All information is current as of The Scoop’s production on Tuesday morning. Click the links for the most up-to-date information. The Athens County Independent believes the cited sources of information are reliable; however, these sources are responsible for the accuracy of their own reporting.
Submit news and information to info@athensindependent.com by noon on Mondays for inclusion in Tuesday’s issue of The Scoop.
Local
An Athens County woman formerly known as Serah Bellar has asked a federal court to award $24 million in damages from Dove Outreach Church over sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her brothers. The church’s owner has declared bankruptcy, however. (Athens Messenger)
- Indy context: In March, the federal court judge granted default judgment against Dove Outreach for many of Bellar’s claims.
How do Athens City Council candidates feel about housing issues, and what are they going to do about it? United Athens County Tenants released the results of its candidate questionnaire on its website. (United Athens County Tenants)
A landslide after recent storms caused a boulder to fall on an Athens house. The owners weren’t in their home when the boulder fell, and they have landslide insurance. (WTAP)
- Indy context: A landslide is also destroying a portion of Johnson Road and an unoccupied home.
The Southeast Ohio Food Bank is now offering free pet food through a new collaboration with BARC, another local nonprofit. (WOUB)
Creating opportunities for students and the community, the seventh annual Music Industry Summit recently brought renowned artists such as DJ Premier, Charles Wesley Godwin and S.G. Goodman to Athens. (Ohio University)
The Athens Sunrise Rotary Club is donating $6,000 to the Albany Inclusive Playground Project at Alexander Local Schools. (Athens Sunrise Rotary Club)
Regional
Across southeast Ohio, school districts are cutting staff in response to funding challenges. While many factors play into these challenges, a big one is how the state has implemented its funding plan for local districts. The news state budget recently passed by the Ohio House will likely make things even more challenging for local districts. (WOUB)
- Indy context: The Trimble Local School District board voted to cut nearly 20 teaching positions in March, with its budget deficit approaching $3 million. Meanwhile the Federal Hocking Local Schools board recently voted to eliminate six teaching positions to address its own funding shortfalls.
State
The Ohio House budget that overhauls school funding passed along party lines. Some of the other items in the bill: modifications to public library funding, pay increases for public officials, funding for a domed stadium in Cleveland, and policy changes getting rid of the Ohio Ethics Commission and “recognizing only two sexes.” (Statehouse News Bureau)
Also in the budget: changes to scholarship requirements designed to force private colleges to comply with parts of Ohio’s recent overhaul of public higher education, including a ban on diversity efforts. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Unionized faculty at Youngstown State University have initiated a process that, if successful, would ask voters to repeal Ohio’s higher education overhaul. (Statehouse News Bureau)
- Indy context: Faculty organizers for Ohio University’s faculty union drive emphasized that a union would give faculty a collective voice to combat the higher education overhaul. Faculty voted resoundingly to unionize, but OU is contesting the election.
Ohio has now reported 20 cases in its measles outbreak. The virus has been spreading in communities with low vaccination rates, and has killed unvaccinated children and adults in other states. (WOUB via Associated Press)
Trump-supported candidate Jon Husted has launched a campaign to retain his U.S. Senate seat for Ohio in a special election in 2026. Husted was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance. (Associated Press)
Meanwhile, former District 95 representative Jay Edwards of Nelsonville has filed to run for Ohio Treasurer in 2026, becoming the fourth GOP entrant into the race. (MSN via Cleveland.com)
Although injecting carbon dioxide underground remains controversial, Ohio legislators are considering bills that would cut local governments out of regulating carbon capture, and would force some landowners to allow carbon storage on their properties. (Canary Media)
