Five things to know for Friday, Oct. 31

DeWine signs executive order for SNAP benefits

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order to provide up to $25 million in Ohio tax dollars to help families impacted by the looming halt of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits amid the Democratic-led federal government shutdown.

The order directs the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to give $7 million to Ohio food banks and up to $18 million to more than 63,000 Ohioans at or below 50% of the federal poverty level, including more than 57,000 children. The money is from Ohio’s Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the “rainy day” fund.

About 12% of Ohioans receive SNAP benefits.

Ohio jobless claims rise slightly

Ohioans filed 45,855 unemployment claims — 5,463 initial unemployment claims and 40,392 continued unemployment claims — for the week between Oct. 19 and Oct. 25. According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, roughly 1,094 of those have been flagged to confirm they are legit.

Ohio’s August unemployment rate was 5%, higher than the national rate of 4.3%. Ohio’s labor force participation rate in August was 62.5%, higher than the national rate of 62.3%.

Former treasurer sentenced for booster club theft

A Jackson County Common Pleas Court judge sentenced 46-year-old Lisa Frisby of Wellston, the former Wellston City Schools booster club treasurer, to 24 months in prison for stealing more than $40,000 from the organization, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.

A jury last month convicted Frisby of telecommunications fraud and felony grand theft following a six-day trial. The attorney general’s office’s Charitable Law Section determined that Frisby embezzled the funds for personal use during her five years as treasurer of the now-defunct Big W Football Boosters.

Buckeye Institute appeals Fulton County union wage theft case

The Buckeye Institute has filed an appeal brief with Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals in a case of a paraprofessional at Pike-Delta-York High School who wants to leave the Ohio Association of Public School Employees.

The Columbus-based think tank represents Wauseon resident Katrina Vanderveer. It seeks to overturn a lower court’s dismissal of the case and to end the union’s wage-collecting practices.

House passes bill to create tiered penalties for Move Over Law violations

The Ohio House has passed House Bill 132, Philip Wigal’s Law, a measure that establishes a tiered penalty structure for violations of the Move Over Law. The measure is named for Philip Wigal, a firefighter who died after he was hit by a semi-truck while responding to a wreck on Interstate 71 near West Salem in 2022.

The measure includes more stringent penalties for repeat offenders and for drivers who cause injury or death by not slowing down or moving over for stopped vehicles with flashing lights, including first responders, road maintenance crews, construction workers, and tow truck operators.