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
Amid its fiscal emergency — looking towards an $11 million deficit come 2029 — the Trimble Local School District is considering pursuing tax levies as means of increasing its revenue in the coming years. (WOUB)
Mayors in Southeast Ohio, including Athens, have voiced concern over the proposed loss of local tax dollars from marijauna sales. The taxes are proposed to go towards state projects instead. (WOUB)
Former Nelsonville Police Department and Mayor’s Court clerk Jessica Mount has been charged with allegedly stealing about $5,000 from undeposited city funds. She pled guilty in 2023 to two counts of unauthorized use of a law enforcement database. Her arraignment is July 9. (WOUB)
Athens restaurant Dr. May’s Thai Kitchen reported that its food truck and brick-and-mortor location were vandalized by a .177 pellet air gun. No suspect has been named; the restaurant’s owners are working with the Athens Police Department and asked that the community share information they may have. (Dr. May’s Thai Kitchen)
Funded by a state grant, the Village of Buchtel has two new outdoor recreation courts. (York Township Volunteer Fire Department)
Two Athens County students were awarded postsecondary scholarships by the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and its affiliate partners. Nicolas Benencia Courreges was awarded a scholarship for students focused on natural sciences and Wanase Phiri won a scholarship created for international students or those in international studies. (Foundation for Appalachian Ohio)
Regional
A judge in Ross County declared a mistrial in the case of ex-Hocking County Sheriff Chief Deputy Caleb Moritz. Moritz is charged with intimidation, tampering with evidence, forgery, theft and more. (The Logan Daily News)
The Start Westward Memorial, a sandstone statue in Marietta’s Muskingum Park, is set to be replaced with a bronze replica. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum — who also sculpted Mount Rushmore — refused to attend the Marietta statue’s 1937 dedication because he believed it should have been made of bronze initially, as sandstone would eventually deteriorate. (WOUB)
State
300,000 Ohio workers who sued for federal pandemic unemployment checks in 2021 have won an appeal in Ohio’s Tenth District Court of Appeals, which ordered Gov. Mike DeWine to disperse $900 million in federal funds. (Statehouse News Bureau)
A 2,000-signature petition propsing a constitutional amendment to repeal Ohio’s ban on same-sex marriage and institute anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ residents cleared a hurdle after state Attorney General Dave Yost certified the language and title July 3. The proposed Ohio Equal Rights Amendment now moves forward to the Ohio Ballot Board. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Ohio’s Medicaid expansion — which provides coverage for about 770,000 adults – appears to have remained untouched under the new federal budget deal, meaning the group retains its healthcare coverage. A rule in the new state operating budget would drop that coverage if the federal government lowers its contribution below 90%; if that happens, Ohio must prepare to change the program’s structure and set up phased exits for those losing coverage. (Ohio Capital Journal)
