Franklin County elections officials say the March 4th primary went smoothly with just a few glitches here and there. In spite of complaints from dissatisfied voters, the primary proved to be a prelude to the big event in November.

There’s more to an election than touch screen voting or darkening ovals on a ballot. There’s a lot of teaching and testing that goes on beforehand as WOSU’s Sam Hendren found out prior to the March 4th primary. Here’s part 1 of Series about voting in Franklin County.

Scientists believe the Emerald Ash Borer entered the U.S. from China almost ten years ago. It’s been killing ash trees in the Great Lakes region ever since. The city of Ann Arbor, Mich., known for its thickly wooded neighborhoods, has lost most of its ash trees which made up about 15 percent of the city’s urban forest. Ohio officials wonder if the same thing could happen in Columbus.

In less than ten years the Emerald Ash Borer has taken a devastating toll on the ash trees in the state of Michigan. And it’s spreading. It’s now been found in 31 Ohio counties. Without a significant breakthrough in fighting the tree killing insect, the impact here could be devastating. Two central Ohio cities, Columbus and Grandview Heights, have similar plans to deal with the invader

Licking County, Ohio native Jay Hendren grew up on a farm near Johnstown and still puts in an occasional 15-hour day. But eight years ago he began to pursue a new line of work. He turned his farming experience into a comedy routine.