Events Calendar
In This Section
After decades of sacrifice, they are pulling together
Residents seek rail 'quiet zone'
1825 church in Tallmadge might close
Firestone swimmers aid hospital
Springfield will cut 19 teachers
Beer group taps Akron for leaders
Work nears completion on West Market Street
Most Read Stories
Blogs:
Akrocentric:
Will Akron Lose its Marbles? America's Oldest Still-Standing Toy Factory is in Akron
Akron Aeros:
Newsom saves ninth in as many tries as Aeros top Thunder
Akron Zips:
Zips offer scholarship to Georgia linebacker
All Da King's Men:
Rewriting History, Obama-Style
Balanced Ledger:
Spring football
Blog of Mass Destruction:
For Mothers Before They Were Against Mothers
BokBluster:
Willie Horton of Gitmo
Browns Bulletin:
Taped signals saga involved the Browns
Cleveland Browns:
McGinest's farewell tour
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Big Ben gets well, so do Cavs
Kent State Sports:
Sonnanstine wins four in April
Ohio Politics:
McCain Veepstakes
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Our family will visit Columbus this summer - need suggestions on things to do.
Olympic Dreams - Running:
Oregon Twilight
Patrick McManamon:
The key to game 4 isn't real complex …
Sound Check:
Black Keys play "secret" Myspace Show at Beachland
Tia's Trends:
Whitehall Jewelers CEO to Retire
The Heldenfiles:
"Survivor" Season Finale
The Sports Blitz:
Cleveland Browns - They Love Them! They Really, Really Love Them!
Varsity Letters:
North, Firestone win Auten track and field titles
Ross County house explosion raises safety issue
Published on Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008
Beacon Journal staff report
The Ohio Environmental Council is urging a halt on proposed legislation that would allow expanded oil and gas drilling at Ohio state parks and nature preserves.
It cited an explosion Dec. 16 that destroyed a house near Bainbridge in Ross County.
''There is real concern after the Bainbridge explosion that parkgoers might be put at risk,'' said Nolan Moser, a law fellow for the Columbus-based statewide eco-group.
Natural gas apparently seeped into well water and ignited, destroying the Ross County house of Richard and Thelma Payne.
The council called for a suspension on House Bill 357 until investigators have determined
the cause of the explosion.
The proposal has the support of key Republicans in the legislature and could be incorporated into Ohio's comprehensive energy policy bill.
The provision under discussion would only permit drilling on state lands ''covered by concrete, asphalt, gravel, turf, crops or fields that have plants or trees not exceeding 10 years in growth.''
The change is expected to significantly boost state income, legislators say.
The bill would create a five-member board to oversee leases on state property.
The environmental group also questioned how much of a windfall Ohio might get, whether drilling is legal under some state parks acquired with federal funds and whether there is a real need to expand drilling on state-owned land.
Drilling on state parkland was briefly discussed two years ago by legislators and quickly dropped.
Get the full article here.
Inside Ohio.com
HEALTH
Children's is growing its bone marrow program
Hopes to get approval to offer area patients transplants from unrelated donors

