The Midterm Election is over. We dig a good political race, but we’re getting a feeling that people are glad the election is over. Many of the people that won over the residents of Muskingum County also won the state over, as a whole. Half of the levies on the ballot for the county passed, so one passed. This is the last week to soak up some hardcore politics for awhile, so enjoy it or despise it, your choice.

• Almost 53 percent of Muskingum County’s registered voters showed up to the polls on Tuesday. That’s about a 13 percent increase in voter turnout compared to the last Midterm Election in 2014. Full Story.
• Issue 1 was voted down by strong opposition in both Muskingum County and across the state. Full Story.
• The Muskingum County Library System renewal and addition levy was approved by a hair, or 560 votes. Full Story.
• The Zanesville City Schools renewal and addition was voted down by a long shot. Full Story.

Early results

• Troy Balderson came away with a win over Danny O’Connor for the U.S. Representative from the 12th Congressional District. Full Story.
• Brian Hill topped Kristine Geis for his fourth, and final, term as Ohio’s 97th House District Representative. Full Story.
• Jim Porter is keeping his courthouse seat after pulling out a win over John Bates for Muskingum County Commissioner. Full Story.

An outage or five

OK, the biggest news following the election this week was four different power outages. Three of those four were on election day. People speculated that it was to keep them from voting. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. The fifth outage was a panned water outage, which isn’t as exciting as your power unexpectedly going out.

• Over 300 people in Springfield Township were without power Monday morning. The outage was due to some tree trimming gone slightly wrong. It wasn’t a huge deal. Full Story.
• Over 200 people, including the Zanesville Municipal Airport, were without power in the area of Route 40 near the airport on Tuesday. Thankfully, places like the airport have backup generators. Again, it wasn’t a huge deal. Full Story.
• Again, over 300 people were without power on Tuesday, but this time in the area west of Frazeysburg by Raiders Road and Hamby Hill Road. This was due to some equipment issues. All is well again in the world of power. Full Story.
• Last one, an issue in Lancaster caused an outage of nearly 2,000 along Interstate 70 from Columbus to almost Wheeling. Surprise, Zanesville was in that line along I-70. The outage was thanks to a part of a tree that took out the top of a pole. Full Story.
• The water outage a planned outage in a small part of Dresden. It was due to a valve repair that needed to be made on private property Friday morning. Only 15 to 20 residents were affected. Full Story.

Crime

• A man led OSP and the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office on a foot chase on Saturday, Nov. 3 after fleeing a Jeep that OSP was attempting to pull over for traffic violation. He was arrested after about an hour and a half of law enforcement searching for him off of North River Road. Full Story.
• The man in the story above was later identified as Timothy Huey. He’s a fugitive out of Florida. He has an active warrant out of Florida for failing to register as a sex offender. Follow Up Story.
• The joint drug task force seized 2 pounds of meth on Tuesday. Two people were taken into custody as a result of obtaining the $35,000 worth of meth. Terry Bocook and Michel Yanni are being held in the Muskingum County Jail and the Zanesville City Jail, respectfully. Full Story.

In the world of sports

• Tri-Valley pulled off an upset few saw coming against Barberton in the opening round of the playoffs, but now has a new set of challenges ahead including losing Aiden Fritter to a broken wrist. Full Story.
• Spoiler alert … A promising first half left the Scotties at 3-0 over Wadsworth. A pair of touchdowns in the second half sealed the fate for Wadsworth in a 13-3 victory over Tri-Valley Friday night.

The good stuff

• “Dude, Be Kind Week” starts Sunday, Nov. 11. The week is as simple as it sounds. It’s a reminder, through Muskingum Valley ESC, to be kind to the people that people interact with everyday. Full Story.
• Katie McNeil crossed a major accomplishment off her list last Sunday after she crossed the finish line at the New York City Marathon. Full Feature.
• Zanesville High School’s resource officer, Tom Landerman, goes above and beyond for the students he protects everyday. Full Feature.
• Recycling in Muskingum County is pretty popular. While it’s great to be kind to the environment, the Recycling Center supervisor urges residents to do their homework before throwing everything into a recycling bin. Full Story.

Patriotism

• There are a lot of local Veterans Day deals going on Sunday and Monday. Full List.
• ‘March 4 Vets’ is happening Sunday starting at 9 a.m. The event, started four years ago by a veteran, has raised around $9,000 for organizations that benefit veterans with PSTD. Full Story.
• The Carr Center is replacing tattered and torn flag throughout the county. Businesses and residents in Muskingum County may get a new flag in the coming weeks. The Carr Center is hosting a Flag Exchange Program in honor of veterans. Full Story.
• Save a Warrior has secured a dollar matching donation for up to $500,000 in benefit of Warrior Village in Newark. The program that helps veterans, active duty members and first responders with post traumatic stress was brought to Ohio in June. Full Story.

A couple of fires

• The former Kimble Meat Market building on Linden Avenue caught fire Wednesday afternoon. It was an exterior fire but the front window and part of front of the building were torn away. No injuries were sustained. Full Story.
• A Perry Township home caught fire Friday night due to a cracked chimney. A man was awoken by the smell of smoke in his Beauty Lane home Friday night. Three floors were damaged by the fire. The man and his dog both made it out unharmed. Full Story.

Let’s go somewhere

• This weekend, 28 high schools from Ohio and West Virginia will gather at Muskingum University for the 27th annual Instrumental YouthFest. Full Story.
• The Weekend Planner is chalked full of events from Friday through Sunday. Full Planner.

As always, feel free to send events, tips, suggestions, comments and questions to our news team by emailing contact@ycitynews.com or the writer directly at jjohnston@ycitynews.com.