On July 26, 1960, Diana Mae eloped with Charles Andrew Snyder in Poteau. They lived in El Reno and Fort Reno before settling down in Calumet. Together they ran several businesses including the Quik Stop, Snyder’s EZ Stop, Snyder’s Oil & Gas, Johnnie's Grill and Diana Snyder’s Tax Service, all while running the farm. 

Diana Snyder_obituary

Garden spotlight

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BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center at Fort Reno recently hosted a video crew from “Oklahoma Gardening.”

A class in the BlueSTEM garden at historic Fort Reno