***First Place National Newspaper Award***

Last year on August 29, 2008, Daryl Burton was released from prison after being incarcerated for 24 years for a murder he did not commit.

This year Burton was able to spend Christmas with his daughter.

Democratic Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the Athens Community Center Saturday afternoon was one that many area residents, able to get a ticket to the event, won’t soon forget.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is making major improvements in the agriculture of cassava, a crop that forms a major part of the diet for many people in Africa. The St. Louis-based plant science center has scientists from more than 20 countries on its research campus working on cassava, including Uzo Ihemere from Nigeria.

Last Wednesday the Federal Deposit InsurancCorporation released a study outlining the number of people who are unbanked and underbanked in the country. The St. Louis metropolitan area was found to have the highest percentage of unbanked blacks in the country and the largest disparity between unbanked blacks and whites.

Some Athens County citizens are mobilizing their fight against a proposed fracking waste well in Athens County. The Athens County Fracking Action Network held a meeting Wednesday to discuss a well in Rome Township that could be used to accept brine waste.

On Wednesday, Greenpeace challenged Missouri legislators to protect citizens, many of them minorities, who live near high-risk chemical plants.

The City of Berkeley is building a new $16 million Municipal Complex, which will include a new City Hall and fire station, along with the renovation and expansion of the existing police station.

Better Family Life’s Amnesty Project was a big part of 2010 Family Week activities, drawing large crowds for the second consecutive year.

Two University of Missouri-St. Louis police officers sent an African-American student to the hospital Nov. 17, but the university and UMSL police are telling a much different story than the student and several witnesses.

Places for People held a groundbreaking ceremony and press conference Thursday for a new facility to house chronically homeless citizens with mental illness.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education under the Missouri State Board of Education has recommended that the Special Administrative Board continue to govern the St. Louis Public Schools for at least three more years, among many suggestions to improve the district.

About 76 percent of St. Louis city residents who voted in the Aug. 3 primary said “Yes” to Proposition S, a $155 million school bond issue for repairs and maintenance in the St. Louis Public School District.

Many Ohio University students and Athens residents chose to honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy over their holiday weekend by giving back to their community and participating in OU's celebratory events.

US Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration officials say there will not be a formal investigation into the coal mining accident that sent five workers to the hospital last week.

The Ridges at Ohio University is often a place people like to visit for Halloween weekend. Ghost stories about The Ridges’ past as The Athens Lunatic Asylum are common lore and people will make the trip to see the asylum cemeteries. These cemeteries will look a little different starting October 29.

Ohio University President Roderick McDavis will be a part of a new group of college presidents making decisions about how state colleges and universities will be funded in Governor John Kasich's new budget.

The Church of God in Christ’s 2010 Convocation being held here November 8 through 16 is expected to draw 40,000 worshippers and large revenues to St. Louis.

There's a new place for people to learn Chinese in Athens for children and adults alike. The Athens Chinese Culture Center celebrated its opening Sunday. Music, traditional food and dress were all a part of the festivities. The idea of the center started with owner, Sue Chen, teaching Chinese lessons in her home.

Loud music and outrageous costumes are sights and sounds that are seen each year in Athens during Halloween weekend. Another annual sight is trash all along the streets of the city and on the Ohio University campus.

A Metro bus driver performed a brave public service on Friday when he left his bus to pursue a driverless car rolling into a busy downtown intersection.

At age 10, Tatyanna Jackson has received her first major public recognition as an artist. Her drawing won the mayor’s annual holiday card contest and will convey Mayor Francis G. Slay’s holiday wishes this season.

The Florissant Church of Christ was completely filled on Monday for the funeral service of Ernest Green III, deputy chief of the University City Police Department, who passed away Monday, Dec. 20 at the age of 46.

St. Louis native and three-time Emmy Award winner Alex Williams has had an incredible career in television working behind the scenes.

When you get invited to the White House, you do not decline the invitation. And St. Louisan, Ramona Jones-Williams was all too excited about being invited to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation’s capital.