8/4/17 – 5:27 A.M.

Alcohol may have been a factor in a two-car crash that injured an Ottawa woman Thursday afternoon. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says the collision happened on State Route 65 near Road 7-D around 4:30 p.m.

Diego Salas Perez was driving north on the highway when he went left of center and hit a car driven by Lauren Massey of Ottawa. Perez ran away from the crash site, but officers found him near a home at 8643 Road 7-D. Putnam County EMS took Massey to St. Rita’s Ambulatory Care Center in Ottawa for treatment.

Deputies charged Perez with operating a motor vehicle with no operator’s license, failure to maintain reasonable control of a motor vehicle, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Investigators also believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

8/4/17 – 5:19 A.M.

An Illinois man is facing charges stemming from a fatal crash that took the life of a Findlay woman on July 1. The Courier reports authorities have charged 35-year-old Normurod Rozikov with vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter.

Investigators say Rozikov tried to make a U-turn on U.S. 23 at County Highway 42 with his semi. He ended up pulling into the path of a car driven by 67-year-old Darlene Kujawa. The crash killed Kujawa and injured three children in her car.

8/4/17 – 5:07 A.M.

Fire damaged an apartment in Columbus Grove Thursday night. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says firefighters responded to apartment C9 at 631 West Sycamore Street around 9:30 p.m. No one was home at the time.

The State Fire Marshall’s Office is helping investigate the cause of the fire. No one was injured fighting the flames.

8/4/17 – 5:01 A.M.

Area school districts stand to lose money as the state phases out a personal property tax reimbursement. The Courier reports while Ohio is increasing its base funding for some districts, it won’t offset the loss of the reimbursement in most cases. For instance, the Findlay City School District will lose $2.7 million in the phase out between 2018 and 2021. The base funding from the state will increase by a little more than $160,000 at the same time.

Van Buren Treasurer Alex Binger says their district is in the same boat. The base funding in Van Buren will go up by more than $184,000. The district is losing more than $202,000 in reimbursement funding during the same two year period.

Liberty-Benton Treasurer Lisa Dobbins says the district will lose some money in the transition, but not as much as others. Several districts in Hancock County received their final reimbursement payments before this year.

MORE: The Courier

08/03/17 – 6:46 P.M.

Business leaders aren’t in support of the proposed sales tax increase in Hancock County. Hancock County Alliance CEO John Haywood said that they don’t approve the duration and the extra quarter percent.

John Haywood

He said that the business community would support the legislation if the commissioners provide evidence of why it is needed.

John Haywood

Haywood claims that the evidence given so far has been anecdotal. He added that there are members of the community that would help the commissioners look through their books.

08/03/17 – 2 P.M.

The Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office is looking for two juveniles missing since July 13. Carmen and Adrian Holloway are suspected of being runaways. Carmen is a 14-year-old girl around 6 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. She has long dark hair and hazel eyes. Adrian is her 12-year-old brother. He is 5 foot 4 inches tall and weighs around 140 pounds. He has Short brown hair and brown eyes.

Officers believe the two could be with 19-year-old Dylan Kincade. He is a male with Blonde hair and blue eyes. He is about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds.

If You have any information on the missing juveniles, you are urged to call the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office at 419-294-2362.

08/03/17 – 11:08 A.M.

Scammers are getting bolder according to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office. In a Facebook post, they talked about an open investigation from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office. A scammer called to tell a woman she is accused of tax fraud. Another man dressed up as an officer showed up at her door while she was on the phone.

She was told to follow the officer to Findlay to resolve the matter. The woman followed them to the area of Best Buy, where she determined it was a scam.

The scammers called her using the phone number 202-455-4956. The man dressed as an officer was around 6 feet tall and weighed between 180 and 200 pounds. He was dressed in a brown uniform and the victim couldn’t tell if he had a gun or not.

8/3/17 – 10:56 A.M.

In recent public meetings, people have told the Hancock County Commissioners they shouldn’t let people build in the Blanchard River floodplain. Commissioner Tim Bechtol says he’s looked into the issue and found that cities and towns determine floodplain rules…

Audio: Tim Bechtol

Bechtol says while zoning is a city and township responsibility, Ohio does provide counties with commercial and residential floodplain codes…

Audio: Tim Bechtol

Bechtol says Hancock County uses the commercial code but not the residential code.