(File Photo) A firefighter works at the scene of an explosion at an orphan well in Independence Township inside the Wayne National Forest on Aug. 25.

Top stories ranked by being the most-read

A well explosion, a fatal accident, crime news and a disease impacting deer were among the 2025 stories that drew readers’ attention on MariettaTimes.com, but the top article involved a grocery store in Parkersburg.

The March 7 report of the Gihon Village Piggy Wiggly’s closure due to a mouse infestation was the website’s most-viewed story as of Dec. 17. The store reopened a little over a week later, after undergoing extensive cleaning that involved removing and cleaning under plates at the bottom of shelves and behind refrigerators and freezers and using hospital-grade disinfectants.

The store’s most recent inspection report from the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, on Dec. 12, listed no violations.

The rest of the year’s top 10 stories happened in Washington County, including the second-most-viewed, a May 24 story on an accident that claimed the life of 18-year-old Marietta resident Jeremy Heiss, just hours after his graduation from Warren High School. The crash happened near milepost 2 on Blue Knob Road. The Ohio State Highway Patrol later said unsafe speed given the wet road conditions was a factor in the crash.

(File Photo) The Piggly Wiggly store in south Parkersburg closed for about a week in March due to a mouse infestation. Its latest Health Department inspection report showed no violations.

Next was a July 11 story about a high-speed pursuit that began in Athens County and ended when a reportedly stolen vehicle went off of Ohio 7 north of Belpre as law enforcement officers attempted a “rolling road block.” The 14-year-old driver and 13-year-old passenger were taken into custody.

The fourth most-viewed story was an Aug. 26 article about an explosion at an orphan well site along Independence Township 420 inside the Wayne National Forest. The well was being plugged by contractor Monroe Drilling Operations LLC on behalf of Ohio’s orphan well program when the explosion occurred, injuring six people, five of them contract workers for Monroe Drilling and one an Ohio Department of Natural Resources mineral resources inspector.

Two of the injured men – Chris Pinkerton, 48, of Woodsfield, an employee of Monroe Drilling, and Chris Starkey, 42, of Zanesville, an employee of Formation Cementing – eventually died.

An investigation report issued by ODNR’s Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management in November said the explosion was caused by a “kick” – a rapid influx of natural gas and crude oil into the well – resulting in a blowout that released oil and natural gas throughout the site. The gas ignited when it found an ignition source, believed to be the diesel engine of a water truck, resulting in “the entire well site being engulfed in flames.”

“The Division has determined that the cause of the explosion was the contractor’s improper implementation of primary and secondary well control barriers that resulted in a loss of well control,” the report said.

(File Photo) Steve Booth is shown at his desk at the Washington County Veterans Service Office in August.

The fifth most-viewed story was posted Nov. 12, the same day a fire at 613 Tupper St. in Marietta resulted in one adult and three children who lived there being taken to the hospital. The Washington County Coroner’s Office confirmed one of them, a 2-year-old child, died as a result of the fire.

A Marietta firefighter was injured during the response and taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.

A spokesman for the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s office recently said the exact cause and ignition source of the fire are undetermined, but investigators were able to pinpoint the living room as the place where the fire started.

“They also noted that nothing indicates it was intentional or suspicious,” the spokesman said.

Next was an Aug. 25 story about Steve Booth’s decision to return to Ohio after his retirement from the U.S. Marine Corps. He said he made the choice to help his mother and younger brother and also serves the community as a veterans service officer with the Washington County Veterans Service Commission.

(File Photo) Troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol look over a Nissan Sentra that was involved in a pursuit that began in Athens County and crashed on Ohio 7 north of Belpre in July.

After that was an Oct. 9 report on Washington County Grand Jury indictments, including Marietta resident Corey James Noel, 28, charged with 20 second-degree felony counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person, as well as a misdemeanor charge of falsification.

Noel’s arrest was announced in late September as part of Operation Next Door, a collaborative effort by more than 100 law enforcement agencies led by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission to focus on human trafficking.

Noel remained in custody at the county jail on a $75,000 bond.

The eighth most-viewed story was a July 29 breaking news item about John Lehman resigning from the Marietta City Schools Board of Education the night before. Lehman did not return calls seeking comment about his resignation. He’d been criticized by some members of the public in the fall of 2024 for allegedly creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the district. Lehman disagreed with that assessment at a November 2024 board meeting, saying he’d been involved with and supportive of Marietta schools for many years.

The board appointed Jeffrey Hollister, who previously served on the board from 1976 to 1989, to the vacant seat in August. He will complete the remainder of the term, through the end of 2027.

(File Photo) Vehicles and equipment at a well site in Independence Township inside the Wayne National Forest burn after an Aug. 25 explosion during a contractor’s operation to cap an orphan well.

Another October grand jury report drew the ninth-most views. This one included 24 defendants, among them 32-year-old Marietta resident Jeremy Allen Hines, 32, who was charged with two first-degree felony counts of rape, with the indictment saying he engaged in sexual conduct with a 9-year-old minor between July 2021 and 2023. Hines remained in custody with bond set at $250,000 on one charge and no bond on the other.

Rounding out the list was an Aug. 9 story about a positive test for epizootic hemorrhagic disease in a dead deer found in Washington County. It confirmed the suspected presence of the disease – which is fatal to deer and has no known treatment in wild populations – after it was initially detected in Athens County the month before.

The disease appears seasonally, although Ohio Division of Wildlife representative Linday Rist said it was detected somewhat earlier than usual this year. It is spread by insects called “biting midges,” usually found near water.

Rist recently said the reports of dead deer largely ceased after the first frost, as expected. According to the agency’s last map update, from Nov. 19, 15 of Washington County’s 22 townships reported more than 50 dead or sick deer.

As a result of the outbreak, deer bag limits were reduced in Washington, Athens, Meigs and Morgan counties from Dec. 1 until the deer season closes on Feb. 1, Rist said.

(File Photo) The Marietta Fire Department investigated 613 Tupper St. after a house fire was put out on Nov. 12.

(File Photo) A Nov. 12 house fire at 613 Tupper St. began on the first floor and quickly spread through the house before Marietta firefighters extinguished it. Burn marks can be seen along the windows and doorways.

(File Photo) John Lehman speaks during a Marietta City Board of Education meeting in November 2024. Lehman resigned from the board in July.

Photo Illustration