News

Canadian Valley Technology Center’s $75 million bond issue was narrowly defeated in Tuesday’s special election.

CV Tech sought voter support to fund construction of a stand-alone public safety training center and other upgrades at Canadian Valley’s El Reno campus along with modernization and safety improvements at its Chickasha campus.

Some 102 precincts were open Sept. 12 in polling places across eight counties for CV Tech’s bond election, with votes cast in six of those counties.

Vicki Proctor spent 23 years serving for free on the El Reno Municipal Planning Commission.

On Tuesday, Mayor Steve Jensen read a proclamation thanking Proctor for her service, but also pointed out she’s been involved in efforts to improve El Reno for much longer.

Proctor stepped down from the role as chairman of the MPC. The body serves as a filter for the city council, listening to rezoning and code change requests before sending a recommendation to the elected council.

The El Reno Arts Council is gearing up for a busy and colorful couple of months.

From now through November, the council’s second annual town-wide Scarecrow Awards will be under way.

El Reno businesses and residents are encouraged to create their own unique scarecrow to put on display for the community to see. Arts Council information said the goal is to “see styled-up scarecrows on every corner and porch.”

The Arts Council will be selling “simple scarecrow frames” for $10 for those who need a little help getting started.

A few weeks ago, former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer called the Tribune office wanting the phone number for El Reno’s Joe Garcia.

Switzer and Garcia have known one another since the 1970-80s. Garcia used to patrol the Sooner sidelines, snapping photos for the Tribune as well as providing photos to OU players and coaches.

Switzer wanted to invite Garcia to a 50th anniversary celebration of his OU coaching career that was being held at a restaurant in Norman.

Friends and family filled the Calumet High School gymnasium last week to say goodbye to Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Lt. Gov. Gilbert “Gib” LaMott Miles.

Miles, 69, died Sept. 4 at his home in Geary.

Miles was first elected as the lieutenant governor for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in 2017, along with Gov. Reggie Wassana.

The pair began their first term January 2018.

Wassana and Miles would make tribal history by being re-elected to serve a consecutive second term, which had never happened since the inception of the 2006 Constitution.

WASHINGTON – Members of the Oklahoma delegation returned to Capitol Hill Tuesday to cast their first votes since the August break ended. But as the members filed into the House chamber, one key Oklahoma voice was missing.

Rather than walking the halls of the Capitol, Congressman Frank Lucas was at his ranch near Cheyenne, 150 miles west of Oklahoma City, recovering from a recent surgery. 

Rose Witcher first-grade teacher Anita Hawkins was recently selected as a Bushels for Books winner.

The annual application process results in a number of recipients statewide. The winners each receive a basket of agriculturally accurate books to be used in their classroom.

Books included in the basket are selected from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s book database.

The program is sponsored by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee.