Local News

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Treasurer Robert Sprague today announced details of the Ohio Homebuyer Plus program, a new savings account plan designed to encourage homeownership in Ohio.  The program, which was first proposed by Governor DeWine in his 2023 State of the State address, will make specialized, tax-advantaged savings accounts available to Ohioans to assist …

COLUMBUS – According to provisional statistics, eight people were killed in seven crashes on Ohio’s roadways this Thanksgiving holiday, resulting in the fewest deaths since 2018. The five-day Thanksgiving reporting period began on Wednesday, November 22 at midnight and ran through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, Of the eight people killed, one was not wearing a safety belt and …

The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) urges added caution when cooking on Thanksgiving Day, by far the leading day of the year for home cooking fires. In 2021, an estimated 1,160 home cooking fires were reported to U.S fire departments on Thanksgiving Day, reflecting a 297 percent increase over the daily average. “Thanksgiving is a hectic holiday with multiple dishes cooking and baking at the same time, …

COLUMBUS – Traditionally, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest travel periods each year. As Ohioans and our visitors travel throughout the state, Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers will be enforcing safe driving. Troopers will be highly visible and cracking down on impaired drivers and those failing to wear a safety belt from Wednesday, November 22 at midnight through …

This Thanksgiving AAA estimates more than 2.2 million Ohioans will travel for the holiday – that is 2.3% more than the previous year. Of those traveling, more than 1.9 million Ohioans will travel by car, nearly 232,000 by plane and another 65,000 are traveling by other means, which includes rail. This will be the third-highest Thanksgiving travel volume in Ohio since …

Mount Vernon, Ohio – Knox Community Hospital earned national recognition for its efforts to increase organ, eye and tissue donor registrations through the 2023 DoNation Campaign. The Campaign challenges hospitals and healthcare organizations to educate their staff, patients, visitors and communities about the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donation, including offering opportunities to register as organ donors. Knox Community Hospital …

The Licking County Health Department’s (LCHD) Safe Communities Coalition reported one crash fatality in the county during October 2023. During October 2022, there were two crash fatalities reported. Year-to-date (October 31, 2023), there have been eleven crash fatalities in Licking County. At this time last year, there were 17 crash fatalities year-to-date (October 31, 2022). Our sincere condolences to the …

UPDATE #1: The Ohio State Highway Patrol continues to investigate this crash. The following information is being updated: A commercial vehicle belonging to Wapakoneta-based G.A. Wintzer & Sons, driven by Brandon Marchal, 37, Wapakoneta, was struck during the crash. A passenger vehicle driven by Robert Wolverton, 75, Heath, was also struck. The bus belonging to Millersburg-based Pioneer Trails was operated …

ETNA TOWNSHIP – The Granville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving a charter bus, two commercial vehicles and two passenger vehicles in Etna Township, Licking County. The crash occurred on Interstate 70 near state Route 310 at 8:52 a.m.  At this time, the investigation has revealed the vehicles were all traveling westbound on …

in Ohio’s Illicit Drug Supply (COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC) released a public safety bulletin today alerting Ohioans to an increasing number of illicit drug samples found to contain mixtures of various unpredictable and potentially deadly drugs such as carfentanil, which is estimated to be 100 times more potent than fentanyl. ONIC reported that forensic and drug testing …