News

As 2022 continued to roll on, some new leaders were elected and top honors were presented to some top students. El Reno would continue to celebrate with annual festivals and events dedicated to fried onion hamburgers, classic cars and fast boats. This is the second part of our Looking Back series on the year that was.

May 2022

Canadian County commissioners were expected to decide on how to distribute the county’s $28.8 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation during an open meeting, Commissioner David Anderson said.

Two years after an outpatient health clinic for military veterans opened in Canadian County, plans for a much larger facility have been announced.

Because of steady growth and more veterans becoming eligible for benefits, the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System will open a VA “mega-clinic” featuring dental services in Yukon.

“We have a smaller clinic in Yukon right now,” Director Wade Vlosich said.

Two years ago, Donna Dyer said she received a phone call from then Mayor Matt White.

“He said, ‘Donna, there are COVID relief funds available soon, collect information for a grant application telling how COVID has affected Blessing Baskets,’” Dyer said, recalling the conversation.

Dyer said she and Blessing Baskets treasurer Debbie Denwalt met with White and City Manager Matt Sandidge.

The meeting resulted in a “great blessing” for the El Reno charitable organization.

The year 2022 arrived, just as many expected. Some of the stories that were reported during the first few months of the new year might be considered routine. Meetings, announcements, etc.

But there were other matters and happenings that took us by surprise. Here’s the first part of our series “Looking Back.”

January

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Lonnie Paxton will continue to serve in his leadership position as Assistant Majority Floor Leader for the 59th Legislature, along with some new committee assignments.

Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat appointed the Tuttle Republican to serve as chair of the Energy and Telecommunications Committee and vice chair of the Rules Committee.

High school students are performing authentic research under the mentorship of scientists and historians in a Canadian County agricultural setting close to home.

The BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center, 3232 N. Jesse Reno Street, is housed at Historic Fort Reno. The program is a collaborative effort between U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grazinglands Research Laboratory and Historic Fort Reno.