05/31/17 – 5:46 P.M.
Blanchard Valley Health System is bringing a pet therapy program to Blanchard Valley Hospital. BVH has two trained and certified therapy dogs named Jinx and Max joining their auxiliary team. The dogs will make visits to all floors in the pavilion, except OB and Orchard Hall.
You can spot Jinx and Max wearing a burgundy bandannas. Their owners Robyn and Helen will be wearing pink auxiliary jackets.
05/31/17 – 4:05 P.M.
Hydrant flushing continues in Findlay tomorrow. The water distribution department says that they will flush hydrants in the area of North Main Street from the Blanchard River north to County Rad 99 and east to CSX Railroad.
If you have any questions, please contact the Water Distribution Department at 419-424-7192.
05/31/17 – 3:43 P.M.
The Art Partnership’s Boogie On Main in Findlay is coming up this Friday. The Partnership’s Zach Huber said that there will be live entertainment available.
Aside from the music, there will be food and a kids’ zone. The kids’ zone will be open from 6-8:30 p.m.
Entry costs $5 for adults and $3 for children. Huber said that the money goes to support the community.
Despite talks of moving the event due to construction, it will still be held on Main Street. The event will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight.
05/31/17 – 11:42 A.M.
There will be a shuttle service coming to Findlay to drive business downtown. Chris Ostrander said that many local restaurants are pitching in for the service.
There are 16 total businesses involved in the free shuttle service. Ostrander said that they have a limo service all set up for the project.
Stallings is charging the 16 business a total of $40 an hour. The regular price for his vehicle is $200 an hour. He said that he did this because he wants to see Findlay’s downtown continue to thrive and grow.
The route will be a loop and has several stops in downtown.
The route will stop at hotels on the north side of Findlay then heads to the hotels on the east side. It will then return to downtown Findlay. Ostrander said that the loop will take about 45-60 minutes.
The service will start next Monday evening.
5/31/17 – 5:38 A.M.
Employees in the Carey School District have new contracts in place. The Courier reports the three-year deals apply to teachers, bus drivers, and staff members. Teachers get a 2 percent raise in July, a 2-and-a-quarter percent raise next year, and a 2.5 percent raise the final year of the deal. Starting pay now stands at more than $34,000.
Bus drivers are switching from a two-tier pay scale to a one-tier scale. They’ll get a 5 percent raise in the first year of the deal and a 2 percent raise in the following two years.
Non-teaching staff members get a 3 percent raise each year.
The contract doesn’t make any changes to insurance.
MORE: The Courier
5/31/17 – 5:29 A.M.
A Fostoria teenager is heading to the nation’s capital to talk about life with type I diabetes. The Review-Times reports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children’s Conference has picked 17-year-old Brooklyn Ware as a delegate. Ware has applied to attend the event every year since doctors diagnosed her with diabetes in 2008.
Ware will meet with Ohio representatives and meet other children with type I diabetes at the event. She’ll have the opportunity to tell lawmakers what life with diabetes is like for her.
The event takes place ever two years, with more than 150 kids taking part.
MORE: Review-Times
5/31/17 – 5:20 A.M.
Arlington officials say a new junk collection program worked out well earlier this month. The Courier reports residents took items to the village park instead of having curbside pickup this year. Councilwoman Marcia Smith tells the newspaper, “Everything went really smooth.”
Village residents filled 11 large dumpsters and one small dumpster by the time the May 20 event was over.
Village officials and employees teamed up with volunteers from the Arlington Bible Fellowship Church to run the event.
MORE: The Courier
5/31/17 – 5:10 A.M.
Senator Rob Portman toured an area farm Tuesday to learn more about conservation efforts. The Courier reports Portman called on the federal government to continue funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative while at Kurt Farms south of Dunkirk. The farm is part of the Blanchard River Demonstration Farms Network. The restoration initiative funds the network.
Farm owner Chris Kurt says he uses a two-stage ditch and phosphorus removal beds to reduce runoff into area streams. He adds the demonstration farm network offers testing on the effectiveness of the phosphorus removal process. Kurt says that’s a big incentive to take part in it.
President Trump’s budget would reduce funding for the initiative from $300 million to $10 million. Portman opposes the move. He says it’s not a huge part of the federal budget, but is a necessary part.
President Obama also proposed cuts to the program’s budget while he was in office. However, Congress elected to keep funding the initiative at $300 million per year.
MORE: The Courier
5/31/17 – 4:29 A.M.
A search is underway for a couple linked to several overdoses in Wood County. Perrysburg Township police say Richard Frank of Toledo and Amanda Heath of Lake Township are pushing heroin and fentanyl in the community. The pair has been in hiding since being indicted last week. Detectives believe they’re part of a larger drug ring in the area.