The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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May 25, 2011

Helena teen, Enid man killed during tornado

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

EL RENO — Tuesday’s deadly tornadoes touched northwest Oklahoma with word a Helena girl and an Enid man were killed near El Reno.

Miranda Nycole Bishard, 16, was caught in a tornado near El Reno and killed, said her cousin, Makayla Redding. Bishard was with her boyfriend, Austin Hall, and another Helena teen, Stephanie Jones, visiting Hall’s parents. Hall also was killed, and Jones was injured. Hall was from El Reno but recently moved to Enid, Redding said.

They were in a pickup checking on some horses when they were hit by the tornado, Redding said.

“Miranda was a very spirited person,” Redding said. “She loved her horses. She loved being a cowgirl.”

Lisa Nickel, of Helena, is a friend of Bishard’s parents and has known Miranda all her life. She recalled her as a young girl who smiled a lot. She was involved in rodeo and horses, FCCLA and was a cheerleader.

“She was a sweet girl and everybody really enjoyed her,” Nickel said.

She said Bishard’s parents, Doug and Traci, and the rest of the family are doing as well as can be expected.

“They are still in shock and are just trying to get through it,” she said.

Nickel drives for Timberlake Public Schools. She remembers picking Bishard up every morning and Traci apologizing for her daughter being late.

“I really didn’t mind it. I would love to see her be late again,” Nickel said.

Bishard would have started her junior year in the fall, and Nickel said her class has a large number of girls who have become a close-knit group.

Bishard was “a good kid,” said former Goltry resident Jessica Cummins. Cummins said Bishard’s brother and sister are near the ages of two of her children, and she was acquainted with her.

“I knew her generally. She had a brother and sister 11 and 14. She was a good kid. She was a good athlete, a good student and a real good kid,” Cummins said.

Sheila Powell was a friend of Bishard’s.

“She was always laughing,” Powell said. “She had these pink cowboy boots she always — always — wore.”

Grief counselors will be available at Timberlake High School at 9 a.m. Friday for anyone needing to talk, she said.  Local churches met and opened their doors to host prayer vigils. Helena Methodist Church was opened for people who knew her to pray although Bishard was not a member of that church.

The funeral for Bishard will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Timberlake auditorium in Helena. Lanman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. A candlelight vigil and celebration of life is planned Saturday evening, but Nickel said details are not final.

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