Week in Review 8-12-2022

Week in Review > Week in Review 8-12-2022

Posted by Thomas Perkins on August 12th, 2022

CORONAVIRUS

Ohio University (OU) reinstated a mask mandate for all indoor spaces on campus effective Monday, Aug. 1 due to the high level of COVID-19 spread in the community, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. OU said the mask mandate is temporary while Athens County is in a high level of community spread.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) reported declines in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and ICU admissions in the past seven days, but deaths and total patient data from the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) increased. Federal data shows more counties now have a high transmission rate as well.

Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF1) announced Monday that it had activated three additional canine handlers as personnel search for missing persons following flooding in Southeastern Kentucky. OH-TF1 now has five handlers and seven dogs taking part in response efforts. The task force was activated on Thursday, July 28. Response activities include water rescue, wide area search and structural assessment.

EDUCATION

Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday announced that 1,183 schools across 81 counties will receive nearly $47 million in grant funding as part of the Ohio K-12 School Safety Grant Program. While kicking off the Ohio School Safety Summit at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, DeWine said the grants will match the requested amount by each school up to $50,000. Funding can be used to pay for security upgrades such as security cameras, public address systems, automatic door locks, visitor badging systems, and exterior lighting. The schools selected to receive funding each applied for but did not receive funds as part of the initial round of awards that were announced in May. For that round of grants, 98 schools received $4.8 million through funding in 133-SB310 (Dolan).

The most recent capital budget bill, HB687(Oelslager), increased the school safety grant program to $100 million with the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds. The Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC), in partnership with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), will begin accepting applications in the coming weeks for the $53 million in funds remaining in the grant program.

Gov. DeWine also announced that Mary Davis, former executive director of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy, has been selected to serve as the chief training officer overseeing OSSC’s new Safety and Crisis Division. HB99 (Hall), which the governor signed in June, created this division to develop and provide training for school staff members whose districts opt to allow staff to be armed on school grounds.

The Ohio Department of Education announced district teacher of the year honorees and four finalists who will be considered for the 2023 Ohio Teacher of the Year award: Jeanne Rankin, Winton Woods City Schools, State Board District 4; Jennifer Allen, Hilliard City School District, State Board District 6; Melissa Kmetz, Lakeview Local School District, State Board District 7; and Kathleen Pugh, Canton City Schools, State Board District 8.

ELECTIONS 2022

Tuesday evening Hannah News published a preliminary list of the winners in the primary election for the Ohio House and Senate. It can be found on the Hannah News homepage at www.hannah.com >Breaking News.

Two House incumbents lost their primary elections Tuesday, Aug. 2: Rep. Mark Fraizer (R-Newark) and Shawn Stephens (R-Sunbury). In the only incumbent matchup, Rep. Bride Sweeney (D-Cleveland) defeated Rep. Monique Smith (Fairview Park).

Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville), the only Senate incumbent facing a serious challenge, easily defeated State Board of Education member Kirsten Hill for the GOP nomination in the 13th Senate District, according to preliminary election results Tuesday. He won with more than 67 percent of the vote.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) easily bested former Rep. John Barnes Jr. for the Democratic nomination in the 21st Senate District, which Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) must vacate due to term limits at year’s end. Smith got about 61 percent of the vote.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES (NCSL)

School districts have until Friday, Aug. 19 to apply for the 2022 round of funding to replace diesel school buses with electric, propane and compressed natural gas (CNG) school buses, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region 8 Administrator KC Becker told attendees of the NCSL 2022 Legislative Summit.