News

With the release of the new Twisters movie, downtown business owners are hopeful it will attract new customers after closing their shops to allow film crews to use their spaces.

Scenes filmed in the downtown area in the summer of 2023 forced the closure of several businesses. And while they were reimbursed for their lost business, there are still some mixed emotions.

On the bright side, businesses are hopeful the newfound exposure created by the movie will draw more people to the downtown area. 

For years, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes have worked to have property south of I-40 and just east of Country Club Road made part of Tribal Trust Land. 

That work paid off as the just more than 93 acres have been officially designated C&A Trust property.  The U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) placed the land, known as the Denny property, into trust for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes during a ceremony last week.

How do you wear out a compact disc of the 1996 blockbuster movie Twister? It’s a one-word answer for Jessica and Tim Stegner.

“Research,” said Jessica.

The Guthrie couple are owners of one of two remaining trucks used in the original movie.

“I don’t know how many times for sure we watched the movie but we wore out the first DVD. I tried to play it a few months ago and it would not work,” said Tim.

The 1984 Jeep J10 Honcho was in El Reno for the special screening of Twisters, the long-awaited sequel to the original action flick.

From the Universal Studios website:

The epic studio disaster movie returns with an adrenaline-pumping, big-screen thrill ride that puts you in direct contact with one of nature’s most wondrous - and destructive - forces.

From the producers of the Jurassic, Bourne and Indiana Jones series comes Twisters, a current-day chapter of the 1996 blockbuster, Twister.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, has been named Senate Pro Tem designee after the Senate Republican Caucus voted on his nomination this week. Much of El Reno is included in Paxton’s Senate district. 

LAWSUITS

Discover Bank vs. Michael Jarrett for $14,590.13 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

American Express National Bank vs. Eric Foster for $16,706.40 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Discover Bank vs. Anthony Nelson for $19,281.99 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

The old Ponderosa Motel will be coming down, but not until asbestos is removed from the dilapidated eyesore condemned by the city.

City Manager Matt Sandidge said the property at 2408 Sunset Drive was found to have a considerable amount of asbestos.

This led to the city bringing in a professional asbestos removal company. That firm designed a plan for the city which was acceptable to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma Department of Labor. 

Caylee Massey, 9, along with her pet lizard, Speedy Stewart, were offering fresh lemonade last week.

A sale was interrupted when Speedy fell off Caylee’s arm, but after a quick search in the grass, Caylee’s business partner was returned to his station.
 

In a journey which took over two hours to complete, Canadian Valley Technology Center was the final destination on the flight log for a T-1A Jayhawk aircraft.

Donated from the United States Air Force, the Jayhawk is a twin-engine medium-range trainer used in the advanced phase of specialized undergraduate pilot training for students selected to fly airlift or tanker aircraft, according to the USAF website.

The swept-wing aircraft is the military version of the Beechcraft 400A and has structural enhancements for increased bird strike resistance and added fuselage fuel tank.

El Reno police officers patrolling the area of Country Club and Shuttee were flagged down by a person who said a man had just stolen a work truck with a trailer attached.

This happened on July 11 at about 5:40 p.m., Assistant Police Chief Kirk Dickerson said. 

Officers began to search the area and soon located the vehicle near Foreman Road and North Keith Avenue.