ASHLAND — As 2019 concludes and we prepare for 2020 to begin, Ashland Source is looking back on some of the biggest stories from the past year.
Below is a list of the most popular stories as determined by the number of people who read them.
Tomorrow, we’ll highlight some of the most positive news from 2019, as determined by readers.
By the Numbers
The 15 most popular stories of 2019 are as follows:
15. Mifflin Inn aspires to thrive under new ownership
After spending months molding their dreams into reality, new restaurant owners Carolyn and John Keogh unveiled the new Mifflin Inn restaurant in early 2019.
14. Update: Man taken into custody following Ashland manhunt
On Monday, Oct. 28, a man was taken into custody after an Ashland resident reported seeing two men with a firearm near a bus stop.
13. 911 call indicates suspect stabbed mother before being shot by Ashland officer
An unidentified Ashland police officer shot a man in March while responding to a report of a suspect threatening people with a knife on the 600 block of Sandusky Street.
12. Northwestern teacher sings school closing parody
The video features history teacher Roy Woodring at his desk, belting out made up lyrics to “It’s too cold for school” to the tune of the “Friends” theme song, “I’ll be there for you.”
11. Kroc Center expansion to feature indoor water park
In February, the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center made a splash with the announcement of a major expansion that will include as its centerpiece an indoor water park.
10. Ashland mom raises $5,000 to wipe out student lunch debt
Ashland mom Nichole Aber said she decided to start the fund after comparing notes with other parents and learning several of their kids had similar experiences to that of her sixth grade son
9. Three child victims identified in fatal house fire
The Ashland County Coroner’s Office identified the three children who died in a house fire in Ashland County’s Perry Township in July.
8. Fireworks and Fourth of July festivities planned in Ashland County
Ashland County loves its fireworks. Plenty of shows were previewed here in this June 2019 story.
7. Campo gets maximum sentence in drug case
The son of Ashland University President Carlos Campo, Brandon Campo was himself an administrator at AU until his arrest.
6. Mapleton teacher resigns amid threat of termination
Mapleton High School Vocational Agriculture teacher Adam Bode agreed to resign from his position at the end of the 2018-2019 school year.
5. Ashland man paints butterfly wings as tribute to daughter, for suicide awareness
Positioned next to a set of angel wings that he painted last summer at 100 W. Main St, the new butterfly wings outside of the Fig and Oak gift shop are a tribute to his 23-year-old daughter, who died Wednesday, Nov. 27.
4. Local enthusiasm brings Chick-Fil-A food truck to Ashland
Brian Wellman, owner and operator of the Strongsville Chick-fil-A, told local leaders that rarely a week goes by when he doesn’t receive a request from an Ashland resident asking him to open a location in Ashland.
3. Prosecutor: Stoney Creek shooter shot wife in head twice
The 38-year-old is believed to have shot his wife twice in the head, Ashland County Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell told Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald Forsthoefel during a bond setting hearing in July.
2. Dayton Police: Man in custody after alleged homicide of Mansfield couple
The man was taken into custody in November after the bodies of a Mansfield couple were found in Dayton. Kayla Hayton, 20, and Todd Burkhart, 28, had been last seen on Nov. 16 when the couple dropped off Hayton’s daughter in Columbus with her grandparents.
1. America’s largest salamander endangered in Ashland’s backyard
Native to Ohio and most of the eastern United States near the Appalachian Mountain Range, it is the third largest salamander species in the world; sitting behind the Japanese Giant Salamander and the Chinese Giant Salamander (which can grow to an astounding 6 feet in length).
