News

A Canadian County public trust has fully granted a $91,202 request from the county’s four public libraries.

Members of the Canadian County Library Consortium made a presentation at a special meeting of the Canadian County Educational Facilities Authority this week. 

The librarians told authority trustees their goal is to “bring free education, information and enjoyment to all Canadian County residents” and to “offer services residents have come to expect from larger library systems.”

Canadian County has $642,423.71 in federal stimulus funds that have not been obligated. That amount is what remains of the $28.8 million American Rescue Plan Act award the county received in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

District Attorney Tommy Humphries, whose office administers the county’s ARPA program, told commissioners he would “follow back up” with them individually to hear their ideas on how to best allocate the remaining funds. ARPA was the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed by Congress during the COVID pandemic.

The historic Canadian County Jail is now weatherproof. Workers with J.T. Chronister Construction completed the task of putting a new roof on the jail.

“The building is safe from any further interior damage and the threat of being demolished,” said Amy Neathery, president of Preservation El Reno and city council representative.

A come-and-go event to celebrate the roof installation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Old County Stables, 214 W. Rogers, just to the east of the jail.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma fifth- and eighth-grade teachers can apply now for fellowships to attend the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute in summer 2025. 

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence coordinates the selection of educators from the state to participate in the renowned teacher institute, which is held in and around the restored capital city of 18th-century Virginia.

Canadian County commissioners on Monday agreed to enact a burn ban for one week.

A 3-0 vote passing a burn ban resolution came after El Reno Fire Chief Jason Duff spoke to commissioners about existing high fire dangers due to strong winds, high temperatures and dead vegetation.

Canadian County’s fire chiefs supported having a burn ban in place, Duff said.

“We are in a severe drought,” Duff said. “Today is a very high fire danger. Dry conditions, high temperatures and 45-mile-an-hour gust winds.”

A candidate forum for the Ward 1 city council seat drew a sparse turnout Tuesday night, but two of the three individuals in the race covered a lot of territory, answering written questions from the audience during the 30-minute session. 

Julie Flegal-Smallwood served as moderator, while timekeepers were Eli Zucksworth and Jason Looper. The race will be decided Nov. 5. 

Hosted by the El Reno Chamber of Commerce and held at Redlands Community College, the evening featured candidates Amy Neathery and Aaron Hines. Neathery currently holds the Ward 1 seat.

El Reno High School student Landry Lewis smiles as her aide Theresa Barton reads her a book outside of the high school.

Daily high temperatures have been near record numbers for October and are forecast to be in the 80s for most of the coming week.

With an extended period of no rain and dry vegetation, Canadian County officials have been asked to enact an outdoor burn ban.

District 3 Commissioner Tracey Rider said El Reno Fire Chief Jason Duff wanted commissioners to “discuss the possibility of a burn ban” due to elevated fire dangers.

Declaring a burn ban requires “concurrence from the majority of the fire chiefs in the county,” said District 2 Commissioner Dave Anderson.

State law allows counties to authorize a countywide outdoor burning prohibition if:

Workers from G&S Signs inspect the neon fixtures on the sign at the Centre Theatre in downtown El Reno.

City officials said broken neon pieces were removed and will be replaced in the near future.

Added work headed to the theatre facade include new signboards with new tracking and letters. Those are being replaced since the current signage cannot be serviced.

In an effort to protect the public from scams, the Canadian County Clerk’s Office is offering a free service designed to stop criminals before they can claim ownership of someone else's property.

County Clerk Sherry Murray said her office is offering the free fraud alert notification to the public through her county website.

Murray said this is something that she has been working on for the past few months.