News

Thanks to some generous donors, every dollar donated to the El Reno Public School Foundation will be matched in a move that is expected to help push the corpus of the nonprofit entity to more than $1 million.

Dana Gibson, longtime foundation board member, said the pool of donors willing to match the donations wish to remain anonymous.

She said no limit has been put on the dollar-for-dollar match. With assets of more than $800,000 and $700,000 of that permanently endowed, the effort could very well boost the foundation above $1 million.

The sale of 78 4-H and FFA livestock projects wrapped up last week’s Canadian County Spring Livestock Show.

Mixed emotions from show participants filled the fairgrounds, as the final county stock show took place at the current facility.

Once the curtain came down on this 2021 show in El Reno, spectators and exhibitors shared immense excitement and anticipation for next year’s inaugural Spring Livestock Show at the new state-of-the-art facility, southeast of El Reno at Highway 81 and I-40.

BARROWS

Berkshire

Class 1
Reece Gabel, Mustang FFA, Breed Champion; Jazmine Mayo, Calumet FFA, 2nd.

Class 2
Destiny Searcy, Mustang FFA, 1st; Claire Foreman, Yukon FFA, 2nd; Cooper Newberry, Mustang 4-H, 3rd.

Class 3
Davis Morris, Miller 4-H, 1st; Payton Shelton, Mustang FFA, 2nd.

Class 4
Josie Felton, El Reno FFA, Reserve Breed Champion; Grady Lesperance, El Reno FFA, 2nd.

Chester White
Gage Lesperance, El Reno 4-H, Breed Champion.

Duroc

Mid-March marks 75 years since Nat King Cole recorded what would become the definitive song for people to “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66.”

These days, travelers and Route 66 enthusiasts who “plan to motor west” will have an easier way to spot the Mother Road in Oklahoma.

Revised historical route markers are going up over the next few months along key areas as one of the first visual cues that the state is getting ready for the upcoming Route 66 centennial celebrations in 2026.

DIVORCES GRANTED

Tonja Truitt vs. Woodley Oren Truitt III.

Steven Ronald Fleming vs. Angela Keeton Fleming.

Charles Creighton Cornelison vs. Alyssa Michelle Cornelison.

Jennifer Lynn Egelhoff vs. Brian Roy Egelhoff.

Larry Herring II vs. Rhonda Herring.

Shane Kopepasah vs. Kristina Kopepasah.

Sloane Markwardt vs. Darren Markwardt.

LAWSUITS

Federal Mechanical Inc. vs. Riverside School District for $36,135 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Tyler Willoughby followed the crowd after graduating high school.

He enrolled in college, figuring that’s the next logical step. Slightly more than half of high school graduates start college, according to information supplied by colleges statewide. Census Bureau data shows one in four Oklahomans complete a bachelor’s degree or higher by age 25.

Willoughby, a Union City High School graduate, was relegated to a statistic when he dropped out of college. He said college was just not the right fit for him.

Canadian County’s domestic violence center is up and running – and a grant is again being sought to help fund operations.

Cardinal Point, a Family Justice Center for domestic violence victims, now occupies a 5,000-square-foot space inside the Canadian County Children’s Justice Center at 7905 E. Highway 66.

Cardinal Point Director Kristie Chandler and her staff work with resource partners offering programs to serve Canadian County residents.

In 2018, state lawmakers approved some of the largest tax increases in Oklahoma history, arguing a larger tax burden was required to increase teacher salaries, which politicians claimed were necessary to reduce teacher shortages. Lawmakers approved an average teacher pay raise of $6,100 in 2018 and added another $1,200 in 2019.

Indian Health Service, Clinton Service Unit (CSU) has moved into the third phase of the vaccination program for COVID-19. Clinton, El Reno and Watonga Indian Health Centers has extended COVID-19 vaccination priority to American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) and local non-Native community members 16 years of age and older.

The service unit, in partnership with Indian Health Service, is working to ensure the vaccine reaches Indian country as quickly and equitably as possible. As of March 12, 2021, CSU has vaccinated over 4,600 individuals.