News

Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ sent a letter and questionnaire to a list of national financial institutions, including fund managers and banks, to determine which companies “boycott energy companies” in Oklahoma.

Russ said this move is the first step in compiling the list of companies Oklahoma government entities are prohibited from doing business with because of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.

One question will appear on the March 7, 2023, Special Election Ballot.

This initiative petition was placed on the ballot by gathering signatures from citizens.

The question is reprinted here as it will appear on the ballot followed by a brief summary 

State Question 820: 
Legalizing recreational use of marijuana for persons 21 or older. 

INITIATIVE PETITION 434
STATE QUESTION 820

LAWSUITS

Synchrony Bank vs. Donna Clark for $2,883.39 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC vs. Terri Hays for $2,497.48 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC vs. Brian Dennis for $3,424.15 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC vs. Shawna Stevens and Lane W. Stevens for $912.02 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

The first El Reno Now breakfast of 2023 featured some new hosts, but continued with the familiar theme of promoting all that is good about El Reno.

Mayor Steve Jensen, along with School Superintendent Matt Goucher and City Manager Matt Sandidge served as hosts for the event.

El Reno Now was created in 2018 as a monthly event by former Mayor Matt White and now retired Superintendent Craig McVay.

The format has been adjusted to a quarterly get-together and several businesses have been added as breakfast sponsors.

City leaders took the next step in securing funding for major improvements at the El Reno Regional Airport when a resolution supporting several projects received unanimous support from the city council.

The vote came during a special meeting of the council and the Airpark Authority. The bodies are comprised of the same council members.

Councilman Pete Stapperfend made the motion to support the resolution and newly appointed councilwoman Amy Neathery provided the second.

The vice president of Economic Development for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce said El Reno and Canadian County should be prepared to see more growth in the coming years.

Jeff Seymour spoke at last week’s El Reno Now breakfast. He said Canadian County is one of the fastest, if not the fastest-growing counties in the United States.

Seymour said the I-35 corridor stretching from Texas through Oklahoma and to Kansas City is the fastest-growing area in the nation in terms of job creation and population expansion.

El Reno’s Merritt Dotson pushes the accelerator handles all the way forward on her sitting electric three-wheeled scooter over the weekend at Rinehart Park.

Temperatures were in the mid-60s on Saturday but dropped into the 20s on Sunday as the city braced for its second round of winter weather.

Canadian County commissioners agreed to proceed with finalizing an agreement to use a construction manager for a proposed repair/remodeling project at the historic county jail.

Yukon’s Erick Westfahl of Redhawk Construction has been tapped to provide construction management services for the old jail building, at the corner of Rogers and Evans.

New State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters unveiled a budget plan for Oklahoma schools that would increase state school spending by $330 million.

Under Walters’ proposal, the state appropriation for schools would increase from $3.18 billion this year to $3.51 billion next year.

Walters’ critics responded by claiming the $330 million increase is actually a funding cut.

LAWSUITS

Felicity Johnson vs. Murphy Oil USA Inc. and Walmart Stores East LP for an amount in excess of $75,000 for alleged compensatory damages.

Meredith J. Garrett vs. Richele L. Edwards for an amount in excess of $75,000 for injuries and damages alleged to have occurred during an automobile accident.

Freedom Mortgage Corporation vs. Derek Nix for $114,190.27 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees and foreclosure of mortgage on Lot 7, Block 15, Colony Pointe Phase 3 Addition, Oklahoma City.