Local News

They were almost absent from Ohio until 2009. But since then, the number of blacklegged ticks found in Ohio has grown significantly. The bad news: Blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease.

A new study conducted by Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Health has found that blacklegged ticks and Lyme disease are now an emerging public health concern in Ohio, as tick populations carrying the disease have become established, particularly in the eastern half of the state.

“Ohio had a low incidence of human Lyme disease, which is largely attributed to the absence of the transmitting vector, the blacklegged deer tick, in the state,” said Glen Needham, professor emeritus of entomology in the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and one of the study’s authors.

“However, evidence presented in this study suggests that the blacklegged deer tick is becoming established in certain areas of Ohio.”

The open-access paper was published June 2014 in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

Ticks are small arachnids that hang out along woodland edges, in woods, tall grass, weeds and underbrush. Like mosquitoes, ticks feed on the blood of birds, reptiles and mammals, including humans and pets. In doing so, ticks can transmit a variety of diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.

Lyme disease causes flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, fever, headache, and muscle and joint aches. It often produces a distinctive large, circular red rash that looks like a bulls-eye. When caught early, the disease can be successfully treated with antibiotics. Though not known to be fatal, the disease can progress to chronic arthritis, neurological symptoms and cardiac problems if left untreated. Lyme disease is caused by an agent known as Borrelia burgdorferi, which is found primarily in the white-footed mouse. Blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) pick up the disease-causing agent from the mice and serve as vectors, or carriers, of Lyme disease.

The Theater Department of Ohio University Eastern announces open community auditions for its upcoming production of Peter Parnell’s bittersweet drama “The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket” on Monday, September 8 and Tuesday, September 9 at 7pm in the Shannon Hall Theater.

First performed in 1982, “The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket” is the story of a group of twelve-year-old sixth graders.   Act one chronicles their behavior in the classroom and on the playground; act two reveals how those childhood events have shaped their lives as adults.  At the center of the story is Daniel, a gifted boy who is also a misfit.  His painful inability to relate to his peers forces him to escape his childhood and his hometown as soon as he can.  Daniel’s return to his hometown as an adult, amid a great celebration, is anything but celebratory.

August 30  Total Head 244

Cattle 149 hd.; cows 38 hd; good $95-113; medium $80-94.75; thin $79.75 & down; baby calves 2 hd; WT $180-250; bred cows 9 hd; BH $800-1650; bulls 8 hd; WT $120.50-148.50.

Feeders steers/bulls 62 hd.; med. 1 & 2  200-299 (5) $240-281; 300-399 (10) $110-285; 400-499 (22) $120-280; 500-599 (6) $100-285; 600-699 (5) $110-241; 700-799 (5) $130-170; 800-up (8) $115-165; Holsteins (1) $90.

Feeders med 1 & 2 heifers 30 hd; 200-299 (6) $145-260; 300-399 (6) $115-260;  400-499 (10) $80-257.50; 500-599 (2) $96-195; 600-699 (4) $97.50-165; 700-799 (2) $125-150.

September 4  Total Head 1164 Fed cattle 200; choice steers $149-157; good steers $148 & down; holstein steers $118-138.50; choice heifers $147-156; good heifers $146 & down;  202 commercial cows  $110-150; canners and cutters $109 & down; 33 butcher bulls $100-155; bred cows & C/C pairs: 6 cows & cow/calf pair BH $910-1475; feeder cattle 585; stocker steer & bull calves $170-292; stocker steer yearlings $120-225; holstein stocker steers $97.50-160;    stocker heifer calves $150-267; stocker heifer yearlings $120-218; calves 21; baby calves $350 & down; hogs  68; best barrows and gilts $67.50; heavier and lighter weights $60-65; sows $62-78.50; boars $26; feeder pigs by weight $50-95.

Karen Pawloski, the Transportation Manager leading the regional transportation pilot effort in the Buckeye Hills district (including Monroe), spoke to the Woodsfield Kiwanis Club to provide updates and encourage participation. Buckeye Hills was selected by The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to lead the Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) Pilot program in its eight-county district.

The senior menu for the week of Sept. 8 - Sept. 12

Mon. - Spaghetti and meatballs, cole slaw, Italian vegetables, warm peach crisp, breadstick and milk.

Tue. - Soup and salad bar.

Wed. - Baked steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, cantaloupe, dinner roll and milk.

A major ethane cracker plant may soon be built in Monroe County after a development last week involving Appalachian Resins, Inc. The company signed a letter of intent on Mon., August 25 stating plans to build a $1 billion facility in Salem Township.

The announcement was made via a press release emailed to DownstreamToday.com, who broke the news on Aug. 25. The article, written by Matthew V. Veazey, cites the press release as stating approximately 50 acres will be leased from the Monroe County Port Authority and that the plant will replace one previously planned in West Virginia. The article quoted Appalachian Resin’s CEO James Cutler as saying, “There is no difference in our development activities, we have essentially only moved across the Ohio River. We will not be integrating with an existing operating (brownfield) facility but will be more of a ‘greenfield’ location. However, we will have improved rail facilities.”

Jason Hamman, Monroe County Economic Developer and the force driving the establishment of the Monroe County Port Authority, confirmed Appalachian Resin’s announcement although he said there is still work to be done to finalize the plans. “It’s a complex project with a lot of moving parts, and we’ve made significant progress in making this project a reality in Monroe County,” said Hamman.

According to Hamman, the project and negotiations have been in the works for over a year. He said the combination of an active rail line, barge access along the Ohio River, and good truck access on SR 7 helped attract Appalachian Resins to the county.

“Monroe County has emerged as a sweet spot in the Utica Shale play. We are located logistically for both midstream and downstream opportunities,” said Hamman.

The proposed cracker plant will be purposed to convert ethane to ethylene and polyethylene. Such materials are used to make “plastics that go into virtually everything,” explained Hamman.

Monroe County Sheriff Charles Black, Jr. recently warned that there is a new scam in Ohio that his hit other area counties. Sheriff Black said the scammers call a person and portray themselves as law enforcement. They then tell the person he or she has an outstanding warrant and may be arrested. However, if they pay a fine, by credit card over the phone, they will not be arrested.

Sheriff Black said the legal system does not operate in that manner, and people should never try to pay a fine over the phone. He  said anyone receiving such phone calls should call the sheriff’s department at 472-1612 to verify the information.

The Ohio Departments of Health (ODH) and Natural Resources (ODNR), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local health departments (LHDs) will begin fall oral rabies vaccination (ORV) operations this month in 14 northeast and eastern Ohio counties. Weather permitting, baiting will begin Wednesday, August 20 and will cover 4,158 square miles of the state’s northeastern and eastern border. Bait distribution should be complete by September 19.

Rabies is a viral disease that affects mammals, including people. It is almost always fatal. Rabies vaccine baiting operations are intended to immunize raccoons that are at greatest risk of being exposed to raccoon rabies coming into the state. This will then create an ‘immune barrier’ along the Ohio state line that can prevent the spread of raccoon-rabies variant (RRV) into the rest of the state.

As in past years, bait distribution with the oral rabies vaccine Raboral V-RG® will take place in all of Ashtabula, Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoning and Trumbull counties and parts of Belmont, Carroll, Harrison and Monroe counties. In addition, for the third year in a row, a new oral rabies vaccine called ONRAB® will be field tested in parts of Lake, Portage, Geauga, Summit and Cuyahoga counties as part of a national trial involving five states.

Baits will be distributed by various methods in each county, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter and vehicles staffed by USDA and Local Health Departments.  Residents in the areas to be baited should be aware of low-flying aircraft and should keep children and pets away from the baits. Dogs in particular are attracted to the baits and will occasionally eat them. The baits are not harmful to pets. Please keep the following information in mind:

West Liberty University welcomed 10 new professionals to its faculty for fall 2014 – 2015. An additional two were added this past January 2014, bringing the total number of full-time faculty to 142 full-time instructors. Opening convocation and the first general faculty meeting for the 2014 - 2015 academic year is scheduled for noon, Wednesday, Aug. 27 in College Hall. Among the new faculty members is Monroe County resident Ronny Warrington.

Ronny Warrington is the Assistant Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology. A resident of Sardis, Ohio, Warrington is an audiologist at Marietta Hospital, Marietta, Ohio. Prior to that he was an audiologist at Senior Healthcare Associates, Hermitage, Pa. Before that he was an audiology intern at Tri-State Audiology, Glen Dale, W.Va. and was an aural rehabilitation coordinator at Ohio University Hearing, Speech and Language Clinic, Athens, Ohio. Warrington earned a Bachelor of Science in speech pathology and audiology degree at WLU and a doctoral degree in audiology at Ohio University, Athens.