The Messenger

🚨 BOIL WATER ADVISORY NOTICE 🚨
Due to a recent water main break, customers in the following areas are asked to boil water used for human consumption for 3–5 minutes as a safety precaution:
New Market St, Polk St, 7691 - 7824 St Rt 41, 2674 - 3163 Bentonville Rd, 25 - 575 Poplar Flat Rd, and surrounding areas.
If you are outside of these listed roads but experienced low water pressure or no water, you are also under this advisory.
🔹 Please boil all water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice, and washing food for 3–5 minutes before use.
🔹 Visit our website and review the outage map for more information on affected areas.
This advisory is issued by the Adams County Regional Water District (ACRWD). We will notify you as soon as the advisory has been lifted.
We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
📞 Questions?
Business Office: 937-544-2396 (Mon–Fri, 7:30 AM–4:00 PM)
Water Treatment Plant: 937-549-2339

🚨 MISSING PERSON 🚨

The West Union Police Department is requesting the public's assistance in locating a missing person.

Jaklin Marie Bates, 18 years old, was last seen on June 7, 2026, at approximately 1:00 PM in the area of 222 Rice Drive in the Village of West Union, Ohio.

Jaklin is described as:
• White female
• 5'4" tall
• 220 pounds
• Curly, thick strawberry-blonde hair (shoulder length)
• Green eyes
• Wears round glasses

At the time she was last seen, Jaklin was wearing:
• Gray T-shirt with dolphins on it
• Pajama pants
• Black steel-toe boots

Jaklin left on foot and is not believed to have access to a vehicle.

Anyone with information regarding Jaklin's whereabouts is asked to contact the West Union Police Department at (937) 544-2512 or the Adams County Sheriff's Office at (937) 544-2314.

Please share this post to help us locate Jaklin and ensure her safe return.

Update on Missing Kayaker Search and Recovery

The New Richmond Fire & EMS Department was back on the Ohio River today, Sunday, June 7, to continue search operations for the missing kayaker involved in Thursday afternoon’s incident.

At approximately 12:00 p.m., a body was located near Mile Marker 449.1. At that time, M36, BO36, E36, and Chief 36 were dispatched to the 800 block of Washington Street. Command was established, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Clermont County Coroner’s Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard were notified. The scene and recovery efforts were subsequently turned over to ODNR.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following agencies and organizations that assisted throughout this search and recovery operation:

• Code 3 Search and Rescue
• Cincinnati Search and Recovery
• Task Force One
• Clermont County Sheriff’s Office
• New Richmond Police Department
• Clermont County Communications Center
• Bethel-Tate Fire Department
• Anderson Township Fire & Rescue
• Hamilton County Police Association
• Boone County Water Rescue
• Pierce Township Fire Department
• ODNR

Incidents like these are never easy for the families and friends involved. They are also difficult for the first responders who dedicate countless hours to these operations. We would like to thank our paid-per-call members who spent numerous hours away from their own families to assist in this search and recovery effort.

Lastly, we want to extend a very special thank you to The Green Kayak. Becca and Steve made sure responders had plenty of food and drinks throughout the operation. Your generosity, support, and willingness to help whenever needed truly embody what it means to be a community. Thank you not only for your assistance during this incident, but for the continued support you provide to our department and the village as a whole.

Please keep the family, friends, and all those affected by this tragedy in your thoughts during this difficult time.

Join us in Celebrating Summer

(PEEBLES, OHIO) Join the Friends of Serpent Mound (FOSM) for the 17th annual Summer Solstice Celebration festival and be a part of acknowledging the rich prehistoric Indigenous mound-building heritage and the solar alignment incorporated into the design of the Great Serpent Mound effigy mound. We have 3 fun-filled days of educational lectures, presentations, workshops, tours, music, hands-on activities and more, located on the adjacent private Soaring Eagle Retreat property. The celebration begins Friday, June 19 from 3 pm to 7 pm and continues Saturday and Sunday, June 20 & 21, from 10 am to 7 pm. The Soaring Eagle Retreat address is 351 Horner Chapel Road, Peebles, Ohio, where festival parking is free (parking at the Serpent Mound Park is $8). The two locations border each other on the east side of the Serpent Mound park and can be accessed via a short walk on the Buckeye Trail during Park hours. According to the Ohio History Connection’s Serpent Mound Website, the park will be closed on Juneteenth, June 19, and have extended hours on Saturday, June 20 to view the Summer Solstice alignments by being open from 5:30 am to 9:30 pm. Their hours for Sunday, June 21 will be noon to 5 pm.

“For the first few years of this event the theme was Serpent Mound’s History, Mystery, and Intrigue,” says Delsey Wilson, Executive Director of FOSM. “Then I started noticing the theme changed. One year, there was more focus on the music, one year we focused on the anniversary of the crop circle that was cross the road from the park. After that, the theme or focus would change each year.” This year’s theme is Appalachian Food & Culture, a subject near and dear to Mrs. Wilson, who will kick off the festival after a Family Memorial Tree Dedication to talk about her families’ ties to Appalachia with her presentation “Appalachian Little Grannies: Family Traditions, Ways of Healing, & Superstitions.”

Wilson goes on to share, “We have a new Youth Festival Patch Program that we created for Scouts, Home Schoolers, Youth Groups, or even families.” This program is for kids up to 18 years of age, and the cost is just $2 per child to participate, and the earning requirements vary by age. There is a limited number of 100 registrants, so if you are interested in in having your child earn a patch. Register early and don’t forget to reserve a patch for yourself, as the overseeing adult.

Throughout the weekend one can learn about certain Indigenous ways and music from the Okandada Voice of the People and Ancient Ways, as well as other types of regional music like folk, bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle & dulcimer, mindful drumming, crystal singing bowls, native flute, and two Americana groups - Mike Buford & the Bulldogs and the Portsmouth-based Mothman. Learn about the “Legacy of Quilting” and how one daughter’s love for her mother, who’s love of quilting, made a huge impact on the Appalachian and Midwest regions. Children of all ages may enjoy the live animal program from Family Traditions Animal Adventure & Feathers, Inc., with their “Animals of the Americas”. Finally, we can’t have a festival without talking and learning more about Serpent Mound. Sunday morning, bring your own kayak and join a float in Brush Creek below the park for free, or rent one from MoonDoggie LIVERee. Serpent Mound Historian and Author, Jeffrey Wilson will give the final presentation (2 hours) of the weekend, on the Archeological History of Serpent Mound. Each day ends with a tour to the Serpent Mound Cryptoexplosive Area Natural National Landmark (Meteor Crater)’s SW rim edge. This is a breathtaking view of the 300-million-year-old crater and the central uplift of a meteor strike that formed the peninsula on which Serpent Mound sits.

We offer mostly free workshops too, but a few have a nominal fee. Experience doing “Pigment Painting from Nature”, listen to storytellers, do yoga, go on a guided nature hike, make and learn how to use artist charcoal, learn to cook over an open flame, learn about cooking from scratch and from your yard, how to care for your cast iron skillet, see how to metalwork, and more! The two fee-based workshops are first, an artist lead painting class, “Paint the Serpent Mound” on an 8x10 canvas for $15, all supplies included, and second, “Weaving with Nature” is $22, and again, all supplies are included. Both of those workshops are on Sunday.

During all three days of this year’s festival one can practice throwing the atlatl as the ancients did, thanks to the Ohio Atlatl Association. Visit our John “Barney” Barnhart Education Tent to see local prehistoric artifact collections, the Grooms family collection of early farming tools and equipment, and a variety of Appalachian craft demonstrations, which will be different each day. Friday’s scheduled demonstration will be broom-making and gourd crafting, Saturday is a demonstration about dulcimers, and Sunday is nature art, gourds, hand sewing, and old-time wooden spoon carving. There are many more learning and entertaining opportunities, so, be sure to check out our complete schedule. We will, also, have over 40 vendors for a unique shopping experience, as well as, a couple of food trucks.

Our family friendly festival fits your budget -- as it’s FREE, close-by, and open to the public. This is a no drugs or alcohol event, but dogs are welcome. They must be on a leash and picked up after. Want to learn more? Visit www.serpentmound.org.

***
Weekend Schedule
Main Tent
Friday, June 19
3:00 PM - Dr. Catherine McNabb & Delsey Wilson - Open Prayer, Welcome & Dedication of our FOSM Family Memorial Trees
4:00 PM - Delsey Wilson - Appalachian Little Grannies: Family Traditions, Ways of Healing, & Superstitions
5:00 PM - Okandada Voice of the People - Spirit Wind Drum & Spirits of the Wind Singers - Singing & Inter-tribal Drumming
6:00 PM - The Everett "Patches" Patch Memorial Talking Circle
7:00 PM - Festival Closes for the day & Driving Tour to Crater's Rim.

Saturday, June 20
10:00 AM - Okandada Voice of the People - Spirit Wind Drum & Spirits of the Wind Singers - Singing & Inter-tribal Drumming
11:00 AM - Ann Taylor - Legacy of Quilting
12:00 PM - Randy Sanders - The Old Time Artifact Collection of Emmit and John Barnhart - Pickway County, Ohio
1:00 PM - Walter Bagnell - Appalachian Folk Fiddle Music
2:00 PM - Steve Free - Folk Music
3:00 PM - Okandada Voice of the People - Spirit Wind Drum & Spirits of the Wind Singers - Singing & Inter-tribal Drumming
4:00 PM - Lawrence Greene - Mindful Drumming
5:00 PM - Buckeye Trails - Crater Sign
6:00 PM - Mothman - Americana Music
7:00 PM - Festival Closes for the day & Driving Tour to Crater's Rim.

Sunday, June 21
9:00 AM - Kayak Tour below Serpent Mound (Hosted by MoonDoggie LIVERee)
10:00 AM - Deo Abellera - Singing Bowls
11:00 AM - Spirits of the Wind Women's Hand Drumming and Singing group is a part of Ancient Ways and Okandada Drum - Stories and Music
12:00 PM - Darren Grimes - How an Ancient Cataclysm Cycle was Silenced for 50 Years
1:00 PM - Mike Buford and the Bulldogs - Music
2:00 PM - Okandada Voice of the People - Spirit Wind Drum & Spirits of the Wind Singers - Singing & Inter-tribal Drumming
3:00 PM - Family Traditions Animal Adventure & Feather, Inc. - Animals of the Americas
4:00 PM - Chris "Flint Eagle" Davis - Appalachian Music
5:00 PM - Jeffrey Wilson - History of Serpent Mound (2 hours)
6:00 PM - Jeffrey Wilson - History of Serpent Mound (2 hours)
7:00 PM - Festival ends & Last Driving Tour to Crater's Rim.

Workshops & Hikes
Friday, June 19
3:00pm - Pigment Paint from Nature - Emily Ulrich
4:00pm - Flute Music - Josh Haudenschield
5:00pm - Water Spider who brought fire to Humanity - Pamela Bennett
6:00pm - Open
7:00pm - Serpent Mound Crater Rim Tour

Saturday, June 20
10:00am - Morning Yoga in the Trees - Aletha Angelus (Meet at Workshop Tent)
10:00am - Nature Hike - Scioto Valley Bird and Nature Club (Meet at Workshop Tent)
10:00am - Part 1 - Making Artist Charcoal - FOSM
11:00am - Open Flame Cooking - Dr. Catherine McNabb
12:00pm - Part 2 - Using Artist Charcoal - FOSM & Rusty Hardin
1:00pm - Introduction to Appalachian (Mountain) Dulcimer - Jaymie Maham
2:00pm - Automatic Writing - Debbie Keri-Brown
3:00pm - Automatic Writing - Debbie Keri-Brown
4:00pm - Appalachian Traditions: Scratch Cooking Skills - Jessica Culver
5:00pm - OOPS, I’M DEAD! Now what do I do? 2026 Version - Diane Vickory
6:00pm - Foraging - Sharon Dean
7:00pm - Serpent Mound Crater Rim Tour

Sunday, June 21
9:00 AM - Kayak Tour below Serpent Mound (Hosted by MoonDoggie LIVERee)
10:00am - Cast Iron Skillet Care - Gary Miner
10:00am - Morning Yoga in the Trees - Joanie Boyle (Tentative) (Meet at Workshop Tent)
11:00am - Crystal Work - Amy Edge
11:00 AM - FOSM - Native Pollinator & Medicinal Lean-to Trail Dedication
12:00pm - THE LEFT BEHIND”- Not Who You Think - Diane Vickory
1:00pm - Clay Basics - Dora Anderson
2:00pm - "Paint the Serpent Mound" ($15) - Sharon Dean (over an hour)
4:00pm - Metal Rose - Butch Wheeler
5:00pm - Weaving with Nature ($22) - Harmonic Circuit
6:00pm - "The care and feeding of your Bullroarer" - Nathan Noble
7:00pm - Serpent Mound Crater Rim Tour

Home, Friends of Serpent Mound ABOUT Friends of Serpent mound Friends of Serpent Mound (FOSM) consists of individuals and organizations that care about and recognize the value in...

Regina Evelyn Jakab, 83 years of age, of West Union, Ohio, passed away on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Meadowview Regional Medical Center, in Maysville, Kentucky.

Regina was born on September 15, 1942, in Peebles, Ohio, the daughter of the late Harold and Opal (Swayne) Browning. Regina worked as an administrative assistant for the Adams County Auditor's Office.

Regina is survived by her daughter, Jennifer and Joshua Thompson, of West Union. Along with her brothers, Gary Browning and Danny and Carol Browning, all of Peebles; sisters, Deborah Wyatt, of Georgia and Teressa and Denver Shoemaker, of West Union and a sister-in-law, Sheila Browning, of Peebles. Regina will be deeply missed by her three grandchildren, Ethan and Kennedy Thompson, of Columbus, Rylee Thompson and Jake Kendall, of Wi******er, and Jakab Thompson, of West Union, along with several nieces, nephews and cousins.

In addition to her parents, Regina was preceded in death by her husband, Samuel Johnson. As well as her brother, Larry Browning.

Family and friends may pay their respects during visitation on Saturday, June 6, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, at the Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home, in Peebles, Ohio.

Funeral services will be held immediately following the visitation, on Saturday, June 6, 2026, beginning at 11:00 am, at the Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home, in Peebles, Ohio.

The burial will follow at the Locust Grove Cemetery, in Peebles.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home.

McDermott Man Arrested Following A R**e Investigation of a Juvenile

Scioto County Sheriff David Thoroughman announced that his office was contacted regarding a possible r**e allegation, which led to a report being filed and the case being assigned to a detective for further investigation.

Sheriff Thoroughman stated that the investigation has been ongoing and included the victim being transported for a sexual assault examination. During the course of the investigation, detectives located the suspect, obtained a DNA sample, and submitted that evidence to the crime lab for testing.

According to Sheriff Thoroughman, the investigation established that the juvenile victim had allegedly been sexually assaulted beginning at age 10. After recently receiving the crime lab results, detectives presented the case to the Scioto County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment and led to the issuance of an indictment warrant.

On Sunday, May 31, 2026, detectives located the suspect and took him into custody without incident.

Arrested was Jose Lopez, 46, of McDermott, Ohio. Lopez has been charged with two counts of
r**e, both felonies of the first degree, and is currently being held without bond. He is expected to
appear in Scioto County Common Pleas Court at a later date.

Sheriff Thoroughman stated that the investigation remains ongoing and that additional charges may be presented to the Scioto County Grand Jury.

Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Jodi Conkel at (740) 351-1091.

Press release from the Adams County Board of DD:

HE BROUGHT HOME THE GOLD! 🥇

What an incredible weekend for one of our very own!

The 2026 Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games took place this past weekend at The Ohio State University, kicking off with an unforgettable Opening Ceremony at the iconic Horseshoe. Athletes from across the state came together to showcase their talents, determination, and competitive spirit during three exciting days of competition, celebration, and achievement.

We are thrilled to recognize Darrell Grooms for his outstanding performance on the state stage!

Darrell competed in both the 100-Meter Dash and the Softball Throw, representing our area with pride and determination. His hard work and dedication paid off as he raced to a FIRST-PLACE finish in the 100-Meter Dash, earning a Gold Medal! 🥇

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Darrell also secured THIRD PLACE in the Softball Throw, bringing home a Bronze Medal! 🥉

Darrell currently competes with Highland County Special Olympics under the leadership of Nathan Boatman, and we are incredibly proud of all that he has accomplished. His success is a testament to the power of perseverance, commitment, and the opportunities created through community partnerships.

We extend our sincere appreciation to the Highland County Board of Developmental Disabilities and Highland County Special Olympics for their continued collaboration and support. By working together, we can create meaningful experiences, foster inclusion, and provide life-changing opportunities for the individuals we serve.

Please join us in congratulating Darrell on this remarkable achievement! Your hard work, sportsmanship, and determination inspire us all.

🎉 Congratulations, Darrell! We are proud of you and excited to celebrate your success! 🎉