Ohio college taking steps to move vultures off campus

GRANVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio liberal-arts college is hanging effigies in trees and using pyrotechnics to move destructive vultures off campus.

The Columbus Dispatch reports vultures have caused at least $50,000 damage at Denison University in the last year by picking at roof membranes and at caulking around vents. Vulture droppings left around air-handling units have created stinky health hazards.

Initial efforts to scare off the birds appear to be working. Vulture effigies hung by the U.S. Department of Agriculture send danger signals, says USDA wildlife biologist Jeff Pelc. Only non-lethal methods can be used because vultures are a protected migratory bird species.

Granville officials don’t want the vultures moving into town. Village administrator Mollie Ann Prasher says residents should bang pots and pans to scare off vultures when they’re spotted.

Former US president, author receive 2018 Great Ohioan Award

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former U.S. president and an author have been selected as recipients of the 2018 Great Ohioan Award.

The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board and the Capitol Square Foundation announced last week that President William McKinley and author Virginia Hamilton were unanimously approved by the board for this year’s award.

They were selected from nominations by citizens and organizations from across Ohio.

The Republican McKinley was born in Niles. He was president from March 1897 until his assassination in September 1901.

Hamilton, of Yellow Springs, wrote and published dozens of books in genres that included folk tales, mysteries and biographies.

The Great Ohioan Award commemorates Ohioans who have played a significant role in an event or series of events of lasting significance in world, U.S. or Ohio history.

Appalachia Ohio artists share innovative works in show

LANCASTER, Ohio (AP) — The works of a dozen artists from Ohio’s Appalachia region are being featured in a new exhibition.

Artists of the Winding Road: A-Z runs through April 15 at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. A curators’ talk is on Sunday.

The show features innovative works in an array of media, including cloth, clay, bottle caps and asphalt. It is part of ongoing regional efforts to redefine the economy of Ohio’s coal country with a greater focus on cultural arts.

Co-curators of the exhibit are David Mitzel, director of Appalachian Hills of Ohio Territory, and Michael Seiler, a Zanesville-based painter.

Mitzel says the region’s economy has traditionally been one of extraction — of coal, oil, gas or timber — and the exhibition seeks “attraction” of visitors, tourists and residents.

Death penalty documentary includes troubling Ohio execution

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A new documentary on the death penalty includes the work a federal public defender did on an Ohio execution that lasted 26 minutes while the inmate repeatedly gasped and snorted.

“The Penalty” tells three capital punishment-related stories. They include that of a recently exonerated death row inmate and a homicide victim’s family trying to negotiate the legal system.

A third story examines the 2014 execution of Dennis McGuire using a never tried two-drug process that Ohio has since abandoned.

The film follows federal public defender Allen Bohnert during his unsuccessful fight to stop McGuire’s execution.

Screenings are scheduled in several Ohio cities beginning Monday to include Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton and Columbus.

Ohio city will test Air Force radio chatter technology

FAIRBORN, Ohio (AP) — First responders in an Ohio city will be the first to test new Air Force technology that separates radio chatter.

The Dayton Daily News reports Fairborn police and firefighters will use an integrated management system developed by the technology firm GlobalFlyte. The company says the tool provides for more efficient communication at emergency scenes.

According to GlobalFlyte, the system separates radio chatter and identifies keywords. The management system is powered by Air Force Research Laboratory-developed technology. Fairborn abuts Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside of Dayton.

Fairborn Police Capt. Terry Bennington says the department should be able to take advantage of the technology during the test run.

GlobalFlyte CEO Timothy Shaw says the company will study the city’s use of the technology and collect feedback.