11/28/18 – 7:18 A.M.
A one-car crash injured a Findlay man Tuesday afternoon. The Findlay Police Department says the crash happened in the 2500 block of Bright Road just after 5 p.m.
21-year-old Timothe Thompson was driving south when he tried to change lanes and lost control due to slick conditions. His car slid off the road and hit several trees.
Hanco EMS took Thompson to Blanchard Valley Hospital for treatment of neck and arm injuries. Officers cited him for failure to maintain control.
11/28/18 – 6:46 A.M.
A crash on I-75 in Lima injured a Columbus Grove man Tuesday morning. The State Highway Patrol says 43-year-old Albert Morales was driving a pickup truck north around 11:40 a.m. when he lost control near the State Route 81 exit. His truck bounced off a guardrail and hit a semi driven by 75-year-old Russell Hardesty of Wapakoneta.
The impact of the collision caused the semi to jackknife and spill diesel fuel over the interstate. The crash and cleanup closed northbound I-75 for several hours.
Morales received treatment for minor injuries at St. Rita’s Medical Center. Troopers cited him for failure to control.
11/28/18 – 5:26 A.M.
Current Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel announced this week that the state is now accepting Bitcoin for business tax payments. Treasurer-elect Robert Sprague of Findlay says he’s cautiously optimistic about the move. Sprague says he’ll check the risk to tax payers when he takes office in mid-January. He adds that it’s good that Mandel, “is continuing to bring new ideas to the table.”
Sprague says once concern he has is how things would work if the third-party vendor that converts the electronic money to dollars goes out of business.
11/28/18 – 5:15 A.M.
The Hancock County GOP won’t officially appoint a new county engineer for a few more weeks. The Republican Central Committee met Monday to vote on the matter but didn’t take action. Vice chairman Phil Riegle says the weather was one of a few reasons they decided to delay the vote.
The special meeting is now set for December 10 at 6 p.m. at the Hancock County Republican Party headquarters on West Crawford Street.
The Hancock County Commissioners named Doug Cade the interim county engineer after Chris Long stepped down to deal with health issues. The county engineer is an elected position, so Long’s party gets to pick the permanent replacement to fill the rest of the term that ends in 2020. Cade is the only person who has shown interest in the position.
11/28/18 – 5:06 A.M.
Hearthside Food Solutions in McComb is facing a workplace safety fine. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing a more than $71,000 fine for allegedly exposing workers to amputation hazards. An October inspection found a machine didn’t have proper guarding, potentially exposing workers to injury.
The inspection also says the company did not make sure a chain and sprocket had guards to protect employees from injury by moving parts.
Hearthside has until mid-December to respond to the accusations.
11/28/18 – 4:56 A.M.
A Hancock County Park District Employee is on leave after the district learned he is facing child pornography charges. Director Gary Pruitt says the board placed 43-year-old Robert Sams on paid administrative leave Tuesday afternoon. He adds they first learned about the charges earlier in the day.
Sams is the natural resource manager for the park district. He started in that role in June of 2017. Before that, he served as a natural resource assistant and park service ranger.
Pruitt says the district has policies in place to take disciplinary action, including firing Sams. He adds he’ll follow procedures in the personnel manual.
11/27/18 – 6:13 P.M.
Bridge Home Health and Hospice is offering a grief support program for children. “Holiday Memories” will allow children age 6 to 12 to remember loved ones that have passed away in a healthy setting. This event will be held on December 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Marathon Auditorium at Blanchard Valley Hospital.
Dinner will be provided for the children. You have to RSVP by December 3 by calling Bridge Home Health and Hospice at 419-423-5351 or emailing bridge@bvhealthsystem.org.
11/27/18 – 6:06 P.M.
The committee looking at raises for City of Findlay officials have recommended raises for the mayor, the city auditor, and the city law director. Committee Chair Dennis Hellman explained that they decided city council should not get pay increases.
The committee looked at cities around Ohio that were comparable to Findlay based on size, population, and revenue to name a few. They recommended that the mayor and the auditor get a 6.4% raise. Hellman explained that they want the salaries to be close to average.
The salary ordinance will get its first reading in front of the city council during their meeting next Tuesday.
11/27/18 – 5:32 P.M.
The Hancock County Commissioners met with a representative from the Bureau of Adult Detention to discuss jail options. Commissioner Brian Robertson said that it was a very informative meeting…
The process of renovating or building a new jail is still a ways off though. Robertson said that they will have to get a free needs assessment from the National Insitute of Corrections.
After the assessment, the commissioners will send a letter of intent to the Bureau of Adult Detention and start the design process.
11/27/18 – 10:49 A.M.
A one-time tax payment was behind a sudden jump in sales and use tax collections in Hancock County in November. The auditor’s office says someone made a $340,000 audit payment during the period reported this month. That helped lead to a 35 percent increase in sales tax collections compared to November of 2017.
For the year, Hancock County has seen $14.2 million in sales and use tax collections. That’s compared to 13.8 million through 11 months of 2017, representing a more than 3.4 percent increase. Sales tax collections had been flat through October.
November sales tax numbers reflect sales made three months ago.