January 2025

Emmary Elizondo’s game-tying 3-point attempt hit off the front of the rim with 3.5 seconds left as El Reno High School’s girls basketball team dropped its first home contest of the season to longtime nemesis Carl Albert 52-48.

The setback was the second in the last three games for El Reno, which slipped to 14-2 on the season.

Carl Albert takes over the top spot in the District 5A-2 standings with an 8-0 mark, while El Reno slides back into second place at 7-1. However, the Indians still hold an edge in tiebreaker points 101-100.

Competing with what head coach Anthony McDonald called “the most heart than anytime all year,” El Reno High School’s wrestling team defeated Carl Albert to win the Class 5A District 3 Championship.

The 38-33 decision over the eighth-ranked Titans moved the 13th-ranked Indians to 6-3 on the season. It also secured El Reno’s first trip back to the Class 5A Dual State Championships since 2021 and just the third since 2007.

Union City High School’s boys basketball team rode a pair of fourth-period comebacks to secure third place in the 2025 Paden Pirates Classic.

The Tigers have won three of their last four games to improve to 6-12 on the season. Union City defeated Oilton (51-49) in the first round of the classic after trailing by 12 points in the fourth period.

Following a loss to Class A’s 19th-ranked Dewar (53-31) in the semifinals, Union City rallied in the fourth to defeat the host team 60-58 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Aiden Williams.

Fueled by three games of double-digit scoring from Katie Parham, Okarche High School’s girls basketball team, ranked 20th in Class A, has quietly strung together a four-game win streak.

The Warriors defeated Cushing JV (57-16), Crescent (43-41) and Southwest Covenant (49-27) to win the title at the 2025 Coyle Invitational. Okarche added a non-tourney win over Crescent (58-32) to move to 14-7 on the year.

Parham closed the four-game set with a team-high 58 points, followed by 28 points from Callie Cramer and 23 by Scout Payne.

Connors State, the defending NJCAA Region 2 champion, outscored Redlands Community College women’s basketball team 21-12 in the fourth period to rally for a 69-64 victory.

The Cougars trailed 33-32 at the half but went on a 20-15 run in the third period to secure a 52-48 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

The 12 points in the fourth period was the lowest frame of the game.

With the loss, the fourth in a row for Redlands including a road setback to Murray State (75-71), the Cougars drop to 9-8 overall. Redlands is 2-4 in the Region 2 standings - tied for sixth.

Missed shots and turnovers in the final 10 minutes cost Redlands Community College men’s basketball team a shot at beating reigning NJCAA Region 2 champion Connors State.

The Cowboys erased a deficit behind five RCC turnovers leading to 12 points and a 56-all tie with four minutes to play. Connors State outscored the Cougars 14-10 the remainder of the game for a 70-66 victory.

Don Schnider, 75, of El Reno, passed away Jan. 26, 2025, at home, surrounded by his loved ones. Born Sept. 3, 1949, in Little Rock, Ark., Don was the son of the late Henry and Lula Schnider.

He proudly served in the United States Navy and was a Vietnam veteran, an experience that shaped his deep sense of patriotism and commitment to this country.

A routine traffic stop on I-40 conducted by Canadian County sheriff's deputies led to the seizure of 36 kilograms of fentanyl. The incident occurred on Jan. 26. 

Sheriff Chris West said at approximately 6 p.m., a deputy observed a semi-truck failing to maintain a single lane while traveling eastbound on I-40 near Mile Marker 121. A traffic stop was initiated, and upon approaching the vehicle, the deputy noted a suspicious load - a Ford F150 truck on the top row of the car hauler, surrounded by high-end luxury cars.

Pro basketball is coming to El Reno. Without the games. 

Two teams competing in The Basketball League (TBL) will be calling El Reno home, but neither will be playing games locally.

Jonathan Reed, owner and director of On-Point Hoops Academy, has moved the Wichita SkyKings from Kansas to Oklahoma and will run the day-to-day operations for the TBL team from the academy.

Cardinal Point, Canadian County’s family resource center, is moving operations into a new home in Yukon after four years in El Reno.

Redhawk Construction has managed a renovation project at the former Canadian County Health Department office, 1023 E. Vandament.

Providing hope will continue as the family justice center and its resource partners serve crime victims inside the 10,500-square-foot building – which was built in the early 1990s for the health department.