CINCINNATI — It's Friday in late August so that means high school football is back in Ohio.

Some games are continuing as scheduled, like Lakota West at Colerain, but some teams had to cancel their games due to the pandemic.

Fenwick and Kings high schools both will not be playing in their games since they both had positive COVID-19 cases. However, the teams they were supposed to play, Edgewood and Winton Woods, will play against each other instead.

Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine gave the green light to high school football teams to play earlier in August, but he did give some restrictions in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

One of the changes will be that game spectators will be limited to players' parents, family members or those closest to the student-athlete. Teams are also only allowed to dress 60 players. High school marching bands will also only be allowed to perform at their home games.

While football starts in Ohio, Kentucky's Board of Education is supposed to meet virtually Friday with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's Board of Control to discuss fall sports moving forward. The current plan is for Kentucky teams to start their seasons on Sept. 11.

CINCINNATI — The Eastern Cincinnati Conference announced Friday morning the adoption of a nine-game conference football schedule starting with the 2022 season.

The ECC athletic directors voted 9-1 Thursday in favor of the move.

The 2022 season would have just one non-conference game possibility for ECC members in the first week of the year. There are 10 weeks in an Ohio high school football regular season.

The ECC is in its first full season of an eight-game conference schedule since it added Lebanon, Winton Woods and Little Miami starting in the fall 2020. (The COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2020 regular season across the state with Kings and Winton Woods named ECC co-champions).

The ECC said conference football games will occur in weeks 2-10 starting in 2022. Each school's conference scrimmage will become the Week 2 contest.

"It's great for our conference," Winton Woods athletic director David Lumpkin said. "I think you are going to see probably other leagues as well. We're not the only league to consider this. It's getting tougher and tougher to schedule and it leaves us with a true champion without having a bye every year."

The expansion of the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs to 16 teams per region in the seven divisions also played a factor in the ECC's decision.

In Division I, Region 4, 16 of the 17 eligible programs will make the playoffs this year.

While the computer playoff points, also known as Harbin points, earned are important for playoff seeding, it's not as relevant for making the postseason as in past years.

"Looking at the structure, I think everyone realizes things are evolving and we have to evolve and change with it," Milford athletic director Aaron Zupka said. "I think it was a pretty easy decision. It was just timing of when to do it."

Lebanon athletic director Keith Pantling said the move to nine ECC games is very beneficial for the communities and for Lebanon to continue to establish new rivalries.

Pantling and Zupka recognized the change locally for the football scheduling landscape where rivalries outside the conference will change during the regular season.

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"It's getting tougher for smaller conferences and further diminishes the chances of more local private school-public school matchups," said Pantling, who was the La Salle athletic director from 2016 to 2018. "I've been in both chairs."

The ECC, which started in 2012, includes Kings, Turpin, Anderson, Milford, West Clermont, Little Miami, Walnut Hills, Winton Woods, Lebanon and Loveland.

The Greater Miami Conference discussed a nine-game conference schedule at its Sept. 7 meeting and plans to revisit the discussion no later than the October meeting, but it could happen sooner.

LEBANON, Ohio —

A 10-year-old and his family were kicked out of a youth basketball league after his mother, attending the game, refused to wear her mask over her nose.

The family, from Lebanon, wants the league's decision reversed and said the incident never should have gone as far as it did.

Jennifer and Mike Chaney's son Connor plays for Kings Basketball Association, part of the Cincinnati Premier Youth Basketball League. Mike Chaney is the assistant coach for the team, or at least he was one week ago.

Last Sunday, Jennifer Chaney was watching her son's game against Sycamore and livestreaming via Facebook live to family and friends who could not attend due to COVID restrictions.

Chaney said she was wearing her mask below her nose, only covering her mouth when a spectator from the other team approached her and told her to wear her mask correctly. She said a man, who did not identify herself, approached her a few minutes later.

"He goes, 'Well, is there a reason that you're not wearing your mask the right way?' I said, 'There actually is. I have a medical reason for that,' and he said, 'Well, what is that?' And I said, 'Well, I don't have to tell you that,'" Jennifer Chaney said.

She said the man left her alone but spectators from the opposing team continued to yell at her during the first half of the game to put her mask over her nose. She said she was also practicing social distancing and did not feel she was endangering any other guests.

At halftime, the league president Ben Goodyear showed up.

"Ma'am you need to leave please," he Jennifer Chaney. "Take your kid with you and leave please."

He then told her, "You're not wearing your mask. I'm the league president."

"I don't give a s*** who you are," she replied.

Chaney's Facebook live video continued as she left the gym.

You can hear fans yelling at her for continuing to wear her mask under her nose.

"You got a power problem," Jennifer Chaney said. "I ain't bothering anyone down there. Yeah you do. You got a power problem. And you don't even know if I have a medical condition, dumb a**."

At the same time, the Chaneys said Goodyear instructed Mike and Conner to leave the court and told them they were being kicked out of the league.

"We had to get Connor off the court so emotionally, he's very upset," Mike Chaney said. "He starts crying, not understanding why and I'm honestly not understanding why either."

Connor's parents want the league to reverse its decision on expelling the family from the league and allow Connor to finish the season.

The family said Connor has been watching the games virtually at home and wants to play with his friends again.

The family also provided WLWT with a physician's note, attesting to Jennifer Chaney having a medical condition that exempts her from wearing a mask. She said she has been treated for the condition for several years.

The league's COVID-19 rules, listed online, clearly state that spectators are required to wear face coverings. The league president told WLWT the league's rules "do not grant medical exemptions."

The state's order on youth sports, released by the Ohio Department of Health, reads that spectators are required to wear face coverings but individuals can be exempt due to medical conditions.

Cincinnati Premier Youth Basketball League COVID-19 rules:

"Everyone entering the gym is required to wear a cloth face covering and follow social distancing guidelines at all times. Anyone not wearing a face covering will not be allowed in the gym. Anyone who removes their face covering will be required to leave the facility immediately. Players can remove their mask for warmups and the game.

"Plastic masks or face shields are not permitted."

Statement provided by president Ben Goodyear:

"In accordance with the State of Ohio Department of Health Covid-19 Sports Order, the CPYBL has established clear Covid-19 guidelines for all participants, including coaches, players, parents/spectators. The guidelines require all game attendees to wear a mask at all times. In this case, the parent was given multiple opportunities to wear her mask but she refused. Therefore, she was asked to leave the gym. At no time, did she ever alert gym or league personnel that she had a medical condition. However, league rules do not grant medical exemptions. We did this because the CPYBL takes the safety of players, coaches, officials, and fans very seriously. To be clear, her ejection from the gym was the result of her refusal to wear a mask. Her expulsion from the league was the result of her multiple violations of the CPYBL Parent Code of Conduct."

Excerpt from the Ohio Department of Health's Sept. 25 order which provides requirements for youth, collegiate, amateur, club and professional sports:

"Spectators must wear face coverings at all times except for one of the reasons stated in the Director's Order for Facial Coverings throughout the State of Ohio, signed July 23, 2020, or as it may thereafter be amended. The Order's exemptions include, but are not limited to: 1. The individual is under 10 years of age; 2. The individual has a medical condition, including respiratory conditions that restrict breathing, mental health conditions, or disabilities that contraindicate the wearing of a facial covering."

LEBANON, Ohio —

The debate over masks is lingering in Lebanon.

With many kids in quarantine, the district considered changing safety strategies on Wednesday.

But after hours of taking public comment, the decision was "no decision."

The school board tabled the vote after a meeting of more than three hours.

It was an emotional meeting.

People knew their stance and they made it abundantly clear.

Parents flooded the central office for Lebanon City Schools.

The temperature of the room was hot and the discussion was even hotter.

They came expecting a mask mandate vote by school board members.

Some people were against masks.

"Leave the decision to the parents. If it is mandated, there is no endgame and this will go forever," parent Christy Sanders said.

Other parents also agreed with Sanders.

"We're saying stay the course. Give parents the option. Let them decide what they want to do with their children," parent Mike Cope said.

Fewer people appeared to be for masks or mandates.

"There's homecoming, prom, choir concerts, musicals. All of these can be taken away if the schools get shut down for not wearing masks," student Alicia Smith said.

A woman who works in health care also spoke out in favor of masks.

"I just think it's probably the thing to do right now. I wish we could just kind of follow the numbers and, as they go down, then take the masks off," she said.

According to data from the district on Wednesday, 49 students have tested positive for COVID-19, with two breakthrough cases.

It said 17 students are waiting on test results and 536 students have been identified as close contacts and are in quarantine.

The data provided by the school district showed 52 students who are vaccinated or who were masked won't miss class.

But a big issue became abundantly clear after looking closer.

Quarantines, parents and even school board members said, are extensive in comparison to positive cases.

School board members decided to table the vote until they can figure out if they must follow the quarantine protocols set forth by Warren County Health officials.

"The quarantine has got to stop. There are counties in Ohio that are not doing it. We can stop doing it," parent Holly Bates said.

The district made it clear that it is not mandating vaccinations.

Some parents said under their breath, and some quite loudly, "for now."

It's not yet clear when the board will meet again to discuss the issue.

Board members said the superintendent will consult with the district's attorney for better guidance.

Warning: This video contains distressing images. Viewer discretion advised.

It's been a year since one of the world's largest ever non-nuclear explosions ripped through Lebanon's capital, killing more than 200 people.

On any given day in Beirut's worst-affected neighborhoods, theories about the explosion still circulate. No two stories of human tragedy are alike, and most interactions between people here end not with a goodbye, but with an invocation that Lebanon's ruling elite be toppled.

The political class is, overwhelmingly, blamed for the disaster.

At just after 6 p.m. on August 4, 2020, hundreds of metric tons of ammonium nitrate ignited, sparking the massive blast in the city's port.

The industrial chemicals had been improperly stored there for years due to the failure to act by successive governments and lawmakers across the political divide. That much is clear.

But for people across Lebanon, there are still many unanswered questions about what led to the tragedy, and there has been no sense of closure in the 12 months since the explosion.

Here's what we still don't know.

What triggered the blast?

Because of the many inquiries by journalists and rights groups over the past year, we know that the ammonium nitrate — stored alongside fireworks in a poorly maintained warehouse — was a disaster waiting to happen.

Video above shows Beirut explosion interrupt bride's wedding day

Six urgent letters sent by customs officials since 2014 — the year the material was unloaded at the port under mysterious circumstances — had alerted the authorities to the danger posed by the chemicals.

One was written by a port official in May 2020, just months before the blast. "This substance, if ignited, will lead to a large explosion, and its outcome will almost obliterate the port of Beirut. If the substance were exposed to any kind of theft, the thief would be able to use this substance to build explosives," warned the document, which was obtained by CNN after the incident.

Beirut's port is just 100 meters from some of the city's most densely-populated neighborhoods. The blast destroyed not only a large part of the port, but also left swathes of the city in tatters. The damage was estimated at between $3.8 and $4.6 billion.

It is clear that successive leaders — four governments and three prime ministers — either would have or should have known about the threat posed by the material, and that little was done to address the danger.

But what is far from clear, 12 months on, is what ignited the ammonium nitrate.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, Tarek Bitar, the judge charged with investigating the explosion, is looking into several theories.

One is that sparks from welding works that day caused a fire in hangar 12, the warehouse where the chemical was being stored.

Another is that an Israeli strike was the catalyst, though Lebanese aviation officials reported that local radar systems did not detect military aircraft over Lebanese airspace in the hour or so before the blast, Israeli officials have denied any involvement, and Bitar himself has said the Israel theory was highly unlikely, according to HRW's report.

Bitar is also exploring the theory that the explosion was an intentional act, according to HRW.

"Speculation that Hezbollah may have wanted to destroy the ammonium nitrate at the port supposedly to hide that some of the ammonium nitrate in the stockpile had been used by Hezbollah's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria to produce barrel bombs increased as reporting emerged regarding the connection between the cargo owners and individuals sanctioned by the U.S. for alleged links to Assad," the report said, referring to an investigative report by local journalist Firas Hatoum.

Hatoum linked the shipment of ammonium nitrate — which that arrived in 2013 and was unloaded the following year — to companies linked to, according to the HRW report, Syrian-Russian businessmen "who have been sanctioned by the U.S. government for acting on behalf of the Syrian government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad."

Hezbollah has repeatedly denied involvement in the blast.

Several Lebanese factions were heavily involved in Syria's civil war earlier in the conflict. Affiliates of Lebanon's Saudi-backed former prime minister, Saad Hariri, materially aided anti-Assad forces for a time. Hezbollah intervened on Assad's behalf and is widely believed to have helped save his presidency.

Adding to the mystery around the ammonium nitrate is the fact that all of Lebanon's major political parties have a strong presence at the port.

"Lebanon's main political parties, including Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Amal Movement, and others, have benefited from the port's ambiguous status and poor governance and accountability structures," the HRW report said.

"Political parties have installed loyalists in prominent positions in the port, often positioning them to accrue wealth, siphon off state revenues, smuggle goods, and evade taxes in ways that benefit them or people connected to them," it added.

Was any ammonium nitrate missing? What happened to it?

The judicial investigation's third theory, that the ignition was an intentional act, has gained prominence over the past year.

Several reports have suggested that far less ammonium nitrate exploded last August than initially thought. According to Reuters, an FBI report estimated that only 20% of the 2,755 tons of ammonium nitrate brought to the port in 2013 actually detonated. The HRW report also cited an August 2020 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in which three European intelligence sources estimated that the size of the blast was equivalent to as little as 700- 1,000 tons.

The theory goes that the ammonium nitrate was left at the port, where it could be siphoned off by factions in Lebanon.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab told CNN he only found out about the existence of the ammonium nitrate in early June 2020, and immediately requested further information. He said he received a file on the situation at the port on July 22 — but that the part predicting the catastrophic effects of an explosion had been omitted.

Diab said he forwarded the file to the Ministry of Public Works, under whose purview the port falls, and the Ministry of Justice, and asked them to investigate the chemicals at the port.

CNN has seen a document showing that the Ministry of Public Works stamped the front of the file on August 4, 2020.

The blast happened at 6.08 p.m. the same day.

In a December 2020 interview with CNN, Diab — by then the country's caretaker Prime Minister — called the timing "suspicious."

"There is something suspicious for (the report) to come in July 22 ... and then for it to blow up. There is something suspicious. Even though this is a seven-year issue. Seven years, for God's sake," Diab told CNN at the time. "There's something that's unexplainable, the timing of this."

How will Beirut rebuild?

Perhaps one of the most glaring unanswered questions surrounding the Beirut port explosion is whether the city will ever go back to what it was.

Since the blast, the city has buckled under the strain of a rapidly plummeting currency, long power outages, and severe medicine, milk and fuel shortages. Lebanon's dire economic straits mean most of the rebuilding efforts have been privately funded, or supported by non-profit organizations. A year later, much of the repair work is still ongoing.

But many home and shop owners say they neither have the financial means nor the psychological strength to return to affected neighborhoods.

"They've ruined us. I'd sell my soul to leave this country," said one shop owner on the once hip but still extensively damaged Gemmayze street, referring to the country's ruling class. "May they never again see a good day."

WILMINGTON, Ohio — A driver requested assistance from the Ohio State Highway Patrol Friday morning, saying another driver had shot his car during a fit of road rage, the agency said.

A news release Friday indicated the driver was headed south around 6:30 a.m. on Interstate 71 near Ohio 123 when the road rage incident began with another driver. The two continued south on the freeway for roughly 4 miles until a bullet hit the victim's front passenger door. The shooting suspect then fled the scene, according to OSHP investigators.

No one was hurt in the incident, the release said.

Troopers are seeking a white Scion xB with Kentucky plates and described the suspect as a white male with medium-length hair.

The highway patrol asked that anyone who has information about this incident call investigators at 513-932-4444.

LEBANON, Ohio —

Lebanon City Council has unanimously passed an ordinance to make Lebanon a "sanctuary city for the unborn," banning abortions and abortion-inducing drugs. The city is the first city in Ohio to do so.

The council voted 6-0 on the emergency ordinance at its meeting Tuesday evening.

The council heard public comment for over three hours in a room that reached full capacity.

Passage of the ordinance makes providing an abortion a first-degree misdemeanor, and punishable by 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

To date, 27 municipalities in Texas and Nebraska have outlawed abortion. Lebanon is the first city in Ohio to ban abortions.

Lebanon's ordinance was sponsored by six of seven members of city council, including the mayor.

Councilwoman Krista Wyatt turned in her resignation at 3 p.m. Monday, effective immediately, in regards to the ordinance debate, because she did not support it.

“I'm heartbroken to not fulfill my term and I know many people will be disappointed," she said. "I'm powerless to do anything about it as one vote, so I decided I might as well not even be there.”

“I want to make it very clear -- I am not pro-abortion. I don't know anyone who is, but I do not think we as council members have a right, a responsibility to tell a woman what she can do with her body.”

Several dozen people showed up outside protesting the abortion ban. They held signs that read "If you're against abortion, don't have one" and "I stand with Planned Parenthood."

There were also a few counter-protesters outside the meeting.

LEBANON, Ohio — A Lebanon producer of loading systems is closing, resulting in a job loss for more than 100 employees, but workers will have an opportunity to apply for openings with a Hamilton company, the business is telling Ohio government.

The Journal-News reports that OPW Engineered Systems, 2726 Henkle Drive, is permanently closing and will terminate employment for its 103 employees, James Anderson, OPW human resources director, said in a letter to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The letter is dated Thursday.

The closing of the OPW Engineered Systems facility will take place on a “rolling basis” no sooner than July 6 and finishing no later than the end of September, the company said.

“It is currently anticipated that all of the affected employees will be terminated from their employment by this time,” Anderson wrote. “The company does not have a bumping system, meaning that more senior employees will not be able to displace less senior employees as a result of this plant closure. However, employees will have the opportunity to apply for openings with Knappco, LLC,” in Hamilton.

The company makes loading and swivel mechanisms for the fluid handling industry, particularly the fuel supply chain in the United States.

OPW is part of Illinois-based Dover Corp.

The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO 9 News.