News

Colsen Girty was smiling down from heaven over the weekend as one of his dreams became reality.

With the help of his mother, Whitney Sides, the El Reno Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 151 was able to provide 45 area children with a brighter holiday season through the 16th Annual Christmas With a Cop.

Girty was killed in a car accident in 2021 at the age of 10, but his mother said one of his dreams was to give Christmas presents to children in El Reno. In his memory, Sides created a trust to honor that wish and funded it with a charity event earlier this year.

El Reno city leaders officially celebrated the beginning of the municipal Internet system being created by lighting up a sign outside of City Hall.

Mayor Steve Jensen turned on the lighted sign promoting the infrastructure project as council members, city staff and the crew working to build out the system applauded.

Known as El Reno Fast Connect, the more than $3 million city-owned Internet system is now available to some 270 homes. Assistant City Manager Tim Young said four businesses along Country Club have also signed on to the system.

Note: Knowing Jolly Old St. Nicholas is a subscriber and reads the El Reno Tribune each edition, the staff decided to help him out and deliver local children’s Letters to Santa in print. Letters will appear over the next few editions but in time for his Christmas Eve flight from the North Pole.

A property at 1508 S. Choctaw was condemned last week by the El Reno City Council. The action was one of several items tackled by the elected leaders.

City Manager Matt Sandidge said the property on South Choctaw has been in a “dilapidated condition for some time.” The owner of the property is deceased and relatives have no interest in the structure.

The city plans to demolish the structure after the first of the year.

Pursuing a college degree can be challenging and overwhelming, especially for students whose parents didn’t take the same path.

To support and encourage these students, Redlands Community College hosted a panel of first-generation students and graduates, including members of the college’s faculty and staff.

“We appreciate and understand how difficult and lonely college can be for first-generation students, grappling with an unfamiliar experience and limited guidance,” said Redlands President Jena Marr.

With an eye toward the future, El Reno city leaders approved the creation of a master plan for Adams Park, expanded the downtown improvement district and restructured some city authorities, the intention being a sharper focus on economic development.

All three items received unanimous support last week from the five-member city council.

The Adams Park Master Plan is intended to “lay out the future of Adams Park and the Lake El Reno area.

El Reno honored a retiring police officer at last weekvs city council meeting.

K-9 Rocco was recognized for having served the department since 2015. The K-9 will retire and was given to his handler, Sgt. Sandy Dowdle.

In recommending Rocco be retired and turned over to Dowdle, Police Chief Ken Brown wrote: “Over the past eight years, Rocco has located missing children, several hundred pounds of illegal narcotics and participated in numerous community events.

Plans are proceeding to build an estimated $50 to $55 million Canadian County Courthouse complex at the site of current county administrative and judicial offices.

Canadian County commissioners met with other county elected officials and department directors to discuss the new courthouse proposal. No action was taken.

The project will be paid using budgeted funds without asking voters to approve a tax increase, Commissioner Dave Anderson said.

WASHINGTON — The beat of drums echoed off the walls of the Department of the Interior auditorium as members of the Native American Women Warriors Color Guard moved toward the stage with tribal flags in hand.

It was the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration’s Third Annual Tribal Nations Summit, and more than a hundred Indigenous leaders from across the nation were gathered to hear the president’s plan for strengthening relationships with Tribal Nations and advancing tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

The historic Fort Reno Visitors Center, shown in this file photo, has received a $50,000 grant from T-Mobile.

The $50,000 grant will go toward replacing outdated windows to ensure the Visitors Center and Museum continues being enjoyed by frequent Route 66 travelers.

The project was submitted by the Historic Fort Reno Visitors Center and Museum.

Each quarter, T-Mobile awards 25 Hometown Grants to small towns with populations of 50,000 or less.