EXHIBIT 99

NEWS RELEASE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           Contact: Robert E. Evans
---------------------                    President and Chief Executive Officer
February 20, 2001                        (740) 373-3155



                        LOWER SALEM SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE
                         ACQUISITION BY PEOPLES BANCORP
          ------------------------------------------------------------

         Marietta,  Ohio and Lower Salem, Ohio - Robert E. Evans,  President and
Chief Executive  Officer of Peoples Bancorp Inc.  (Nasdaq:  PEBO) and Kenneth N.
Koher,  President and Chief  Executive  Officer of Lower Salem  Commercial  Bank
("Lower Salem Bank") of Lower Salem,  Ohio,  jointly  announced  today that at a
shareholders meeting on February 13, 2001, the shareholders of Lower Salem Bank,
by a margin of more than 99% of the shares represented at the meeting,  approved
the acquisition of Lower Salem Bank by Peoples Bancorp and its lead  subsidiary,
Peoples Bank.
         All other  regulatory  approvals  have  been  obtained  and the  merger
acquisition  will be completed at the close of business on Friday,  February 23,
2001.  At that time  Lower  Salem Bank will begin  operation  as a  full-service
banking  office of Peoples Bank. The Lower Salem location will be Peoples Bank's
40th sales office.
         "The  management and client service teams are already in place,  and we
look  forward  to  continuing  and  expanding   long-lasting  financial  service
relationships with the community members of Lower Salem and surrounding  areas,"
said Evans.
         "The  customers  of Lower  Salem  Bank will soon have  access to all of
Peoples Bank's offices in the region," Evans continued.  "We think Lower Salem's
customers  will  find our blend of  community-minded  service,  technology,  and
product offerings from loans to insurance, beneficial to their financial needs."
         The expected  aggregate  value of the  transaction is $2.4 million,  or
approximately  $946,000 in cash and 87,600 shares of Peoples  Bancorp stock at a
value of $16.594 per share (the average of the mean between the closing high bid
and low asked price of Peoples  Bancorp  shares as reported on Nasdaq for the 20
consecutive trading days immediately preceding February 13, 2001.)
         At December 31, 2000, Lower Salem Bank had total assets of $23 million,
total loans of $18 million, and total deposits of $18 million.
         Peoples  Bancorp Inc., a diversified  financial  services  company with
$1.1  billion in assets,  offers a complete  line of  banking,  investment,  and
insurance solutions through Peoples Bank's 39 offices and 27 ATM's in Ohio, West
Virginia,  and Kentucky.  Peoples Bancorp's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ
exchange  under the symbol PEBO.  Learn more about Peoples  Bancorp or enroll in
Peoples  OnLine  Connection,   Peoples  Bank's  internet  banking  product,   at
www.peoplesbancorp.com.

                                 END OF RELEASE