“Fairway For Friends” is the name being tagged to a fundraising effort by the First Capital Rotary Club on May 14th at the Chillicothe Jaycees Golf Course.
The 10:00 A.M. event will attempt to raise proceeds for grants to help non-profit organizations in the community.
Dustin Nusbaum of the club says the day will include food, beverages, and skills prizes with the registration fee being $400 per team. There will be a 32-team limit.
Sponsors are also being sought for $100 per hole, along with sponsors for “skins prizes”.
If you would like to sign up your team, be hole sponsor, or donate a skill prize on behalf of your business please follow the link below or message our facebook page link provided below.
2020-21 has been a historical season for the Shawnee State Bears men’s basketball team and that continued Tuesday with the Bears winning the program’s first Mid-South Conference Championship.
SSU throttled Thomas More 70-54 in the title game, giving the Bears their 22nd straight win and 26th of the season.
Coach DeLano Thomas now has 75 career wins at Shawnee State, with his team’s next stop being the NAIA Opening Round and hopefully the NAIA National Tournament.
For more about Shawnee State’s history making season, go to our link to the Shawnee State University website story.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— The size of indoor/outdoor crowds for high school sports and other activities can be increased, beginning today (March 2nd), thanks to an order approved by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud signed the following public health orders:
Wedding receptions, funeral repasts, proms, and other events, whether or not food is served, at banquet facilities shall comply with previously signed health orders, including those regarding restaurants and facial coverings.
Events at banquet centers no longer have a 300-person limitation, so long as they comply with other health orders.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The number of online apps, websites, and influencers consumers have access to in 2021 is staggering. In order to help consumers better understand what they should look out for when seeking advice and information online, the Ohio Department of Commerce is sharing some important tips during this year’s National Consumer Protection Week (Feb. 28- March 6).
“We go online to make important decisions and purchases every day. Before you trust any advice, products, or photos you see, make sure your source is properly certified,” said Sherry Maxfield, director of the Department of Commerce. “Following the wrong advice or buying something based on bad information could cost you both money and valuable time.”
The Department of Commerce houses the divisions of Financial Institutions’ Office of Consumer Affairs, Liquor Control, Real Estate and Professional Licensing, and Securities. Each of these divisions tracks developments in the online consumer world and points out new trends in the last several months.
Social Media Influencer & Message Board Financial Advice
The Division of Financial Institutions’ Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) is aware of an uptick in social media influencers who use their platforms to educate their followers on financial literacy. Flashy videos and graphics can be an intriguing way to offer advice to younger followers on how to pay down debt, budget, and more. However, Instagram Reels and TikTok videos can perpetuate financial scams and spread myths.
The same is true for financial information and advice individuals may seek on message boards. The OCA wants to remind Ohioans of the risks associated with taking advice from people they don’t know personally. Not knowing their identity or qualifications to offer advice are strong red flags. Consumers are encouraged to reach out to their local bank and/or credit union for trusted advice and utilize resources created by government agencies that are invested in policy regulation and education. Our agency offers a lot of different educational guides here.
Investing Online
Retail investors can make important financial decisions, day or night, with a swipe of their finger from their smartphone. The recent stock market activity regarding the use of the Robinhood app is just one example of potential volatility within high-risk online securities products. The Division of Securities encourages Ohioans to talk with a licensed financial professional before engaging in these types of investments.
The convenience of online trading is also not always protected from fraud or abuse. Someone’s financial information could be at risk if the app lacks encryption and the app provider isn’t regulated by the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) or Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Anyone who experiences a problem is urged to contact our agency’s Investor Protection Hotline at 1-877-683-7841 as soon as possible.
Homebuying Apps that Lack Legitimate Information
Our agency is also aware of many online homebuying platforms available to consumers. Some of those platforms are active brokers with the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, like Zillow. Others are not. Regardless of which choice an individual makes to view a property, the division always recommends Ohio homebuyers work with a licensed professional.
A licensed real estate professional can protect a buyer’s interest. When working with a licensed broker, homebuyers can trust what they see on the property and not be worried about pre-recorded videos and images that may not be representative of its’ true state. To find a licensed agent, visit our website.
Illegal Shipments and Knock-off Liquor
As the state continues to monitor beer and wine products sold to consumers in Ohio, our agency wants people to be aware that purchases made online may not be what they seem and could be illegal if the business isn’t licensed in Ohio. Unlicensed companies that drop off bottles of alcohol at a consumer’s doorstep have no oversight on age verification and many don’t require a person to sign for the shipment.
The Division of Liquor Control also reminds Ohioans that the only authorized places to purchase high-proof spirits in Ohio are Ohio Liquor stores. When someone purchases liquor from another source, they could be buying a counterfeit product or one that’s been tampered with that poses a health risk. For a list of contract liquor agencies, visit OHLQ.com.
(ATHENS, Ohio) – A team of Ohio University professors will create a virtual factory for an apprenticeship training model, thanks to a new grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The team is led by Dr. Jesús Pagán, an associate professor in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. This grant awarded Pagán and his team $295,643 toward their project that aims to benefit the Appalachian region of Ohio and will promote accessible career-oriented training.
This project’s purpose is to create a virtual factory for an apprenticeship training model where students can receive a professional level experience using digital tools without the expense of a physical factory. Pagán and his team, including Dr. Yuqiu You and Dr. Gursel Suer of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, have the goal to use this new technology to accelerate workforce development training for the Appalachian region while meeting and exceeding industry recognized credentials.
Ohio University is collaborating with the Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers Coalition on the project. Students and employers will greatly benefit from this program, with one of the main benefits being Ohio University’s ability to provide virtual access to equipment in automation, robotics, machines and other resources in an industrial remote environment.
“This industry is moving forward with changes in technology and it is also being affected by COVID-19. Our project will be providing a platform for easy integration of tools which will allow the manufacturing community to plan, deploy and optimize systems in a virtual environment before or while development and implementation are being executed,” Pagán said. “Training of a workforce that is able to work in this environment will be a crucial part of the transformation process. Our team is working to implement some of these tools in an environment that allow the engineers, programmers and operators to interact with machines in a virtual factory.”
This technology will allow students entering the workforce to receive high-level training from virtually anywhere. Although, according to Pagán, the need for this type of software was already there, “COVID-19 has accelerated the implementation and use of digital tools in order to solve manufacturing issues.”
Not only will students be able to utilize this program to gain professional experience, they will be able to do so at their own pace.
“This semester more than ever, with reduced lab time and virtual learning, having a virtual factory is an absolute game changer,” said Benjamin Shuster, a senior at Ohio University studying Engineering Technology and Management. “After having the opportunity, pre-COVID-19, to tour manufacturing plants and other similar factories. I can truly understand just how much value this can bring to students by interacting with equipment and learning firsthand how modern tools are integrated together across a plant.”
Pagán’s project will target eight counties in Southeast Ohio to leverage existing infrastructure and develop virtual assets that can strengthen workforce learning in the Governor’s Office of Appalachia’s Buckeye Hills Regional Council – Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry, and Washington.
“The region we are targeting is falling behind in the engineering industry despite economic development efforts. This program has been designed to create opportunities for the underserved Appalachian region by providing access and unique resources to those stepping into and working in the industry,” Pagán said.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted today provided the following updates on Ohio’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
VACCINE AVAILABILITY
Governor DeWine announced today that Ohio is expected to receive more than 448,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week. Of that total, more than 96,000 doses of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be delivered to around 200 new independent pharmacy providers as well as chain pharmacies, hospitals, and health departments.
Ohio now offers more than 1,200 provider locations. Ohioans can find vaccine provider locations at vaccine.coronavirus.ohio.gov. Those who do not have access to the internet or are having trouble managing the online scheduling systems should call their local health department, the 211 helpline center, or the Area Agencies on Aging at 1-866-243-5678.
PHASE 1C AND PHASE 2 VACCINATION ELIGIBILITY
In response to this significant increase in the amount of vaccine coming into Ohio, Governor DeWine today outlined the individuals who are included in Phase 1C and Phase 2 of Ohio’s vaccination plan which will go into effect on March 4.
Phase 1C includes approximately 246,000 eligible Ohioans with certain occupations and with certain medical conditions not addressed in previous phases.
Phase 1C: Medical Groups
Type 1 diabetes
Pregnant women
Bone marrow transplant recipients
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
Phase 1C: Occupations
Childcare Services – Approximately 40,400 Ohioans:
Administrators, lead and assistant teachers, and substitutes who are enrolled in Ohio’s Professional Registry who are currently working in open childcare and pre-kindergarten programs.
Licensing specialists employed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services or county job and family services agencies.
This phase does not include parent volunteers, board members, or owners/administrators that do not provide in-classroom supports.
Funeral Services – Approximately 3,600 Ohioans:
Embalmers/morticians, funeral home directors, crematory operators, and apprentices.
Law Enforcement and Corrections Officers – Approximately 76,000 Ohioans:
Examples of law enforcement occupations included in Phase 1C are police officers; sheriff’s deputies; Ohio State Highway Patrol Troopers; other state or federal enforcement officers such as Ohio Department of Natural Resource enforcement staff, pharmacy board investigators, BCI agents, state fire marshal investigators, federal transportation security officers, and other federal law enforcement officers who do not have access to vaccination from federal sources.
Phase 2
Because the risk of more severe reactions and outcomes of COVID-19 increase with age, Phase 2 will open vaccinations based on age, beginning with Ohioans ages 60 and older. This group includes approximately 695,000 eligible Ohioans.
FEDERAL STIMULUS PACKAGE & BIASED FUND ALLOCATION
Lt. Governor Jon Husted outlined provisions in the federal stimulus package recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that if signed into law would disproportionally and negatively impact Ohio and its recovery.
This $1.9 trillion COVID Relief Bill provides significant additional relief funding for state and local governments, however, the as-passed version adopted by Congress distributes the $350 billion in coronavirus relief funding to state and local governments using a formula that incorporates state unemployment rates as of the fourth quarter of 2020, instead of using a solely population-based formula.
As a result, this benefits states with higher unemployment rates during that period.
Under the current proposal, because Ohio’s December 2020 unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, the state will miss out on over $800 million compared to if a more equitable population-based formula was used, as was used for the CARES Act.
Over the weekend, governors across the country, including Governor DeWine, released a joint statement opposing the new standard in the federal stimulus bill for how federal funds would be allocated to states:
The statement reiterates that “the new stimulus proposal allocates aid based on a state’s unemployed population rather than its actual population, which punishes states that took a measured approach to the pandemic and entered the crisis with healthy state budgets and strong economies.”
There are 33 states expected to lose funding under this proposal.
OHIO DEPARTMENT OF JOB AND FAMILY SERVICES
Kim Henderson, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, will be relocating to North Carolina in the spring. She will remain in the director role until Monday, March 8. Matt Damschroder, current director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS), will move into an interim director role at that time. Henderson will become a senior advisor to him until her last day on April 30th.
A nationwide search will be launched for Director Henderson’s permanent replacement. Until that search concludes, Assistant DAS Director Matt Whatley will work as interim director at DAS.
CURRENT CASE DATA
In total, there are 968,874 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 17,346 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 50,382 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 7,148 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Students attending Ohio University are being told in-person educational opportunities on campus will return for the fall semester of 2021.
Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis made that announcement Monday morning.
“First, I want to take a moment to fervently applaud the work of Special Assistant to the President for Public Health Operations Dr. Gillian Ice, Chief Medical Affairs Officer Dr. Ken Johnson, and the entire COVID Operations team for their incredible work during the last several weeks and months. I also want to thank our students for the role they continue to play in keeping each other safe by following protocols, even when it creates challenges. Together, we have maintained a positivity rate under four percent and avoided significant outbreaks in our residence halls this Spring.”
Nellis continued by stating; “With recent successes in mind, and with COVID cases currently dropping in Ohio and across the country as vaccines are deployed, we are planning to welcome all students to our campuses, to significantly increase face-to-face course offerings, and to have fully open residence halls on our Athens campus this fall. We have already started to phase in on-campus activities. We recently increased the number of available campus visits for prospective students, adding group information sessions under careful guidance from our public health leaders. We are also planning to host Bobcat Student Orientation in-person this summer – although in smaller groups than normal – with virtual options available for families who prefer not to travel to campus until Welcome Week in August.”
While fall classes are being planned out, Nellis cautioned they are taking a cautious approach. “While we should not expect University life to fully return to a pre-pandemic normal, we can all look forward to a more normal summer and fall.”
For more specific details on Ohio University’s plan to return to on-campus learning, go to our link to the Ohio University website story. CLICK HERE:
The producers of the outdoor drama “Tecumseh!” are almost at the midway point in efforts to raise funds they lost by not having the show in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scioto Society has thus far raised $600,000 of the nearly $1.3 million in lost revenues, according to CEO Brandon Smith.
Smith told Litter Media Monday morning, that tickets are already on sale for the 2021 season, which will run June 17th through September 5th.
The show has already received a variance on crowd size from the Ross County Health District, which is comparable to the 30% maximum crowd capacity size for outdoor entertainment events announced last week by Governor Mike DeWine.
Scioto Society’s lone fundraiser this year will be The Pour House Bourbon Dinner, slated for March 25th. It will include a virtual silent auction. Tickets for this fundraiser are available through the Pour House at Machinery Hall.
This distribution is in addition to VA’s normally scheduled delivery of approximately 125,000 doses of both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines each week.
“In accordance to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s phased allocation considerations, VA has worked diligently to offer and administer the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible to Veterans who receive care at VA,” said Acting VA Under Secretary for Health, Richard Stone, M.D. “The additional doses will help us to continue reaching our Veterans at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 during this period of limited supply.”
As of Feb. 10, VA has administered at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine collectively to 1,047,187 Veterans, employees and federal partners. VA’s goal is to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to all Veterans who are enrolled and eligible to receive VA health care. Veterans who are not enrolled can learn about eligibility by visiting www.va.gov//health-care/eligibility/.
The Chillicothe VA Medical Center is administering the Moderna vaccine and is currently offering the vaccine to enrolled outpatient Veterans who are 40 years-old and older. To date, 6,278 employees and Veterans have received the first dose of the vaccine and 3,588 second doses have been given for a total of 9,866 doses administered.
Enrolled Veterans can call 740-773-1141, extension 5575, to schedule an appointment. Veterans not enrolled in the VA healthcare system are encouraged to visit www.chillicothe.va.gov/enrollment.asp to register or call 740-772-7170 with questions.
