A local fracking activist avoided jail time Thursday, but will have to pay restitution for chaining herself to an injection well site in June.
Madeline ffitch, of Millfield, will have to go through the Athens County Empowerment program and pay $1,500 in restitution as part of her sentence.
Originally charged with inducing panic, ffitch, 31, pleaded guilty to aggravated trespassing as part of a plea agreement with the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office on Oct. 3.
Though she avoided jail time by entering the ACE program, ffitch will have to pay a $500 fee to participate. Violating the terms of the ACE program could land ffitch in jail for 90 days.
The charges stem from an incident on June 26, when ffitch chained herself to two concrete-filled barrels in front of a fracking injection well site on Ladd Ridge Road; for three hours, ffitch refused to unchain herself, according to court documents.
Numerous emergency response agencies handled the incident and it cost more than $3,600, according to court documents.
As part of her sentence, ffitch will have to pay about $775 in restitution to the Albany Fire Department, about $550 to the Athens County Sheriff’s Office and about $180 to Alexander Township, according to court documents.
If her case had gone to trial, ffitch could have been sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison and a maximum fine of $2,500, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
ml147009@ohiou.edu
