11/20/18 – 10:15 P.M.
A nurse from Blanchard Valley Hospital has been named a 2018 Forensic Nurse of the Year. Michelle Stratton received the award from the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) Ohio Chapter. The chapter gives the award for nurses they believe promote forensic nursing through leadership.
Stratton manages the schedule for the forensic nursing program and trains new sexual assault nurse examiners. She also has helped identify grants to grow the program.
11/20/18 – 10 P.M.
The City Mission of Findlay went to Findlay City Council to request funding. Executive Director Joy Barger asked council to help fund emergency lodging by providing $50,000. She added that this would save the city money by keeping homeless people off the street. She explained that the city would have to employ more police officers to enforce laws keeping people from sleeping in city property.
City Council wanted to clarify what the money would cover and discuss their involvement more in depth. They scheduled a meeting as a whole on November 28th to discuss the issue.
11/20/18 – 6:37 P.M.
Celebrating the holidays can be tough after losing a loved one but there are some things you can do to make it a little easier. Bridge Bereavement Services Bereavement Coordinator Nicki Sidle said that you shouldn’t ignore that they’re gone.
She added that you should go into the holidays with a plan.
Sidle also said that you shouldn’t get upset if a family member isn’t reacting to the loss in the same way as you. She explained that people grieve differently.
11/20/18 – 6:15 P.M.
There will be a Thanksgiving dinner offered by Stonebridge Church this Thursday. The Courier’s Sara Arthurs said that they expect to be busy.
Arthurs added that the dinner is open to everyone.
You can pick up your dinner at Stonebridge Church from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. this Thursday. You can also walk in to volunteer.
The Courier has more on available food and volunteering on their website
11/20/18 – 2:30 P.M.
The Hancock County Commissioners have heard budget proposals from every county department for 2019. Now the work begins to cobble together a workable budget for the county…
Audio: Brian Robertson
Commissioner Brian Robertson says they are still seeing high requests from the sheriff’s office and courts to deal with the impact of the opioid epidemic.
The commissioners sat down for a work session today…
Audio: Brian Robertson
Robertson says even the cost of more efficient operation adds up over time. For instance, he says the county is paying more in probation department costs because it’s less expensive to monitor people awaiting a court date than to have them in jail. However, those costs continue to increase as well.
The commissioners will spend the next week working to put together a first draft of the budget.
An estimate of revenues for 2019 in Hancock County shows the county expects to bring in $13.3 million in tax revenue next year. However, that doesn’t include the recently approved quarter-percent sales tax. The county can’t include the tax in the budget until the state certifies it.
11/20/18 – 12:11 P.M.
Winter arrives in about a month, but the winter driving season is already here. With that in mind, Hancock County ODOT garage manager Dedra Noel and her crew inspected all their equipment Tuesday to make sure it is ready to go. Of course, we already saw one icy morning this season. Noel says the equipment functioned fine even though it was before the regular inspection day.
Noel says one thing to watch for this winter driving season is plows in the construction zone on I-75. She says with tight quarters already, it’s a much better idea to follow behind the plow than it is to try and pass it.
11/20/18 – 10:37 A.M.
Unemployment edged a little higher in our area last month. The latest numbers from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show Hancock County had 3.4 percent unemployment in October. That’s up from 3.1 percent in September, and above the October 2017 jobless rate of 3.2 percent.
Putnam County continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the region, standing at 3 percent. That’s up from 2.8 percent in September, and is also higher than the 2.9 percent unemployment rate posted in October of 2017.
Elsewhere around the region, Wyandot (3.1), Wood (3.9), and Henry (3.9) counties all stayed below 4 percent unemployment. Seneca (4.0), Hardin (4.2), and Allen (4.2) counties were all below 4.5 percent.
11/20/18 – 7:35 A.M.
UPDATE – 11/21/18 – 4:38 A.M. (Corrects Dick’s Sporting Goods hours)
Several big box stores in Findlay plan to open on Thanksgiving to kick off the Christmas shopping season. Dick’s Sporting Goods will open at 6 P.m. Thursday and stay open until 2 a.m. Friday. Dunham’s Sports will open at 3 p.m. Thursday and stay open until 1 a.m. Friday.
Kohl’s and Best Buy will open at 5 p.m. Thursday. Kohl’s will remain open through midnight. Best Buy will remain open until 1 a.m. and then reopen at 8 a.m. Friday.
Both Walmart locations are open 24/7 but will start offering Black Friday discounts at 6 p.m. Thursday.
11/20/18 – 7:26 A.M.
Carey is moving forward with plans to install an automated system to read electric and water meters. Council voted Monday to sign a contract with American Municipal Power to install the equipment.
The village will replace 1,450 water meters and around 1,950 electric meters.
The meters will connect to the utility office for automatic readings. It should take around 120 days to install the new equipment.
11/20/18 – 7:14 A.M.
Fostoria City School are seeing fewer kids leave the district for open enrollment. During a Monday meeting, Treasurer Sue Lehmann said they saw a 6 percent decrease in the number of students picking other school districts. At the same time, FCS saw an 18 percent increase in students open enrolling into the district
The numbers also show a three percent decline in the number of students choosing a community or charter school within Fostoria. That reverses a trend that saw an increase of more than 13 percent of students choosing community schools in previous years.