News

The latest medical marijuana shop to sprout in El Reno is the Red Dirt Botanicals located at 1301 S. Choctaw.

The business, owned by Phillip Church and Matt Maune, celebrated its grand opening last week.

The store will be managed by Mike Costin, while Torie Houchin and Tony Spencer will serve as the bud masters for Red Dirt.

Church said the store expects to add employees in the near future.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Church said it’s expected the hours will be expanded.

After a sluggish 2020 due to COVID-19, Canadian County use tax revenues have rebounded through the first half of 2021.

Between January and June, Canadian County has collected $841,775 in use tax income from the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

That’s up 9.6 percent from the $768,024 disbursed to Canadian County for the same six-month period in 2020.

“It’s been running well,” Canadian County Commission Chairman Jack Stewart said.

A new mural will be painted on an outside wall at the Canadian County Health Department’s El Reno office.

Canadian County commissioners have approved a façade easement indenture with the city of El Reno to allow the mural display behind the CCHD building at 100 S. Rock Island.

County Commission Chairman Jack Stewart said the mural may be painted only on the alley side of the building. The mural will have an abstract design, he added.

El Reno police arrested a man June 29 after he was found to be allegedly intoxicated while driving and in the possession of numerous firearms.

Reports said Peter Novak was taken into custody after he allegedly wrecked his vehicle in the parking lot at 1508 W. Elm. Police said Novak’s Audi ran over the curb, causing the airbags in the vehicle to deploy. Police called an ambulance to the scene.

DIVORCES GRANTED

Jessica L. Crain vs. Darron W. Crain.

Anna M. Harrison vs. Clayton D. Wright.

Jacqueline R. Thatcher vs. Brian E. Thatcher.

Glen Allen Barnes Sr. vs. Maria Linda Wells-Barnes.

Tammy Grace Ressler vs. John James Ressler.

Raymond B. Afsharpour vs. Theresa Hileman Afsharpour.

Kelli McKenna vs. Douglas McKenna.

Robert Fletcher vs. Jennifer Fletcher.

Jimmy Williams vs. Kerry Williams.

Dustin Wayne Smith vs. Rachel Kinsey Smith.

Lisa Suzanne Dean vs. Benjamin Travis Dean.

While there were no whispers from the cornfields, Canadian County has built its new Expo and Event Center and visitors are already coming.

“This is just a brand-new facility and it’s in a good area and that’s what made us come here,” said Scott Gage, a co-promoter with Jeff Smith and Three Point Productions.

The promoters were the first to use the new Expo Center, located at 3001 Jensen Road, bringing in a three-day team roping event.

The “Rope the Rockies” Oklahoma Championships is part of the Signature Series of the U.S. Team Roping Championships.

Back-to-back heavy downpours of rain caused flooding throughout El Reno last week.

Reports said El Reno and the area had received some 6 inches of rain over a weeklong period.

Last week in Phoenix, Ariz., Canadian County Sheriff Chris West was elected to the office of secretary of the National Sheriffs Association. 

West, who began his second term in office as Canadian County sheriff in January of this year, was elected to the NSA board of directors in June of 2019, and had served in that capacity for the past two years.

West decided to run for the executive committee earlier this year, and announced his intention to the NSA, submitting his notice to seek the office of secretary. 

OKARCHE – The Center of Family Love (CFL) celebrated its 40th anniversary by raising more than $860,000 during the organization’s Gift of Love Virtual Celebration.

The event was the eighth in CFL’s history, and this one stood apart from previous events due to the recognition of several noteworthy milestones, including being the organization’s second virtual event due to COVID-19.

Donors from all over Oklahoma and throughout the U.S. participated at an unprecedented level during the event in support of the residents of CFL.

WASHINGTON - Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, along with two other Republican House members, have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to release a final investigative report on disparities in the cattle industry.

In May 2020, the DOJ launched an investigation into four of the nation’s largest meat packers, citing suspicions the companies were engaging in market-manipulating behavior that allegedly contributed to the major gap between cattle prices and box beef prices. Lucas said no final report or updates have been offered by the DOJ.