5/21/18 – 7:24 A.M.
Former Findlay High School Assistant Principal Patrick Hickey no longer has a teaching license. The State Department of Education revoked Hickey’s educator certificates last week. The move comes after Hickey pleaded guilty to a criminal sexual conduct charge in Michigan.
Earlier this month Hickey admitted to inappropriately touching a student in 1987 while he was a teacher at Addison High School in Michigan.
MORE: The Courier
5/21/18 – 7:12 A.M.
A collision between a car and motorcycle injured two people west of Findlay over the weekend. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened on County Road 140 around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
88-year-old Alice Rose of Findlay was driving south when she tried to turn left into a driveway at 8351 County Road 140. She hit a motorcycle driven by 30-year-old Brandon Kirvan of Arlington. Hanco Ambulance took Kirvan and Rose to Blanchard Valley Hospital.
Deputies cited for Rose for failure to yield.
5/21/18 – 5:32 A.M.
A highway closure remains in place for a few more days in northern Putnam County. ODOT says State Route 613 is closed between Road 15-C and State Route 108. Crews started replacing two culverts in the area last Monday. The detour to get around the project includes using State Route 108 and State Route 15.
5/21/18 – 5:26 A.M.
You’ll want to avoid the area around the Osborn Avenue bridge in Findlay today. The contractor working on the project says they’re doing a lot of work on the sidewalks in the area, which means there will be a lot of cement trucks. The city expects the bridge to close periodically between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. for the next several weeks..
5/21/18 – 5:21 A.M.
You’ll see some new road projects pop up in Hancock County this week. ODOT says crews are closing U.S. 224 between Road 276 and Road 23 in West Independence for 45 days starting today. The closure is for a bridge overlay project. The detour around the closure includes using U.S. 23 and State Route 12.
ODOT is also closing State Route 103 between County Road 9 and Township Road 65 for 30 days starting Wednesday. Crews are replacing a culvert in that area.
Elsewhere, 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.
5/21/18 – 5:07 A.M.
Findlay police arrested a man after he led them on a high-speed chase early Sunday morning. Officers say they tried to pull over 33-year-old Matthew Ekleberry for driving without an exhaust in the 300 block of Walnut Street around 1:30 a.m. As the chase began, a woman jumped from the moving car.
Ekleberry allegedly hit a parked car on Howard Street, and his car finally broke down on Blanchard Township Road 84 near State Route 12.
Ekleberry now faces charges of fleeing and eluding, driving under suspension, failure to control, leaving the scene of an accident, and having a defective exhaust. The woman who jumped from the car said she wasn’t injured. Police did not charge her with anything.
5/21/18 – 4:25 A.M.
Two local parishes are merging. The All Saints Parish of New Riegel is joining forces with the Saints Patrick and Andrew Parish of Bascom. These two parishes are part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. Bishop Daniel Thomas made the announcement of the merger yesterday, saying, “While such a merger may invoke feelings of deep pain, uncertainty and a sense of loss, it should not diminish our faith.”
05/18/18 – 5:25 P.M.
The death of a Findlay woman has been ruled as an accident, though the investigation will continue. 28-year-old Danielle Rice was found in a ditch on the north side of Hancock County Road 215 and east of Hancock County Road 18 in February. The coroner’s report says that she died of combined drug toxicity, principally fentanyl.
Sheriff’s deputies had initially ruled her death as a homicide. They don’t believe she died where her body was found because there were no signs of a struggle. She was also tied up in trash bags. The Prosecutor’s Office is handling the case now.
05/18/18 – 5:07 P.M.
Three people were hurt in a three-car crash in Findlay Friday afternoon. The Findlay Police report that the accident happened around 12:20 p.m at the intersection of Tiffin and Central Avenues. 76-year-old Martha Gallagher of Findlay was driving west on Tiffin when she turned left into the path of 32-year-old Martha Johnson of Findlay. The impact of the crash pushed Gallagher’s vehicle into the car 57-year-old Leah Bledsoe of Findlay.
Johnson and her passenger, 22-year-old Allison Strickland of Cygnet, were taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital with minor injuries. Roberta Parker of Findlay was a passenger in Gallagher’s and was also taken to Blanchard Valley hospital.
Gallagher was charged with failure to yield.
05/18/18 – 2:53 P.M.
The National Alliance of Mental Illness is using the Cure Stigma campaign to raise awareness of mental health illnesses. NAMI of Hancock County executive director Sunny Davis-McNeil said that they try to help people open up.
She explained that people often feel that they have to hide their illness to fit in. She said that this can lead to people not seeking help.