News

More walking trails, playground equipment, gathering spaces and improved maintenance were some of the responses the city of El Reno received from residents who took part in a survey focusing on improving the parks system.

City Planner Dustin Downey told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board the survey attracted responses from 470 community members.

In all, more than 800 responses were received when just individual parks were taken into account.

A state senator will sponsor legislation known as Ida’s Law when the Oklahoma Legislature convenes in February.

Sen. Paul Rosino, R-OKC, has signed on to sponsor the legislation.

For LaRenda Morgan, it’s another step in the journey to help end the nightmare Native American families live with when their loved ones go missing or fall victim to homicide.

Named for Ida Beard, the 29-year-old El Reno woman who hasn’t been seen since the summer of 2015, Ida’s Law would create an Office of Liaison of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps (OKMRC) is seeking medical and non-medical volunteers to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts at more than 50 points of vaccine dispensing locations statewide.

“This is a huge, unprecedented effort to vaccinate the majority of our population of nearly 4 million Oklahomans. We need as much help as we can get from our community to make it possible,” said Lezlie Carter, state coordinator for the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps.

State Sen. Darrell Weaver has filed legislation to require cell phone companies to provide phone location information to law enforcement in emergency situations, such as an abduction.

Senate Bill 272, the “Kelsey Smith Act,” is named for an 18-year-old from Kansas who was abducted from a store parking lot in 2007 and found murdered four days later.

Weaver said law enforcement had been unable to get the cell phone records to locate Kelsey until it was too late.

Canadian County CASA Inc., which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, welcomes volunteers Regina Sabatini and Dannie Mitchell.

The pair completed their advocate training with a court observation and swearing-in by Judge Bob Hughey with the Canadian County Children’s Justice Center.

In all, 20 new volunteers became CASAs in 2020.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the work of CASA has not stopped. New volunteer trainings are currently being held virtually, and videoconferencing remains an option for child visits.

The Canadian County Health Department began a daily COVID-19 vaccination pod last week at El Reno's First Baptist Church. Shots are given from 8 a.m. until noon and both the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots are being administered.

Residents must use the State of Oklahoma's Vaccine Scheduling Portal (vaccinate.oklahoma.gov) to make an appointment.

An El Reno woman has been charged with one count of embezzlement of funds related to an El Reno High School activity.

Kellye Jo Mutzig, 47, was arrested Jan. 11 by Canadian County sheriff’s deputies after an arrest warrant was issued by Judge Charles Gass.

Court records show Mutzig posted a $5,000 bond the same day.

The date of the offense is listed in court documents as being March 9, 2017. The case has been assigned to Judge Paul Hesse.

LAWSUITS
Michael Henson, individually, and Jennifer Lamere, as mother of Paris Henson, a minor vs. David Laughlin, individually, and Mustang Public Schools for an amount in excess of $75,000 for injuries and damages alleged to have occurred during an automobile accident.

Discover Bank vs. Billy M. Suttles for $12,494.70 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Casey Vandersee vs. Thomas Snow for an amount in excess of $75,000 for injuries and damages alleged to have occurred during an automobile accident.

Matt Grooms and Grace Nesseth admit to being a spontaneous couple, so neither were shocked when Matt came up with the idea of leaving their home in California and never looking back.

“It was around January of last year I was reading the book ‘To Shake the Sleeping Self’ by Jedidiah Jenkins and how he cycled from Oregon to South America. In the book he talked about his parents being one of the first to chronicle their walk across America and I thought that was pretty cool,” said Matt.

He posed the idea of walking across the United States to Grace.

El Reno city officials took a tour of the new SSM St. Anthony’s Health Center being built here. City Manager Matt Sandidge said the project is coming along and is expected to be open by the summer.

“Even though the finishings aren’t in and the building isn't dried in yet, you can tell this will be a beautiful facility when it is complete,” Sandidge said. He and Mayor Matt White and Assistant City Manager Kent Lagaly visited the site last week.

“This will be an asset that we all can use and will depend on as our city continues to grow,” Sandidge said.