Former Hocking County Commissioner Jessica Dicken was in county common pleas court Tuesday for a brief pre-trial hearing. Dicken is scheduled to go to trial starting Aug. 6 on charges of theft, telecommunications fraud, elections falsification, money laundering, and soliciting or accepting improper compensation. In January a three-judge commission appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court’s chief justice voted that Dicken should be suspended from office based on her criminal indictment.

All public entities (trustees, village and city councils, commissioners, etc.) must publicize their meeting dates, times and places. Except in the case of an emergency meeting, The Logan Daily News should be informed of meeting times at least two days in advance. When possible, give at least one week’s notice. Tuesday, April 30 • Laurel Township trustees meeting, 7 p.m., Gibisonville school, 16190 state Route 678, Rockbridge. Any questions contact...

LOGAN — The Hocking County Board of Elections office will be closed on Monday, April 29 to attend a regional meeting with the Ohio Secretary of State. The office will reopen on Tuesday, April 30 at 8 a.m.

LOGAN — Dug out from the cobwebbed back rooms of the Logan Daily News office, we present yet another edition of Hocking County, 50 years ago this week: April 27, 1974 — “Carbon Hill Mennonites Aid Xenia Twister Victims” Back in early April, the city of Xenia, Ohio, suffered what was the deadliest tornado of the 1974 Super Outbreak, and the worst tornado in Ohio’s recorded history. ...

COLUMBUS — The parties in a federal lawsuit against the city of Nelsonville continue to dispute whether a state agency should have to turn over law enforcement records for use as evidence in the suit — though in this case, both the plaintiffs and defendants have asked that the records be produced, but the state agency is refusing. At issue are logs from the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS), a computerized system that police officers use to access information from other law enforcement agencies...

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants the public to weigh in on whether additional safeguards are needed to protect consumers from having their signatures used without their full knowledge or consent. The request for comment seeks opinions on a proposed rule that businesses would be required to follow when soliciting and using a person’s signature for reasons unrelated to a transaction. “A gap in state law has left...

(Ohio Capital Journal) – Twelve race-based scholarships totaling $46,000 weren’t given out at Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism’s awards banquet this week, said Journalism School Director Eddith Dashiell. And that’s only a fraction of the 130 gift agreements that represent $450,000 worth of scholarship money under review by the university after comments Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost made about race-based scholarships after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions. ...

All public entities (trustees, village and city councils, commissioners, etc.) must publicize their meeting dates, times and places. Except in the case of an emergency meeting, The Logan Daily News should be informed of meeting times at least two days in advance. When possible, give at least one week’s notice. Tuesday, April 23 • Falls Township trustees meeting, 6 p.m., township hall, 12654 state Route 93N, Logan. ...

LOGAN — City council saw a couple of familiar faces from the public Tuesday evening, addressing a topic familiar to readers of The Logan Daily News. In May 2023, the newspaper spoke with several uptown businesses about the previous week’s Urban Air Wake Up Downtown, a four day event featuring airstream campers in historic downtown Logan. Each May, the event closes off a portion of Main Street for the campers...

Airstream trailers line Main Street in Logan during last year’s Urban Air Wake Up Downtown Logan event.

Rita Nguyen and Carol Powell have regained their spots on Nelsonville City Council after a judge approved a temporary restraining order against council on Monday. The pair also have filed a lawsuit to permanently regain their seats. Both documents were filed Monday in Athens County Court of Common Pleas. Each council member, except Nancy Sonick and Tony Dunfee who did not attend, received a summons for the suit during council’s meeting Monday night. ...

Nelsonville City Council — members Cory Taylor (left), Jonathan Flowers and Tony Dunfee, Council Vice President Nancy Sonick, President Gregg Clement, Law Director Jonathan Robe, and council members Justin Booth and Opha Lawson — meets April 9, 2024, in city hall.

Hocking County Prosecutor Ryan Black answers questions from reporters after a court hearing last year.

Moritz arraigned on new charges. Former Hocking County Sheriff’s officer Caleb Moritz was in court Tuesday, to plead not guilty to a superseding indictment that adds seven new felony counts to the three he was already facing. Learn more on page A3. Supreme court won’t review burglary conviction. Another avenue of appeal has been closed for Gerald Dean Stevens, the former township trustee now in prison on burglary and related charges. On Monday, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to accept jurisdiction on his case. Learn more on page A3. Logan teen creates small business. Logan High School junior Morgan Bennett has created an Instagram account to support her online business, called Recycled Rat Creations because many items she sells are made from recycled materials. Learn more on page A7.

April 15–19. Listed prices do not necessarily reflect actual property values. • Beryl Patricia Rockhold, Patricia Trego, 35401 Moore Road, to Charles and Patricia Brons, exempt, to evidence a gift, in any form, between husband and wife, or parent and child, or the spouse of either. • Robert F. Boczonadi, 3.2888 acres, Liberty Hill Road, to Wendy Knott-Boczonadi, exempt, pursuant to court order, to the extent that such transfer is...

ATHENS — The Kennedy Museum of Art (KMA) will have a new leader at its helm beginning July 1. Professional museum administrator Sandra Harris has been hired as executive director of KMA, taking the place of former director Ed Pauley, who served in that role from 2008 until last fall. Harris most recently has served as executive director of American Women Artists and has an impressive resume in leadership for museum and cultural institutions across the country, including the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, the...

(Ohio Capital Journal) — A “radical feminist” group called the Women’s Liberation Front, that has helped shape anti-trans laws nationwide, has also played a role in a proposed Ohio law that would ban transgender people in schools and on college campuses from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity and appearance, emails obtained by the Ohio Capital Journal show. Introduced in May of last year by state Reps. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, Ohio House Bill 183 — also known as...

Bennett’s stand at the Easter craft show at Nelsonville Cornerstone Church in Nelsonville.

COLUMBUS — An appeals court has upheld a decision by a Hocking County judge to dismiss a lawsuit against a local carryout, for selling alcohol to two underaged men who later died in a car crash. In August 2021 the estates of Kyle M. Stuller of Logan and Cody E. Anderson of McArthur filed the complaint in Hocking County Common Pleas Court against Harper’s Gas & More, located on state Route 664 in South Bloomingville, and one of its employees. ...

As May approaches, the American Red Cross reminds eligible donors to keep the blood supply stable by racing to give blood or platelets in the weeks to come. Donors of all blood types — especially type O blood donors and those giving platelets — are crucial to keeping shelves fully stocked with blood products throughout the month. Right now, there’s no letting off the gas when it comes to lifesaving care. With no substitute for blood and no way to manufacture it, volunteer donors are...