US Route 33 Nelsonville Bypass Opening Ceremony 10/1/13 at 9:30 AM

US33 Opening Save the Date

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 10 has announced that the official opening ceremony for the newly constructed US route 33 will be on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 9:30 AM.  The opening ceremony will be held at the new State Route 78/ State Route 691 interchange and is open to the public.  Persons wishing to attend the ceremony can access the area via the new State Route 691 access road off of old route 33 Southeast of Nelsonville.

Once the opening ceremony is complete ODOT hopes to have the new West bound lanes of  US route 33 open by 12 noon.  The new East bound lanes should be opened by 3:00 PM.  Traffic on the new US route 33 will be down to a two lane roadway at the Elm Rock Road overpass Southeast of Nelsonville while construction crews complete the final transition away from the old roadway.

Persons traveling the new US route 33 corridor through the Nelsonville area should use caution do to numerous traffic pattern changes.

Bypass Ceremony Map1

Nelsonville E Washington St, Fort St west CLOSED Fri, 9/27 12 noon – 12AM for Stuart’s Opera House Free Outdoor Concert

Concert Series Closure

The City of Nelsonville announces that East Washington Street at Fort Street west to Jefferson Street will be closed to thru traffic Friday, September 27, 2013, from 12:00PM to 12:00AM Saturday, September 28, 2013, for Stuart’s Opera House Free Outdoor Concert.  Travelers are urged to use caution while driving in the downtown area.

Sign Up for UPDATED! Alert Athens County, So You Can Stay Informed by text, Email or telephone!

Alert Athens Co

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Urgent – BOIL ORDER for City of Nelsonville and Village of Buchtel until further notice

Nelso Boil OrderBuchtel Boil Order

The City of Nelsonville has issued a boil order for the entire City and the Village of Buchtel until further notice.  A major water line break on Jackson Street is being repaired and has caused low pressure in the water system.  Crews are working to repair the break as soon as possible.  Areas that are serviced by the Nelsonville water system may experience a water outage until repairs are completed.  Boil orders are put into place as a result of broken water lines or local flooding. When this happens, the drinking water may have been contaminated which can cause many illnesses.

Here are some tips to keep in mind, should you find yourself in this situation:
• Bring water to a full boil, and boil for three minutes prior to use.
• Use only boiled water for drinking, preparing food or baby formula.
• To improve the flat taste of boiled water, keep cold in refrigerator.
• Put a cup over your faucets as a reminder to not use tap water – not even to brush your teeth!
• Instead of boiling water, you can disinfect water by adding one teaspoon unscented chlorine laundry bleach for every five gallons of water. Let stand 30 minutes before using.
• Be sure to use sanitized food grade containers for storing water.
• To disinfect water storage containers, pour a solution of one tablespoon of unscented chlorine bleach to a gallon of water into a container. Let the solution remain in the container for 10 minutes, then pour out the solution. Rinse with purified water.
• Boiled or disinfected water can be stored for six months.
• Dispose of ice cubes.
• When washing dishes, make sure to sterilize dishes with a final dip in water that has one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water. Disposable tableware is an option during a boil order.
• It is also recommend you sanitize hands when washing. Again use one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water and rinse hand frequently by pouring rinse over the hands. Use paper towels to dry.
• Water for bathing doesn’t need to be boiled. Supervise children to avoid water being ingested.

FREE Scrap Tire Drop-off Sat, 9/21/13, 8AM to 2PM, Wayne National Forest HQ located between The Plains and Nelsonville

tire recycling logo

Mark your calendars! A Great American Cleanup FREE Scrap Tire Drop-off event will be held Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. at the Wayne National Forest Headquarters located off US Hwy 33 between The Plains and Nelsonville in Athens County.

The event is being held in partnership with Wayne National Forest, Athens City-County Health Department, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Keep Southeast Ohio Beautiful.

Our goal is to collect up to 1200 scrap tires, which will be later recycled. Once we reach our goal, we will stop collecting.  No tires will be received after hours. No tires will be accepted from tire shops, dealers, or repair shops. No tires exceeding 54 in. in height and/or 16 in. in width will be collected.

“The Wayne National Forest is happy to partner with the Athens City-County Health Department to host this one day collection site for scrap tires from the local community. Since our first event in 2011, we have collected well over 3,000 scrap tires, reducing the potential for illegal dumping on public and private lands,” said Forest Spokesman Gary Chancey.

The public is reminded that dumping tires is a felony offense in Ohio. Dumpsites with scrap tires provide an ideal breeding ground for mosquitos, which can multiply 100 times faster than normal in the warm, stagnant water standing in scrap tires casings. Severe illnesses have been attributed to disease-carrying mosquitoes originating from scrap tire piles.

Funding for the event comes from an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Litter Collection and Prevention Grant awarded to the Athens City-County Health Department. In 2013, Forty five communities will benefit from litter collection efforts or new tire amnesty collection programs thanks to grants from Ohio EPA. Ohio EPA awarded a total of $527,670.88.