Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly are looking at ways to bring broadband access to the nearly 1 million resident of the Buckeye State who lack a high speed connection an issue that came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lack of access is a major concern in rural areas such as Tuscarawas County.
DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted are recommending that the legislature spend $290 million toward broadband expansion in the next two-year state budget. The investment would establish a one-time, $250 million initiative, the Ohio Residential Broadband Grant Program, to expand access across the state in 2022 and 2023.
There have been a total of 235 COVID-19 related deaths in Tuscarawas County.
The Holmes County Health Department was notified Thursday that the county moved from Risk Level 3 (Red) to Risk Level 2 (Orange) in the Ohio Public Health Advisory Alert System. The Ohio Public Advisory Alert System is a color-coded system designed to supplement existing statewide orders through a data-driven framework to assess the degree of virus spread.
Tuscarawas County COVID-19 school report for the week ending Feb. 21:
Dover City Schools five new student cases (118 total cases), no new staff cases (54 total cases).
Indian Valley Local Schools two new student cases (42 total cases), one new staff case (42 total cases).
Meet the 8 candidates vying for superintendent s job at West Holmes the-daily-record.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from the-daily-record.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NEW PHILADELPHIA The New Philadelphia City Health Department has given the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 1,727 people since December, Mayor Joel Day reported to city council on Monday. City Health Commissioner Vickie Ionno says that the health department’s mass vaccination clinics at Tuscora Park are going well, and will continue to be held each Thursday as long as there is supply and demand, he said.
Ionno provided these vaccination numbers:
• February (to-date) 1,019
• December 112
The health department will be closed on Thursdays while the staff is at the park. To contact the city health department, call 330-364-4491 extension 1208.
Quaker Foundation teaching award nominations open
The Times-Reporter
The Quaker Foundation has opened nominations for its Dr. William J. and Mae Hurst Jackson Award for Distinguished Teaching at New Philadelphia City Schools.
The award is an annual recognition of and incentive for superior teaching in the district. Two winners will be selected and each will receive an award of $6,000.
Eligible teachers/educators must be currently active in the New Philadelphia classroom in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 or have direct day-to-day educational contact with students. They must also have taught in the New Philadelphia City Schools for five years or more.
Physical forms are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Quaker Foundation Office, 124 N. Broadway St., New Philadelphia.