5/8/19 – 5:22 A.M.

Two renewal levies passed with ease in the Bluffton School District Tuesday. 82 percent of voters approved of the renewal of a more than 4.2-mill, five-year property tax for operations. 82 percent of voters also cast ballots in favor of the renewal of a half-percent, three-year income tax for permanent improvements.

Superintendent Russ Denecker says the district will use the money raised by the levies to replace roofs, buy new school buses, and repair the HVAC systems among other items.

MORE: Comments from Denecker

5/8/19 – 5:14 A.M.

A man is in custody after he allegedly made a threat against a Putnam County school. The Pandora Police Department reports a woman received a letter from her ex-husband that included a reference to causing harm to the Pandora Gilboa school. As a result, school officials put the building in a “Code Yellow” lockdown Tuesday. Classes went on normally, but there was no outside recess and law enforcement officers escorted students to their cars.

The Allen County Sheriff’s Office arrested the man Tuesday afternoon on a count of inducing panic. Pandora Gilboa canceled the lockdown shortly after that.

5/8/19 – 5:06 A.M.

McComb voters approved funding for the McComb Public Library Tuesday. The 1-mill, five-year levy passed by a margin of 395 to 118. The levy will generate more than $98,000 per year for operating expenses. Officials say it will cost the owner of a house appraised at $100,000 around $35 per year.

Voters in the McComb area also renewed a levy for the Pleasant-McComb-Portage Joint Ambulance District. The 4.4-mill, three-year levy passed with 380 votes in favor and 95 against. The money generated by the levy pays for ambulance services.

5/8/19 – 5:00 A.M.

Only around 19 percent of registered voters in Hancock County cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election. That compares to a 24 percent turnout for countywide elections during last May’s primary.

There are nearly 50,000 registered voters in the county.

The lights on the mid-block crosswalks in downtown Findlay have stopped working. The lights are supposed to warn drivers when a pedestrian crosses the street. Findlay City Council discussed the issue during their Tuesday meeting. There’s no time line for when the issue will be fixed.

Council discussed methods to provide a temporary fix to the situation but no decision was made.

Findlay City Council talked about the potential sale of the parking lot for the Argyle lot development. Councilman Jeff Wobser raised several concerns he had about the project. He added that he wants to be sure the project is solid before moving forward.

Wobser explained that parking makes this an important subject for the residents in Findlay.

Wobser added that he is for the project but thinks they need to have some concerns addressed. He said that some of the concerns include the price of the lot, potential revenue loss, and details on how utilities will be affected.

There are also concerns on how it will affect the business owners in adjacent lots and whether they’ve been notified. Council will hold a Committee of the Whole meeting to get public input next Tuesday at 6 p.m. They will also discuss getting outside counsel to look over the contract

5/7/19 – 10:37 P.M.

A 1 percent income tax renewal levy for school operations passed with ease in Arcadia. 64 percent of voters in the district backed the renewal issue Tuesday. The levy pays for district operations.

5/7/19 – 10:33 P.M.

After rejecting a renewal levy for operations in the fall, Vanlue voters turned out to support a slightly modified levy Tuesday. The 5.93-mill property tax issue passed, with 60 percent of the ballots cast in favor of it. Superintendent Traci Conley says they changed it from a permanent levy to a 10-year issue after getting feedback from the community.

The levy pays for school operations.

5/7/19 – 10:28 P.M.

McComb voters passed a renewal levy for the school district Tuesday. 72 percent of the ballots cast were in favor of a .5 percent income tax. The levy pay s for district operations like transportation and technology.

5/7/19 – 10:23 P.M.

Randy Greeno ran away with a contested race in the Findlay 5th ward council contest. Greeno took 63 percent of the ballots cast. Brian Bauman finished with 24 percent and David Spitler took 12 percent.