Former OV coach requests jury by trial

June 17, 2015

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

A former Okaw Valley middle school coach pled not guilty Monday to counts related to the sexual abuse of an underage girl.
Wade T. Burch, 25, of rural Shelbyville appeared before Judge Dan Flannell Monday afternoon along with his attorney Sean Britton for a preliminary hearing where a plea of not guilty was entered in regard to the two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault he faces. Read More

General state aid still less than expected

June 3, 2015

by Ariana Cherry
Arthur/Sullivan Reporter

A few payments that earlier in the year the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond school district thought were long gone, made their way into the coffers, though still less than originally promised.
“We received a third payment of $200,000 towards the transportation and special ed services,” explained superintendent, Kenny Schwengel to the board May 13. “It was a nice surprise to receive it.”
Schwengel also mentioned that the district received a $42,000 payment from general state aid. “Although, they did cut the amount we were supposed to receive,” added Schwengel, “it was about $10,000 less than what we usually get.”
After discussing the recently received revenue, Schwengel went on to inform the board of some of the expenses that the district still has. Read More

Public hearing Friday at 9 a.m.

•June 3, 2015•

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Following the county board amending the zoning ordinance to allow for special use permits for zoos this past April, one such application has been filed.
Aikman Wildlife, LLC. filed their application May 15 requesting a special use permit for a zoo for a tract of property located one mile west of The Great Pumpkin Patch, southwest of Arthur.
The driving force behind the project, James Aikman of Arthur, has proposed a park that would initially span 45 acres and include both a drive-through area where patrons may feed animals and a walk-through that would be similar to a zoo but with much larger habitats. There would also be a 7,000 squared foot walk-through aviary featuring different species of birds that patrons could feed. Read More

At $116,000, demolition to be completed by August

May 27, 2015

by Derek Pope
Bethany Reporter

Demolition of Findlay’s old elementary school, which saw a brief stint as Okaw Valley Intermediate School following the consolidation of Bethany and Findlay school systems, began earlier this month after members of the board of education voted to dismantle the building during their April meeting. The old schoolhouse became disused back in 2010 when the decision was made to send elementary aged children living in Findlay to Bethany’s more modern and robust elementary school.
The vote to demolish the building was unanimous despite several members of the board having themselves attended the Findlay school in their youth. The decision marked what many regarded as an expected end to the declining building. Read More

Letter asks to cash check and return portion as processing fee

May 20, 2015

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Sullivan police are warning citizens of Sullivan and the surrounding communities of what appears to be a new scam.
According to Sullivan police chief John Love, a citizen recently received a notice in the mail informing them that they were the second prize winner of a European, African, and US Consumers Sweepstake. The notice added that as a result, they had won $250,000.
The notice also goes out of its way to try and reassure the recipient that bank details are not needed and that they should not be given to anyone on behalf of the sweepstakes. However, the notice does instruct the recipient that in order to collect their quarter-million dollar prize, they only have to cash the enclosed $3600 check and then return the $3300 as the processing fee. Read More