March 2026

Celeste Leonard Rule Nelson came home last week. 

The 1947 graduate of Sacred Heart High School, who now lives in Oklahoma City, came with family. They made a beeline to Johnnie’s Grill. It was there they met up with Brian Rukes and talked old times. 

Rukes is an El Reno High School teacher and District Historian who could talk El Reno history all day.

And while Rukes can talk history, it was the 95-year-old Celeste, seated across the booth from him, who actually lived much of it. 

Canadian County lawmen have been involved in a couple of major drug incidents recently. One resulted in charges being filed, while another apparently allowed a pair of suspected smugglers to slip through the cracks.

On Feb. 22, a traffic stop by a sheriff’s deputy resulted in the seizure of 80 pounds of illegal marijuana as well as a 9mm handgun.

Families are invited to meet Arthur and receive a free book during a special visit from the Wesley Bookmobile on Saturday, March 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the El Reno Filling Station, 120 S. Choctaw Avenue.

Arthur will be on-site to greet young readers and take photos as the Wesley Bookmobile distributes free books to children while supplies last. The event aims to encourage literacy and foster a love of reading among local families.

The event is free and open to the public. Families are encouraged to stop by, meet Arthur and take home a new book.

Redlands Community College will host a weeklong esports camp this summer to offer young gamers an opportunity to develop their Marvel Rivals skills while building friendships in a supportive environment.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt would have 30 days to appoint a new U.S. senator should Markwayne Mullin resign to accept a Cabinet position in the Trump administration.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Suzanne Schreiber, D-Tulsa, passed HB 4200 out of the Committee on Health and Human Services Oversight.

United States Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not envision a career as a judge. Rather, the former law professor and mother of seven children was “really more thinking about how to balance a career as a lawyer and being kind of a two-career family and having young children in the house as well,” she said Sunday afternoon during an event in Santa Fe, N.M.

Nonetheless, a judge she became, serving on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and then joining the Supreme Court in 2020 after being nominated by President Donald Trump.

EDMOND – The third time against archrival Carl Albert was almost the charm as El Reno High School’s girls basketball team had its season halted a win shy of a 16th trip to the Class 5A State Championships.

Playing the Titans for a third time this season, El Reno dropped a 62-45 decision in the 5A West Area 2 Consolation Championship. The 17-point decision was the closest of the three meetings, the first two won by Carl Albert by a combined 54 points.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Eight days after setting a new school mark with a fourth straight trip to state, Jacob Mayfield’s program again etched its name among the Chieftains elite.

Calumet, ranked second in the state but holding the top seed, defeated No.4 Rattan 59-47 to win the 2026 Class B1 Boys Oklahoma Basketball Championship.

It’s the second straight title for Mayfield’s program, tying a school record set 21 years ago, after two runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024.

OKLAHOMA CITY - When Okarche dropped three out of class games in December’s Tournament of Champions, many thought a weakness had been exposed that other Class A teams might exploit.

The Warriors saw it as a way to grow tougher through adversity.

“We took our chances at the TOC with 5A and 6A teams and it made us better. We got back and we figured out things we needed to work on.