May 2026

The annual National Land and Range Judging Contest wrapped up last week after teens from 37 states converged on Fort Reno for the finals competition.

Organizers said the students were members of FFA and 4-H groups from throughout the country.

Lake El Reno provided the practice area for Tuesday and Wednesday. The contest then moved to Fort Reno on Thursday morning.

An awards banquet was held at the Canadian County Expo Center that evening.

Students arriving early worked through practice sites around Lake El Reno. (Courtesy photo/Ed Zweaicher)

OKLAHOMA CITY – A plan to ask voters to give lawmakers access to restricted funds earmarked to improve health appears to be dead.

President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said the Senate does not support House Joint Resolution 1077, which would have allowed lawmakers to spend $1 billion of public funds that voters locked in the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund.

Stephanie Camp is in the midst of a career re-set, attempting to rekindle the artful passion she never left fully behind.

Camp, 35, of El Reno, first pursued college after graduating high school in 2009. A health setback and academic burnout interrupted her path before she could complete a degree.

Over the next few years, she stayed connected to art and design and worked intermittently in the field without formal training.

College is not only a time to advance your education but to develop valuable leadership skills and grow your network. Through the President’s Leadership Academy (PSLA), Redlands Community College provides students with an opportunity to foster leadership skills and prepare for future leadership or management roles in their chosen fields. Applications are now open to join the 2026-2027 PSLA cohort.

The Beecham Cemetery Association will hold its annual meeting and potluck on Saturday, May 16 at St. Luke’s Methodist Church, 900 N. Sooner Road, Edmond. The meeting and annual auction is open to the public. 

The association is celebrating 135 years of stewardship. Historical archives will be made available for viewing, and copies of the book “Blistered Heels” will be available for purchase.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tensions between legislative leaders spilled out into the open last week, culminating in a House leader warning lawmakers could end up in a special session.

A Friday afternoon email from Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, to House members indicated anger with Senate leadership has been growing for weeks. Frustrations from the House became public once the Senate spent two days this week, including a crucial deadline day, adjourned rather than voting, which killed multiple House bills.

“We won't be signing off until the world ends,” Ted Turner said in 1980, just before the launch of his latest media venture.

“We’ll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event.”

Turner died on May 6 at 87. The world hasn’t ended yet, nor has his project, Cable News Network, but the latter changed the former in a big way.

LAWSUITS

Capital One N.A. vs. Enrique Hernandez for $1,523.43 to pay a debt plus interest and costs.

Mariner Finance LLC vs. Paige Keller for $3,306.59 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Capital One N.A. vs. Hannah Reffner for $1,177.48 to pay a debt plus interest and costs.

Velocity Investments LLC vs. Dawn Norquist for $3,414.49 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Velocity Investments LLC vs. Scott Mullins for $1,715.12 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

SHAWNEE – After missing the last two baseball championship games due to rehab stints from labrum injuries, Calumet High School junior Brendon Voss had been waiting on the right pitch to feel like he was back in top-notch form.

That pitch finally came, in all places, the finals.

Voss hit a three-run homer to left field in the top of the third inning to break a scoreless deadlock and spark No.1 Calumet to a 7-3 win over No.2 Fort Cobb-Broxton in the title game of the Class B Oklahoma State High School Baseball Championships.

MIDWEST CITY – After putting up a six-run second inning to take the lead by two, the runs dried up for El Reno High School’s baseball team in a 12-7 elimination loss to Bishop McGuinness in the Class 5A West Region 1 Championship.

The Irish, who defeated El Reno 13-4 in the first round of region play, scored the last seven runs to end El Reno’s season with a 14-21 record. The Indians split the losses to Bishop McGuinness with a 15-0 run-rule victory over Classen SAS, which eliminated the Comets.