Good morning, Athens.

LAIKA's stop-motion film Wildwood will open Friday, Oct.

30 at the Athena Cinema (multiple showtimes during its exclusive run), and the two-hour movie was made over seven years and earned $12 million in its national opening weekend.

Pulitzer Prize winning historian Jefferson Cowie will speak on Freedom: The Troubled History of an American Ideal Thursday, Nov.

5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Walter Hall Rotunda, a free public lecture that includes a 7 p.m. pre-lecture reception (sponsored by the History Department).

Alexander Junior/Senior High School released its 2026-27 first-quarter honor roll listing All A and A/B students in grades 6 through 12, and families can view the full roster on the district website.

Southeast Ohio Classical Academy plans to lease the former community center at 10 W.

Washington St. to open a high school, drawing resident concerns about impacts on Nelsonville-York City Schools and downtown businesses. The matter returns to Nelsonville City Council on Monday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. (Council Chambers, 211 Lake Hope Drive).

Emma Wanat, BS ’26, is working for Idaho Fish and Game sampling fish by bush plane in remote central-southwest Idaho, where she traps, tags (PIT tags), and takes genetic samples of juvenile salmon; she credits hands-on ichthyology and fish-lab experience at Ohio University for earning the role.

Ohio University is bringing Samantha Roberts to the Walter Center as director of foundational leadership programs to help students build confidence; she will run the two-workshop Leadership Launchpad this fall and a new Leadership Accelerator for upperclassmen in spring at the Walter Center.

Ohio University's Patton College of Education announced that its four counselor education programs earned CACREP reaffirmation through Oct.

31, 2032, covering M.Ed. school counseling (including the fully online program launched in Jan. 2024), clinical mental health counseling, clinical rehabilitation counseling, and the Ph.D.; the online program's first cohort graduated in May with a 100% OAE pass rate.

Alexander is asking voters to approve a 0.75% earned income tax to close a $1.5M shortfall (after prior 1% levies failed), while Athens City seeks to make its existing 1% levy permanent; both cite declining enrollment and state funding cuts that could force staff and program cuts.

Tri-County Career Center celebrated a new adult education building with nursing and cosmetology labs and will enroll high school sophomores for the first time next school year, adding five cosmetology seats.

The board met Oct. 20 and will meet Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. (Smith-Parkins building, 15676 State Route 691, Nelsonville).

River otter tracks were recently found along Sunday Creek north of Glouster, and local conservationists say the sightings show decades of cleanup work have made the creek suitable again for otters after more than a century away.

With Halloween on Saturday, Oct.

31, students and locals are urged to skip single-use costumes and instead craft, thrift, or borrow outfits to reduce fast-fashion waste and protect waterways and landfills, with Ohio University sustainability leaders offering tips for budget-friendly options.

Ohio will host Western Michigan on Friday at 6 p.m. in The Convo; a win would bring the Bobcats to .500 in MAC play and help secure their hold on sixth place for a spot in the MAC tournament.