http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/articles.sec--1-1-local-news.html A judge in Athens County Municipal Court last week found probable cause to believe that a Glouster man committed murder when he allegedly beat a Buchtel man to death in a May 2 incident.]]> The city of Athens is now considering its own severance tax for oil and gas companies in the hopes of using monies collected for a "clean-up" fund to be established in the city.
]]> Despite persistent rumors, the Ohio State Highway Patrol has said it has found no evidence thus far of any foul play in the apparent hit-and-run death of a 57-year-old Glouster man. ]]> A Shade man has pleaded guilty to computer crimes, according to federal prosecutors. Charles J. Estep, 28, whose address is in Meigs County, pleaded guilty earlier this month to breaking into the social media sites of a man and woman he knows, threatening the woman because of comments she had posted online, then obtaining sexually explicit photos of her and posting them on the Internet.

]]> If Athens County forces the Friends of Shelter Dogs pay license fees for each of the dogs it rescues, the group wants to get at least a discount. During a commissioners meeting Tuesday, the group made this request while bemoaning continuing struggles with the county.]]> The three Athens County Commissioners expressed satisfaction at the recent announcement by Athens County Engineer Archie Stanley that he will not change his department's sick-leave policy.]]> Based on recently released geological data from state experts, the price Athens County landowners believe they can get for oil-and-gas drilling leases has plunged dramatically in the last couple of months. ]]> As the prospect of local landowners getting rich quick from oil-and-gas leases appears to evaporate, Athens County residents who have signed drilling leases with a West Virginia-based energy company, Cunningham Energy, LLC, have to decide whether to renew their options on much less lucrative terms.]]> The drama surrounding the Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Service didn't end when SEOEMS itself ended. In fact, the legal wrangling was apparently just beginning.]]> A 30-year-old Buchtel man has been referred for psychiatric evaluation after he allegedly shot his 31-year-old brother during a heated argument Saturday.]]> Before a packed courtroom in Athens County Municipal Court, witnesses gave conflicting testimony about a May 2 incident in Chauncey in which a 20-year-old Buchtel man, Harley Aaron Pruitt, was allegedly beaten to death by 20-year-old Gary Wooten of Glouster. ]]> It's been a year since an appeal was filed in the conviction of an East Coast physician for raping an Athens woman he met online.]]> The city of Athens has three predominant laws to deal with the spring student festival season: The nuisance party law, the noise ordinance and the riot code.]]> The owner of a new uptown Athens tanning parlor was in court last week, asking a judge to order her landlord, who has locked her out for not paying rent on time, to let her re-open for business.]]> City Council unanimously approved a resolution last week that will give delinquent taxpayers a grace period to work with the auditor's office through an amnesty program.]]> With the prospects for oil-and-gas leasing in Athens County going into some serious flux, an out-of-county landowner organization is making a renewed pitch to sign up property owners.]]> An attorney for the Wal-Mart store in Athens has asked a judge in Athens County Common Pleas Court to grant the company summary judgment in a lawsuit filed last year by a Coolville man, who was arrested for shoplifting a computer hard drive. ]]> While law enforcement has the teeth to shut down parties that get out of hand, it has no such authority to preemptively stop private gatherings, Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said in an interview Tuesday.]]> Athens City Council made several moves on Monday to further expressing its opposition to oil and gas drilling in sensitive areas, specifically the city's wellhead protection zone and the Wayne National Forest.]]>