11/21/17 – 11:42 A.M.

With county budgets tightening, the Raise the Bar committee pitched its case to the Hancock County Commissioners Tuesday. Director Laurie Zydonik says the job readiness program saw a lot of success in 2017, including helping to expand Cooper Tire’s “Dream It. Do It” program…

Audio: Laurie Zydonik

Zydonik says its important to give high school students a look at career options in area manufacturing to drive up local workforce numbers.

Commissioner Brian Robertson said he supports the Raise the Bar program. He cautioned that with the failure of the sales tax levy the county is looking at how they can pour existing resources into funding crime and safety mandates.

Zydonik says the county is one of five groups that agreed to invest $30,000 per year for the program. The agreement started in 2016. Zydonik added she understands the budget crunch but believes Raise the Bar programming will help reduce crime by helping people find good jobs at an earlier age.

11/21/17 – 11:33 A.M.

Unemployment was relatively flat in the area in October. Numbers from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show Hancock County’s unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent last month. It was also 3.3 percent in September. Overall, unemployment is slightly down from the same time a year ago.

Putnam County’s unemployment rate dropped from 3.2 percent in September to 3 percent in October. That gives Putnam County the second lowest jobless rate in Ohio.

Elsewhere in the area, Wyandot (3.2) and Wood (3.9) counties were below 4 percent unemployment. Henry (4.0), Seneca (4.2), Hardin, (4.4), and Allen (4.5) counties were all below 5 percent unemployment.

Henry County saw a slight uptick in jobless claims from September (3.9) to October (4.0). It’s the only increase reported in the region.

11/21/17 – 5:37 A.M.

Carey isn’t having any luck in hiring a new electric lineman. The Courier reports Mayor Jenn Rathburn said the village needed to boost pay for the position to attract candidates. Council agreed during Monday’s meeting and boosted the starting pay level to $25 per hour.

Carey’s electric department is currently operating with just two people. The village has advertised an open spot for more than four months, but no one showed interest.

Electric personnel must live within 30 minutes of Carey so they can quickly help resolve electrical problems.

MORE: The Courier

11/21/17 – 5:24 A.M.

A semi crash injured a Findlay man Monday afternoon. The Findlay Police Department reports 54-year-old Bruce Young was driving westbound on State Route 15 around 3:15 p.m. when he lost control as he tried to exit onto Lima Avenue. His truck and trailer tipped, spilling a load of corn on the ramp.

Young suffered minor injuries. Hanco Ambulance treated him at the scene.

Officers cited Young for operating a vehicle without reasonable control.

11/21/17 – 5:18 A.M.

Putnam County is ready to handle a cyber attack. That’s according to county IT Director Joe Burkhart. He tells the Putnam County Sentinel he recently conducted mock attacks on the county’s data servers. In each case, he was able to isolate infected workstations, wipe the malicious code, and get them back up and running within minutes.

Burkhart says the county backs up data twice every 24 hours. That means the most the county could lose in a cyber attack is a few hours worth of data.

The county is making the efforts to avoid things like ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a virus that locks your information and will only unlock it after you pay a fee.

11/21/17 – 5:07 A.M.

Arlington officials want to have more conversation about proposed parking rules before they vote on the matter. The Courier reports council voted to table legislation about parking restrictions to allow more public input during their Monday meeting.

Council had planned on a final reading on an ordinance that restricts parking to one side of Hickory and Willow drives. The ordinance also includes Willow Ash, Apple Grove, and Apple Blossom Lane.

Council members say they are considering the change to allow easier access down the roads for ambulances, fire trucks, and snow plows. Residents questioned if council studied the impact on low-volume streets.

MORE: The Courier

11/21/17 – 4:59 A.M.

The Blanchard River is still running high in Findlay, but it is out of flood stage. The National Weather Service says the river dropped out of flood state Monday night. The latest projections show the river dropping out of action stage late this morning. The action stage starts at 8 feet in Findlay.

Downstream in Ottawa the Blanchard crested in the minor flood stage at just below 25 feet Monday afternoon. It has already dropped back below flood stage, much faster than projections expected.

11/20/17 – 6:09 P.M.

You can help raise money for local non-profit organizations next Tuesday. To celebrate its 25-year-anniversary, the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation is offering a matching opportunity for tax-exempt organizations. Giving Tuesday is next week and people will come together to put an emphasis on charity after the weekend of holiday shopping.

The Community Foundation wants to celebrate the day by matching up to $500 for each organization that registered. The match only applies for the funds raised by those organizations on Tuesday.

11/20/17 – 5:33 P.M.

Findlay once again ranked below average on the national Cost of Living Index. Findlay-Hancock County Alliance marketing coordinator Megan Young said that Findlay is doing well compared to the other cities that took part.

Megan Young

Findlay was 1.7% below the national average but still had the second highest cost of living in Ohio.The index breaks the cost of living down into six categories. Findlay’s lowest costs were housing and utilities at 14.4% and 13% below the national average respectively. Groceries and transportation came in at 2.6% and 3.2%.

The only categories where Findlay was above the national average were healthcare and miscellaneous goods.