News

While the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed the appearance of El Reno High School’s Gifts to the Yanks ceremony this year, it did not dampen the spirit behind one of the school’s oldest traditions.

For 75 consecutive years, EHS students have raised money and then purchased gifts for veterans locked in at the Veterans Hospital in Oklahoma City for the holidays. El Reno is the only known school in the country to have maintained the program without interruption since its inception following World War II.

Sustained growth in Canadian County has spurred Canadian Valley Technology Center administration to develop new educational opportunities for prospective high school students and adults.

Industrial Automation and Robotics Technology, or iART, is one of two new programs being added in fall 2021. Emergency Services is the other. Online enrollment is under way at cvtech.edu for the additions to the school’s El Reno campus.

When Jessica Reed of El Reno graduated from high school in 2018, she knew she wanted to work with children. When she started working at the Canadian Valley Child Development Center, she heard about the Scholars for Excellence in Child Care Program offered at Redlands Community College.

“It was a way to further my education while doing something I love,” said Reed, who has already earned her Certificate of Mastery in child care through the program.

Before television or the glow of modern-day high-tech mobile devices, families would gather in their living rooms around radio sets and listen to programs like “Little Orphan Annie” or “The Shadow.”

“As a child I remember sitting in front of an old Ben Franklin stove and listening to my grandparents radio. ‘Who knows? Only the Shadow knows.’ ‘Look, it's a bird, it’s a plane ... it's Superman.’

The Northwest Community Center will get a major overhaul after the El Reno City Council agreed to spend up to $435,000 on renovations.

Council approved the measure 4-0 at its Tuesday evening meeting. Council member Tracey Rider was unable to attend the meeting.

Mayor Matt White said plans for upgrading the community center have been in the works for some time. He said money to pay for the improvements will come from a capital improvements fund.

“We can’t use the money for salaries, it has to be used for projects like this,” White said.

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes have purchased property in El Reno just to the north of Redlands Community College. The purchase was reported in the Tribal Tribune, the newspaper owned and operated by the C&A.

Records from the Canadian County assessor show the 4.57 acres were purchased from the estate of Glen Ramsey. Documentary stamps indicate the sale price was $1 million, according to the assessor.