Record turnout highlights Beautification Day

Not all cleaning efforts Sunday afternoon were focused on Palmer Street, as hundreds gathered to give Athens a bit of a makeover.

An event record of more than 800 volunteers met at Scripps Amphitheater for the eighth annual Athens Beatification Day — a Student Senate-sponsored event to clean Ohio University’s campus as well as the city of Athens.

“This day is a day for students to give back to the community who’s given them so much,” said Thomas Raabe, a graduate student studying public administration and event organizer.

Read more from The Post or from The New Political. | Photo credit: Bethany Lilja, The Post.

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Fests’ futures up in smoke?

After yet another Palmer Fest ended in flames, local officials are questioning how to handle street fests in the future — with some considering a push to ban them altogether.

Thousands of students and other partiers gathered Saturday on Palmer Street for the 21st year of the annual block party, which has gained notoriety as one of the nation’s wildest college parties.

Firefighters responding to a structural fire about 7 p.m. at 11 Palmer St. encountered interference from a “hostile crowd” of partiers who threw bottles at law enforcement and prevented a fire hose from reaching the scene, Ohio University Police Chief Andrew Powers said at a news conference Saturday night.

Read more from The Post or from 10TV. | Photo credit: Brien Vincent, The Post.

UPDATE: Palmer Fest fire ruled arson, $5,000 reward offered (@OhioFire via @ThePost | The Athens Messenger, free link | The Athens NEWS | The Post | WOUB)

RELATED:

• Big Palmer Fest weekend kicks off Friday with more arrests (The Athens NEWS | The Athens Messenger, free link | The Post); Palmerfest weekend results in more than 100 total arrests (WOUB)
• Palmer Fest chronology: Illegal dope abounds as well as alcohol (The Athens NEWS [Photos])
• Relevant tumblr: areyoucookingapizza (via bhone17 on r/athensohio, see our Palmerfest post from yesterday for context)

Unsurprisingly, the internet is blowing up with negative reactions to the city’s idea to ban fests, but obviously nothing is going to happen before the end of spring quarter, and the city and university have both tried to ban fests before, with little success. What do you think should be done?

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The ‘green’ screen: As Ohio drafts a plan for more efficient energy usage, the university’s consumption and costs are on the rise

In the midst of Ohio University’s drafting a plan to establish a pattern of sustainable energy use, recent numbers suggest the institution is trending toward increased consumption in several areas.

A full report of OU’s Sustainability Plan, which will provide benchmarks and information gearing toward less energy usage, will be completed by June, said Annie Laurie Cadmus, director of the Office of Sustainability, in a statement.

Though there will be no definite starting date for the plan, some of the drafted benchmarks have target completion dates set before the end of 2012.

Read more from The Post. | Image via The Post.

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OU’s Green and White House: President’s Residence adapts to tenants’ tastes

More than a century after its construction, 29 Park Place has served as the home of many Ohio University presidents. That includes current President Roderick McDavis and his wife Deborah, who have hung their hats across the street from Alden Library for almost a decade — despite persistent rumors that the couple resides elsewhere.

“It’s an enigma, it seems to me,” said Deborah McDavis, who says she’s heard rumors that she and her husband live in Lancaster, not Athens. “It’s intriguing that there are those who think we don’t live here.”

However, OU presidents are contractually obligated to live in the university’s President’s Residence, said Becky Watts, McDavis’ chief of staff.

Read more from The Post. | Photo credit: Pat Holmes, The Post.

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OU star receiver awaits NFL Draft fate

Tonight (April 26), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will step up to the podium at New York’s Radio City Music Hall and announce 32 different names. These are the players, it seems, that have made it.

They survived three or four years in college relatively mistake free (unless their name is Janoris Jenkins). They have put their stamp on the college game and have separated themselves from their peers.

Some have been groomed for this moment for years (see Richardson, Trent).

Read more from The Athens NEWS. | Photo via The Athens NEWS.

Related topics: Ohio University | Ohio Athletics

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OU set to launch grand housing plan by razing grad student apts.

The appeal of a college campus can be found in a variety of areas, which is why Ohio University has spent the last 24 months finding ways to improve approximately 70 percent of campus buildings through its Housing Master Plan.

The plan will begin the first of three phases June 15 with the razing of the Wolfe Street Apartments, the university’s on-campus graduate student housing for families and non-traditional students, confirmed Christine Sheets, executive director of Residential Housing.

Tracy Kelly, Graduate Student Senate president and former Wolfe Street Apartment resident, acknowledged it was difficult moving in so short a time. “I liked the apartments because they were relatively inexpensive and very simple because all of the utilities were included in the price, and you paid everything through the university,” she said.

Read more from The Athens NEWS or from The Post. | Photo via The Athens NEWS.

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