Good morning, Athens.

HAPCAP is converting the Sunset Motel on Columbus Road into a 26-unit homeless shelter that will be completed in May, with some newer units likely opening sooner.

Each unit will have a kitchenette, a shared full kitchen will be added, and HAPCAP will provide staff + partner services to help guests move to permanent housing.

Frack, a neutered terrier mix found Aug.

27 on Rhoric Rd with Frick, is at the Athens County Dog Shelter and is dog-selective, up to date on vaccinations, and best with older children, and you can call (740) 593-5415 to schedule a meet or apply to foster through FOSAthens.

Athens Humane is seeking a forever home for Tostada, a social cat recovering from a fractured pelvis and leg who prefers a home with another friendly feline (available now); apply to adopt through the shelter.

Devon Halliday, an Athens native whose debut novel To Stay, To Stay, To Stay was published Oct.

27, will give a free public reading Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Baker Theater (Baker University Center, Ohio University).

A special Halloween episode of the "Ask the Experts" podcast has Edmond Chang explaining how pop culture and DIY cosplay shape costume trends and predicting looks to see on Oct.

31, with student voices from campus included (hear ideas for last-minute outfits).

Filmmaker and OHIO alum Libby Ewing returned to the Athena Cinema ahead of OHIO’s Homecoming Weekend for a screening and audience Q&A of her debut feature Charliebird, which won the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature and a Best Performance prize at Tribeca.

Southeast Ohio Classical Academy is seeking to lease 10 W.

Washington St. for an upper-school campus and will need a zoning variance to operate downtown. City officials held public meetings Oct. 20 and Oct. 26, are awaiting SOCA’s formal application, and are recruiting five members for the Board of Zoning Appeals.

An Ohio University researcher joined an international team that published in Nature this week reporting a Megacauda fossil with bony hooks and hyoid bones that suggest suckling and swallowing anatomy evolved about 165 million years ago.

River otters are returning to southeast Ohio after decades away as restoration work has improved water quality; tracks were recently found along Sunday Creek north of Glouster and along the Hocking River, and state wildlife surveys have detected otter signs this year, signaling improving habitat and expanding range.

Ohio University experts say campaigns are running nonstop name-recognition and negative ads to reach undecided voters, and the barrage will largely stop after Election Day, Tuesday, Nov.

3.

COVID-19 vaccines are available at multiple Athens County sites, but eligibility and supply vary.

The Athens City County Health Department is scheduling appointments for clinically eligible people six months and older, CVS and Kroger are following CDC guidance, and some local pharmacies report limited stock (Shrivers limits bookings; TheDrugStore is out).

Tomcat Bridgebuilders received a $49,800 grant this spring from OneOhio Recovery Foundation to fund two years of drug prevention in Trimble Local Schools, including Red Ribbon Week, billboards, guest speakers, after-school programs, and a second volume of student essays.