5/6/19 – 4:58 A.M.

McComb has named its next village administrator. A post on the village’s Facebook page says Allyson Murray will take over the role on June 3rd. Murray previously served as the village administrator in North Baltimore for three years before taking a job as the superintendent of utility billing for the city of Westerville.

Murray takes the place of Kevin Siferd, who stepped down last month. He served in the position for 13 years.

Village officials say around 40 people applied for the job.

05/03/19 – 5:46 P.M.

Rainy weather has left fields saturated and prevented farmers from getting work done. OSU extension educator Ed Lentz said that farmers would already be in the field by now.

Lentz said that farmers prefer to have a strong start because planting late could affect yields. He said that he remains optimistic that things could still turn out well if summer and fall cooperate.

05/03/19 – 5:22 P.M.

The Findlay Amvets Post 21’s Monte Carlo night to support the Flag City Honor Flight has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. The event was supposed to be this weekend at the Amvets on Trenton Avenue. It has been rescheduled for September 21.

05/03/19 – 5:03 P.M.

The Findlay Municipal Court presented at the First Friday Republican to talk about all the things the court does. Judge Mark Miller explained that the court handles much more than just parking tickets…

The courts also handle search warrants and weddings on occasion.

Judge Alan Hackenberg added that they host several programs to help people clear up any license suspension or open warrants. He explained that one of their popular programs helps people fix suspended driving licenses.

He said another program is the Safe Surrender Day that helps fix warrants.

05/03/19 – 10:36 A.M.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is giving safety advice for National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. The patrol says that with summer tight around the corner, you’ll likely start seeing more motorcycles on the road. Last year, there were over 3,300 accidents involving motorcycles. These resulted in 146 deaths and over 2,800 injuries.

The patrol says that if you ride motorcycles, you should take a training class and wear safety gear. Motorists should give motorcycles a full lane of travel and watch for motorcyclists in intersections and while switching lanes.

5/3/19 – 6:48 A.M.

Police at Bowling Green State University searched buses and bus stops following a reported threat Wednesday afternoon. The Sentinel-Tribune reports “non-specific, general threats” led to a search for a person matching witness descriptions.

Chief marketing and communications officer Dave Kielmeyer tells the newspaper the school did not activate the AlertBG notification system. Kielmeyer says the couldn’t confirm a specific threat to the safety of the campus community.

Police are working to identify a man from security video so they can discuss his comments.

MORE: Sentinel-Tribune

5/3/19 – 6:42 A.M.

Findlay’s Shade Tree Commission and the Hancock County Master Gardeners will hold a “Celebration of Trees” Saturday. The event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon at Feasel’s Garden Center at 2330 Bright Road. You can get a free spruce tree just for showing up, and they will also hold a drawing for an Ohio Buckeye Tree.

The event is free and open to the public. Presentations start at 10 a.m.

MORE: List of speakers and presentations

5/3/19 – 5:29 A.M.

The expansion of a gas collection system finished this week at the Sunny Farms Landfill in Seneca County. Sunny Farms officials say they were able to meet an April 30th deadline to complete the project.

The gas collection system includes 21 new gas extraction wells. Officials say that’s a more than 30 percent increase in the number of wells.

Pipes take gas from the wells to a flare neutralization system, which aims to reduce the odor coming from the landfill.

MORE: Further details on how gas extraction wells work.

5/3/19 – 5:21 A.M.

A mental health program for area children is taking shape. Julie Brown is overseeing a $4 million grant for the Family Resource Center. She says they aim to have 24 families signed up for the program by the end of September.

Children involved in the project have to meet certain criteria. That includes mental health issues that affect areas of their life like school, or involvement in the juvenile justice system.

The program comes at a crucial time. A recent Hancock County Community Health Assessment showed that 25 percent of the kids surveyed felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row. Twelve percent had seriously considered attempting suicide, and 6 percent had attempted suicide.

For more information, you can call 419-422-8616.

MORE: A look at what is causing mental health issues for area kids.

5/3/19 – 5:11 A.M.

Hancock County took a small step toward a jail expansion project Thursday. The county commissioners ranked the three companies that gave them presentations about their services. Commissioners Mark Gazarek and Tim Bechtol ranked MJ Martin of Lincoln, Nebraska first. Commissioner Brian Robertson rated RQAW of Fishers, Indiana as his preferred company.

The commissioners will vote on a resolution to enter into negotiations with MJ Martin next week. Both Sheriff Mike Heldman and Jail Administrator Ryan Kidwell favored MJ Martin as well.

Ohio requires counties to conduct a jail study before moving forward with an expansion project. The study could take around four months to complete.

MORE: Prosecutor Phil Riegle talks about the need for jail expansion.