News

Tires will be spinning as cars race side by side to the screams of both youth and adults alike.

No, it's not a NASCAR event coming to El Reno's A Small Town Weekend but rather the annual and highly competitive Hot Wheels races.

“We like doing this every year. I took it over from Tom Curtis and I've been heading it up for several years now. We have a lot of kids come out and they really enjoy it,” said El Reno Fire Department Sgt. David Baker.

Trying to find out the exact origins of the vastly popular cornhole game is just about as hard as throwing a small bag filled with, you guessed it, whole kernel corn, into a small round hole.

According to cornholeworldwide.com, the game has become one of the most popular outdoor games in the United States.

Be it family gatherings, tailgating at sporting events, company barbecues or a night out on the town at the local tavern, the game’s two main components are popping up everywhere – a board and bag.

While not an official part of A Small Town Weekend, the Route 66 Triathlons are scheduled to take place Saturday, June 4 at Lake El Reno, according to City Manager Matt Sandidge.

The Oklahoma Climatological Society reported El Reno received close to 5 inches of rain.

El Reno City Manager Matt Sandidge said crews were watching all of the new drainage projects that have been completed over the past five years. “We are very pleased with the performance,” Sandidge said.

He said this includes the new pond south of Legion Park as well as the two most recent projects, north of Legion and at SE Heritage Drive. Those projects are not 100 percent complete, but they moved the heavy water in an efficient manner.

El Reno’s Blessing Baskets will begin its Families with Children Summer Food Program June 14.

Donna Dyer, coordinator for the not-for-profit Blessing Baskets, said the program expects to help feed more than 200 families at each of the six food distribution events planned.

The food distribution dates will be June 14, June 28, July 12, Aug. 9, Aug. 23 and Oct. 11.

Dyer said volunteers are needed to help with the food distributions.

Families and friends gathered to honor their loved ones who have gone missing or been murdered at the second annual Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) Ceremony and Parade.

The gathering took place in Concho.

Some held giant signs with photos of their loved ones, while others showcased their loved ones photos on the front of T-shirts.

El Reno police are reviewing body and dash cam footage after a video of an officer arresting a 17-year-old male drew social media criticism.

Police Chief Ken Brown said the veteran officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Brown said about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, police received calls of a vehicle in the Lake El Reno area traveling at excessive speeds and in an unsafe manner. Reports said the vehicle was traveling at about 90 miles per hour and some people were hanging outside the vehicle, police said.

Canadian County commissioners will consider changing the scope of a construction project at the historic county jail.

District 3 Commissioner Jack Stewart suggested the board could consider using a construction manager to “manage the process.”

“We might ought to look at taking a different approach,” Stewart said at last week’s commissioners meeting.

Commissioners recently solicited bids for repairs to an extensively damaged roof on the county-owned structure, which was built between 1908 and 1913.

The El Reno Public School Foundation recently awarded 2021-2022 scholarships to El Reno High School graduates.

The scholarships include the Wilbur and Jean Gardner Scholarship, Gaylord and Barbara Reuter Scholarship, Ryan Tinsley Memorial Scholarship, Richard Steanson Honorary Scholarship and the Hutchison Family Memorial Scholarship.

“Since its inception, our scholarship endowments through the El Reno Public School Foundation have awarded over $200,000 in scholarships to El Reno High School graduates,” said foundation member Chad Neathery.

To fulfill a patient’s last request, the Redlands Community College Academic Team held a drive collecting teddy bears to give to all Russell-Murray Hospice patients.

“Redlands has a close partnership with Russell-Murray Hospice, and when we learned a patient’s final wish was that all other patients would have a teddy bear to hug, we knew we wanted to help,” said Cherry Rain, coach of the Academic Team.