New language inserted by the Ohio Senate into the proposed budget for the state Department of Education could, if adopted, make it much easier for public school districts to fire teachers.

A group that's been fighting against contract and statutory protections for "œincompetent" teachers has applauded the move, while the head of a local teachers' union suggested it's just the latest attempt to scapegoat teachers for the problems in public education.

Adolescent-to-Young Adult (AYA) mathematics and science majors in the Ohio University College of Education are being encouraged to apply for a new scholarship called "œChoose Appalachian Teaching (CAT): Building a Community of Mathematics and Science Teachers for Southeastern Ohio."

The CAT scholarship project seeks to produce 75 additional high school mathematics and science teachers for southeast Ohio, a region that faces a critical teacher shortage. Preference will be given to first-generation Appalachian Ohio college students who want to teach 7th- through 12th-grade math or science.

A recent study by the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University shows that while Appalachian Ohio is improving in educational attainment, work remains to achieve parity with the rest of the state.

The two-year study was conducted as a follow-up to 1992 Appalachian access and success research that determined the college-going rate of recent high-school graduates.

A release from the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education said that the estimated 51 percent college-going rate of Appalachian Ohioans in 2006 was up considerably from the 1992 estimate of between 31 and 43 percent.

Bambi will have to stay put. Wildlife rehabilitators around the state of Ohio are no longer allowed to take in white-tailed fawns due to a decision by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife. And some of these rehabilitators aren't too happy about it.

Eleven persons had been authorized by the DOW to rehabilitate fawns, and for the past three years approximately 200 fawns have been accepted for rehabilitation with about half of them released back into the wild annually.
The Division is saying that the new hands-off approach is meant to help reduce the possible spread of communicable diseases, such as chronic wasting disease (CWD), from animals being moved considerable distances from where they originated.

The Ohio biennial budget has gone off to the state Senate, where leaders are saying they will make nearly $1 billion worth of cuts after State Budget Director J. Pari Sabety told the Senate Finance Committee that current revenue estimates will be lowered when the new forecasts are completed in June.

These low projections come on top of the potential loss of $900 million in rainy-day funds that lawmakers had hoped to use to balance the plan, but now must use to shore up the current budget.

Leaders of the Republican-controlled state Senate are planning $1 billion in cuts, and say that additional cuts will have to be made during conference committee between the chambers, with the Ohio House having a Democratic majority. Republicans estimate it could take $2 billion to $3 billion in cuts before the new budget is balanced.

The Ohio House of Representatives voted to send their revised state education plan to the Ohio Senate on Wednesday, after making a number of changes to Gov. Ted Strickland's original plan.

With the Senate controlled by Republicans, however, the legislation is expected to see a number of substantial changes, though Republicans are currently keeping a lid on what those changes might be.

After the House Democrats released their version of the plan, several state and local education organizations gave their support.

On April 15 "“ the date most Americans know as Tax Day ­"“ thousands of people gathered on the yard of the state capitol building in Columbus to protest higher taxes and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the federal stimulus bill.

A group of about 20 Ohio University College Republicans made the trip to Columbus to voice their discontent with President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress.
The event was part of a conservative grass-roots movement that consisted of coinciding rallies in major cities across the country, dubbed modern-day "œtea parties," in response to the recent government bailouts and alleged pork-filled budgets passed by Congress.  

A state report is showing increased evidence of bobcats living in Ohio's southeastern counties with the confirmation of 65 sightings by state wildlife officials during 2008.