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
Nelsonville residents can use an interactive online map to explore the effect of different ward boundaries on their city. The city is transitioning to a statutory form of government; one component of that transition is creating wards. The Ohio League of Women Voters will host another meeting to discuss ward drawing Monday, June 16. (WOUB)
- Indy context: Creating wards is just one problem facing the city amid its transition; other problems include a month-long gap in council terms.
Athens County will receive a $750,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Development to extend a wastewater collection system into New Marshfield, where outdated septic systems are contaminating nearby surface water. The Village of Glouster will receive $250,000 to renovate a vacant building for business use. (Ohio Department of Development)
Regional
About 60 people in Jackson last week protested proposed public school funding cuts in the state budget, which they say will diminish education quality. Two Ohio legislators were in attendance. (WOUB)
The family of Amy Jo Nelson, a 39-year-old Perry County resident whose September 2017 death was ruled a homicide, are still seeking answers and offering a reward for any information that leads to an arrest. (NBC4)
State
Public colleges in Ohio would be able to charge students more money under the state Senate’s new budget plan, which would also affect students at community colleges. Current state law caps tuition and fee increases at public universities. The senate’s proposal would raise that cap in the 2025–26 and 2026–27 academic years. (Signal Cleveland)
A bill introduced in the Ohio House in February would require students in the state’s public schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily beginning next school year. Although some districts already recite the pledge daily, they are not legally required to do so. (Statehouse News Bureau)
Republicans in the Ohio House have combined multiple individual bills into a single measure, “The Property Tax Relief Now Act,” which they say could relieve $3.5 billion in property taxes statewide. Part of that relief would come from limiting taxes for schools. (Statehouse News Bureau)
In a case from Ohio, a unanimous decision from the U.S. Supreme Court last week made it easier to claim reverse discrimination in employment. Marlene Ames, an Ohio woman who has worked at the state’s Department of Youth Services for two decades, claimed that because she is heterosexual, she didn’t get a job, and then was demoted. (Associated Press)
