1/8/18 – 7:38 A.M.
Local gas prices are down as we start the first full work week of 2018. OhioGasPrices.com reports the average price for a gallon of regular in Findlay is $2.37 per gallon today. That’s down 12 cents over the last week.
Drivers in Ottawa report paying $2.39 per gallon today, down 10 cents from a week ago.
Local prices are below the state average, which stands at $2.41 per gallon. That’s a seven cent drop over the last week.
1/8/18 – 7:13 A.M.
Wyandot County authorities say they uncovered the largest meth lab ever discovered in the county late last week. The sheriff’s office says deputies served a search warrant at 514 1/2 West Johnson Street in Upper Sandusky last Thursday.
Officers arrested 25-year-old Ethan Stansbery and charged him with manufacturing meth. They also found a 6-year-old boy and a 66-year-old man in the apartment.
Detectives say they found 10 small labs in different stages of operation inside. A lab-unit had to decontaminate the apartment. Officials evacuated a business operating in the same building as a precaution.
1/8/18 – 6:44 A.M.
Several fire departments battled a shed fire in Putnam County Sunday morning. Firefighters responded to 16726 Road 7-L near Pandora around 2:20 a.m. Flames had completely engulfed the large shed by the time firefighters arrived.
No one was in the shed. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Authorities don’t believe there was any foul play.
1/8/18 – 5:32 A.M.
A 37-year-old man and his 2-year-old daughter died in a Wyandot County house fire early Saturday morning. The Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office says firefighters responded to 1990 State Route 53 near McCutchenville around 12:45 a.m. 34-year-old Lisa Stock was able to get her 1-year-old daughter out of the house but she was stuck. Firefighters helped get her out of the home.
They were unable to get to Shawn Stock and his daughter Avery, who were also still inside.
The fire remains under investigation. Initial reports show the cause of the blaze might have been a wood-burning stove in the basement.
Funeral arrangements for Shawn and Avery Stock are pending at the Engle-Shook Funeral Home in Tiffin.
A jury found a Putnam County man accused of killing his son in 2005 guilty late last week. The Putnam County Sentinel reports the jury deliberated for six hours Friday in the retrial of Michael Luebrecht before returning their verdict.
Luebrecht didn’t dispute he was responsible for killing his 14-month-old son Joel. His attorney argued that a combination of drugs to treat depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder caused him to kill his child.
Sentencing takes place this afternoon in the Putnam County Common Pleas Court.
1/8/18 – 5:14 A.M.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after the body of an elderly woman was found outside the Hilty Home in Pandora Sunday morning. Authorities have not publicly identified the woman yet. They also haven’t said if she was a resident of the facility.
Officers responded to the nursing home just after 8:30 a.m.
Putnam County Coroner Dr. Anne Horstman is assisting with the investigation.
1/8/18 – 5:06 A.M.
Findlay police officers arrested a man for allegedly robbing an area business this weekend. Lt. Robert Ring says a man entered First American Loans at 2018 Tiffin Avenue around 1:20 p.m. Saturday. The man demanded money and an employee gave him cash.
The man didn’t show a gun or make any threats.
Police identified the suspect as 34-year-old Roger Rader. They say he left the business in a cab. Officers tracked him to a Findlay hotel, where they found him with his family.
1/8/18 – 4:55 A.M.
The trial of an Arlington man accused of killing a 2-year-old boy starts today. 29-year-old Brent Houdeshell faces a murder charge, along with counts of endangering a child and tampering with evidence. Investigators accuse Houdeshell of killing his former fiance’s son, 2-year-old Breyden Ferrell on March 31 of 2016.
Police say the boy suffered a broken skull and leg. He also had bruising on his face, arms, legs, and feet.
Houdeshell was in jail just before the alleged murder but was released for a medical furlough.
1/8/18 – 4:19 A.M.
An autopsy is pending on the body of a missing Fostoria man. Police say Quinncy Pullom’s body was found yesterday by relatives in a ditch off Sandusky Street. The 38-year-old legally blind man was last seen December 22nd and reported missing on December 27th.
01/05/18 – 4:27 P.M.
Hancock County Schools are gearing up for 2018. Hancock County Educational Service Center Superintendent Larry Busdecker said county schools are looking at issues in facilities.
Busdecker said that the schools are at various phases in their projects but that no construction will start soon.
Findlay City School District is excited for the opportunities 2018 brings. Superintendent Ed Kurt said they have a lot of plans for this coming year.
Kurt said that he’s happy to be working with such enthusiastic teachers and administrators.