News

The El Reno, Yukon and Mustang chambers of commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week for the new Canadian County Health Department site at 6100 E. Highway 66 in El Reno.

They were welcomed by CCHD Director Maggie Jackson, who wielded the largest pair of oversized scissors.

A $3.6 million remodeling project led by construction manager Stan Lingo was recently completed on the 32,000-square-foot building. In June 2022, county commissioners spent $6 million in federal stimulus funds to purchase the seven-acre tract that formerly housed the El Reno Halliburton plant.

An undercover sting operation resulted in nine men being arrested on sex-related complaints. 

The Canadian County Sheriff’s Office operated the sting in partnership with the organization known as SOSA, Safe From Online Sex Abuse. The operation took place from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2. 

Child safety advocates at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City are urging parents to be cautious of purchasing car seats online, warning they’ve seen a rise in the number of parents unknowingly buying counterfeit car seats.

Many counterfeit car seats — though they may appear legitimate at first glance — don’t meet U.S. safety standards and often lack crucial safety features that protect children in car crashes. Advocates worry that using these car seats could be putting children’s lives at risk.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

Christian Vincent Bodick, 28; Ellisah Joy Schneider, 24.

Michael Christopher Orona, 28; Kacey Eilidh Lynn Stuart, 28.

Derek Ty Pettit, 37; Jacklyn L. Sloan, 32.

Marcus Shawn White, 50; Holly Amber Denny, 53.

Desmond Jerome Burks, 37; Clarissa Ann Benavidez, 30.

Jonathan Allen Carpenter, 44; Maria Ramos Lozoya, 45.

Darris Russell Stills, 73; Brenda J. Neal, 67.

Kevin Jonathan Gray, 57; Amy Kathleen Gordon, 49.

Jaxon Paul Barron, 26; Kaela Nicole Adams, 22.

The OTSA Shooting Park is going to get a bit of a makeover after El Reno Public Schools Shooting Sports Program was awarded a $50,000 grant to help make improvements. 

MidwayUSA Foundation awarded $2.3 million in Range Development Grants to 103 recipients in the country. El Reno was one of three high schools in Oklahoma to capture the funds. The others were Altus and Fort Supply. 

Law enforcement and officials with Lindsay Public Schools said the opening day of last week’s Lindsay Softball Festival was called off after a threatening phone call was received. 

The call was traced back to a juvenile in El Reno, said Canadian County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Adam Flowers.

El Reno’s softball team was slated to play two games that day in the festival. The team had to return home after games were canceled, said El Reno Public Schools Athletic Director Rodney Haydon.

Students in the El Reno High School Leadership Class used chalk to write positive words and messages on the sidewalks outside the school.

The class was recognizing the 988 Lifeline phone number and September’s National Suicide Prevention Month.

What would local leaders do if an entity came to Canadian County, specifically El Reno, and said, “We want to create a couple of thousand jobs. We want to help build the economy and bring outside money into the local community so that all lives hopefully will be improved. The only catch, to do this, we have to work together.”

What would local leaders say if this were to happen? You know as well as I do what would happen. Local elected leaders as well as state leaders would be falling over themselves to help make this a reality. 

El Reno High School English teacher and district historian Brian Rukes came across a pair of travelers taking in the sites of Route 66 last week.

Rukes said he met Michi and Mick from Japan as they were taking photos of themselves in front of the mural at the Filling Station on the corner of Choctaw and Sunset.

The Japanese couple were touring the historic highway when Rukes offered to take their photo.

The couple are both 66 years old and decided their American adventure should match their age.

A building renovation for Canadian County’s family justice center is about to get under way – with completion projected before Christmas.

Cardinal Point and its on-site resource partners will move from the Gary E. Miller Canadian County Children’s Justice Center, 7905 East Highway 66, to the former Canadian County Health Department, 1023 E. Vandament in Yukon.

Canadian County erected the 10,000-square-foot building for the health department in the early 1990s.