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Ohio University Leaders Struggled To Forecast Depth Of Budget Crisis
By: David Forster
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Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories that will examine the budget crisis that has left Ohio University looking to cut millions of dollars in expenses. As the region’s largest employer, the decisions it makes can have a profound effect on the local economy. The stories will look at the specific… Read More
Sewage Offers Clues To Combating Coronavirus Spread
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The city of Athens learned this week that the presence of the coronavirus in its wastewater is up 10-fold since testing began early in September. The viral load in wastewater is seen as predictive, meaning that when the number goes up there could be more COVID-19 cases on the way. Think… Read More
Ohio University Announces Reopening Plan For Spring
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University announced Thursday that all first- and second-year students who want to live on campus in the spring can do so. Spring semester will start a week later than originally planned and spring break has been canceled to discourage travel to and from campus because of concerns over the coronavirus…. Read More
Local Surge In Catalytic Converter Thefts Reflects National Trend
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Pat Gryszka arrived at his shop on a Monday morning in mid-September to find he’d become the latest victim of a recent crime ring. Gryszka and his brother own Athens Transmission. His brother had just taken a pickup truck the shop repaired on Friday for a test drive. Something was wrong. The… Read More
Long-Term Care Facility In Athens Co. Sees Sudden Spike in COVID-19 Cases
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A long-term care facility in Athens County that had no coronavirus cases on Friday reported 19 cases on Monday. This development was reported to the Athens City Council Monday evening by Jack Pepper, administrator of the Athens City-County Health Department. Pepper said that COVID-19 cases in Athens County, which have been… Read More
Food Banks Busy Serving More Families In Need
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Anita Hajivandi is getting used to seeing a lot of new faces at the food pantry she helps run out of a small church in Meigs County. But the stories they sometimes share with her — there’s no getting used to those. One man, who was clearly uncomfortable coming to a… Read More
Ohio University Projections Show Millions In Deficits
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University is looking at a more than $290 million budget deficit over the next five years if revenue and expenses are not brought into closer alignment. That budget gap would be plugged with money from the university’s reserves, and the biggest pool of money in these reserves could be drawn… Read More
Ohio University Launches Webpage Listing Executive Compensation
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University launched a new webpage Friday that posts the compensation, including bonuses, paid to senior executives. Until Friday, the only way for the public to get this information from the university was through a public records act request. The university has been taking some heat over executive compensation following the… Read More
OU Executive’s Bonus Raises Questions About Transparency
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — One thing the payment of a $100,000 bonus to an Ohio University senior executive a few months ago has made clear is that this can be done in private. No public vote was taken, and no other public disclosure was required. Had the university’s board of trustees signed off on the… Read More
Pandemic Has Many Turning To Legal Aid Lawyers For Help
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Three weeks ago, Jason walked out of a Marietta courtroom under orders to move out of his home. He, his wife and two children were being evicted. (WOUB is not using Jason’s last name to protect his privacy) Jason had been laid off from his job at an auto dealership in… Read More
Athens County Officials Prepare For ‘Election Like No Other’
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — In the runup to the November election in 2016, about 45 Athens County voters requested absentee ballots. So far this year, that number is more than 7,000. In case you’re wondering about the math, that’s more than a 15,000 percent increase in absentee ballot requests. This of course is due to… Read More
Professor Alleges Discrimination In Lawsuit Against Ohio University
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University is being sued by a professor who contends that sexual harassment investigations against him were illegally tainted by discrimination because he is Black and male. Yusuf Kalyango argues in his civil rights lawsuit that the university violated its own policies on multiple occasions throughout its investigations of two harassment… Read More
Coronavirus Relief Aid Available For Athens Residents
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The city of Athens has close to $100,000 in emergency relief funds to help residents pay their utility bills or their rent or mortgage payments. Because of federal restrictions, in order to receive this aid applicants must demonstrate a direct link between their hardships and the coronavirus pandemic. That may be… Read More
Ohio University Inviting Thousands Of Students Back To Campus
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University announced Tuesday it is inviting 7,200 students to come to campus in a few weeks to finish out the fall semester. The decision to significantly increase the student presence on campus represents Phase 2 of the university’s graduated approach toward reopening given concerns about the coronavirus. Phase 2 begins… Read More
Nelsonville Police Officer Resigns Over ‘Insensitive’ Facebook Post
By: David Forster
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NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — A Nelsonville police officer sworn in Friday afternoon resigned several hours later over a post she had made on social media. Nelsonville Police Chief Scott Fitch announced the officer’s resignation in a post on his department’s Facebook page late Friday night. The officer was not named in the post, but Fitch later… Read More
Athens Faces Significant Student Undercount In Census
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — With less than a month left until the 2020 census deadline, Athens is facing a significant shortfall in the number of Ohio University students counted. This is due in large part to the coronavirus pandemic. Three of the lowest responding census tracts in Ohio are in the city of Athens, in… Read More