News

Gov. Kevin Stitt will be the guest speaker at the Oct. 21 El Reno Chamber of Commerce annual banquet.

The event is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Canadian Valley Technology Center.

Stitt was one of several GOP governors who visited the U.S.-Mexico border last week.

Stitt has blamed weak border protection policies of the Biden administration for the waves of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border.

Stitt said the immigration crisis is bringing more illegal drug activity in states such as Oklahoma.

As the aerospace industry — Oklahoma’s second largest employer — continues to boom, there is hope among legislators that the film business will prove just as successful.

Several years ago, Rep. Brian Hill began having discussions with people who saw the film industry as more than just a tourism idea.

“The simple answer was stages and staff,” he said.

With nearly 30,000 more registered voters in Canadian County than there were 10 years ago, the Canadian County Election Board is seeking places to open new polling precincts.

Canadian County’s population increased by 33.6 percent - to 154,405 - in the 2020 U.S. Census. There were 115,541 residents in the 2010 Census.

Canadian County Election Board Secretary Wanda Armold is waiting until Congress, the Oklahoma Legislature and county commissioners finalize new district boundaries this fall before updating her precinct maps.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, the chair of the House Common Education Committee, held an interim study examining computer science education in state public K-12 schools.

“We have a huge job market that requires computer science skills, and we don’t yet have enough people to fill these high-paying, competitive jobs,” Baker said. “We want to make sure Oklahoma students are fully equipped to fill those positions should they decide these are the jobs for them.”

Pets are cute and cuddly, but they serve a bigger purpose beyond companionship. Research has shown pets are good for both mental and physical health.

A jury trial is expected in a lawsuit filed over a woman’s fall near the Canadian County Jail.

Mustang’s Pamela Smith is plaintiff in the civil suit against Canadian County commissioners and the city of El Reno. Both defendants deny they are negligent.

The court action stems from injuries Smith sustained in April 2019, after allegedly stumbling and falling on “broken and uneven sidewalk” in front of the old jail building at the corner of Evans Avenue and Rogers Street.

The first ever Honoring Hope luncheon was named appropriately.

About 200 people gathered at the new Canadian County Expo Center last week to learn why supporting Cardinal Point is most definitely a way to honor hope.

Cardinal Point is the Family Justice Center created in Canadian County to help victims of domestic violence. It’s only the fourth such center in Oklahoma. Since opening earlier this year, Cardinal Point has already assisted 256 people victimized by domestic abuse.

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes has officially acquired the Best Western El Reno.

Lucky Star Hospitalities LLC (LSH), a solely tribally-owned Limited Liability Company of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, closed the purchase of the 60-room Best Western El Reno, 2701 S. Country Club Road.

The purchase represents a strategic expansion into the hospitality industry for the Tribes and their Lucky Star Casinos, said Gov. Reggie Wassana.

The El Reno Fire Department was performing a yearly pump test on its ladder truck and several other units.

According to firemen, the required tests are performed by siphoning water out of the lake with special hoses and then spraying the water back into the lake and monitoring the pressure and temperature of the trucks during the process.

Canadian County’s domestic violence center has been awarded a $492,576 federal grant that offers some financial sustainability.

These grant funds, through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, will be accepted over four years to support operations at the Cardinal Point Family Justice Center.

The grant program is titled “Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking.”