News

On Tuesday, hundreds of visitors from Oklahoma and across the United States gathered at the USS Oklahoma Memorial to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

When Japanese dive bombers descended over Pearl Harbor, the USS Oklahoma was among the first battleships to be attacked, taking eight torpedoes and sinking with 415 Sailors and 14 Marines aboard.

The loss of life was second only to the USS Arizona, which lost 1,177 Sailors and Marines.

Though you won’t be able to see them, dinosaurs will be walking the streets of El Reno.

Filming for a Lionsgate live-action movie titled “The Adventures of Jurassic Pets: The Lost Secrets” is set to begin in downtown El Reno and other locations around the city Dec. 18.

“This is actually a sequel to the first movie we did called ‘The Adventures of Jurassic Pets’ which was released in 2019. This movie will not have the same people but will take place in the same town.

Rev. Aaron Kotila arrived in El Reno in September of 2020.

The new pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church got here just in time to experience a crippling ice storm in October as well as the lingering and at times, devastating local effects of COVID-19.

Throw in the sub-arctic blast that arrived in February of this year and one can’t blame Kotila for wondering if he’d made the right decision to move from Illinois to El Reno.

“It’s all in God's hands,” Kotila said, laughing as he thought about his first year as a resident of Oklahoma.

Work on the new City of El Reno Christmas Tree shifted into high gear last week as well as work on all the holiday decorations around Petree Plaza.

The 23-foot pre-lit artificial tree was assembled off a base that is secured into the ground and can be taken down after the holidays.

Calumet cheerleaders wore pink shirts and used pink pom-poms, while players wore pink warm-up shirts. The district was taking part in the nationwide Coaches Versus Cancer Drive.

Through different fundraising events, Calumet schools raised $2,794.72 for the American Cancer Society, according to officials.

The 2021 wheat harvest yields top the charts in many fields throughout Oklahoma.

The 2022 crop looks very promising for area wheat farmers. The OSU Extension Service is dedicated to assist Oklahoma farmers as they manage the 2022 wheat crop and continue to expand their yield potentials for this new crop, based upon research information from the OSU Small Grains Research Team.

The town of Okarche has responded to the Oklahoma Department of Water Quality regarding plans for future water treatment.

Okarche water has been cited by DEQ for having high levels of nitrates. Maximum levels of nitrates have been reported in the water for about 20 years.

Mayor Jeff Sadler has reported plans will be submitted in December and construction could start in September 2022.

In February, town trustees voted to raise the water rates to help make improvements.

DIVORCES GRANTED

Tabitha Katrina Spiegel vs. Danny Reid.

Rebecca Elise Hackney-Fuller vs. Dustin James Ray Fuller.

Tammy L. Loberg vs. Charles A. Loberg.

Jay Curtis vs. Tonya Curtis.

Cristina Lozoya-Carbajal vs. Richard Burl York.

Lacey Danielle Frank vs. Kyle Alan Frank.

Carol L. Holmes-Huggins vs. Keith A. Huggins.

Heather Daniels vs. Brent Daniels.

Kimberly S. Fox vs. Jason L. Fox.

Kailee Danielle Stewart vs. Kevin Windell Stewart II.

Kasidee R. Cherry vs. John D. Robison III.

El Reno’s Christmas holiday season got under way over the weekend as the Lights in Legion Park were flipped on for a 12th straight year, while a large cross-section of the community took part in the two-hour festivities.

“We estimated the total number to be between 450 and 550 people. We had a lot of vehicles that drove through and others that stopped and came in. It was a great crowd and it was a beautiful night,” said El Reno Mayor Matt White.

It’s a Wonderful Life is coming back to El Reno.

For the second consecutive year, students in the El Reno High School drama and speech program will present the Christmas classic in a live radio play.

“We are so excited to present a radio play for the second year in a row,” said Stacy Haberland, drama teacher and speech coach at EHS.

EHS students in Haberland’s class presented the live radio broadcast a year ago to an audience that parked itself, literally, in the parking lot outside the EHS Media Arts building.