Top news stories from 2023

Some of the top local news stories from 2023:

n Bill Straily resigns as police chief of the Comanche Police Department.

n The Comanche band participates at a college bowl game in Tampa.

n School re-opening after Christmas break is delayed a couple of days as a water main busts over the holidays and causes damage.

n The Comanche City Council votes to annex property north of Comanche with hopes of additional housing being built.

n Tribe Pride Pizza owners Dennis and Dana Quinn were a part of the Guinness Book world-record setting largest pizza party in Tulsa, serving more than 3,300 people at the Tulsa-Tulane basketball game.

n Comanche voters approved a bond issue that will allow for a new band room, commons area, storm shelter and other projects for the school district.

n A city vehicle was found abandoned near Waurika Lake. The stuck truck had to be towed back to Comanche.

n Graham Jewelry turns 75 years old.

n Cory Faulk is sworn in as the new Comanche police chief.

n The Comanche School Board hires Jason Schreiner as the new high school principal. Schreiner was tabbed to replace Steve Dunham, who announced his retirement earlier in the school year.

n Sharon Rounds and Brayden Harris won their races for city council seats. Rounds was re-elected, while Harris was a first-time winner

n Cade White is named Mr. CHS and Brighton O’Connor as Miss CHS at the Comanche graduation.

n David Tidwell represented Comanche at Boys State. He was the only representative Stephens County.

n The county resurfaces Old 81 from the Comanche “Y” to Duncan.

n A severe storm caused extensive throughout the community from destroyed or damaged buildings inside the city to the destruction of the Corum Fire Department building.

n Red Plains Butchery opens in Comanche for meat processing.

n A large community turnout cheered on four winners of a Beautiful Day grocery shopping spree at Delbert’s in Comanche.

n The Comanche FFA receives a three-star chapter rating, the highest honor a chapter can receive on the national level.

n Comanche 2023 graduate Noah Presgrove was found dead alongside Highway 81 in Jefferson County. The cause of his death has been listed as suspicious and it is still being investigated by OSBI.

n An uproar over missing flowers and other items causes an uproar at the city council meeting as those with loved ones demanded answers for the missing items. Some said city workers were told to remove the items while city officials denied the claim.

n Tribe Pride Pizza’s annual “Pizza and Prevention” fundraiser brings in a record $1,400 for the fire department.

n Sorrell’s Nut House went up in flames as Comanche and other fire departments battled the blaze.

n Morgan Middick is named to the All State band, the first Comanche band member since 1999 to earn the honor.

n The Comanche City Council welcomed Teresa Cabello to the city council after she was appointed by members to fill the empty seat in Ward 4.

n The city council agrees to allow the resumption of jug lines at Comanche Lake after local fishermen said they would police the jug line set-ups.

n The city received a permit from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality for the waterline and sewer relocations along State Highway 53.

n The city begins work on the old Cowboy Opry building to turn it into a hotel.

n Comanche resident Kara Chapman is honored by having her poetry exhibited at a Poetic Justice exhibit in Oklahoma City.

n Comanche High School student Ava Foraker receives Keep Oklahoma Beautiful award for her work in the city’s community garden and serving seniors.

n Comanche High School holds its first annual job fair that features speakers from various fields spending the day talking in classrooms to the students.

n The city put up a display of Christmas lights on the north part of town at Centennial Plaza. The city’s electric department donated more than $3,300 to add Jesus, Mary and Joseph to the display.