News

Several hundred people turned out for the second annual Russell-Murray Hospice Gala. The event was held Jan. 20 at the Palace Event Center on Banner Road.

The evening helps raise funds to support the El Reno-based nonprofit hospice in its support of those who are uninsured or under-insured.

The event featured a live and silent auction, catered buffet dinner by Primo’s, awards and entertainment by musician Matt Cowell.

The evening was somewhat of a reunion for families and individuals who have benefited from the services Russell-Murray has provided over the years.

From the hills of eastern Oklahoma, legendary U.S. Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves rode with a posse toward Fort Sill, then to Fort Reno.

Setting out from Fort Smith, Ark., Bass Reeves, once the slave of a Confederate general from Texas in the Civil War, is said to have brought back 3,000 fugitives from federal law in the days before Oklahoma was a state.

The legends surrounding Bass Reeves have made a western series that has been streaming on Paramount Plus, a spinoff of the “Yellowstone” series.

As a January blast of arctic air swept across the Canadian County plains and hit the officers quarters building at old Fort Reno, it was a good time to go over the newly announced plans for better glass and framed windows.

Without much to block the air, the windows in a building from 1936 have plenty of drafts. The officers quarters building was built in 1876 and then rebuilt in 1936.

Today, the building is the location of the Fort Reno Visitors Center and Museum. But soon money from a grant will replace the old windows.

Kane White and Evalyn Ellis throw rubber ducks toward the center of the court during a recent Calumet High School basketball game.

Both are elementary school students and paid $1 per duck to throw toward a plastic ring at center court. The first two ducks in the ring get a $10 certificate to the concession stand.

The contest is an elementary school fundrasier.

The city of Yukon is seeking a $2 million grant to develop a downtown park.

The Yukon City Council recently approved submitting a 2023 Route 66 Revitalization Grant proposal for development of the park at 25 North 4th Street.

In a related item, council members approved a resolution requesting the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission consider this “downtown destination park” on vacant city-owned property just north of Main Street.

Gov. Kevin Stitt has named education advocate Nellie Tayloe Sanders to serve as Secretary of Education.

“Nellie has championed innovative paths in education, particularly for those with dyslexic thinking and unique learning styles,” Stitt said.

The Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA) has named Sandra Shelton as director of Government Affairs, Industry Development and Communications.

Shelton will be responsible for the agency’s marketing and communications initiatives, legislative and congressional affairs activities, and spearheading industry outreach and development efforts.

Prior to Shelton joining the department in April of 2016 as the Aviation Education coordinator and Government Affairs liaison, she had served over 20 years in state government.

Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, has filed legislation aimed at incentivizing the use of firearm safety devices. Senate Bill 1476 would provide a state sales tax exemption to encourage more Oklahomans to take advantage of such equipment.

Dossett held an interim study on the topic last fall, with experts from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the Oklahoma Rifle Association (ORA) and Everytown for Gun Safety presenting data and perspectives on the utilization of tax incentives to promote greater safety.

LAWSUITS

LVNV Funding LLC vs. Annette Pride for $969.36 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Midland Credit Management Inc. vs. Mia McCrory for $2,482.87 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Midland Credit Management Inc. vs. Elvia Valencia for $2,541.64 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

NCB Management Services Inc. vs. Janice Dudley and Dayonna Garcia for $4,658.25 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Broken water pipes at Jenks Simmons Field House forced Mobile Meals to shut down, hopefully for no more than a week. El Reno Schools Superintendent Matt Goucher said the pipes that broke overnight on Jan. 16 were on an exterior wall at Jenks. With arctic temperatures arriving a few days before, the pipes were an easy target for the subfreezing temps.

Goucher said he is surprised the pipes had not broken before. In February of 2021, winter weather kept temperatures at or near zero for well over a week.