March 2025

The new owners of the building that housed El Reno’s VFW Post 382 said there are no definite plans for the structure, but the historic airplane that greets motorists on Route 66 will remain in place. 

Tina Base and her husband, Darren, recently purchased the property.

Nancy Salsman, longtime VFW supporter and former president of the organization’s Auxiliary, said the sale was necessary after the Internal Revenue Service threatened to seize the property. 

Jake Vulgamore has spent the majority of his teenage years showing various animals across the state of Oklahoma in the intense world of junior livestock shows.

In fact, he can’t recall a time when he was not in a show ring without a sheep or a swine breed. Nor could he picture not having that opportunity.

“I can't imagine that,” said Vulgamore.

A principal and coach at a Yukon Christian school has been fired after his arrest last week for allegedly possessing child pornography.

Canadian County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators at about 6:30 a.m. March 25 executed a search warrant at the Yukon home of Kevin Cobbs, age 55, as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations involving child sexual abuse material.

Upon entry into the residence, authorities gathered all occupants for questioning.

Cobbs, the suspect of the investigation, was briefed on the search warrant and a copy was provided to him.

Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have voted to phase out the state’s personal income tax by a margin of more than three to one.

The proposal advanced in Oklahoma as policymakers in Mississippi were celebrating the adoption of a similar plan in that state.

With El Reno being the last team standing at the end of the Class 5A State Championships left a lasting impression on the voting panels for two postseason awards lists.

Seniors Lilly Thomas and Emmary Elizondo, following tryouts, were named to the 2025 Oklahoma Girls Basketball Coaches Association’s All-State West Team.

The OGCBA Large School Game will be played May 31 in Mustang.

Thomas was the team’s second leading scorer with 360 points and averaged 12.4 points per game. She added a team-high 177 rebounds along with 89 assists, 47 blocked shots and 36 steals.

Rebounding from an overtime loss in the quarterfinals, El Reno High School’s boys soccer team posted back-to-back shutouts to capture the consolation title at the 2025 COPA El Reno Invitational.

The Indians moved to 3-3 on the season with a 2-0 win over Chickasha in the consolation championship, closing the three-match COPA event with a 2-1 record.

Lawton netted its first four penalty kicks in overtime to edge past El Reno High School’s girls soccer team 3-2 in the third-place match at the 2025 COPA El Reno Invitational.

El Reno slipped to 2-4 on the season with a 1-2 mark in the event, losing to Yukon’s freshman team (2-1) in the semifinals and defeating Crooked Oak (4-0) in the quarterfinals.

Services for Leland Bradley Mitchell of Union City were held Monday, March 31 at Hazel Dell Baptist Church, with burial following at Hazel Dell Cemetery. Services were under the direction of Huber-Reynolds Funeral Home, Minco.

Leland died March 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. He was born Jan. 28, 1948, in Pocasset. He was raised in the Pocasset community, attending Chickasha Public Schools. From the age of 18, Leland worked as a sheet metalist at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, retiring after over 40 years.

El Reno High School’s baseball team faced a stacked deck in the 2025 Chickasha Festival, splitting the three-game set with a 12-6 win over rival Shawnee.

The six-run win over the Wolves was wrapped by a 17-1 loss to defending Class 4A state champ Marlow and a close 11-10 setback to state-ranked Newcastle.

El Reno emerged from the event with an 8-2-2 season record.

El Reno High School’s tennis teams kicked off the 2025 season with a dual split against Harding Charter Prep at the Legion Park courts.

The boys squad was swept 5-0 by Harding as Jim Rinehart fell 6-0/6-0 to Andres Markey at No.1 singles.

Devlon Gaylon dropped his No.2 singles match to Brody Kirkpatrick 6-4/6-2.

El Reno’s Jacob Richey and Jonathan Albrecht fell in their doubles match 6-0/6-2 before Richey teamed with Jameson Tripp in a straight sets loss to Markey and Kirkpatrick.

Aydan Steffler and Nova Underwood lost 6-0/6-1 to Harding’s Ramos and Espinoza.