April 2020

By the lines that formed last week at the Canadian County Health Department’s pod testing site, residents are still highly concerned about contracting the COVID-19 virus.

During the four hours of testing at Yukon Middle School, health-care workers swabbed 159 people for the virus, an average of just under 40 tests per hour.

“We are still doing testing at both health departments in El Reno and Yukon by appointments but there are just so many of those that can be scheduled each day.

The El Reno Community Chorus has canceled its 2020 spring program.

It was not a decision made lightly, said director Nancy Sharp.

“In the third week of March, with the information about the coronavirus outbreak we had at the time, and in the interest of safety for our members and our audience, it seemed that suspending the rest of our rehearsals and canceling the spring program was the most logical and best decision we could make,” Sharp said by email.

When man denies the existence of God, or even believes himself an agnostic, he, in effect, replaces God with himself as the highest entity of intelligence. This impacts his political thinking in virtually every way.   

If God does not exist, then he cannot be counted on to manage the planet, thus puny man must. Without faith that God oversees everything for the benefit of man, the following could not be understood: the rotation of the planets, sunsets and sunrises, the consistency of gravity, wind speeds and temperature variances — even oxygen levels.

Private graveside services for Charles Michael Sykes, 77, of Chickasha will be held in the El Reno Cemetery.

Charles Michael Sykes, known as Mike, was born Jan. 19, 1943, in Oklahoma City to William Boyd Sykes and Olar A. (Rallans) Sykes. He passed away Monday, April 20, 2020, in Chickasha.

Mike grew up in El Reno and graduated from Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in 1961. He joined the United States Army in December of 1962 and was an 82nd Airborne Division combat veteran in the Dominican Republic in 1965, and finished his military service in 1965.

Private graveside services for Jerry Lou Phelps of Minco will be held in the Evergreen Cemetery under the direction of Huber-Reynolds Funeral Home.

Jerry passed away April 18, 2020, at her home in Minco. She was born March 8, 1945, in Lawton and was raised in Oklahoma City.

Her family moved to Minco in 1961, and she graduated from Minco High School in 1963. Jerry was a homemaker and later was employed with Minco schools as a cook for 12 years. She then went to work at Mariemont Industries in Chickasha, where she retired. She attended First Baptist Church.

Private graveside services for Thomas Dwain Russell of Minco will be held in the Friendship Cemetery under the direction of Huber-Reynolds Funeral Home.

Mr. Russell passed away April 18, 2020, at his home in Minco. He was born Oct. 9, 1945, in Pocasset.

Tom was raised in the Waynoka area, attending Waynoka schools. The family moved back to Minco in 1966. Tom served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam.

He was employed as a diesel mechanic for Roadway Trucking, retiring in 2009. He was a member of Canaan Baptist Church.

A private graveside service for Malaina Sue Tallbear will be held Thursday in the El Reno Cemetery with Rev. Jim White officiating.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Benson Memorial Chapel.

Services are under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.

Malaina died April 17, 2020, at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. She was born July 28, 1977, in Oklahoma City. She lived most of her life in El Reno and was employed by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.

Laboring hours over a sewing machine in a small room tucked away in the belly of the Centre Theatre is nothing new to Kristin Richardson.

It’s what you do when you are a member of the costume department for the El Reno Community Theatre.

However, instead of stitching fabric for ERTC’s upcoming production of Beauty and the Beast, Richardson is sewing and cutting through piles of fabric for the health of the city.

While Gov. Kevin Stitt said the state is starting to flatten the curve in the fight against COVID-19, rural county health departments are gearing up for a possible spike in the number of cases.

Maggie Jackson, District 2 Community Engagement director, said rural counties are farther behind in the testing cycle compared to Oklahoma City and Tulsa. District 2 consists of Canadian, Logan, Kingfisher, Blaine, Major, Garfield, Alfalfa and Grant counties.