05/14/18 – 6:55 P.M.
The Findlay MOPs group is hosting it’s annual diaper drive now through Memorial Day to help those that struggle to get them. Creative Director Heidi Croy said that they are looking for diapers for all ages.
Aside from diapers, they are also collecting wipes and diaper creams. Croy said that you can donate at blue boxes located at several places around Findlay. Locations include The Children’s Museum, Great Scot, and Kroger.
05/14/18 – 3:18 P.M.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office reports that they are still having issues with 911 landlines. The southern part of Hancock County is still experiencing outages. There is a chance that you will get a busy signal if you dial 911 from a landline phone. If that happens please call 419-422-2424.
5/14/18 – 6:55 A.M.
Local gas prices have come back down after hitting their highest levels in nearly three years. OhioGasPrices.com reports the average price for a gallon of regular in Findlay is $2.72 today. That’s down 15 cents from last week’s highest levels, but still 11 cents higher than last Monday. A month ago we were paying $2.66 per gallon.
Drivers in Ottawa report paying $2.79 per gallon. That up 10 cents from last week.
Local prices are below the statewide average, which sits at $2.80. That’s a 15 cent increase over the last seven days.
5/14/18 – 6:46 A.M.
Fire damaged a home and an outbuilding in northern Putnam County over the weekend. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says firefighters responded to 4081 Road 24 near Continental around 1:40 a.m. Saturday. No one was injured.
The fire caused major damage to the outbuilding. The flames also caused minor damage to a home on the property. The cause of the blaze remains unknown. The State Fire Marshall’s Office is helping with the investigation.
5/14/18 – 5:39 A.M.
Concerns about rain tonight have moved the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Recognition Program in Findlay. The Fraternal Order of Police says the ceremony will now take place at the Dock annex behind St. Marks United Methodist Church. The program starts at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.
The Reverend Richard Ellsworth of the State Highway Patrol will be the main speaker. The event is being sponsored by the FOP Lodge 20.
5/14/18 – 5:34 A.M.
AEP Ohio is recognizing the Findlay City School District for its energy efficiency. The company recently named the district an Energy Efficiency Champion. All of Findlay’s eligible buildings received Energy Star certification in 2017. The certification from the EPA is for buildings with better energy performance than 75 percent of similar buildings.
The district has also been working with Cenergistic since 2014 to conserve energy and money.
5/14/18 – 5:28 A.M.
ODOT has one project going on in Putnam County this week. The agency says State Route 613 is closing between Road 15-C and State Route 108 for 10 days starting today. Crews are replacing two culverts in the area. The detour to get around the project includes using State Route 108 and State Route 15.
5/14/18 – 5:18 A.M.
Work continues on plenty of Hancock County highways this week. ODOT says State Route 37 remains restricted to one lane between Findlay and County Road 172 for a repaving project. Crews will continue repaving work on State Route 103 between Roads 70 and 177 in the village of Arlington.
ODOT is also continuing repaving work on State Route 698 between State Route 103 and County Road 24 in Jenera.
You’ll also see berm repair on State Route 37 from Route 15 to the Hardin County line, U.S. 68 from Findlay to the Hardin County Line, and State Route 103 between Bluffton and the Wyandot County line.
5/14/18 – 5:11 A.M.
It’s not getting any easier to handle the growing number of inmates in the Hancock County Jail. If current trends continue, Hancock County could have 160 inmates to deal with by the end of the year, and a jail only designed to hold 98 people. One day in April saw the county dealing with 140 inmates.
When the jail is over capacity, Hancock County sends inmates to jails in other counties. However, that comes at an extra cost. The county spent more than $386,000 sending prisoners to Putnam, Wood, and Van Wert Counties in 2017. That doesn’t include transportation costs, which rose to more than $21,000.
Sheriff Mike Heldman says they may have to contract with another county soon to keep up with demand.
Heldman says it also presents a security risk. He says the best chance for an inmate to escape is during a jail transfer.
The growing number of female inmates is also an issue. When the jail opened, it could hold up to 18 women. On a recent day, the jail had 24 female inmates. Heldman says they’ve converted a cellblock for men to hold more women. He adds the opiate crisis has led to more prostitution and drug possession arrests for women.
MORE: The Courier
05/11/18 – 4:46 P.M.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the company the canceled Van Buren Local Schools’ trip to D.C. According to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office, they had received over 700 complaints against Discovery Tours. Parents had paid the company for school trips before the company filed for bankruptcy and canceled all of the trips.
An investigation into the company showed that they continued to accept money when they shouldn’t have. The release said that they knew or should have known that they couldn’t deliver on their promises.
Van Buren school board voted to pay up to $30,000 to keep their 8th grade trip going after the company canceled.