COLUMBUS — Area residents who are enrolled in Ohio’s food assistance or cash assistance programs will soon be receiving new benefits cards.

Program recipients do not need to fill out any paperwork to get the new cards, and they should have already received letters informing them that the new cards will be arriving this summer. The exact dates that households receive the new cards will vary depending on several factors. Food assistance and cash assistance recipients whose addresses have changed recently need to make sure that they report the address change to their case managers in order to ensure proper and timely delivery of their new cards.

The food assistance card will look different but will still be called the Ohio Direction Card.

The cash assistance card, which is currently called the EPPICard, will be replaced by the Ohio Pathway Card.

The new cards will work exactly like the current cards work. Recipients are encouraged to activate their new cards as soon as they receive them.

Recipients are also encouraged to hold onto the current cards for the time being, just to make sure that the state’s transition to the new cards goes smoothly.

Balances on the Ohio EPPICard will not transfer to the new Ohio Pathway Card. Recipients are instructed to use their Ohio EPPICard until it has a $0.00 balance. It is not currently clear if the July benefits will be placed onto the Ohio Pathway Cards or onto the Ohio EPPICards.

Ohio Residents who have Ohio EPPICards with balances and need a replacement card should call the Ohio EPPICard Customer Service phone number at 1-866-320-8822 for a replacement card.

Recipients needing to activate their new Ohio Pathway Card should call the Ohio Pathway Card Customer Service phone number at 1-866-669-6109 or log onto www.ucard.chase.com.

For the food assistance program, benefits from the old Ohio Direction Card will transfer to the new card. Once the new Ohio Direction Card is activated, the old card will no longer work. Ohio residents can activate their new Ohio Direction Card by calling the Ohio Direction Card Customer Service phone number at 1-866-386-3071 or by logging onto www.ucard.chase.com.

William Boyd Pierce, 66, of Point Pleasant, W.Va., died June 18, 2013, at his home.

At his request, there will be no service or visitation. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.The Deal Funeral Home is serving the family.

Chad R. Rennicker

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POMEROY — The man accused of robbing the Farmers Bank in Tuppers Plains on May 30 was arraigned on seven counts in the case on Wednesday afternoon.

Chad R. Rennicker, 25, of Ripley, W.Va., is charged with six counts of kidnapping and one count of aggravated robbery. Each charge is a felony of the first degree and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Bond was set at $1 million, with 10 percent allowed by Judge I. Carson Crow. The Public Defender’s Office in Athens was appointed to represent Rennicker.

According to the indictment filed on Monday morning, Rennicker did or attempted to commit a theft offense while having a deadly weapon on or about his person or under his control and either displayed the weapon, brandished it, or indicated the possession of use of it during the offense.

The six kidnapping counts are one count for each individual working at the bank at the time of the alleged offense. The indictment alleges that Rennicker did commit the crime of kidnapping at Farmers Bank in Tuppers Plains, by force, threat or deception, knowingly remove another from the place where the person was found or restrain the liberty of the other person, to facilitate the commission of any felony or flight thereafter.

A pre-trial hearing is set for 11 a.m. on July 15, with a trial date set for 9 a.m. on August 15.

Rennicker was also wanted by the Belmont County Ohio Sheriff’s Office and the Perry Township Police Department in Stark County Ohio. In May, Rennicker was sentenced on armed robbery charges in Belmont County and has failed to turn himself into authorities to serve his sentence.

He along with Michaela Fritz were arrested on June 1 in Ripley, W.Va.

The arrest of both suspects at an apartment in Ripley began with the surveillance of a white van that the suspects were driving. Rennicker and Fritz went to an apartment complex in Ripley and were followed by officers at that time. In response to the presence of law enforcement, the pair then attempted to hide in the attic, but Rennicker fell through the ceiling into the bedroom of an adjacent apartment. He was captured and taken into custody without incident.

Fritz is currently in South Central Regional Jail in W.Va., being held on $100,000 bond out of Jackson County. She was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting.