12/19/18 – 7:45 A.M.
Fostoria City Council no longer has a vacant seat. Council members voted 6-0 Tuesday to appoint Edward Logsdon to the seat left open by Doug Pahl a month ago. Three other people applied for the position when it came open. Logsdon will fill the rest of Pahl’s term.
Logsdon has a background in administration and has been an engineering consultant for companies in Denver and Hawaii. He moved back to Fostoria a year ago.
12/19/18 – 7:37 A.M.
The Hancock County Commissioners approved more than $2.8 million worth of road projects for 2019 during their Tuesday meeting. The state and federal government will pay more than $1.5 million for the resurfacing projects in the county.
The 2019 road program also includes replacing several bridges. The county plans work on bridges on Hancock County Roads 2 and 153 in Delaware Township, Marion Township Road 205, Hancock County Road 216 in Cass Township, and the Howard Street bridge in Findlay.
MORE: Commissioners talk about a program designed to keep foster children closer to home.
12/19/18 – 7:26 A.M.
Another section of I-75 is now three lanes in Findlay. ODOT opened a third lane of travel between U.S. 224 and County Road 99 on the northbound side of the interstate this morning.
Southbound traffic will continue to travel in two lanes between U.S. 224 and Hancock County Road 99 until mid-January.
ODOT had planned to make the switch last week but had to delay it due to weather issues.
12/19/18 – 7:20 A.M.
If a building project is in the works in the Liberty Benton school district, residents would prefer a new pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade facility. Those who responded to a second survey preferred that option by a 3-to-1 margin over adding onto the existing high school. Both options called for renovations to the high school.
The LB school board learned the results of the survey during their Tuesday meeting.
428 filled out the survey, up from just under 400 people the first time around. 79 percent of those who responded have children in the district.
If the district moves forward, the project would cost around $20.6 million. That could go up if plans include items the state won’t help pay for, like a transportation facility.
MORE: Where a new Liberty-Benton school building would be located
12/19/18 – 6:48 A.M.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office has identified the body found in a field east of McComb over the past weekend as 22-year-old Ismael Velazquez. The McComb Police Department reported Velazquez went missing on December 3. He was last seen in the 300 block of Cora Street.
Sgt. Jason Seem says the sheriff’s office won’t release a cause of death until toxicology reports are complete. He added that they don’t suspect foul play.
Hunters found Velazquez’s body in a field south of State Route 613 around 10:40 a.m. Sunday.
12/19/18 – 5:37 A.M.
The Hancock County Commissioners are asking the Blanchard Valley Port Authority to consider more factors before giving tax breaks in the future. The commissioners said that tax breaks for companies that offer low-wage jobs end up creating a burden on the county. They said that’s because the tax breaks take away sales tax dollars that help pay for social services often needed by people with low-wage jobs.
Port Authority Administrative Consultant Jerry Arkebauer says its impossible to know how much the tax breaks actually cost the county. Arkebaurer says that’s because there’s no guarantee companies would buy building materials in Hancock County. For instance, you can’t buy structural steel locally.
Commissioner Brian Robertson lobbied the Port Authority to do more to bring white collar jobs to the community. He says that’s because there isn’t much housing in the area at $100,000 or less. Robertson added it doesn’t make sense to keep adding lower-paying jobs when there isn’t affordable housing available for the employees.
MORE: Some companies that get tax breaks give back to the community
12/19/18 – 5:30 A.M.
In continuing our look back at 2018 today, we look at the defeat of one of the larger local ballot issues of the year. Findlay City Schools asked voters to pass a five-year, 1.5-mill levy that would have generated around $1.2 million per year. The school would have used the money to hire police officers and clinical counselors. The money would have also paid for safety and security equipment and training.
Superintendent Ed Kurt said a large part of the money raised would have gone toward mental health initiatives…
Audio: Ed Kurt
In the end voters weren’t convinced. 55 percent of the ballots cast in the November election went against the levy. Kurt said the district would move forward with maintaining current safety and security efforts following the defeat.
12/19/18 – 5:16 A.M.
A Putnam County group has plans for reducing Blanchard River flooding in the future. The Courier reports Citizens United for a Better Blanchard met with officials from all the counties the river winds through on Tuesday to talk about future flood reduction efforts. They’re calling for widening pinch-points along the waterway. The plan also includes river benching at certain spots along the entire river.
The group says benching certain points would cost around $150 million. They’re asking the county commissioners, either from one county or as a group, to petition for the river’s improvement. Since counties can’t petition themselves, a common pleas court would have to handle the issue.
Retired Soil and Water Conservation district employee Dan Ellerbrock led the meeting. He said uniform standards for releasing stormwater from holding ponds would also help the flooding problem.
12-19-18 – 1 A.M.
Residents of Marion Township voiced some concerns about the annexation and zoning of industrial property in Findlay. The property is south of County Road 95 and east of Crystal Avenue. Mayor Mihalik they are zoning it as industrial because the set up is already there.
The residents said they were worried that they weren’t going to have a say in what happens with the property. The talked about how lighting, semi-traffic, and noise would be issues.
Mihalik said that she understood their concerns and added that they will have a say if there is ever a project set up for that property.
Currently there is no project scheduled on the property. Mihalik said that there will be plenty of research done when there is one.
Findlay City Council approved the annexation and the zoning
12/18/18 – 6:56 P.M.
Camp Fire Northwest Ohio is looking for donations this holiday season. The organization works with young people to help discover their purpose and better their homes, schools, and communities. They also operate a free food pantry. They are asking for craft supplies, healthy-snacks, stamps, and gift cards as well as nonperishable foods.