Flu rates in Athens up from last year
By By William T. Perkins | Jan. 11, 2015As students crowd together in dorms and classrooms, they might want to watch out for this year’s unusually resistant strain of influenza
NEWS BLOGS
Police mourn for fallen NYPD officers, but commitment to serve unchanged
By Joshua Lim | Jan. 11, 2015Local police officers are considering ways to connect with students
Porter Hall expected to be open by first day of school
Jan. 6, 2015After a flood, resulting from a ruptured water line, caused damage to Porter Hall, officials have initiated repairs and the building is expected to be open by the time classes start.
City officials give thanks to former Athens City Council president
By EMILY BOHATCH | Jan. 5, 2015Athens City Council members passed a resolution at their first meeting of the year expressing thanks and bidding adieu to a politician who served Athens for 16 years.
Athena Cinema donates 970 pounds of food to feed the hungry
By Maygan Beeler | Dec. 29, 2014‘Tis the season for giving. And for one Court Street business, that meant donating 970 pounds of food to help feed the hungry.
Former OU faculty member files lawsuits against university over tenure rejection
By Joshua Lim | Dec. 29, 2014A former Ohio University employee is seeking more than $300,000 in damages from the university after he said he was improperly denied tenure due to his sexual orientation and religious beliefs.
Professors develop new drug for type 2 diabetes
By Kaitlin Coward | Dec. 26, 2014Ohio University professors have developed a medication that could help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, an illness that is projected to affect one in every three people in their lifetime.
Apartment complex near South Green now city-approved
By William T. Perkins | Dec. 24, 2014Ohio University students might soon have the option of moving into a new apartment complex near South Green.
Athens councilwoman likely to take president position
By EMILY BOHATCH | Dec. 24, 2014After Mayor Paul Wiehl and Athens City Council President Jim Sands both announced in December they would soon be giving up their positions in city government, candidates began eyeing the open positions.
HCOM professor receives NIH grant to study nerve damage
By Kaitlin Coward | Dec. 23, 2014An Ohio University professor will study how a common dental procedure can damage a nerve in the mouth
Athens residents to see price drop in electricity bills
By EMILY BOHATCH | Dec. 22, 2014Though it’s been more than a year since voters signed on for electric aggregation locally, the plan — which provides discounted electricity to Athens residents — is just now falling into place.
Law enforcement officers take local children on shopping spree
By Jeremy Hill | Dec. 22, 2014Officers with the Athens Police Department, Ohio University Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol showed dozens of Athens County children Sunday that Christmas can arrive in many forms.
Lame-duck season brings out ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ at Statehouse
By William T. Perkins | Dec. 22, 2014The time between Election Day and the end of the year is known for its "lame-duck" politics — a time when state legislators pass more bills than usual in preparation for the general assembly.
HCOM professor to use $1.4 million grant in study
By Kaitlin Coward | Dec. 19, 2014An OU professor studies how imagining exercises and motions can help prevent muscle loss.
OU remembers decorated VisCom alum
Dec. 19, 2014OU remembers alum Michel du Cille who died while on assignment in Liberia
OU to accommodate students, staff during winter break
By Maygan Beeler | Dec. 18, 2014Building use will be limited to students staying on campus during the university's closure
State funding for tech heading to Ohio University, Athens
By William T. Perkins | Dec. 16, 2014The Ohio Controlling Board approved several requests for funding on Monday, including some funds for Ohio University and an Athens-based organization.
City Council updates wages, benefits in last meeting of the year
By William T. Perkins | Dec. 15, 2014City Council wrapped up its last meeting of 2014 Monday night, passing legislation that focused primarily on updating city employee wages and benefits for the next year.
Council members reflect on Fall Semester's more controversial ordinances
By William T. Perkins | Dec. 15, 2014Athens City Council tackled several legislative measures during Fall Semester that drummed up controversy, with ordinances enacted to regulate reckless partying, trash disposal and tobacco usage in city parks.“There have been some really high-profile ordinances on council, which has led to a lot more debate,” Councilman Steve Patterson, D-at large, said. “A lot more involvement, a lot more fact finding.”The legislative body reconvened Sept. 2 — a week after Fall Semester began at Ohio University — following its summer hiatus. Patterson soon began work on amending the Nuisance Party Ordinance.The amendment, which was designed to increase fines for rambunctious partying while reducing punishment to a civil offense, passed later in the fall.It was written in cooperation with the Athens-OU Joint Police Advisory Council, an organization that includes city officials, law enforcement officers and university students, and would have increased the fine for those hosting wild parties from $150 to $250.In the end, city Law Director Pat Lang determined that raising the fine to $250 for a civil offense would go against the Ohio Revised Code, so the fine was kept at $150.Council also received backlash from both city administration and residents in its attempt to amend the city’s trash ordinance.The amendment, which saw several revisions, increased fines for trash code violators from $20 to $50 and would have required residents to construct screens in front of their trash cans if their trash was not already entirely hidden from the street.The final draft of the ordinance, which passed Dec. 1, simply required trash cans to be out of view from the street of the residence's address. It also included a provision allowing for a waiver exempting disabled citizens from enforcement.Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, was the only dissenting vote on the measure.At the same meeting, council passed a measure prohibiting the use of tobacco in city parks. The measure also set a $50 fine for people discarding their cigarette butts on streets or sidewalks.City officials also passed some measures that had been in the works since late summer, including the purchase of a new fire pumper truck for the Athens Fire Department and the adoption of an ordinance that would better allow law enforcement officers to deal with complaints of noisy pets in late October.The body also faced the possibility of several administrative changes in December. Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl announced Dec. 1 he would not be running for reelection, prompting Patterson to announce his bid for the position on his personal Facebook page later that night.Council President Jim Sands also announced his resignation last week due to health complications, which had already kept him from council meetings for about a month.Butler said the past few months on council haven’t been easy but have nonetheless been rewarding.“On one level it’s business as usual,” he said. “But it’s also been very emotionally riddled with crests and troughs. It’s part of the community. It’s part of the lives we live here.”@wtperkinswp198712@ohio.edu
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Suspends Ohio University Gamma Chapter, Orders Members to Vacate
By Luke Furman | Dec. 12, 2014Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s national organization issued a ruling Friday closing its Ohio Gamma chapter at Ohio University, suspending its charter.
