Top 5 Stories to Start Your Day

Top stories for Friday, March 20, 2015:

740 Area Code Changes

COLUMBUS, OHIO (AP) – If you use the 740 area code you will have to dial all 10 digits to make a local call starting Saturday. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio says callers will have to dial the area code and seven-digit phone number to connect local calls.

Buckeye Lake Dam to be Replaced Immediately

LICKING COUNTY, OHIO (WHIZ) – Governor John Kasich says that work will begin immediately to replace the 180-year-old Buckeye Lake Dam. It’s expected to cost between 125 to 150 million dollars and take between four and five years to complete.

Deondre Crosby Guilty

GUERNSEY COUNTY, OHIO (WHIZ) – Zanesville man, 24-year-old Deondre Crosby was convicted of aggravated murder with a gun specification, complicity to aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary. Sentencing is set for this morning at 10 before Guernsey County Common Pleas Judge David Ellwood.

Erosion Near McConnelsville-Malta Dam

MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO (WHIZ) – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has found an erosion of the west bank of the Muskingum River, on the McConnelsville- Malta Dam. ODNR made temporary repairs and monitored the riverbank overnight. It plans to reassess the situation today.

Commissioners Meeting: Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO (WHIZ) – A Thursday morning meeting between the Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center and the Muskingum County Commissioners was set to discuss a building lease. The building that the Educational Service Center works out of is owned by the Muskingum County Commissioners, and according to Commissioner Jim Porter, there is a difference of opinion on what the commissioners are legally required to rent to the educational service center for a dollar a year.