4/3/18 – 10:54 A.M.

The contractor handling tree removal along the Blanchard River met the March 31 deadline to complete their work. Project Manager Steve Wilson updated the Hancock County Commissioners about the first phase of the Blanchard River flood reduction project during their Tuesday meeting.

Crews had to remove the trees before March 31 to comply with EPA regulations. Any tree removal beyond that date would have conflicted with the nesting season of the Indiana Brown Bat.

Wilson says crews will perform some maintenance of the area in the coming weeks.

The flood reduction plan calls for removing trees to allow for the widening of the Blanchard in Findlay.

4/3/18 – 5:26 A.M.

The Hancock County Republican party’s monthly luncheon has a full schedule. First Friday will feature several candidates on the May primary ballot. Candidates in Republican primary contests for the 83rd Ohio House District, 1st Senate District, Hancock County commissioners race, and the State Central Committee are all on the agenda.

The lunch is set for Friday at The Dock at St. Marks United Methodist Church at 11:30 a.m. For reservations call (419)422-5946 by noon on Thursday.

4/3/18 – 5:08 A.M.

Arlington is taking steps to better secure one of its buildings. Village council voted Monday to replace interior and exterior locks at the village municipal building. They’ll install keypad locks at a cost of no more than $5,300.

The keypads allow the village to assign codes to individual employees and officials. They’ll register the codes on a computer in the municipal building.

MORE: The Courier

4/3/18 – 5:00 A.M.

The United Way of Hancock County has given $1.7 million in grants to 26 programs in the county. A 23 member team reviewed grant requests this year. The process included an evaluation of program results while also looking at the most pressing needs of the community.

Open Arms Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Services received the largest grant of any organization at $305,000.

Some of the organizations receiving money this year include the Boy Scouts of America Black Swamp Council, Camp Fire of Northwest Ohio, and $200,000 for Cancer Patient Services.

You can see a full list of recipients and how much they received in today’s Courier.

MORE: The Courier

04/02/18 – 6:34 P.M.

Autism Speaks President and CEO Angela Geiger was on WFIN to talk about the misconceptions about autism. She said that a recent study showed there was one very concerning misconception that people have.

Angela Geiger

She added that there is also a lack of understanding of how people with autism handle driving, relationships, and humor. Because of this Autism Speaks has started a campaign to raise awareness.

Geiger said that you can take a quiz on their website to see how much you know about autism. Then you can find testimonials and studies with the truth.

04/02/18 – 4:51 P.M.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The Findlay Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is reminding drivers to stay focused behind the wheel. The Post reports that there were nearly 14,000 crashes in Ohio last year that had distraction involved. This resulted in 51 fatal crashes. They add that from 2016 to 2017 the number of crashes due to distracted drivers had almost doubled.

Sending or looking at a text message takes your eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. This is enough time to travel the length of a football field when driving 55 mph. Texting while driving is illegal for all drivers.