12/21/17 – 3:25 P.M.
The Hancock County Commissioners revisited bidding out renovations of the Juvenile and Probate Court. Commissioner Tim Bechtol explained that part of the project was finished earlier this year.
The County Commissioners met with representatives of Peterman Associates. Bechtol said that Peterman’s will make a proposal for the project.
The project includes upstair renovations, a possible elevator, and more security measures for the front lobby.
12/21/17 – 11:01 A.M.
After trimming more than $800,000 in department requests, the Hancock County Commissioners approved the 2018 county budget Thursday. Commissioner Mark Gazarek says the numbers are tight, and the ongoing opioid crisis isn’t going to help things…
Audio: Mark Gazarek
Gazarek says jail overcrowding could also negatively impact the budget in 2018.
Gazarek says they built the budget with flat sales tax collection numbers in mind…
Audio: Mark Gazarek
The general fund budget for 2018 in Hancock County is $26 million.
12/21/17 – 7:34 A.M.
You’ll have another chance to get in the Christmas spirit this weekend. Findlay Mayor Lydia Mihalik will lead Christmas carols with the Hancock County Children’s Choir and Findlay High School’s Findlay First Edition show choir. The event is set for 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Christmas Tree in Dorney Plaza.
The Donnell Middle School Band will warm up the crowd starting at 5 p.m.
The event is free, but organizers are collecting non-perishable items for the City Mission, Salvation Army, Chopin Hall and Hope House.
The Hancock County courthouse is on full display in a new video from the Ohio Channel. Tom Davis is the risk manager for the Hancock County Commissioners. He says the video is part of a series about courthouses across the state.
Davis appears in the video along with Judge Reginald Routson and Joy Bennett from the Hancock County Historical Society. The three discuss the history of the courthouse from its building in the height of Findlay’s gas boom to its recent restoration.
MORE: The Ohio Channel
12/21/17 – 6:55 A.M.
Seneca County is looking for a new EMA director. The Review-Times reports Dan Stahl submitted his resignation this week. He’s served the county for more than 30 years in a variety of emergency and public safety positions.
The Seneca County Commissioners accepted Stahl’s resignation Tuesday. They did not give a reason for the sudden departure.
MORE: Review-Times
12/21/17 – 6:49 A.M.
Voters in the Arcadia school district could see a renewal levy on the ballot in 2018. The Courier reports the school board approved a measure to calculate the millage needed for a renewal emergency levy to raise $305,000 a year.
Voters last renewed the levy in 2015.
Board member Corey Boes voiced opposition to the measure. He says the district has a “spending issue.”
The finance committee will look at the matter before it moves forward.
MORE: The Courier
12/21/17 – 5:33 A.M.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says proactive policing in the community is working. The Putnam County Sentinel reports the authorities recently talked about a year-long effort to bring down crime numbers and keep residents safe. Sheriff Brian Siefker says they’re dedicated to having a stronger presence in the community.
Siefker tells the newspaper his office sees the increased presence in the number of traffic and other citations. He adds that deputies give out more warnings than traffic citations. In the last four months of 2017 deputies wrote 110 more warnings than citations.
The sheriff’s office has used grant money to help pay for enforcement blitzes.
MORE: Putnam County Sentinel
12/21/17 – 5:30 A.M.
We continue our look back at 2017 today, recapping the top stories of the year as suggested by our listeners. The fourth story in our series looks at business development, as Site Selection Magazine named Findlay the top micropolitan community in the nation for the third straight time.
It’s only the second time in the award’s 29-year-history that a city has won the honor three consecutive times. Site Selection picked Findlay because of some large projects, including Whirlpool’s $40.6 million, more than 86,000 square foot expansion. In March Whirlpool said the expansion would add 50 jobs by 2019. By the end of the year, the company said it had already hired more than 300.
Other projects noted by Site Selection were the addition of 26 jobs by auto parts maker MITEC and investments of more than $1 million in machinery by Nissin Brake Ohio and Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies.
12/21/17 – 5:12 A.M.
The investigation continues into an apparent assault at a Findlay motel. The Findlay Police Department says officers responded to the Super 8 at 1951 Broad Avenue around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Lt. Robert Ring says the assault happened outside a motel room. The suspect is a 27-year-old woman from Toledo. She walked to Findlay High School after the incident to allegedly ask for help. The victim is a 32-year-old Toledo woman. Officers took both women to the hospital for treatment before taking them to jail.
Authorities haven’t publicly identified the women. Officers referred the case to the Findlay city law director.
12/21/17 – 5:05 A.M.
Hancock County will finish 2017 with slightly higher sales tax revenue than in 2016. The Hancock County Auditor’s Office reports collections through December totaled a little more than $14.9 million. Last year the final number was $14.8 million.
Numbers were down in December. The county collected just over $1.1 million, a 6 percent decline from a year ago. December tax collections reflect September sales. The money returned to the county from the state is usually delayed around three months.