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The Jackson & Vinton Courier
Actor Eric Roberts stars in movie filmed at Dogwood Pass
Eric Roberts may not be a household name, but movie buffs know who he is. Roberts has been in movies including: Purgatory, Batman: The Dark Knight, Expendables, Best of the Best, and The Righteous Gemstones, as well as made for TV movies. Roberts, who may not be quite as famous as his sister Julia (Roberts) or his daughter Emma Roberts, he still is a big name in movies. ...
Bob Evans to host 53rd Farm Festival October 11-13
RIO GRANDE — Bob Evans will host its 53rd annual Farm Festival from Oct. 11-13, set on the original Bob Evans Farm, known as the brand’s birthplace. The 2024 Farm Festival, celebrating the farming community during the harvest season, will combine family fun, farm fresh food, live acts and more. Headlining this year’s three-day celebration is rising country star and Kentucky native, Kelsey Hart, country singer, entertainer and daughter of a multi-award-winning country artist, Tyler Reese Tritt, and American country singer, Jimmy Fortune. Kicking off...
Partnering with public libraries to get Appalachian kids excited about science
JACKSON — On a cloudy day in late June, more than 50 kids packed into a conference room at the Jackson City Library in Jackson. Boisterous sounds of delight came when Jenny Hileman, a research associate at Ohio University’s George Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, passed out collapsable microscopes (aka Foldscopes) and prepared slides to assist students in learning about aquatic life. The STEM Day event was initially scheduled to take place at a nearby lake, but alas, Mother Nature had other plans....
Vinton County XC conquers at invitational
Vinton County Vikings’ cross country team raced and paced to top times at the River Valley Invitational on Wednesday at River Valley High School. A big win for Alyssa Beckner — she won her first race of the season at the River Valley Invitational with a come from behind finish over the last half mile. Alyssa’s individual victory led the high school girls to a 2nd place finish. Alyssa Beckner...
Meet Vinton County's first female fire chief
MCARTHUR — Near Vinton County’s border with Meigs County, there is a village where history may have been made. Betty Sowers was recently named chief of the Wilkesville Volunteer Fire Department, most likely Vinton County’s first female fire chief. Sowers does not consider herself a trailblazer but rather as a firefighter first and foremost. “As for being a ‘trailblazer,’” she said. “I am not sure, I do not like attention...
Vinton County Airshow poised for liftoff
The Bar-B-Q pit is ready and the acts are all lined up for the annual Vinton County Airshow & Chicken Bar-B-Q. The show will take place on Sunday, Sept. 15. The Vinton County High School Marching will start the show off at 12:30 p.m. Our Screaming Chicken Sky Diving Team will make their first jump at 1 p.m. to open the flying fun at this year’s show! Vinton County’s Pilots...
AAA7 Recruiting Board Members
The Area Agency on Aging District 7 (AAA7) is currently recruiting community members to voluntarily serve on its Board of Trustees. The AAA7 administers home and community-based supports for older adults and those with disabilities in a ten-county district in Southern Ohio, including Adams, Brown, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton. The AAA7 is governed by a Board of Trustees that consists of 10-15 members, including at...
Athens City Council to appeal Court's plastic bag ban ruling
Athens City Council is not going to go down without a fight to preserve the plastic bag ban. During Tuesday’s meeting, council voted unanimously to appeal a recent ruling from Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge George McCarthy that banned retailers from providing single-use plastic bags to customers. When McCarthy issued his decision in Ohio v. City of Athens, he ruled that the ordinance conflicts with state law. “The...
Highway Patrol releases Labor Day traffic statistics
COLUMBUS — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is reporting 15 people lost their lives in 15 traffic crashes during the Labor Day reporting period, which began midnight Aug. 30 and ended at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 2. One of the fatal wrecks occurred in Meigs County, while another one happened in Hocking County. In those fatalities in which safety belts were available, seven were unbelted. Ohio’s safety belt law remains a...
Meet Laina Fetherolf Rogers: Candidate for VC Common Pleas Judge
Editor’s NOTE: As I promised to do after Labor Day when people start paying more attention to politics, the Vinton-Jackson Courier will begin publishing — as I receive them — local candidate profiles. Candidates, if you want a profile publshed — free of charge — in the Courier, send an email to mlayton@circlevilleherald.com or mlayton@vintonjacksoncourier.com Laina Fetherolf Rogers is the Democratic candidate for Vinton County Court of Common Pleas Judge. ...
Summer Crisis Program offers assistance
The Ohio Department of Development and the Area Agency on Aging District 7 (AAA7) are once again offering assistance to help Ohio’s families stay cool during the hot summer months. From July 1 through September 30, income-eligible Ohioans can receive assistance in paying their electric bill, purchasing an air conditioner or fan, or making repairs to their central air conditioning unit through the Ohio Department of Development’s Home Energy Assistance Summer Crisis Program. ...
Round' the Town: Centennial Celebration of Bloomfield School planned
We are finalizing plans for the Centennial Celebration of Bloomfield School 100 years since first graduating class, will be at the school site. No charge but donations accepted. Call President Felicia Hale, and let her know you are coming, at 740-395-4760 by September 13th to be sure we have enough chairs and tables. Time is 3-5pm. Spec building being built by Andy Graham, way back from Veterans Drive. Hopefully a production plant will want to go in there. ...
Associated Press News Briefs
Trump speaks from behind bulletproof glass at first outdoor rally since his attempted assassinationASHEBORO, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump spoke from behind bulletproof glass in North Carolina at his first outdoor rally since last month’s attempted assassination. The focus of Wednesday’s event was national security, but he also criticized his predecessor Barack Obama as “nasty” for comments made the night before at the Democratic National Convention. Trump blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, but returned repeatedly in his remarks to the Democratic gathering in...
Rural gas stations provide vital access to food
Edward Hopper’s 1940 painting titled simply, Gas, is an iconic depiction of an isolated gas station — the type that a lucky motorist happens upon just in time as the needle creeps a little too close to empty. The red pumps catch the viewer’s eye and perfectly match the Mobil sign with its red Pegasus emblem. The station is portrayed as an island of civilization in an otherwise remote, rural landscape. Growing up in a rural area five miles from any hint of “civilization,” I...
Large-scale Ohio research project to explore how solar and farming can co-exist
Research underway at a Madison County solar farm promises to shed light on how well multi-use farming can work at a large scale. The answers will help shape best practices for future projects, while addressing some concerns raised in ongoing debates over siting large solar projects in rural farm areas. Spread across more than 1,900 acres, the 180 MW Madison Fields project will be one of North America’s largest test grounds for research into agrivoltaics — essentially farming between the rows on photovoltaic solar projects. ...
Commercial rollover crash closes State Route 93
JACKSON – The Jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a commercial log truck that was traveling northbound on State Route 93, and failed to negotiate a curve causing it to overturn around 2:36 p.m. Friday (Aug. 16) just south of the Vinton County line in the City of Wellston. The 2013 Kenworth semi driven by Jared Knisley, 43, of Piketon, was transporting a load of timber that covered State Route 93 when the semi overturned. The semi then went off the...
Crash reported on State Route 32 in Jackson
JACKSON — Troopers from the Jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a two-vehicle injury crash that occurred around 9:12 a.m. Wednesday on State Route 32 near State Route 93 in Jackson County. Dennis Pearce, 67, of Jackson, Ohio, was operating a 2021 John Deere 6110 tractor westbound on State Route 32, navigating around a bridge pillar, while he was mowing for the Ohio Department of Transportation at the time of the crash. Robert Stewart, 83, of Hamden, was operating a 2022 Toyota Highlander westbound on State Route 32. Stewart struck the rear of Pearce’s bush hog and overturned. Stewart traveled off the left side of the road, struck a guardrail, and came to rest. Stewart was transported to Holzer Medical Center with minor injuries while Mr. Pearce was not injured. Jackson County EMS, Jackson County Sherriff’s Office, Ohio Department of Transportation, and the Jackson Fire Department assisted at the scene.
Associated Press News Briefs
Tornado death raises Tropical Storm Debby toll to 7 as heavy rains keep falling LUCAMA, N.C. (AP) — Searchers found a body in a home destroyed by a tornado in Lucama, North Carolina, authorities said. That raises Tropical Storm Debby’s death toll to 7. The storm is still drenching the Carolinas after making landfall again early Thursday on its way up the East Coast. Residents as far north as Vermont could get several inches of rain this weekend. The National Hurricane Center says Debby came...
Speaker to discuss region’s prehistoric rock art
ATHENS — The Southeast Ohio History Center Lyceum Speaker Series will present the program Ancient Rock Art of the Ohio Valley at noon Aug. 15. Speaker Alex Armstrong will present information about Native American petroglyphs of our region. He will look at famous sites like the Leo Petroglyphs in Jackson County and Inscription Rock at Kelley’s Island, Ohio. Armstrong will also look at lesser-known petroglyph sites with a particular emphasis on sites in the greater Athens area that the public can visit. Petroglyphs are from...
Dicken pleads, can avoid jail time with $25K restitution
LOGAN — On the day her trial had been set to begin, former Hocking County Commissioner Jessica Dicken, indicted on several charges related to theft while serving as Hocking County Agricultural Society treasurer, pled guilty on three charges, in exchange for having four others dropped. The case, which has yet to enter a pre-sentence investigation, is being presided over by visiting judge Randy Deering; Thomas Anger of the Ohio Auditor of State’s office is representing the prosecution, and Dicken’s attorney is Katherine Clark of Samuel...
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Published each Wednesday; The Courier has a reputation for providing readers with honest and fair reporting of the community news serving Vinton and Jackson Counties in Ohio. The Courier, established in 1971, located at 103 S. Market Street, McArthur, Ohio, the county seat of Vinton County, is a multimedia news organization. The Courier began as The Vinton County Courier that was published every Wednesday and over the years has witnessed and been part of many changes in the industry. The Courier delivers with up-to-date online stories and breaking news from around the area, and can be found on racks throughout the counties and at vintonjacksoncourier.com. The Vinton County Courier launched its electronic edition, www.vintonjacksoncourier.com, in 2003 which added access to subscribers and readers 7 days per week. The Courier was purchased by Adams Publishing Group in Minneapolis, MN in March 2014 and is part of a regional group of publications that are part APG Media of Ohio. In 2018, The Vinton County Courier, expanded its coverage area into Jackson County with a consolidation of staff and subscribers from The Jackson County Times-Journal. At this time the name and paper were rebranded as The Courier. The Courier is available through the U.S. Postal Service as well as newsstands, local retail businesses and at the office, which is located at 103 S. Market Street, McArthur, Ohio.
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