Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part look at Tuesday night’s candidate forum featuring races for El Reno mayor and Ward 2 city council. The candidates fielded a number of questions, this is a look at the first few. Part 2 will run in the Wednesday, Nov. 12 Tribune.

Candidates for El Reno mayor and the Ward 2 city council seat covered a number of topics Tuesday night at a forum leading up to the Nov. 18 municipal election. 

El Reno High School junior Michaela Reed lies flat on her stomach in a Superwoman pose to push a bowling ball down the lane at El Reno Bowl recently.

Reed was serving as a Unified Partner for a classmate with special needs during the 2025 Special Olympics Oklahoma area bowling qualifier. Schools along Route 66 in the area competed in the event.

El Reno High School has seen graduates serve in most branches of the U.S. military, but few households can match the influence of the Marion Conner family.

Ten family members, spanning three generations, have answered the call to defend this nation over a 53-year period.

It’s that commitment to service that has earned the family the 2025 El Reno High School Veteran of the Year Award. The Conners will be honored Tuesday during the school’s annual Veterans Day Assembly.

Public safety was the focus when Canadian County Sheriff Chris West traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Donald Trump and cabinet members for a Homeland Security Committee meeting.

Sheriff West, president of the National Sheriffs Association (NSA), joined incoming NSA Executive Director Justin Smith for a roundtable at the White House to discuss the administration’s efforts to combat cartels as well as drug and human trafficking.