In 1978, residents in the small community of Winameg in rural northwest Ohio discovered several bones of a mammal dating back to the Ice Age: a mastodon.
Bowling Green State University studied the mastadon skeleton, then sent it to the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology collection, where much of it still resides today.
But not every bone made it out of Fulton County.
Last July, a short notice appeared in the back of the Marietta Times.
When the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued permits to construct two injection wells, to store waste from oil and gas drilling, within two miles of the city of Marietta's aquifers, residents in the area grew concerned.
Hydraulic fracturing, particularly on public lands, has spurred protests across Ohio.
Three years ago, when people called 911 in Tiltonsville, they didn't know if anyone would show up.
This story is part five of our five-part series "Sound the Alarm." This long-term investigation reveals the crisis facing volunteer fire departments in Ohio and digs into potential solutions.
In the back of the ambulance, Peg Dugan could feel her husband's pulse fading under her fingers. She called out his blood pressure levels — not to the crew she usually ran calls with as a volunteer firefighter, but to her nine-year-old grandson Owen, whose shoes she hurriedly helped put on as she explained they had to save PapPap.
At 83, David Lemponen was in his sixth decade of responding to calls as a volunteer firefighter in Austinburg, a Northeast Ohio township that is home to a little more than 2,000 people in Ashtabula County.
He, with a half dozen or so other volunteers, worked out of the fire station nestled between the township building and an antiques store.
The smell of sausage and pancakes fills the Belle Valley Volunteer Fire Department every fall. But the breakfast isn't for the firefighters. With just 28 people on the roster, feeding the crew wouldn't require more than a couple of boxes of batter.
Three years ago, a fiery derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous materials upended life in the quiet rural town of East Palestine.
Each year, the National Rural Health Association trains nearly 20 rural medical professionals with the aim of expanding healthcare access for small towns.
This year, Ohio Northern University's own Emily Eddy will serve as one of 18 national fellows. She is a pharmacy professor and leads the Rural and Underserved Scholars program at ONU in rural Hardin County.
