After three months of discussion and consideration, the Hillsboro City Council voted 5-0 to pass a resolution approving a 15-percent increase to sewer rates over three years.
 Council members said following Monday's meeting that the increase will go into effect immediately. The rates will increase 5 percent per year for the remainder of 2011, 2012 and 2013.

A Sardinia man who was involved in a car crash that resulted in the death of a local man has pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide.
  Mickey Berry, who was indicted on the charge in March, had been scheduled to stand trial Monday in Highland County Common Pleas Court, but he pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony charge.

The Highland County Sheriff's Office conducted aerial marijuana searches over the county on Monday, Sept. 12. As of early afternoon, deputies had confiscated 121 marijuana plants for eradication. By day's end, deputies found 350 plants.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Louisiana State Police Colonel Mike Edmonson have signed an agreement that permits reciprocity between their states for citizens who have valid concealed carry permits.

As Ohio lawmakers return to Columbus after what's commonly called the "county fair" circuit, a major topic of discussion with be the reformatting of the state's legislative districts.

The Ohio Association of REALTORS will be hosting a press conference and rally for housing at the Ohio Statehouse, starting at 3 p.m.  Monday, Sept. 12, in conjunction with the National Association of REALTORS, Ohio lawmakers and other representatives from the real estate industry.

The sun came out and so did the crowds during the final days of the 2011 Highland County Fair.
 With rainy weather all week, attendance had been down, but as the sun peaked through the clouds Friday and Saturday, foot traffic along with midway increased.

The sun came out and so did the crowds during the final days of the 2011 Highland County Fair.
 With rainy weather all week, attendance had been down, but as the sun peaked through the clouds Friday and Saturday, foot traffic along with midway increased.

A grand champion animal at the Highland County Fair is an honor, and a reward for months, and sometimes years worth of work.
 For Hailey Rhonemus, it was hard work, a big heart, and some help from her friends and family that helped her raise and show the 2011 grand champion lamb - which sold Friday for a record-setting $38 per pound.

A Hillsboro High School graduate will have a 10-year dream fulfilled on Sept. 24 when he "dots the i" during the Ohio State University Buckeyes' football game against Colorado at Ohio Stadium. Michael "Mike" Johnson, the son of Brian and Laura Johnson of Hillsboro, said that while he didn't always know he wanted to be a member of the "best band in the land," reaching this milestone has been the result of years of hard work.

David Lowell, a retired assistant fire chief with the Hillsboro Fire Department, recently presented "9/11 Remembering the World Trade Center" assembly programs to the high school students of Piketon, Waverly and Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington schools.

Legal counsel for Wesley Coonrod has filed a brief in the appeal of his convictions of involuntary manslaughter, saying that the trial court erred in its dismissal of a "holdout" juror  "without just cause" and requests that the Court of Appeals grant a new trial.
   Additionally, it was alleged that there was insufficient evidence to find Coonrod guilty of charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering in the deaths of his two young sons.
If granted by Ohio's Fourth District Court of Appeals, this would be the third time Coonrod would stand trial on the charges.

The American people are counting on us to succeed and we can’t let them down.

The Highland County Board of Commissioners recognized the former Highland County Children Services Board with a proclamation of excellence during the Sept. 7 commission meeting.