News

As residents make plans and preparations for the Fourth of July holiday, El Reno city leaders are reminding citizens fireworks are not allowed to be used within city limits. This includes all city parks. Anyone caught shooting off fireworks in town could be hit with a $295 fine. 

“We know everyone is eager to celebrate Independence Day but we ask that our residents do so in a safe manner and respect the prohibition of using fireworks in the city limits, “ said Police Chief Ken Brown.

High school and college students aren’t taking a break this summer as Redlands Community College is seeing a 9.9 percent increase in enrollment for the current eight-week session.

With an increase in several areas, enrollment is up 23.7 percent in concurrent students and 4.8 percent in sophomores.

Oklahoma lawmakers questioned officials with the Commissioners of the Land Office over their $8 million investment in a local company that buys houses in a rent-to-own program for residents who can’t qualify for a mortgage.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A discovery at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is paving a path toward a more accurate and less intrusive diagnosis of Sjögren’s disease, an autoimmune disorder affecting up to 4 million Americans.

Currently, at least 30 percent of people suspected to have Sjögren’s disease undergo a diagnostic lip biopsy because they lack a telltale biomarker found through a blood test, said OMRF scientist Darise Farris, Ph.D.

“That biomarker has traditionally played a primary role in diagnosing the disease,” Farris said.

Signing bonuses of as much as $50,000 are what Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said is needed to attract new and retired teachers to the classroom.

That’s also what makes his new bonus plan a risky policy.

LAWSUITS

TD Bank USA N.A. vs. Davida McClellan for $3,515.46 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

LVNV Funding LLC vs. Angelica Herrera for $1,907.27 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

ABC Supply Co. Inc. vs. Advance Seamless Guttering for $3,203.19 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Wakefield & Associates LLC vs. Kimberly Turner for $1,357 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

The El Reno Tribune was named one of nine divisional winners of the Sequoyah Award during voting in the Oklahoma Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest.

The award was presented at the OPA’s annual convention held at the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in Shawnee June 9-10.

City of El Reno worker Jacob Horn checks the water flow through a colorful array of plants in this planter he filled in the downtown area last week.

The city uses a trailer equipped with a water tank to water all the different planters around El Reno each week.

This bird looks up from eating bird seed to check for any other winged meal guests to this feeder made from a recycled automobile tire.

The bright sun looks to have turned the bird’s feathers from red to an orange hue.

A veteran state lawmaker said legislators worked hard to ensure public schools received strong funding support in the state’s new record budget in return for offering tax credits for school choice.

Over 16 weeks, legislators negotiated and ultimately passed a state-record $12.8 billion budget.

The new state budget features record appropriations for the Department of Education totaling $3.9 billion – a more than $800 million increase. Meanwhile, many state agencies were held flat and saw no new funding.