News

OKLAHOMA CITY – OG&E’s team of 95 linemen and support staff returned home safely after a two-week deployment in Florida to assist with power restoration efforts.

Crews arrived back to their Oklahoma and Arkansas homes late Sunday after making significant strides in restoring electricity for tens of thousands of customers in Melbourne and Punta Gorda, Fla.

The crews deployed in late September at the request of Tampa Electric and Florida Power & Light before Hurricane Ian made landfall and left hundreds of thousands of customers without power.

LAWSUITS

Integris Rural Health Inc. vs. Jerri Lynn Montanez for $23,640.55 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

American Express National Bank vs. Kevin Leinwar for $10,611.82 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Discover Bank vs. Steven W. House for $12,708.52 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Downtown El Reno will be the spooky place to be the last week of October as the annual Spooktacular returns. The colorful Main Street event will be preceded by a new Haunted Trolley Rides event courtesy of the El Reno Arts Council.

The Haunted Trolley Rides will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25. Ticket holders will board the Heritage Express Trolley at 317 S. Grand.

The ride downtown will include a spooky tour through the area and features the El Reno Haunted Barn where a cast of goblins and surprises awaits.

A state grant has funded 20 new portable radios for Canadian County sheriff’s deputies.

The Canadian County Sheriff’s Office recently was awarded a 2023 Safe Oklahoma Grant totaling $62,355.

The grant program has distributed $2 million among 58 law enforcement agencies across Oklahoma.

Canadian County’s $62,355 grant award – the third largest in Oklahoma this year – was used to purchase 20 new 800-megahertz (MHz) radios.

A proposed upgrade at the Canadian County Assessor’s Office will provide property owners with better online access to detailed information about property values and other data.

The assessor’s office plans to convert to a new Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system.

Estimated cost is $250,000 to $300,000 to cover the conversion and ongoing maintenance.

As farmers and ranchers across Oklahoma are dealing with the financial repercussions of the 2022 drought, Oklahoma State University Extension is stepping in to help ease some of the financial strain.

From Oct. 5 through Dec. 31, the Soil, Water and Forage Analytical Laboratory at OSU is offering reduced costs for nitrate toxicity, forage and feed testing and livestock water testing.

LAWSUITS

Wells Fargo Bank N.A. vs. Randy Aaron and Stacy Carol Aaron for $53,778.46 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees and foreclosure of mortgage on Lot 18, Block 30, Mustang Heights Addition Section 5.

True Sky Credit Union vs. Paul Raymond Bradford for $74,450.67 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees and foreclosure of mortgage on Lot 12, Block 19, Mustang Heights Addition Section 3.

After five decades of coaching, El Reno High School’s Bill Reeves is used to giving speeches to literally thousands of players before a big event.

“I can talk in front of kids all day long, I’ve sort of gotten used to that,” said Reeves.

Yet there is one speech he will give this weekend which has this veteran coach a bit on edge.

Reeves is required to give an acceptance speech as one of six honorees of the Lifetime Service Award presented by the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Canadian County is the 27th county in Oklahoma to enact a burn ban.

County commissioners voted 3-0 last week to approve new outdoor burning restrictions.

The county may get a reprieve with cooler temperatures, but the county’s new Emergency Manager Josh Davis said conditions are still ripe for wildfires.

The two-week burn ban is due to expire at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 17 but could be lifted before then if conditions improve.

The best in Oklahoma beer, wine and barbecue is coming to Canadian County.

The inaugural Oklahoma Wine, Brew & BBQ Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Canadian County Expo and Event Center, 3001 Jensen Road East.

Participating wineries and breweries will be inside an 18,000-square-foot complex and the barbecue will be outdoors.