Schools can apply for grants for new arts learning program
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Arts Council says schools can apply for grants for a new arts program intended to bring schools and community organizations together with teaching artists for learning experiences.
Grants for the TeachArtsOhio program are awarded to schools to cover artist fees, with 100 percent of those costs paid for using Ohio Arts Council funds. Schools must provide all program-related materials and supplies.
Ohio’s public, private, charter, or parochial schools from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 are eligible to apply for the new program. The application deadline is Feb. 1, 2018.
A panel of arts and cultural professionals, educators, artists and other community members will evaluate and score the applications.
The Ohio Arts Council funds and supports arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
Authorities to determine if remains found in probe are human
WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say it could take days to determine whether remains located in southern Ohio by cadaver dogs during a missing person investigation are human.
The Chillicothe Gazette reports the Pike County Sheriff’s Office says it searched two locations in the county this week as it investigates whether 77-year-old Bernice Hayslip, last seen in August 2016, died from foul play.
Sheriff Charles Reader says the searches came after an unidentified person was taken into custody Monday and provided information. A forensics team from Pennsylvania worked with deputies and the Pike County coroner during the search.
Reader says Hayslip’s 44-year-old daughter, Tracy Sowards, is a person of interest in the case. She was charged Tuesday with credit card misuse.
Court records don’t indicate if Sowards has an attorney.
Ohio asks Rover pipeline to stop horizontal drilling
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has told the company building the massive Rover natural gas pipeline project to stop horizontal drilling after another spill of clay-based slurry.
The Repository reports EPA Director Craig Butler on Wednesday asked Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company building the $4.2 billion project, to halt drilling after 200 gallons of slurry spilled into a river in Ashland County on Nov. 16.
Butler told the company the EPA will be asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to intervene.
The state Attorney General’s Office earlier this month sued Energy Transfer claiming the company had committed numerous environmental violations in more than a dozen counties. The EPA earlier fined the company $2.3 million over previous spills.
A spokesman for the project didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
Wheelchair charging station goes online at Ohio Statehouse
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Statehouse has added a charging station for electric wheelchairs.
The first of two planned stations was unveiled last week. It is located in the Map Room on the state capitol’s ground floor.
The second charging station is expected to be operational soon.
Republican State Sen. Bob Peterson, who chairs the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, said the stations are a way to provide a more inclusive environment for Ohioans to access their government.
Funding for the stations came through a pilot program administered by National Association of Chronic Disease Directors.
The organization partnered with the Ohio Department of Health and the Adams County Health and Wellness Coalition.
