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Ohio University Trustees Raise ‘Serious Questions’ About Report In Sexual Harassment Case
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University’s board of trustees was faced with conflicting recommendations Monday night as it weighed the fate of a professor accused of sexual harassment. Two faculty ethics committees, the university’s provost and the university’s president have recommended journalism professor Yusuf Kalyango’s tenure be revoked and he be dismissed. But a special… Read More
Holes In Roof Causing Significant Damage To Historic Buildings At The Ridges
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Up on a hilltop across the river from Ohio University sits The Ridges, one of the most beloved and iconic landmarks in the Athens area. Water is leaking through holes in the roof of three of the most historically significant buildings every time it rains or snows, causing serious damage. The… Read More
Arrest Made In Suspected Catalytic Converter Theft Ring
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A monthslong investigation into a rash of catalytic converter thefts in Athens County led to an arrest last week. David L. Willison of Chauncey was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Willison, 45, was arrested Thursday. He was arraigned Friday… Read More
Questions Surface After Faculty Senate Votes To Withdraw Report Recommending Kalyango Keep Tenure
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University’s Faculty Senate voted Monday to withdraw a recommendation that a faculty member keep his tenure following investigations that concluded he sexually harassed two female students. The university’s board of trustees, which has the final say over loss of tenure, issued a statement Tuesday night saying that it plans to… Read More
Identity Thefts Rise As Pandemic Aid Becomes Attractive Target
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens City Council President Christine Knisely received a tax form in the mail two weeks ago and at first didn’t think anything of it. It is tax season, after all. “I went, oh, stuff for the taxes, you know, and I was ready to chuck it away in a file,” she… Read More
Law Enforcement Jockeying For Jail Space During Pandemic
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Local residents have been venting their frustrations on the Nelsonville Police Department’s Facebook page as people arrested for crimes are turned loose because the jail cannot take them. “What’s the point when they’re just released and then trusted to appear in court,” reads one comment. “Makes my damn blood boil,” reads… Read More
Ohio University Scientists Search For A Way To Shut Down Coronavirus
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — In the race to defeat COVID-19, much of the focus has been on vaccines that stimulate the body’s immune system to prepare for an attack. But a research team at Ohio University is focused on another approach: Shut down the genetic machinery that allows the virus to replicate. The team is… Read More
Pandemic Deepens Ohio University’s Budget Crisis
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University expects to lose about $20 million in revenue because so many students are choosing not to return to campus this semester. This is just one piece of a projected budget deficit of $32.2 million for the current fiscal year, forcing the university to again dip into its reserves to… Read More
Athens Schools On Track To Resume Hybrid Instruction
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The Athens School District is still planning to have students return to in-person instruction the last week of January. The district suspended in-person instruction for the first three weeks of January out of concern that the community might see a surge in COVID-19 cases after the holidays. Superintendent Tom Gibbs told… Read More
Athens City School District Board Wrestles With Questions Of Safety As COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A question asked at a school board meeting Thursday night revealed the extent to which the coronavirus has made a mockery of planning. Can schools remain open safely for nine more days of instruction? Athens City School District board members spent an hour and a half grasping for a decent answer… Read More
Ohio University’s Budget Crisis Rooted In Economics Of Higher Education
By: David Forster
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Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories examining 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 look at the specific issues facing Ohio… Read More
Athens Schools Temporarily Shifting Back To Virtual Instruction After Holidays
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens City Schools will shift back to full remote instruction for the first three weeks of January after students return from winter break. The change is in response to the growing COVID-19 caseload in Athens County, including several cases involving teachers, staff and students over the past couple of weeks in… Read More
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