4 Top Trending Stories of 2023

Here are the stories Google says got the most traction from their search engine to our website in 2023, and some of them may surprise you. Arrest Made in Rich Moon Death – Was the Sentence Long Enough? It’s probably no surprise that closure in the death of the beloved local character would be a top story. Nearly three years after beloved local character Rich Moon died in a hit-and-run accident, Portsmouth Police have made an arrest in the case. Officers took Rusty E. Rule, 41, of Portsmouth into custody after the Scioto County Grand Jury handed down indictments for vehicular homicide and failure to stop. According to police, the 70-year-old Moon had been drinking when he crossed against the light on 12th Street back in December 2020. Police say Rule was driving a van and struck Rich Moon but failed to stop. After a lengthy investigation, during which multiple suspects were followed up on, police say Rule confessed to his involvement in the accident. He pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in September, and the court sentenced him to 4 and a half years in jail. He’ll be eligible for parole in December of 2027. Are Games Key to Portsmouth’s Economic Survival? While crime stories tend to draw a lot of eyeballs, this economic story generated a lot of interest. Instead of steel, shoes, stoves, and other goods, can producing content for video games revive our area’s economy to the heyday of the 1940s and 50s? Shawnee State University already boasts a nationally recognized video game program that’s been named the best value in the country for pursuing higher education in the field. The global video game market is already $217.06 billion and is expected to grow at about 14% a year as the kids who played games age up and choose it as their primary form of entertainment. Gaming outpaces their spending on movies, streaming, sporting activities, and other forms of entertainment. Shawnee State University Hosts the premier academic conference on the topic every fall. This year’s keynote speaker was John Zuur Platten, a pioneering designer in the industry and the author of the Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design. A question for local leaders is how they can encourage the bright young individuals who want to forge a career in the industry to do it here. In this connected world, people can work anywhere. Why shouldn’t the hottest video game startups be housed in a renovated office on Chillicothe or Market Street? Why not encourage young professionals to renovate deteriorating houses or buy property from our landbank? While the growing number of recreational opportunities that highlight our area’s unmatched natural beauty is a great start at attracting the people who could reenergize our economy, more needs to be done to take advantage of this opportunity. Whose Road Is It Anyway Our explanations on just who is in charge of keeping your road repaired and plowed is always a favorite. Ever wonder why some streets get salted and plowed after a snowfall and others don’t seem to get any attention? Or why you’ll hear about hundreds of thousands being spent on a road repair project and your street still looks like the surface of the moon? Part of the reason is that different government entities are responsible for different roads and streets. Sort of like a neighborhood where some of the lawns look great and at other houses, they don’t appear to have been cut in this lifetime. Let’s break down just who is in charge of what around here. Let’s start at the federal and state highway level. The Ohio Department of Transportation, specifically ODOT District 9, is in charge of 3,700 lane miles of interstate, federal, and state highways and 1,243 bridges in Adams, Brown, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, and Scioto Counties. They salt, they plow, they maintain the road signs, and are responsible for repairs. For example, US23, US52, SR239, and SR73 are maintained by ODOT. They also award state grant money to counties for specific projects. This money can only be spent on the projects it’s awarded to. In 2019, ODOT spent $7.5 million to repair roads, bridges, and culverts in Scioto County. The Scioto County Engineer’s office is responsible for the upkeep and construction of 411 miles of roadway split across 122 different County roads and 493 bridges on both County and Township roads. Townships are responsible for maintaining township roads under the advice of the County Engineer. The County Commissioners work with the engineer to help them apply for grants to facilitate cooperation between the engineer’s office and townships. Then we have the Portsmouth Streets division, which is responsible for the upkeep and repair of city streets in Portsmouth. The duties of the 7-person department include repair, snow removal, guard rail repair, ditches, resurfacing, storm cleanup, and curb repairs. Beloved Police Chief Injured in Wreck Portsmouth Police Chief Debby Brewer has handled situations like police stand-offs and police protests with ease, but even she needs help sometimes. The Portsmouth Police Department, Fire Department, and EMS rushed to the aid of Portsmouth Police Chief Debby after she called out on the radio that she had been hit near Kroger in Portsmouth. She was quickly transported to SOMC for treatment by medical personnel.

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