Breaking News

Ax tax drive stalls again, campaign now aims for Nov. 2027 ballot

A proposed constitutional amendment to consider abolishing property taxes in Ohio won’t be on the Nov. 3 ballot because the group collecting signatures has again failed to get enough people to sign petitions. This is the second year in a row that the Committee to Abolish Ohio Property Taxes, also called AxOhioTax, tried to qualify for the ballot as it failed to do so in 2025. Brian Massie, a leader of the group, announced Friday on Ohio Political News, a right-wing political podcast, that not enough signatures were collected. The group had to submit petitions with 413,488 valid ...

St. Clair Township trustees adopt 2027 tax budget

CALCUTTA — The St. Clair Township trustees recently approved the 2027 tax budget, accepting the amounts and rates determined by the budget commission. The amounts approved inside the 10-mill limitation for each fund are Road and Bridge, $244,700; Fire, $495,500; and Police, $1,576,200 for a total of $2,071,700. The trustees also approved a request from Ferguson Contracting to work in a township right-of-way at 16421 Lyle St. for the installation of a new sewer line, with work expecting to take two days. A transient vendor license was approved for 90 days for Brandon Groves ...

Salem Parks Commission approves equipment repairs

SALEM — The parks commission approved equipment repairs in its May meeting. Parks Foreman Wes Bryan told the commissioners that he spoke with Unkefer Sales, a Kubota dealer based in Minerva, and the estimated cost of repairs necessary to return the parks department’s Kubota to working condition was $4,500. However, the cost to repair all its issues was estimated to be closer to $10,000. The commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with the $4,500 repair, and asked Bryan to review other equipment options to reduce the Kubota’s usage. The commissioners also discussed the ...

One-room schools played important role during early statehood

One-room schools came into existence shortly after Ohio became a state. Each school district covered six or seven sections. (A standard township is divided into 36 sections with each section one mile by one mile.) Ohio had about 10,000 such schools with approximately 120 in Columbiana County ...

On the calendar

MON/6-8 Beloit West Branch school board, 5 p.m., high school library; executive session at 5:30 p.m., no action to be taken. Calcutta Beaver Local school board, 7 p.m., 8th grade pod. East Liverpool Preschool Story Time, 6 p.m., Carnegie Public Library Community Room East Palestine East Palestine Library, Sink or Float presented by PBS Western Reserve, 11 a.m.; Exploring Optical Illusions presented by PBS Western Reserve, 1 p.m. Eagles kitchen open 4-8 p.m., chicken quesadilla and spanish rice $8; 330-886-0397 Town &Country Garden Club of East Palestine, 6 p.m., First ...

Columbiana County EMA to conduct power station disaster drill

LISBON — Columbiana County residents may notice ramped up activity by emergency responders at several locations Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as they prepare for an emergency at the Beaver Valley nuclear power station. No need to worry, though, it’s just a drill. Emergency and ...