Anti-poverty effort good for everybody

Commentary

Perhaps more disturbingly askew than the distribution of wealth in the United States is most Americans' perception of the actual size of the gap between the rich and poor.

Churches, pantries lead in fight against poverty

While numerous government services offer a variety of support to those facing poverty in Athens County, churches and food pantries often stand at the forefront in the struggle to feed and otherwise help those in need to get through the month.

Is attacking poverty a political priority?

In the aftermath of U.S. Census figures released last week showing that one in seven Americans are living in poverty, local anti-poverty advocates are renewing their call on political leaders to help these Americans who are falling into despair.

Legislative candidates’ full answers to questions about poverty

In response to The Athens NEWS' series on poverty in Athens County, several questions about the issue were sent to various local politicians and candidates for office. Below are the questions along with their full responses.

Poverty: Usually it's not their fault

A common conception of poor people these days is that many citizens are "gaming the system" for various forms of assistance, too lazy or unmotivated to pick themselves up by the bootstraps and fend for themselves.

Educators and poverty advocates fight over the same pool of money

Policy advocates across the spectrum usually agree that the only way to alleviate generational poverty is to both promote education and provide direct assistance to struggling families. But often these two necessary components find themselves competing for the same money.

Center addresses deteriorating conditions in area

When the Nelsonville Community Center began giving away clothes and food and providing resources to those who need help in this area, most of the people who showed up at the door were those director Rhonda Bentley calls the "chronically poor."

Staffer to help address growing need for kinship childcare

After years of seeing the need for more help for family members who have been caring for the children of their relatives, Athens County Children Services has now created a Kinship Care caseworker position to provide consultation and assistance.

County leads state in people working, but still poor

Athens County truly is the “working poor” capital of Ohio. The latest available U.S. Census figures show that Athens has the highest percentage in the state of employed civilians working in service occupations and the lowest percentage of those employed in manufacturing. With service-industry jobs paying minimum wage or only slightly above it, the financial hardships of many living in this area are severe.

Grandparents pick up child-rearing burdens

Many taking low-wage jobs to care for their kids’ kids

This is the first article in a series focused on working people facing financial hardship in Athens County.

Gas-line fire reportedly contained; two buildings burned, one injury

Explosion reportedly occurred in 36-inch gas pipeline

Athens County emergency officials have provided further details about the major gas-line explosion near the Athens-Morgan county line Wednesday morning. In a release issued at 10:34 a.m., Ron Lucas, Jr., public information officer for the Athens County Emergency Operations Center, said that the gas-line rupture and explosion caught one home and barn on fire, but that no one was home at the time.

OU reviews land holdings for possible oil/gas drilling

Ohio University is currently looking at all the land it owns, to let the state know which of it may be available for oil-and-gas drilling.

OU students start nation’s first sports management frat

Three students in Ohio University's sport management program have initiated and developed the nation's first sports management fraternity, Sigma Alpha Sigma Mu.

Revamped first-floor Baker Lounge ready for programming

Decision on alcohol service still in the works

The first-floor lounge in Ohio University's Baker Center has been re-opened for student use, with most of the planned changes for the lounge already in effect.

Plan would allow OU students to rent campus cars short-term

A program proposed by Ohio University Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi at the Student Senate meeting on Jan. 25 could make it possible for students to reserve designated cars for select periods of time.

President McDavis wins legacy award from Arkansas college

Ohio University President Roderick McDavis was honored as a legacy award recipient Monday at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Student Senate punts when it comes to taking clear stand on student trustee voting rights

Given the opportunity Wednesday evening to support or oppose state legislation to give student university trustees voting power, Ohio University Student Senate failed to come to a clear position.

OU campus going gaga over oversized cupcakes

Ohio University Culinary Services has introduced a new line of cupcakes this quarter, tempting passersby in the Baker food court, campus cafes and campus markets.

Attorneys for student who lost arm seek big damages from OU

Attorneys for a former Ohio University student who lost an arm because of an alleged misdiagnosis at the former Hudson Health Center have argued that the university may owe her and her parents up to $3 million in damages, and potentially a great deal more than that, on top of any medical expenses.

OU researcher gets major honor

In a news release Friday, the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM) reported that it will name a newly endowed research chair to honor “one of its most esteemed faculty members.”

Faculty quiz McDavis on OU’s ambitious capital program

Ohio University President Roderick McDavis presented a report on the university's ambitious capital improvements plan to Faculty Senate Monday night, prompting faculty concerns about how the plan will be funded.

Former governor endorses Lang for Congress

Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has endorsed Athens Law Director Pat Lang in his bid for U.S. Congress, the campaign announced last week.

Incumbent responds to overtime concerns

Athens County Engineer’s primary race

Athens County Engineer Archie Stanley on Tuesday addressed a concern that has cropped up about his office in recent months, since a Democratic primary challenger to his re-election bid emerged in the form of local engineer Jeff Maiden.

Race for commissioner seat gets Republican write-in

Athens County voters now have a Republican option in a race for county commissioner that has the largest slate of Democratic primary candidates.

Lang gets last-minute primary challenge in congressional race

Before filing deadlines were extended, Athens Law Director Pat Lang had a chance to escape a primary challenge in his bid for U.S. Congress.

Ohio House candidates talk about fracking

Over the several months the debate over oil and gas "fracking" in Athens County has developed into one of the most controversial local environmental issues in decades, and it now looks to be a significant election issue as well.

Athens’ new House district will have two primaries

Both major political parties will see a primary election in the 2012 race for this area's next congressional representative.

Area's GOP freshman congressmen defend their payroll-tax vote

Three freshman Republican congressmen who either represent Athens County now, or are likely to after the election next November, are defending their votes last week that critics say nearly resulted in a middle-class tax hike for 2012.

State legislators reach deal on new district maps

A compromise in the Ohio Statehouse has been reached that will reunite the two planned 2012 primaries next year back into one, and end the standoff over recently drawn redistricting maps.

Electoral choices continue to fill out for spring primaries

Although Ohio's primary election schedule is still up in the air, the candidates are off to the races for a number of local, state and national elected positions. District maps for the state Senate, state House of Representatives and U.S. Congress were redrawn this year due to population declines shown in the 2010 U.S. Census.

Race for county engineer's seat starts with a bang

The race for county engineer is off to a running start with a dispute over whether the freezing of county bridge-work contracts by incumbent Archie Stanley was a politically motivated shot at recently announced opponent Jeff Maiden.

Local NEWS  

Oil & gas, title-search firms suing each other

A West Virginia company that has signed lease agreements for tens of thousands of acres of Athens County land to drill for oil has been sued in a local court, by another West Virginia firm that conducted title searches and related work in connection with the securing of oil-and-gas leases.

Solar company owners trumpet local clean energy, pick candidate

Athens-based Third Sun Solar, a leading solar-energy provider in Ohio, used a press conference Friday afternoon to promote local efforts to promote clean and renewable energy sources, as well as to officially endorse local food producer Chris Chmiel for Athens County Commissioner.

For better or worse, minimum wage goes up again

Business owners across Ohio have been dealing with another minimum-wage hike since the start of the New Year, sparking a variety of reactions among businesses here in Athens.

Outside counsel brought in to resolve county fund tiff

Outside counsel has been brought in by Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn to help resolve a dispute between Blackburn and the county auditor over taking money out of the auditor's purview and placing it in outside bank accounts.

Guitar magazine spills positive ink on local shop

A long-time uptown Athens business got some national exposure when it was mentioned in last month's issue of a magazine that covers the specialized world of classic guitars.

County brings in record amount for jail ‘pay-to-stay’

The Athens County Prosecutor's Office has collected $23,927 in jail restitution for this past month from jail inmates, county Prosecutor Keller Blackburn announced in a news release Tuesday.

Low-cost bus veers eastward

The local GoBus transportation service expanded its destinations eastward yesterday (Feb. 1) to include Marietta, Parkersburg, W.Va., and Coolville in Athens County.

Latest Crimes of the Month

Athens County Crime Solvers Anonymous has designated the following incidents as Crimes of the Month for February 2012. In each case, the reporting police agency is the source of the information.

For local biz, cooperative status has been mostly a good thing

Members of the Casa Nueva team happily shared their practices and values to the community on Sunday evening as bar patrons took a moment to turn around in their seats with an open ear.

Beyond the logo: Hospital launches rebranding effort

A new year has begun, and employees at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital are working to recreate the hospital's image among both Ohio University students and Athens community members.

Komen reversal allows sighs of relief

GOP presidential candidates slam decision, citing Planned Parenthood and abortions

Women's health advocates in southeast and central Ohio are hoping that the flap over breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood don't set back their cause.

Rep. Gibbs, in first 7 months, attacks regulation, taxes

U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs displaced incumbent Zack Space in 2010 during the race for Ohio's 18th Congressional district seat. Now with seven months in office under his belt, Gibbs claims he's on his way t

Both area's congressmen vote for debt compromise

Both U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, and U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, voted in favor of the debt ceiling compromise that was signed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday, the deadline for the

Two local congressmen not budging on debt, taxes

As Washington careens toward the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the national debt ceiling and avoid an unprecedented default that could lower the United States' credit rating, this area's two members of Congress reiterated national Republican calls for deep spending cuts.

Tax myths and tall tales

Nine tax facts that hardly anyone knows

Editor's note: In this piece, prepared for members of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist David Cay Johnston reviews nine tax myths that hardly anyone knows about, including the ideas that poor people don't pay taxes and that rich people are overtaxed.

New rep: Repealing ‘Obamacare’ a top priority

With the new Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, lawmakers are looking to make good on campaign promises to “repeal and replace” the health-care reform legislation that Democrats passed in 2010.

Arizona is rushing toward wrong side of history

New America Media

Young people were not the only ones to take a powerful stance that week; several hundred indigenous peoples from throughout the world rallied at the Tucson Immigration Department Headquarters, protesting Arizona's new racial profiling law.

Fasting immigrants recall Arizona border odyssey

More than 40 other people, including teenagers and young students, joined Gonzalez in a 72-hour fast, an act of protest by immigrants here and in other parts of the country to call for an immigration overhaul. Along with their advocates, community leaders and elected officials, the immigrants ended their fast Saturday aternoon, June 5.

Space no, Wilson yes on health care