$11.3 million county budget approved
By Tim Colliver - tcolliver@aimmediamidwest.com
Shown from left during Wednesdays meeting of the Highland County board of commissioners are David Daniels, president Jeff Duncan and vice president Terry Britton.
Tim Colliver | The Times-Gazette
The Highland County Board of Commissioners finalized an $11.3 million budget for 2021 on Wednesday.
The commissioners’ regular Wednesday meeting covered resolutions, contracts and last-minute coronavirus relief funding requests in addition to next year’s budget.
“Mainly the order of business for today is cleaning up the year and getting ready for next year,” commission president Jeff Duncan said.
Vice president Terry Britton said the general fund budget remained at $11.3 million, as endorsed last week by county auditor Bill Fawley, who described it as “a conservative budget because we always start out that way.”
Hillsboro City Schools close
By McKenzie Caldwell - mcaldwell@aimmediamidwest.com
This graphic maps out the number of new COVID-19 cases each day in Highland County from March 1 to Dec. 14. The data is based on the date patients began to experience COVID-19 symptoms.
Graphic courtesy of the Ohio Department of Health
Hillsboro City Schools will close due to illness-related absences and quarantines from Tuesday, Dec. 15 to Friday, Dec. 18, superintendent Tim Davis told The Times-Gazette.
Students will not have schoolwork during this time as the district is using four of its calamity days, which are similar to snow days, Davis said.
Warner: County hospitalization rate decreases timesgazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesgazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ODH: Increased spread outside school setting
By McKenzie Caldwell - mcaldwell@aimmediamidwest.com
Editor’s Note This story has been updated to clarify that the Ohio Department of Education does not collect data on COVID-19 in schools.
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) continues to report limited COVID-19 spread in a classroom setting, though there has been an increase in community spread due to informal gatherings outside of school, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine stated this week.
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) also surveys how districts’ students are learning whether through in-person, hybrid, or remote learning plans though schools are not required to report this information, a representative of the ODE told The Times-Gazette. The data from these surveys are not considered complete or official.