The Reporting Project

With caseloads more than twice the Ohio average, the two general division common pleas judges in Licking County are asking state lawmakers and the Ohio Supreme Court to approve adding a third judge to help carry the load. And if that happens, they will need more space in the 1876 Licking County Courthouse, which was in the back of the Licking County Commissioners’ minds when they considered buying the former Advocate newspaper building at 22 N. 1st Street.

When my sister and four of her best friends from Spain decided to visit for the summer, I was surprised to hear that they really wanted to sight-see around Raleigh. It’s hard to picture Raleigh as a tourist destination, without attractions like the Statue of Liberty in New York or buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. The spectacles in North Carolina are more well-kept secrets among local residents of towns and cities.

Preliminary work on an $8 million renovation of the Denison Golf Club course in Granville could begin as soon as October after the Granville Township trustees voted unanimously to approve the project. The trustees’ approval was necessary because of a conservation easement on the course on 149.4 acres in the heart of the village.

The Licking County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on Thursday to buy the former Advocate newspaper building in downtown Newark. If approved on Sept. 30, the resolution would authorize Commissioner Tim Bubb to sign a contract to purchase the 72,000-square-foot building and adjacent parking lots at 22 N. 1st Street for $2.3 million. The property on a little under two acres includes office space, the former pressroom and a large warehouse.

A new order from Heath Fire Department Chief Warren McCord has upped the minimum number of on-duty firefighters required to deploy fire trucks in the city. The new directive, issued in August and presented to the Heath City Council Safety Committee on Monday, Sept.

On a tour around municipalities, the Licking County Humane Society has been asking local governments to increase their funding as animal care costs have risen. Licking County Humane Society Executive Director Jane Tomsich said she has asked the communities of Granville, Hebron, Heath, Johnstown, Reynoldsburg, Pataskala and Utica to consider raising their contributions.

By Michael Rainwater COSHOCTON — More than 50 craftspeople, musicians, growers, herbalists and storytellers will come together for a “Lost Skills Gathering” at Clary Gardens in Coshocton, Ohio, on Oct. 3. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of traditional skills workshops, ranging from home butchering and forest gardening to cultivating mushrooms and making linen out of flax.

Six months in the making, the freshly repainted and polished Buxton Inn in Granville opened its doors last week for attendees of its “Grand Reawakening” under new management. Kevin Showe, the new owner, invited Granville Historical Society President Cynthia Cort, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Mayor Melissa Hartfield, and Denison University President Adam Weinberg to speak during the gala fundraiser on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Like many suburban American neighborhoods, mine has a lot of deer. Each year there seems to be more and more, much to the chagrin of many of my neighbors and my father, whose plants are the deer’s favorite buffet. But this summer our local deer population had a new genetic addition: A small portion of the herd had what looked like vitiligo. After a quick consultation of the internet, I learned that this is actually called piebaldism.

Granville Township Trustees have postponed a vote on proposed updates to the Denison University Golf Course, after widespread concern brought more than 30 people to the Granville Township Trustees meeting on Sept. 23. Trustees will convene for a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in council chambers to address the proposal, which would include major adjustments to holes 15-17, add more open space and remove at least 362 of the thousands of trees on the course.