Barnesville Area News is Expanding Public Meeting Coverage
The Board of Directors of Barnesville Area News Company is pleased to announce 2026 ushers in the next step in expanding western Belmont County public meeting coverage.
For the past two years, Barnesville Area News is the only media source consistently covering both the Barnesville Exempted Village School District Board Meeting and Barnesville Village Council.
Beginning this month your online news service is helping fill an existing void in coverage by providing reports on the monthly Belmont and Bethesda village council meetings.
Jennifer Compston-Strough, veteran of the eastern Ohio news scene, is joining Barnesville News covering these two meetings and taking over Barnesville Village Council meetings.
“Jennifer’s experience and knowledge of these communities will expand our efforts to provide coverage and transparency for local government in western Belmont County,” Bruce Yarnall, board president, said. “We’re so fortunate to have her aboard.”
During the workday, Compston-Strough is the Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Olney Friends School where she oversees fundraising efforts and manages donor and alumni relations.
Born in Barnesville and raised in nearby Belmont, Jennifer is a graduate of Union Local High School with a bachelor’s degree in history from Wright State University. She also completed postgraduate work in Educational Administration at Franciscan University of Steubenville and earned Ohio teaching certification. She is a member of the Belmont County Tourism Council Board of Directors, the Ohio University Eastern Coordinating Council, and the Advisory Board for A Special Wish Foundation, Ohio Valley Chapter.
She lives in the village of Belmont with her husband Michael Strough.
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