With all the attention commanded by the presidential campaign, election and aftermath, plus the ongoing COVID-19 story, many other issues have faded into the background.
Though escaping the headlines, some of these other issues will be with us for a long time, and contributions to the public discussion of such issues will often have a long-term impact.
As temperatures begin to cool and people spend more time in confined spaces, the number of new novel coronavirus cases are spiking – just as health-care professionals feared.
“That is what we are observing. Our trend line in the county was ticking down but now it’s starting back up. We had hit a plateau in October but then we had events like Halloween and people started loosening up their guard.
Larry Annuschat just lost three brothers and a sister in his longtime Okarche family to COVID-19, and he has battled the virus himself, hanging on and fighting through it.
His sister, Victoria Lynn Marks, 66, lost her battle Nov. 22.
Ronald “Ron” Annuschat, 58, died of COVID-19 Oct. 30. Then older brother, Paul “Mac” Joseph Annuschat, 68, died of the virus Oct. 31. Nicholas “Nick” Thomas Annuschat, 59, died Nov. 6.
All died at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, devastating the Okarche farming family and community.
A few days before the recent Veterans Day Parade, Karen Nance of the El Reno Chamber of Commerce walked into Mary Sapp's business, Route 66 Liquor. She wanted to ask Sapp a favor’
Sapp drives a fancy Mercedes convertible and Nance thought it would be the perfect car to carry the Veterans Day guest speaker through the parade route.
