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Ohio prepares for primary elections

MARTINS FERRY – Tuesday will see Ohio residents flock to the polls from the 2026 primary election. Polls will open in the Buckeye State at 6:30 a.m. that day and close at 7:30 p.m. In Belmont County, a number of seats are up for grabs. Republican Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann’s seat is up for grabs in the election. Echemann announced he would not be running and will be retiring after his term expires at the end of 2026. Former four-term Belmont County Commissioner Chuck Probst of Bridgeport, former Belmont County transportation administrator for the Ohio Department ...

Ferguson, Hoagland vie for Ohio’s 96th District seat

STEUBENVILLE—The race for Ohio’s 96th District seat in the House of Representatives has been heated, with both candidates slinging barbs at their opponent’s voting record and positions. Squaring off for the Republican nomination in Tuesday’s general election are the incumbent, Ron Ferguson, and Frank Hoagland, a former state senator. Ferguson, 40, is a Wintersville resident. He graduated from Ohio State University in 2008 with a degree in communications, is a small business owner and is in his sixth year in Ohio’s House of Representatives. “It’s very clear I’ve made a ...

Meyer announces run for Belmont County auditor

MARTINS FERRY — Former Belmont County Commissioner Josh Meyer is among the candidates for Belmont County auditor in the May 5 election. He will vie for the position with two other candidates -- incumbent Cindi L. Henry of St. Clairsville and former Shadyside village council member Nick ...

Ohio Gas prices skyrocket over last two days

After a brief reprieve, gas prices across Ohio skyrocketed more than 40 cents a gallon this week, topping $4 a gallon for the first time in nearly four years. The jump, according to AAA Public and Government Affairs Manager Morgan Dean, is one of the largest overnight jumps since the U.S.-Iran conflict began two months ago. “In Ohio, this is one of the biggest overnight jumps we’ve seen since the Iran conflict began,” Dean told The Center Square. “Drivers have seen some relief lately, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty and volatility in the oil market due to the continued ...

St. Mary’s Central School hosts annual walk-a-thon

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – St. Mary’s Central School hosted its annual walk-a-thon on Friday morning to raise funds for school needs, including books, technology, and classroom supplies. Principal Angel Glitch said the walk began at St. Mary’s Church and saw the entire student body, teachers, ...

‘Social Media incident’ triggers lockdown at St. Clairsville Schools

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – St. Clairsville-Richland City Schools were placed on a code yellow lockdown on Friday due to a “social media incident.” “We had a social media issue that was brought to our attention early this morning. As soon as we received notification, we went into a code yellow lockdown while the investigation was conducted,” Superintendent Christina Laudermilt said. “A student had seen something on Snapchat, and we wanted to investigate it, so we went into code yellow until we had an opportunity to investigate the source of the information.” Laudermilt added that ...