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Bellaire Fire Chief found not guilty of assault

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Bellaire Fire Department Chief Tim Bell has been found not guilty of assault. On Thursday, Bell was found not guilty by Belmont County Eastern Division Court Judge David Trouten. This past July, Bell was charged with physically assaulting a woman in Shadyside. Shadyside Police Chief Don Collette previously confirmed that the original charge stemmed from an altercation that took place behind the Shadyside American Legion after an altercation inside the building. Bell’s lawyer, Jacob Leach, said that witnesses testified and evidence was presented to the court on ...

BELMONT COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Sunday — 11:42 p.m., deputies responded to a report of an assault at an address in Bellaire. A man reported that his 15-year-old son was hit by a neighbor. The boy and neighborhood children reportedly rode by in a golf cart and the neighbor allegedly hit him on the leg. The neighbor denied hitting the teen, saying the juveniles were always causing problems in the neighborhood and riding golf carts and four-wheelers on the road. The neighbor said he hit the back of the golf cart and told the juveniles to get off the road. The boy’s father said his son had a red mark on his leg from ...

Evaluation underway for woman accused in daughter’s death

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont woman accused of killing her 1-year-old daughter underwent an evaluation Friday. Autum Sky Palmer, 20, also known as Autum Stotelmyer, was scheduled to appear before Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Chris Berhalter Monday morning for a review of Friday’s ...

Barnesville Vision Center sets its sights on a bigger things

BARNESVILLE — Barnesville Vision Center broke ground on its future location at 22 N. Chestnut St. Part owner Dr. Zach Leach said the business has been working toward the project for about three years. “There's a lot of people we'd like to thank who've all helped us come to fruition. A ...

Bellaire Middle caught up in state testing review

COLUMBUS — Schools in three area school districts, including Bellaire Local Schools, are among 52 school buildings across the state under investigation for alleged anomalies in their spring 2026 state test results, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce said. ODEW said the investigation began more than a month ago after Columbus City Schools self-reported testing anomalies at two high schools. “As part of that ongoing investigation, DEW took the proactive step of directing its state testing vendor to launch a comprehensive review of statewide testing data to determine ...

Senator Wants Tougher Laws After Brooke Principal Arrest

WHEELING — The recent arrest of Brooke High School’s principal has one West Virginia lawmaker wanting to amend current state code pertaining to secret recordings and privacy. Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, wants to toughen offenses from misdemeanors to felonies. Suspended Principal Eric ...