Dozens of community supporters were on hand Wednesday morning to help dedicate the official opening of Because He Lives Food Pantry, Inc., in Lynchburg. Highland County Commissioners Shane Wilkin, Tom Horst and Jeremy Shaffer, along with local council members, township trustees, school officials and clergy turned out for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Washington Street building.

Since 2007, Ohio has failed to meet federally required work participation rates for families in the Ohio Works First (OWF) program. OWF is the financial assistance portion of Ohio’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides cash benefits to eligible needy families for up to 36 months.

William L. Shaw, 36, of Hillsboro was arrested Tuesday evening after the Hillsboro Police Department received a call that he was threatening family members. Officers were called to the 300 block of East Main Street. According to the HPS report, officers found that Shaw had threatened two family members.

The sounds of classic country music will soon be rolling through the hills of Belfast.
  The Central Ohio Opry Band, known previously for performances at the Colony Theater in Hillsboro, will begin holding regular performances at the Belfast Community Center starting Oct. 15.

The Highland County Board of Commissioners and the union representatives for employees of the Highland County Sheriff's Office reached a contract agreement Monday in which the HCSO employees will forgo raises in order to prevent staff layoffs.
  Instead of the wage increases, employees will receive one payment of $400, and insurance will stay the same.

At its Sept. 26 meeting, the Ohio Ethics Commission issued four advisory opinions related to potential conflicts of interest.

Arrests/Citations

According to the Hillsboro Police Department, Chris A. Bowen, 39, of Hillsboro and Kendi S. Jordan, 26, of Leesburg are charged with disorderly conduct. Both Bowen and Jordan are Highland County employees, according to Sgt. Greg Barr of the Hillsboro Police Department.

Approximately 345,000 bowhunters, representing more than half of all Ohioans who hunt deer, are expected to participate in the statewide archery deer hunting season that opened September 24, according the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife.

The bill revises the requirements for staffing ambulances. The new requirements vary, depending on whether the ambulance is traveling to the emergency scene or from the emergency scene and carrying a patient, and whether the emergency medical service is a volunteer organization or is substantially utilizing volunteers. Previously, Ohio law prevented ambulances from leaving their departments until they were staffed with at least two EMTs.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol has announced that it will conduct an OVI (Operating a Vehicle Impaired) checkpoint in Hillsboro on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 24 along a section of North High Street (U.S. 62).