News

Strong northerly winds whipped up Lake El Reno last week as evidenced by the whitecaps.

A bill that will increase the number of authorized driver testing exam locations has been presented in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, is the author of House Bill 2465, which would allow certain locations, approved by the Department of Public Safety (DPS), to be proctors for the written examination for applicants for Class A, B, C or D licenses and for endorsements.

“Over the last year we have seen an almost unbelievable increase in wait times for individuals trying to take their driver exams,” Lowe said.

A stroll down the pharmacy aisle at the local grocery store will bring consumers face to face with a wide array of vitamin and mineral supplements. People have been told such products are the key to good health, right? Not necessarily.

One thing consumers must keep in mind is that they’re called supplements for a reason, said Janice Hermann, Oklahoma State University Extension nutrition specialist.

MUNICIPAL COURT

Elijah Blue Ervin, El Reno, failure to appear warrant, $295.

Cheyenne Yeakey, Yukon, failure to appear warrant, $295.

Lonnie Lee Monaco, El Reno, failure to appear warrant, $295.

Stephanie Crone, El Reno, dog at large, $145.

Geneva Kay Gililland, El Reno, speeding, $165.

Mark Allen Demoss, Yukon, speeding, $295.

Cherwin Rodrick Black-Harmon, El Reno, speeding and leaving scene of accident resulting in property damage, $370.

James Lewis Constanzer, Edmond, speeding, $165.

El Reno residents looking to get one of the two approved COVID-19 vaccinations will need to travel to Mustang for the foreseeable future.

The Canadian County Health Department will only give the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at the Mustang Recreation Center inside Wild Horse Park.

The vaccines will be administered on a daily basis.

The county had held two weekly vaccination pods at Redlands Community College, before moving to a daily pod at El Reno’s First Baptist Church Jan. 18. That pod was shut down Jan. 29.

El Reno Mobile Meals celebrated 45 years of service on Feb. 2 with volunteers wearing birthday hats and delivering cookies with the daily meals to help mark the special occasion.

Mobile Meals began in 1976 through the efforts of Delores Igo, Mary Kennedy Boepple, G.L. Bear, Mrs. Nell Musshaven and Mrs. Bill Brand. With an opening balance of $150, Mobile Meals served 24 hot, nutritious meals on its first day.

Igo served as the director until 1984.

El Reno Public Schools has begun vaccinating educators and support staff, but the district must still follow the parameters set forth by the state of Oklahoma.

Pat Liticker, who has headed up the district’s COVID-19 response, said 10 educators signed up to get the Moderna vaccine on Jan. 30.

“We had a clinic for those ages 65 and older that had not gotten the chance to get vaccinated somewhere else,” said Liticker.

A commercial developer from Dallas, Texas, with ties to Yukon, has proposed an office park and apartments for the downtown area.

The development surrounds two historic buildings, Yukon’s Best Flour Mill and the MFC Farmers Co-Op Building along historic State Highway 66.

A sitting Canadian County Fair Board member is being challenged in his re-election bid.

Kelly Beck and Richard W.J. “Rick” Cacini, both from Yukon, filed last week for the District 1 seat on the nine-member county fair board.

Beck is the fair board’s chairman and Cacini is a Yukon City Council member.

The contested election will be decided at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Canadian County Fairgrounds Education Building, 220 N. Country Club Road.

The winner will be elected to serve the next three-year term.

Approximately 80 percent of all people who die by suicide are of working age, making the workplace the most cross-cutting system for suicide prevention, intervention and crisis response, and more and more workplaces understand that they have a part to play in helping to address this issue.