Staff report

On Sunday, the Friends of Fox Fairview Church will have a car caravan to honor the churches in Lawrence and Gallia counties that were hit by arson fires earlier this year.
Called “Unity In Our Community,” people will caravan to each church where there will be a small ceremony will be held to honor the legacy of each individual church.
A church bell will be placed on the back of a truck and will stop at each church where members of the congregation will ring the bell, offer prayer and read a brief history of the church.
The caravan will be led by the local fire departments that were on duty when these churches burned.
The starting point for the caravan will be at Symmes Valley High School. Cars can start gathering at 1:15 p.m. with departure at 2 p.m.
It will then go to the Fox Fairview Church, Rehobeth Church and Flag Springs church. The trip is expected to take about 90 minutes.
More information at http://foxfairviewchurch.com and http://facebook.com/foxfairviewchurch
State and federal investigators are still looking into the arson fires at four churches at Lawrence and Gallia counties over the past two years.
The first fire was in Gallia County on April 23, 2022 at Kokeen Enterprise Baptist Church, Oak Hill.
This year there were three fires, the first on May 10 at Flag Springs Methodist Church, Patriot, in Gallia County. The next was on July 6 at Rehobeth Church in Waterloo and the last one was again in Gallia County which was Fox Fairview Church, Patriot, on Aug. 6.
All four churches were destroyed. No one was hurt in the fires.
The case is still under investigation by the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of State Fire Marshal (SFM), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Gallia and Lawrence County Sheriff’s Offices.
A $5,000 reward being offered by the Blue Ribbon Arson Committee and the ATF is offering $5,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of those responsible for these fires.
Anyone with information is urged to contact SFM’s tip line at 800-589-2728 or the ATF’s tip line at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (888-283-8477).
Individuals may also email ATFTips@atf.gov or contact ATF through its website at atf.gov/contact/atf-tips.
Tips may also be submitted to ATF using the ReportIt app, available on both Google Play and the Apple App Store, or by visiting reportit.com.