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Highs and lows: Revisiting the top local stories of 2023

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The recreational marijuana ballot issue, an auction of a rifle made by two renowned local craftsmen, serious accidents and sporting success were among the most viewed stories in 2023 at MariettaTimes.com.

The news story that topped the list was a special to the Times article in a series about an Ohio ballot issue to legalize recreational marijuana in the state. It included interviews with the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Struthers and a Youngstown-based medical marijuana cultivation business about their plans if the issue passed.

In the Nov. 7 general election, voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, though it was opposed by a majority of Washington County residents.

As an initiated statute, rather than a constitutional amendment, state lawmakers were able to make changes to the proposed law. The Ohio Senate did that, approving a compromise bill that cut the number of allowed household plants from 12 to six, raised the tax on legal marijuana purchases from 10% to 15% and reduced the allowable THC levels for cannabis extracts from 90% to 50%, the Associated Press reported. The provision allowing adults 21 and older to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis remained unchanged.

But the Ohio House of Representatives adjourned earlier this month without taking the measure up.

"We're not going to pass, sight unseen, such a monstrous proposition in 48 hours. That's nuts," state Rep. Bill Seitz said in an AP story.

Lawmakers need time to work through the complexities of setting up cannabis sales, taxation and a regulatory structure, he said.

A March 24 story about the upcoming auction of a presentation rifle crafted by renowned Lowell gunmaker Cecil Brooks in conjunction with local knifemaker Raymond Babcock was second on the list.

The only collaboration between Brooks and Babcock -- who passed away in 2006 and 2007, respectively -- the rifle drew 223 bids from multiple states and sold in the March auction for $17,117.10 to a bidder who wished to remain anonymous, according to Beardsley Auction Service of Lowell.

Ryan Beardsley with the auction service said it was "a great honor to be entrusted by the seller with such a great piece of local history." It was the most talked-about item they sold in 2023, he said.

The third most-viewed story, from April 28, was about the investigation of an apparent murder-suicide in Reno. Washington County Sheriff's deputies responded to a Sandhill Road home after a husband and wife living there did not report to work for two days. Authorities initially said it appeared Michael Edward Dixon, 55, shot Melisa A. Fowler-Dixon, then turned the gun on himself, which was recently confirmed by the investigation, according to Chief Deputy Mark Warden.

Next came a May 9 story about former Marietta High School and Marietta College baseball player Turner Hill having his contract with the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things purchased by Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants.

The outfielder joined the team's single-A affiliate San Jose Giants and posted a .287 batting average over 74 games, with 30 RBIs and 27 stolen bases.

He was called up to temporarily fill a roster spot on the AAA Sacramento River Cats and went 4-for-8 with one RBI in two games, according to MLB.com.

Many people clicked on an Oct. 21 rundown of trick or treat times to see when neighborhood ghosts and goblins would be making their candy runs, making it the fifth most-viewed news article.

It was followed by a June 28 story about a single-vehicle accident that claimed the life of an 85-year-old Waterford man. Norman L. Christopher Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene after his 2018 Kia Sorento went off of Milner Road in Waterford Township and struck an embankment.

There were no witnesses, but alcohol was believed to be a factor in the crash, Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Eric Knowlton said recently.

Another June 28 story, this one about Marietta officials preparing to take action on a condemned property at 605 Pearl St., was the seventh most-viewed news article.

Neighbors had appeared before Marietta City Council multiple times to discuss the property, which was reportedly the site of unauthorized occupancy, illegal drug activity and large amounts of trash and waste matter. The story outlined plans for the city to install a chain-link fence around the house and seek an injunction for demolition.

The Southeastern Ohio Port Authority took ownership of the property in September under its Residential Revitalization Program partnership with the city. Port Authority Executive Director Jesse Roush said recently that items are being moved out of the house and the agency is working with Washington-Morgan Community Action to do an asbestos assessment and get an estimate for demolition.

Eighth on the list was a report on the September indictments by the Washington County Grand Jury. Among the 15 defendants was Austin Garrett Jones, 26, last known address 312 Sixth St., Marietta, who was charged with a second-degree felony count of aggravated arson and two fourth-degree felony counts of arson.

One of the counts was for a November 2021 fire at the Alpha Xi Delta sorority house at 322 Fifth St. in Marietta, a historical structure built in 1835 and purchased in 1908 by oilman George White, who would go on to become governor of Ohio. The other counts were related to fires set earlier that evening in a wooded area across from the Frontier Shopping Center and at the base of a tree in Mound Cemetery.

Jones was arrested soon after the warrant was issued and processed into the Washington County Jail on Oct. 2, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

At ninth was an Oct. 3 story on the local results of "Operation Buyer's Remorse," part of a statewide crackdown on human trafficking led by the Ohio Attorney General's Organized Crime Investigations Commission. Eight people were arrested in Washington and Noble counties on charges ranging from misdemeanor soliciting and engaging in prostitution to felony drug trafficking.

A tip also led authorities to a woman at a suspected massage parlor in Belpre who did not speak English and had no idea what it meant "to be in Ohio." Authorities described her as a victim of human trafficking.

Rounding out the list was a June 7 story about a head-on collision on Ohio 7 north of Marietta that critically injured a 76-year-old Lewisville woman. She was a passenger in a Dodge Caravan that was attempting to turn left when it collided with a southbound GMC Acadia.

The 17-year-old girl driving the Caravan was issued a citation for failure to yield.

Eight people between the two vehicles were taken to Marietta Memorial Hospital, most with minor injuries.

Starting at /week.