WOUB Public Media

Study Finds Community Action Agencies Affect Economy

WOUB Staff Writer — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:59:07 +0000

Athens, OH

WOUB Staff Writer

Community Action Agencies in Ohio have a big effect on improving the local business climate: a new study found that 40 percent of Community Action Agency funding goes toward economic development.

The study out of Ohio University shows that charitable agencies that work with low income families within Ohio, are looking to create economic growth, as well as hand out food to those in economic crisis.

Doug Stanley, executive director of the Athens, Hocking, Perry Community Action Agency, says he hopes this study highlights the focus of these organizations.

"When we work with state legislators, to demonstrate to them that what we do, it's not just helping someone with a food box or a head-start program or a weatherization program, but it is actually improving the economy for everybody, not just low income people," said Stanley.

Stanley uses the GoBus partnership as one example of the agency's economic development work.

"GoBus provides very low cost, $10 is a roundtrip ticket, to go from Athens to Columbus and Athens to Cincinnati. There are two runs made each day, round-trip. And most recently we opened a spur line that goes to Marietta-Parkersburg," said Stanley.

The agency's partnership with GoBus began in November 2010 as an effort to fill a void in public transportation in Southeast Ohio.

The Athens, Hocking, Perry Community Action Agency, also known as HAPCAP, is just one of the 50 Community Action Agencies that serve every county in the state of Ohio.

Cambridge Man Faces Charges In Foster Father's Murder

Fred Kight — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:00:49 +0000

Cambridge, OH

Fred Kight

Guernsey County Prosecutor Daniel Padden says Perry Buco has been indicted for aggravated murder.

The announcement Friday says Buco has also been indicted for aggravated robbery, theft and grand theft.

Buco is 21-years-old and from Cambridge.

He's accused of killing 47-year-old Robert Caples of Cambridge in April.

Caples was Buco's foster father.

Can Supervolcanoes Erupt More Suddenly Than We Think?

Joseph Stromberg — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:36:24 +0000

Joseph Stromberg

The 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, one of the largest in recent history, is dwarfed by the scale of supervolcano eruptions.

About 74,000 years ago, in what is now Indonesia, Mount Toba violently erupted. The volcanic explosion sent some 700 cubic miles of magma into the air and deposited an ash layer roughly 6 inches thick over all of South Asia.

The eruption—which was an estimated 100 times larger than the largest in modern times, the 1815 Mount Tambora eruption—altered global climate patterns significantly, likely triggering a period of rapid cooling. The effect on ecosystems around the world was dramatic, and it may have nearly led to the extinction of the human species—some genetic studies suggest that the human population went through a bottleneck around that time, with as few as 1,000 breeding pairs of our ancestors surviving the devastating volcanic winter.

Yesterday, scientists from Vanderbilt University and the University of Chicago published a study in the journal PLoS ONE that has an ominous conclusion. Their findings indicate that the underground magma pools that fuel such supervolcanoes—pancake-shaped reservoirs that are typically 10 to 25 miles in diameter and one half to three miles deep—erupt much more quickly than previously thought. The research team says that once these enormous subterranean magma reservoirs form, they are unlikely to stay dormant for very long—they may be capable of sitting quietly for just thousands or even hundreds of years before erupting.

“Our study suggests that when these exceptionally large magma pools form, they are ephemeral, and cannot exist very long without erupting,” said Guilherme Gualda, the Vanderbilt University professor who directed the study, in a press release. ”The fact that the process of magma body formation occurs in historical time, instead of geological time, completely changes the nature of the problem.”

Hundreds of years may seem like a long time when compared to the length of a human life, but a century is just a blip when viewed in terms of geologic time. Most geologic events—the formation of mountains and the movement of tectonic plates, for example—typically occur on the order of hundreds of thousands or millions of years. So the fact that these underground magma pools can only lay dormant for mere centuries is stunning when viewed in the context of conventional beliefs about geology.

A rendering of the magma pool that fueled the Yellowstone supervolcano eruption roughly 2.1 million years ago

Gualda’s research team arrived at the conclusion by studying Bishop Tuff, a rock formation in eastern California that formed as a result of a supervolcano eruption some 760,000 years ago. Using advanced methods for analyzing the date of magma formation, the researchers concluded that the subterranean reservoir developed sometime between 500 and 3,000 years before the eruption. The resulting event covered more than half of North America with a layer of volcanic ash.

The potential effects of a supervolcano eruption in modern times are truly terrifying to behold. The eruption in Mount Tambora in Indonesia, which produced less than 1 percent of the volume of lava and ash of a supervolcano, caused 1815 to become known as “The Year Without a Summer” in North America and Europe. Volcanic ash suspended in the atmosphere blocked enough sunlight from reaching earth so that crop production was severely interrupted, causing famines and food riots in from Switzerland to China.

If the formation and eruption of giant magma pools capable of producing supervolcanoes truly happens as quickly as indicated in the study, it means we ought to take an entirely different approach in preparing for such cataclysms, the researchers report. Thankfully, it is believed that no magma pools of this size are present on earth at this time. But since they can form and erupt so rapidly, the authors recommend that we continually monitor geologic hot spots to detect the earliest signs of formation.

It might be impossible to prevent such natural disasters, but experts agree that preparation and advance warning are the best bet for mitigating the destruction they might bring. Centuries might be short when viewed in terms of geologic time, but they are long for human civilizations—long enough that, if we knew the location of a massive underground magma pool, we might even be able to intentionally avoid building cities and development in the area above it. This wouldn’t prevent the massive level of damage a supervolcano would bring, but it would reduce the destruction to some degree.

Surprising Science appears on Smithsonian.com. Republished with permission. For archives, visit the Smithsonian web site.

Kasich Signs Texting Ban

Associated Press — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:03:22 +0000

Columbus, OH

Associated Press

Ohio has become the 39th state to prohibit texting while driving.

Gov. John Kasich signed a ban Friday on writing, reading and sending texts from behind the wheel. It goes into effect in 90 days.

The measure includes a stricter crackdown on teen drivers' use of electronic devices. Minors would be banned from using cellphones, iPads or other electronics while driving.

Texting would be a secondary offense for adult drivers. They could be ticketed for typing messages only if they were first pulled over for another offense, such as running a red light.

Teens could more easily be pulled over for violating the texting ban.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, the measure would be among the broadest in the country in terms of teen distracted driving restrictions.

Morning Audio Update for June 1

Taylor Pool — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:51:45 +0000

Athens, OH

Taylor Pool

The trip to and from school will become a little safer for Washington and Athens County students.

Plus, Ohio is poised to become the 39th state to prohibit texting while driving.

Morning Update for June 1.mp3

Exile On West Union Street: Local Bands Gear Up For Keithfest

Emily Votaw — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:33:18 +0000

Athens, Ohio

Emily Votaw

The Rolling Stones are inarguably one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Their combination of rough English boy blues, infused with an even rougher attitude, has yet to be matched.

Therefore, it only makes sense that The Stones would have some fans who are inarguably great.

This Saturday, The Union is hosting the second annual "Keithfest," featuring a wide array of local bands, all playing in memory of Bryan Keith Winland, who passed away in 2008.

Throughout the night, local musicians will be covering tunes penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the latter of whom the event is named after...sort of.

"Keith Richards was Bryan's favorite Stone, and Bryan's middle name was Keith," said Scott Winland, Bryan's younger brother and the event's organizer. "After a while it stuck and we decided he would've got a kick out of the name."

After Bryan passed away, Scott and his sister Jennifer decided to start a scholarship in his name for high school seniors seeking higher education in arts and music, and to hold an annual benefit concert to fund it.

"He was an amazing guy," said Winland. "We came from a very musical family. Bryan was a major part of that for me. As a booking agent, promoter, musician and music professor, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Bryan or his impact on who I am and what I do."

Many of Athens' most impressive acts will take the stage on Saturday, including local surf/garage heroes The D-Rays, veteran punks Weird Science and prog-rock wizards Zapano.

The show will also include Winland's band Dropdead Sons, as welll as Hex Net, The Imparsonators, Leah & Adam, Nick Zuban, The JJ Reed Band and Whip & Tickle.

"Last year's show was a lot of fun, and I'm expecting the same from this year's Keithfest," said Winland. He went on to say that attendees should be prepared for a casual evening.

"Like The Stones, the music and schedule will run pretty loose," he noted. "Get there early and raise a glass to Bryan Winland--Athens' finest rock 'n' roller."

Keithfest starts at 10 p.m. at The Union (18 W. Union Street). All proceeds go to the Bryan Winland Arts & Music Scholarship Fund.

Naure: Moment of Impact - Jungle

WOUB — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:40:44 +0000

Airs Sunday, June 17 • 8 p.m.

NATURE presents the conclusion of MOMENT OF IMPACT. When animals of astounding ability connect with each other and the world around them there is a "moment of impact." The world is filled with these unique moments created by animals whose abilities and behaviors are incredible to behold, like the violent collision of cheetah with gazelle, the blink-of-an-eye strike of a deadly cobra and the amazing dexterity of an elephant's trunk as it feeds, fights or reaches out with affection. But how do these creatures accomplish such extraordinary feats? Live action footage only reveals part of the answer. Using the latest technologies, HD camera lenses and computer graphics, this two-part series will take us inside the animal to present an innovative and revolutionary look at the bio-engineering of "how animals work." The jungle's layers are peeled back to dissect more amazing moments of impact. Stealth and ambush reign in the jungle and survival depends on highly tuned senses and ingenious defenses. From ninja ants to flying snakes, cameras dive underwater, sail through trees and penetrate fur, feathers, skin and bone to reveal the science of some amazing animal engineering hidden deep in the jungle.

Energy Assessments Free To Athens County Residents

Kelsey Borza — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:11:53 +0000

Athens, OH

Kelsey Borza

A free program that aims to help Athens County homeowners save energy and reduce costs launched in Athens on Thursday.

The Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development is providing more than 150 free energy home assessments to Athens County residents. The assessments include suggestions for basic energy improvements, and auditors can troubleshoot potentially dangerous problems.

Mary Ann Bennick, an Athens County homeowner, says it didn't take much to convince her to get a home audit.

"If it saves you money and it makes your home more comfortable to live in, then do it," she said.

The home auditors primarily target basic fixes like water usage, lightbulbs and doorways, but can also provide homeowners with information about utility rebate programs and access to low-interest financing through the Ohio University Credit Union.

Bennick's auditor, Dustin Bolin, recommended that she make the switch to energy saving household items that won't break the bank. This includes purchasing a new shower head and low wattage lightbulbs.

"We'll also be pointing out some health and safety issues along with, if they do decide to seal up their home. If they have a bad furnace or something like that, it can be very dangerous for the homeowner," said Bolin.

Bennick said she thinks the home assessment was well worth the inconvenience of opening up her home to a stranger.

"If they have an issue with someone coming into their home and finding something then that's up to them, but don't get me wrong its helpful," she said.

The Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development says it may open up the program to people from other areas in the region if the pilot project is successful.

Athens Offering Tax Amnesty

Christa Lamendola — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:42:23 +0000

Athens, OH

Christa Lamendola

The City of Athens is offering a one time opportunity for "non-taxpayers" to get back on track without penalties starting Friday.

Failing to pay your income taxes could get you into hot water with the government, along with penalties and interest.

Prior to signing a new contract with the Central Collection Agency, the City of Athens is offering delinquent taxpayers a chance to come clean through an income Tax Amnesty program.

"What we wanted to do was offer an amnesty program, which is an opportunity to file delinquent tax returns or delinquent employer withholdings with no penalty and half interest charges," said Tina Timberman, City of Athens income tax administrator.

This gives taxpayers an opportunity to do redeem themselves before the city joins with the collection agency to compare Athens' database to the IRS database.

These records will be used to pursue non-filing and under reporting taxpayers.

After researching a Dayton amnesty program done back in 2008, Timberman says that this program is expected to bring in between $10,000 and $20,000 in revenue for the city of Athens.

"For every person that comes forward, it's money that we hadn't previously collected," said Timberman. "So, it's going to be increased revenue as well as that becomes a future taxpayer, so not only do we get the previous seven years back taxes but we also get taxes going forward."

The City of Athens is currently accepting tax returns for the amnesty program and will continue accepting them until June 29.

Athens City tax forms can all be found on the city's website along with a list of items that are taxable and non-taxable for the city.

Warren School Board Cuts High School Busing

Regina Donizetti — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:14:44 +0000

Marietta, OH

Regina Donizetti

The buses won't run at Warren High School this upcoming school year.

In a 3-2 vote, the Warren Local Board of Education voted against bringing the buses back in the fall.

The elimination was one of several cuts intended to save the school money to repair its aging facilities.

"The whole concern was over financials. We just don't have the revenue to make the improvements to our buildings that we need," said Bob Allen, president of the school board.

Allen says the school board saw an increase in attendance at its meetings after the decision was made to cut the school transportation.

"I understand the impact. I don't like it. I wish we could do otherwise and provide busing. It is a hardship for families, and I understand it," he said.

Allen says the school board will spend about $1.5 million dollars each year for the next several years for repairs and renovations to existing systems.