Ohio
Twenty-two Ohio counties declared natural disaster areas by USDA due to ongoing drought
Record number of Americans die from heat in 2023
Thousands of Americans died from heat in 2023, a record number that researchers believe is actually an undercount.
Ohio’s exceptionally dry and hot summer has drawn the federal government’s attention.
The USDA Farm Service Agency declared 22 Ohio counties natural disaster areas Tuesday due to the state’s ongoing drought, allowing farmers to apply for emergency loans from the federal government.
What Ohio counties are included in natural disaster declaration?
The counties named in the USDA declaration include:
Athens, Belmont, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Vinton and Washington counties.
Those counties have all faced eight or more consecutive weeks of severe drought and some have faced extreme to exceptional droughts, making them natural disaster areas, according to a USDA press release.
For the first time in Ohio history, two counties, Athens and Meigs, face exceptional drought conditions, the most severe level of drought possible, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Alongside those 22 “primary” counties, farmers in 18 neighboring counties are eligible to receive emergency loans as well. They are Adams, Brown, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Columbiana, Coshocton, Franklin, Greene, Lawrence, Licking, Meigs, Scioto, Tuscarawas, and Union counties.
How do USDA emergency disaster loans work?
Farmers can borrow up to $500,000 with a 3.75% interest rate to restore or replace essential property, pay production costs for the disaster year, pay essential family living expenses, reorganize the family farming operation or refinance the farm’s non-real estate debts, according to the USDA.
Only farm owners or tenant farmers who intend to continue farming are eligible for the loans.
Eligible farmers can apply on the USDA’s website.
NHart@dispatch.com
@NathanRHart
Real estate transfers in Licking County, Ohio, range from $55,000 to $697,500
The following are property transfers recorded in Licking County from June 15-19, 2026.
First name indicates the seller; second name represents the buyer
Bowling Green Township
- No address listed – South St.; Gohl Investments LLC; Jude Properties LLC; 6/16/2026; $55,000
Eden Township
- 12967 Pleasant Valley Road; Troyer, Bryan L; Phillips, Charles and Susan; 6/15/2026; $170,000
Granville
- 319 Summit St.; Dunham, Timothy and Jill; Lenfest, Cody and Pagett, Victoria Rose; 6/16/2026; $585,000
Harrison Township
- 6582 Outville Road SW; AJ Pataskala LLC; Bemiller, Paige O and Gillam, Hunter; 6/16/2026; $286,000
Johnstown
- 51 Kasson St.; Jones, Dana; Dyer, Steven R and Melissa C; 6/15/2026; $169,900
Madison Township
- 20 Fairfield Drive NE; Ullom, Gary and Barbara A; KP Homes LLC; 6/15/2026; $190,000
Newark
- 1781 Ashford Lane; Scott, Mark W; Bergeron, Kyle M and Jacqueline M; 6/15/2026; $697,500
- 1687 Emerald Court; Roelle, Courtney R (Trustee); Haren, Patrick and Kayla L; 6/15/2026; $410,000
- 889 Dietrich Court; Fahner, Adam and Hannah; Bales, Preston T; 6/16/2026; $315,000
- 67 N. 31st St.; Morgan, Randy; Piper, Marian Richele; 6/15/2026; $275,000
- 195 Jefferson Road; Meister, Rachel; Flippin’ Out Renovations LLC; 6/17/2026; $150,000
- 63 W. Harrison St.; Linn, Carolyn M; Bloise, David Jr; 6/16/2026; $65,000
A family in Ohio has been indicted for murder after the body of a 20-year-old man was found in a burnt vehicle.
Sarah Haning, Randy Haning and Beverly Haning have been charged in the death of 20-year-old Ethan Vernon, Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney James K. Stanley said on Thursday. On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted the three members on charges that include murder, arson and gross abuse of a corpse.
Vernon was found dead in his burnt truck on Dec. 12, 2025, along Hemlock Grove Road in Bedford Township in Meigs County. Stanley said in the news release that the 20-year-old man was last seen on Dec. 11, 2025.
The prosecuting attorney said the indictment was handed down after an “extensive investigation.” Twenty-four-year-old Sarah Haning was indicted on 49 counts, 65-year-old Randy Haning on 11 counts and 63-year-old Beverly Haning on nine counts. All three family members are from Athens. The relationship between the victim and the three suspects was not immediately released. Vernon’s cause of death was also not immediately released.
In a Facebook post, Meigs County Sheriff Scott Fitch said the three suspects were arrested on Wednesday after law enforcement served a search warrant at a home on Pleasanton Road in Athens County.
“This investigation has been a lengthy and complex effort, and today’s arrests are the result of countless hours of work by our detectives,” Fitch said in the post on Facebook. “While these arrests mark a significant milestone, the investigation remains active, and we will continue to pursue every available lead to ensure justice is served for Ethan Vernon and his family.”
Anyone with any information on the case can call the sheriff’s tip line at 740-992-4682.
“Additional information will be released as it becomes available and as the investigation permits,” Fitch added.
A West Price Hill man is accused of punching an Ohio assistant attorney general after asking her for money, according to arrest documents and officials.
Jermaine Johnson, 50, is charged with misdemeanor assault after Cincinnati police say he punched Kathleen Fischer in the face July 1, according to court records.
Fischer was injured in the attack but was not hospitalized, arrest documents show.
Fischer is a senior assistant attorney general in the consumer protection section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. She spent more than a decade as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office before taking on her new role in 2025.
Fischer is also the daughter of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer, who hails from Fort Thomas.
Arrest documents list Fischer as the victim of the attack. An attorney general’s office spokesman and Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman also confirmed Fischer was the victim of the attack.
Fischer told police she was walking on Sycamore Street outside the prosecutor’s office around 4:30 p.m. when she ran into Johnson, arrest documents show. Johnson asked Fischer for money and as she continued to walk away, he punched her in the face, documents state.
A Cincinnati police officer then found Johnson two blocks away shortly after.
Johnson gave police a “conflicting statement” but told officers he may have accidentally hit her.
Johnson is also charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show. Police say they found a glass pipe on Johnson while he was being arrested.
Johnson is expected to be arraigned in Hamilton County Municipal Court at 12:30 p.m., according to court records. He remains in custody at the Hamilton County Justice Center.
This report will be updated.
Enquirer reporter Matthew Cupelli contributed.
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