12/13/18 – 5:14 A.M.
Michael Jones has pleaded not guilty in the stabbing death of 19-year-old Tyler Wilson. Jones appeared in Findlay Municipal Court earlier this week. He faces a negligent homicide charge, which is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Jones is free on a $1,500 bond. Investigators accuse him of stabbing Wilson in the chest on July 25 in an incident on College Street.
Judge Alan Hackenberg will hear the case.
12/13/18 – 5:05 A.M.
Findlay City Council is going through budget hearings for 2019. The Courier reports the city expects to receive $28.4 million in revenue for the year. Operational spending could total around $30 million. Auditor Jim Staschiak says while it’s not a balanced budget, the city has cash on hand to make up the difference.
Staschiak adds that the city departments are good at saving money and finishing under budget for the year. He expects they’ll return around $1.1 million to the general fund for 2018. That will give the city a carryover balance of $10.7 million going into 2019.
City council approved a budget that outpaced revenue by $1.6 million for this year.
Department budget hearings continue today.
MORE: Councilwoman Holly Frishe and Mayor Lydia Mihalik dispute travel expenses
12/12/18 – 5:28 P.M.
The Findlay Area Human Resource Association got some tips on maintaining workplace morale. Employers Association Director of on-site learning and consultation Dave Tippett explained that much of this responsibility falls on workplace leaders.
Tippett added that leaders must also make sure they encourage engaged employees. This will help set expectations for the company culture and keep morale high.
Tippett said that leaders have to keep check behavior consistently and live up to the set expectations to maintain morale.
12/12/18 – 3:35 P.M.
You can find several “wishing trees” in the community from the Friends of Santa group. This group of volunteers helps families in need at Christmastime. Anyone can take one or more bells from a wishing tree and return the requested item, wrapped or unwrapped, to the location of the tree.
Donations should be returned as soon as possible for a final collection on December 19. You can also provide monetary donations or gift cards to help fulfill any wish tags that aren’t picked up.
12/12/18 – 3:01 P.M.
We continue to look at local non-profits seeking donations this holiday season. Christian Clearing House is looking for monetary donations as well as household items like laundry detergent, soap, and baby wipes. Financial donations will go towards emergency assistance. This includes utility bills and gasoline expenses for employment or medical appointments.
They are also accepting donations for “Project Happy Feet”. The program provides new shoes to area children at the beginning of the school year.
12/12/18 – 9:02 A.M.
Cooper Tire & Rubber is announcing plans to build a joint manufacturing center in Vietnam. A release from the company says they will partner with the Sailun Vietnam Company on the project. Cooper says the facility near Ho Chi Minh City will have the capacity to make more than 2 million truck and bus tires every year.
Cooper will own 35 percent of the new manufacturing plant. Their total investment will be between $220 and $240 million. The company will pay for it through capital contributions and debt. They expect to break ground in early 2019 and open the facility in the first half of 2020.
Cooper CEO Brad Hughes says the plans illustrate, “Cooper’s strategy to expand and diversify our TBR tire production globally, giving us additional capacity to help serve our growing original equipment and replacement TBR business around the world.”
12/12/18 – 6:46 A.M.
A two-car crash injured two people in the 1200 block of Tiffin Avenue Tuesday afternoon. The Findlay Police Department says the collision happened around 3:30 p.m.
61-year-old James Lee of Alger was driving east on Tiffin Avenue when he hit the back of a car driven by 39-year-old Aleisha Gilmore of Findlay. Gilmore had slowed down to turn left into the Marathon gas station parking lot.
Hanco EMS took Gilmore and her passenger, 15-year-old Grace Gilmore, to Blanchard Valley Hospital for treatment. The police cited Lee for an assured clear distance violation.
12/12/18 – 5:28 A.M.
An effort to get better internet access to rural areas is in the proposed farm bill legislation. Congressman Bob Latta’s Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act was in the House-passed farm-bill earlier this year. It’s also included the legislation agreed to by a congressional conference committee. That means it will be in the version of the farm bill that both the Senate and the House of Representatives vote on.
The bill would establish an FCC task force that would work with the U.S. Agriculture Department. The group would identify gaps in broadband access and look for ways to rapidly expand broadband services.
Latta says better internet access in rural areas would help farmers do their jobs more efficiently. He says they would be able to use things like self-driving machinery, the Internet of Things, drones, and satellite imagery to help get their work done.
12/12/18 – 5:09 A.M.
A 37-mile stretch of the Blanchard River will now serve as a “water trail.” Hancock Park District Director Gary Pruitt told the board that state personnel have signed off on the paperwork after six years of work on the project.
The trail will start south of Mount Blanchard at the Blanchard River Nature Preserve off of Hancock County Road 17. It will end at the Blanchard Landing boat launch off of State Route 235. Pruitt says they’ll make bridges and parks along the route so people know where they are at all times.
An updated water trail map will be available in June.
12/12/18 – 4:59 A.M.
A bill in the Ohio house could provide around $15 million for flood mitigation funding for the Blanchard River. Alliance Economic Development Director Tim Mayle says this is a result of better collaboration by local groups to address the problem…
Audio: Tim Mayle
Mayle says the money could help pay to look at flood solutions along Eagle Creek…
Audio: Tim Mayle
If the legislature passes Senate Bill 51, Governor John Kasich would still have to sign off on it. The $15 million would require a 20 percent local match.