All information is current as of The Scoop’s production on Tuesday morning. Click the links for the most up-to-date information. The organizations cited are responsible for the accuracy of their own reporting and announcements.
Local
The City of Nelsonville has switched providers of dispatching services to the Athens County 911 Emergency Communications Center because of the city’s dissatisfaction with services provided by Hocking College. (Athens Messenger)
Three solar arrays now offset power consumption at the Athens wastewater treatment plant, community center and city pool. The city will hold a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the arrays this Thursday. (City of Athens)
The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio is taking grant requests of up to $5,000 for projects to promote civics education in the region. (Foundation for Appalachian Ohio)
FAO is also accepting 2024 scholarship applications from Feb. 15 through March 15. (Foundation for Appalachian Ohio)
The Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide technical assistance and grants to help rural small businesses and agricultural producers develop renewable energy. (SOPEC)
Hocking College was among the first group of colleges and universities to receive Ohio Reach Postsecondary designation for campuses that support students with foster care or kinship experience. (Hocking College)
The story of Ohio University’s first Black graduate will soon come to campus, with the presentation of “Free Man of Color,” a play by Ohio University playwriting professor Charles Smith. The play dramatizes the life of John Newton Templeton, who graduated from OU decades before the end of slavery, in 1828. A reading will take place at 3 p.m. on Feb. 10, at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, 47 E. Union St. (WOUB)
To celebrate the history of the Mount Zion Baptist Church, local artist Keith Wilde will paint murals on the 14 plywood inserts filling the church’s window cavities throughout its rehabilitation. The project is funded by Ohio Humanities. (Ohio Humanities)
- Indy context: Mount Zion Baptist Church began as a vision of a small group of Black Athens residents, formerly enslaved people and the descendants of enslaved people who began meeting in 1872. Learn more about its history.
The local multimedia history project Invisible Ground added four new historical markers around Athens County. The markers now allow visitors to see immersive historical photos of seven Athens County locations via the project’s app. (Invisible Ground)
Athens free meal providers met for the first time last month to begin coordinating efforts and discuss a possible Saturday free meal. (WOUB)
Skateboarder Tony Hawk recently visited Ohio University and spoke about his career and love for the sport. (The New Political)
State
A voting rights group is suing Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost over his repeated rejection of their attempts to put a constitutional amendment on voting rights on the general election ballot. The group argues that the attorney general can’t reject its proposed amendment only because of its title. (Statehouse News Bureau)
After a six-year standstill in Ohio’s use of the death penalty, Yost wants to bring it back — in part by allowing executions by nitrogen hypoxia, which deprives people of oxygen. Currently, lethal injection is the only legal method for executions in the state. 118 men and one woman are on death row in Ohio. (Statehouse News Bureau)
A record-breaking 477,793 Ohioans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace Plan for 2024. (Ohio Capital Journal)
One year after the East Palestine train derailment, disposal of waste from the incident 70 miles away in Cochostan has prompted staunch local opposition, highlighting how little say local communities have over underground waste injection. (Ohio Capital Journal)
- Indy context: Fracking waste injection in Torch has long prompted opposition from local environmentalists. However, as in Coshocton, Athens County lacks authority to regulate waste injection in its borders. Now, the Torch injection wells are the subject of an ongoing procedural fight, after the state found the wells are threatening local drinking water.
