Ohio

See which central Ohio school districts are still closed or on delay Wednesday

Published

1 year ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

See which central Ohio school districts are still closed or on delay Wednesday

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The lingering effects of Monday’s snowstorm has led some central Ohio school district to cancel or delay school again on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

Most area school districts were closed Monday, the first day back after winter break for many. Some still remained closed on Tuesday. Those with closures or delays on Wednesday are largely in predominantly rural counties that had Level 3 snow emergencies that barred travel going into Tuesday except for emergency personnel, and where sheriffs reduced the warning to Level 2 later in the day. That designation means travel is still tricky in some areas, often from blowing snow.

School closures (or delays) for Wednesday, January 8

As of Tuesday night, the following districts had announced closures (or delays) for Wednesday:

Amanda-Clearcreek Local Schools
Bloom-Carroll Local School District (Two-hour delay)
Circleville City Schools (Two-hour delay)
Fairfield Union Local School District
Logan Elm School District
Madison-Plains Local School District (Two-hour delay)
Walnut Township Local Schools (Two-hour delay)

This list will be updated as additional information becomes available. School districts are encouraged to send an email with any delays or closures to newsroom@dispatch.com.

Check with your local school district or check back at dispatch.com to see if your school is closed or delayed on Wednesday.

smeighan@dispatch.com

@ShahidMeighan

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Ohio

$500K bond set for Ohio State student accused of sexually assaulting 13-year-old

Published

22 minutes ago

February 12, 2026

Press Room

0K bond set for Ohio State student accused of sexually assaulting 13-year-old

ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio (WSYX) — A $500,000 bond has been set for an Ohio State University student accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

21-year-old Anthony Bokar faces criminal charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, tampering with evidence, and corrupting another with drugs.

Court documents say Bokar purchased and delivered marijuana to the 13-year-old in Franklin County, and prosecutors said the pair started texting on Snapchat.

[Bokar] then made a plan to drive to Nelsonville in Athens, Ohio to pick her up and engage in sexual activity, which he did.

“He drove to her home and picked her up. Then, [he] drove her to the campus at Hocking College, in which he engaged in oral sex as well as vaginally penetrative sex with a 13-year-old girl,” prosecutors said. “He also solicited feet pictures from her in exchange for money.”

Court documents ABC 6 obtained read Bokar instructed the 13-year-old he had been “sexting” to “delete and wipe her phone from all the information they shared.” Prosecutors said in court Thursday that they are still digging through the evidence on his phone.

“We were just informed today that he was soliciting pictures from other juvenile females around the same age: a 13-year-old girl,” prosecutors said.

Bokar’s LinkedIn profile shows he worked as a student teacher at Pickerington Central High School. The district tells ABC 6 they have no record of a personnel file.

His LinkedIn also reads that he worked as a resident assistant in a dorm and as a student engagement leader for OSU’s admissions team. ABC 6 requested a copy of Bokar’s personnel file, and instead, received a statement saying:

“These allegations are extremely concerning. The individual in question has been placed on interim suspension and is not currently allowed on campus or at university engagements, including student teaching assignments. Nothing is more important than the safety of our campus community, and we will assist law enforcement in any way needed. We are unable to comment further given the ongoing investigation.”

ABC 6 spoke with the father of that victim. He said his daughter had to be placed on suicide watch after suffering a mental breakdown at school.

The father says it was then that she revealed the inappropriate relationship to her family.

“You got a little 13-year-old girl who’s in cheerleading — one of the captains of the middle school Buckeyes — and here’s this Buckeye, saying he loves her and giving her drugs and money,” he said. “When she talks, you definitely know she’s a little girl. The verbiage that she uses, the things she talks about are all childish.”

I didn’t protect her.

ABC 6 asked the father how he felt that Bokar was studying to be a teacher. “He was going to be in his playground. It’s how I see it,” he said.

For now, the father said his focus is on getting his daughter counseling to deal with the trauma Bokar allegedly caused.

“To say it loud, and to say it to everyone gives us the power,” he said. “It helps with our healing.”

Bokar’s next court date is February 23rd.

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Ohio

ODNR stocks Ohio’s waterways with 36 million fish in 2025

Published

12 hours ago

February 12, 2026

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ODNR stocks Ohio’s waterways with 36 million fish in 2025

COLUMBUS – More than 36 million fish were stocked by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife in Ohio’s public lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams in 2025. Eleven different species of fish were stocked at 233 locations statewide. Annual fish stockings play an important role in providing excellent fishing for Ohio’s 827,000 licensed anglers. The Division of […]

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Jardy: 3 quick takeaways from Ohio State’s win over USC

Published

1 day ago

February 11, 2026

Press Room

Jardy: 3 quick takeaways from Ohio State’s win over USC

Three quick takes from Ohio State’s 89-82 win against USC.

Ohio State needed this one

USC isn’t ranked, and this won’t be a Quad 1 win for Ohio State’s NET rankings, but this was a critical game for the Buckeyes. After losing to Michigan and dropping to 15-8 overall, Ohio State’s need for wins against quality opponents increased another notch as mid-February approaches.

The Trojans are perched right around where the Buckeyes are in most of the metrics, as well as the Big Ten standings, where they entered the game with identical 7-6 records. Now, Ohio State has the head-to-head tiebreaker when it comes to the conference tournament and, critically, added a quality win to its resume.

“It feels very crucial,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. “It’s a team with similar metrics.”

It also beats the alternative of taking a two-game losing streak to Nashville for a top-20 game against Virginia on Valentine’s Day.

Bruce Thornton was clutch when the Buckeyes needed him

Ohio State’s senior captain passed Kelvin Ransey for fifth place in the program’s all-time scoring annals, and his most important points came down the stretch. Thornton scored Ohio State’s final nine points, finishing with a team-high 21, helping keep USC at arm’s length in the final 1:34.

Seven of those points came from the free-throw line, where Thornton finished the game perfect on 11 attempts. He also dished out eight of Ohio State’s 14 assists, helping the Buckeyes fend off the Trojans in the final minutes as they made a late charge.

Buckeyes made Alijah Arenas work

Ohio State hasn’t made a mark with its defense this season, but the Buckeyes were able to force USC freshman Alijah Arenas to work for his points. He finished with a game-high 25 points, his third straight outing with at least 20 points, but it took him 19 shots to get there.

Arenas was 6 for 19 from the floor and only 1 for 7 from 3-point range, doing most of his damage from the line. He was 12 for 16 at the charity stripe, drawing eight fouls to lead his team. With Chad Baker-Mazara out due to injury, USC leaned more heavily on Arenas, and the Buckeyes were able to force him into challenged shots with regularity.

Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.

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