Athens County EMA

08/27/2026

Our next Trail Sunday event will be on September 6th, 2026. We will be meeting at the Baileys Trail System Chauncey Trailhead at around 12:30 to fuel up on some BOTT Bites and Coffee. After that we will be going out to Wild Turkey Trail, and performing some needed trail maintenance. If you are a veteran, active duty, guard or reserve we hope to see you out there.

08/26/2026

08/25/2026

As school starts back up this year, remember to follow all traffic laws and help keep our kids safe!

08/25/2026

FREE TRAINING OPPORTUNITY FOR LOCAL RESPONDERS & PARTNERS

Jackson County EMA & Office of Homeland Security is hosting two tuition-free, DHS/FEMA-certified courses focused on preparing for emergencies involving animals, agriculture and food systems.

Sept. 29 – AWR 328: All Hazards Preparedness for Animals in Disasters
This course covers animal evacuation and sheltering, safe animal handling, integration into ICS, disaster recovery, and other challenges responders may encounter when animals are involved in an emergency.

Sept. 30 – MGT 448: All Hazards Planning for Animal, Agricultural, and Food Related Disasters
This management-level course focuses on planning for animal and agricultural emergencies, including development of Emergency Support Function annexes, multi-agency coordination, agroterrorism, recovery and identifying community vulnerabilities and resources.

Holzer Hospital – Community Education Room
500 Burlington Road, Jackson, Ohio
8 a.m.–5 p.m.

These courses may be especially valuable for fire, EMS, law enforcement, emergency management, public health, veterinarians, agricultural partners, extension personnel and others who may be involved in responding to animal or agricultural emergencies.

A FEMA Student Identification (SID) number is required. Suggested prerequisites are ICS 100, 200 and 800.

Registration information and links are included on the attached flyers.

Please share with anyone in your agency or organization who may benefit from this training!

Accessible text for attached flyers:

Two training flyers for tuition-free, DHS/FEMA-certified courses hosted by Jackson County EMA & Office of Homeland Security at Holzer Hospital – Community Education Room, 500 Burlington Road, Jackson, Ohio.

AWR 328: All Hazards Preparedness for Animals in Disasters
September 29, 2026 | 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

This 8-hour course provides responders and community partners with tools to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters involving animals. Topics include safe animal handling, animal evacuation and sheltering, integration of animal management into ICS, disaster recovery, jurisdictional assessments and evacuation planning. The course is appropriate for livestock producers, emergency managers, veterinarians and veterinary technicians, extension agents, public health personnel, fire service professionals, law enforcement and rural community leaders.

MGT 448: All Hazards Planning for Animal, Agricultural, and Food Related Disasters
September 30, 2026 | 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

This 8-hour management-level course focuses on multi-agency planning for animal, agricultural and food-related disasters. Topics include Emergency Support Function planning, agroterrorism, detection and diagnosis, challenges facing rural communities, disaster response and recovery, sustainable operations, and identifying community vulnerabilities and resources. The course is appropriate for emergency managers and planners, animal emergency services, agricultural safety personnel, law enforcement, public health, veterinarians, government administrators and private-sector safety and security personnel.

For both courses: A FEMA Student Identification (SID) number is required. Suggested prerequisites are ICS 100, 200 and 800. Registration is required through the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC) Student Portal. Registration information and course-specific links are provided on the flyers.

08/25/2026

Our sunny and dry conditions continue today and tomorrow before our next system brings a chance for isolated showers and thunderstorms on Thursday. For the full forecast visit https://scalialab.com/forecast/

08/22/2026

Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued August 22 at 1:22PM EDT until August 22 at 9:00PM EDT by NWS Charleston WV

Athens, OH; Gallia, OH; Jackson, OH; Lawrence, OH; Meigs, OH; Morgan, OH; Perry, OH; Vinton, OH; Washington, OH; Barbour, WV; Calhoun, WV; Doddridge, WV; Gilmer, WV; Harrison, WV; Jackson, WV; Lewis, WV; Mason, WV; Pleasants, WV; Ritchie, WV; Roane, WV; Taylor, WV; Tyler, WV; Upshur, WV; Wirt, WV; Wood, WV

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
614 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS

IN OHIO THIS WATCH INCLUDES 9 COUNTIES

IN SOUTHEAST OHIO

ATHENS GALLIA JACKSON
LAWRENCE MEIGS MORGAN
PERRY VINTON WASHINGTON

IN WEST VIRGINIA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 16 COUNTIES

IN CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA

CALHOUN GILMER JACKSON
ROANE TAYLOR

IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA

BARBOUR DODDRIDGE HARRISON
LEWIS PLEASANTS RITCHIE
TYLER UPSHUR WIRT
WOOD

IN WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA

MASON

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ATHENS, BELINGTON, BELMONT, BELPRE,
BRIDGEPORT, BUCKHANNON, CLARKSBURG, CROOKSVILLE, ELIZABETH,
GALLIPOLIS, GLENVILLE, GRAFTON, GRANTSVILLE, HAMDEN, HARRISVILLE,
IRONTON, JACKSON, LAKE VESUVIUS, MARIETTA, MCARTHUR,
MCCONNELSVILLE, MIDDLEBOURNE, NEW HAVEN, NEW LEXINGTON, OAK HILL,
PADEN CITY, PARKERSBURG, PENNSBORO, PHILIPPI, POINT PLEASANT,
POMEROY, RAVENSWOOD, RIPLEY, SISTERSVILLE, SOMERSET, SOUTH POINT,
SPENCER, ST. MARYS, STOCKPORT, VIENNA, WELLSTON, WEST UNION,
AND WESTON.

08/21/2026

Recycling Day Announced

The Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District is pleased to announce the upcoming Recycling Days scheduled for Saturday, August 29, 2026 from 9am-1pm at the Trimble Elementary School in Jacksonville.

The event will collect appliances, E-waste, cell phones, household goods, clothing, scrap metal, mattresses, books and batteries. The Solid Waste District will be charging a fee for recycling TVs ($20-$40.00/TV) and fluorescent tubes and compact bulbs at 50 cents each with only cash or checks accepted. We will also have trash trucks for those items that are not able to be reused or recycled.

No Household Hazardous Waste or appliances with Freon or Shredding will be collected.

These events will feature drop-off for scrap tires for 50 cents per tire and $4.00 for tires with rims. There is a 10-tire limit per vehicle. The 50-cent tire program is made possible through a Recycle Ohio grant. No tires from tire retailers or shops are eligible for drop-off, only private residents. We will accept tires until the trailer is full.

“Residents of the District are welcome to bring unwanted items for reuse, recycling or to be sent to the landfill.” said Jane Forrest Redfern, AHSWD Director. “We thank our partners for helping us to reuse, recycle and safely dispose of materials. The district thanks for the support of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Recycle Ohio grant to make these events possible.

For a complete list of items or more information, contact A-HSWD at or visit www.ahswd.org or call 740-594-5312.

08/21/2026

Warm and muggy today with sunny skies. Scattered thunderstorms expected tomorrow during the late afternoon to early evening. Storms tomorrow may have strong winds and small hail. For the full forecast visit www.scalialab.com/forecast.

08/20/2026

Do you have damage after the recent storms? Documenting helps us determine local impacts from these storm systems. Please send us pictures, an address of the damage, and any comments to [email protected]. You can also call 740.566.4368 and leave a message. Please note: This does not replace calling your insurance company if that is needed, and this is not an application for financial assistance.