Farmers will be hitting the fields for harvest which means you’ll see tractors out on the roads.

Hancock County Sheriff’s crime prevention officer Corey Hartman said that it can be difficult for farmers to see you.

Hartman said it is important to make sure they know you are there before you pass so they can get over, making it easier for you to see what is coming.

Hartman added that you’ll want to make sure it is safe to pass before you do so and to avoid passing on hills and near intersections.

The Salvation Army of Findlay is looking for bell ringers for its Red Kettle Campaign this Christmas season.

Major Jim Sayer says each year volunteers graciously take time out of their schedules to ring those bells.

“There are people who are consistently dependable to give their time each year,” Sayer said.

And he says they’re always looking for new volunteers or volunteer groups to man one of their eight kettle sites in Findlay.

“I would like to see another 20 groups take a shift, that would be wonderful.”

He says Kiwanis, Rotary and groups from the University of Findlay always help out.

He says the sooner you volunteer the better chance you’ll get to choose your site and hours.

To volunteer, stop by the Salvation Army of Findlay at 301 Center Street or call 419-422-8238

(ONN) – The nation’s three biggest drug distributors and a major drugmaker have agreed to a settlement with two Ohio counties in a massive lawsuit related to the opioid crisis.

Word of the 11th hour deal between four drug companies and Cuyahoga and Summit Counties emerged just as opening arguments were set to begin in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland.

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish on the settlement.

“People are suffering now, people are dying now. We have to deal with these issues now, so the fact that we were able to get the money in a short timeframe is very helpful, and that was the motivation for settling this.”

The settlement involves so-called ‘big-three’ distributors paying a combined $215 million to Cuyahoga and Summit Counties.

A state senator says there are plans to turn the giant basket-shaped former headquarters of the Longaberger Company into a hotel.

Ohio State Senator Jay Hottinger says developer Steve Coon would announce the iconic building will become a luxury hotel with hopes to open in 2020 or 2021.

The 210-thousand square foot, seven-floor building on East Main Street in Newark sits on a 21-acre lot.

The building is shaped like the wicker picnic baskets once produced by the Longaberger Company, which shut down operations 2018.

A signature-gathering effort to shoot down House Bill 6, which was approved in the Ohio Legislature and signed by Governor Mike DeWine, is on hold while a judge decides the next step.

The group “Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts” says it doesn’t have enough signatures for a statewide vote in 2020 and will not be filing its referendum petition signatures.

Instead, the Columbus Dispatch reports the group is suing for more time.

The lawsuit contends a state law requiring the attorney general to certify summary language for the petition unconstitutionally consumed 38 of the 90 days it had to gather signatures.

House Bill 6 would charge most electricity customers 85 cents a month to generate $1 billion dollars.

That money would subsidize a pair of nuclear power plants owned by FirstEnergy.

Ohio lawmakers in July approved a roughly $1 billion financial rescue for two nuclear power plants in northern Ohio.

The owner of the plants says they would be forced to close without the money.

The Ohio Department of Transportation is advising drivers of a traffic pattern shift and an exit ramp closure in Findlay.

ODOT says, beginning at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, traffic on U.S. 68/State Route 15 southbound will temporarily be shifted onto a portion of the future roundabout at Lima Avenue.

They say the shift will remove traffic from the work area and allow for the repair of a water line.

In addition, ODOT says the exit from Interstate 75 southbound to Lima Avenue westbound will close.

Traffic will be detoured west onto state Route 12, and south on County Road 9 back to Lima Avenue.

ODOT says the pattern change and closure could be in place for the remainder of the week.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn went on a trip to Frisco, Texas to attend the Community Leaders of America annual fall meeting.

Muryn said they talked about several topics surrounding healthcare.

This includes recreational and medicinal marijuana, infrastructure, environmental impacts, and water quality.

Muryn also acted as a presenter, sharing what Findlay has been doing about the opioid epidemic and how it has been working.

She added that the meeting gave her plenty of things to think about and consider alongside city officials when she gets back to Findlay.

Muryn is now on her way to Japan to visit Findlay’s sister-city Kawaguchi.

UPDATE: Findlay High School and Millstream Career Center were put under a level one lockdown for about a half-hour Monday afternoon.

The Findlay Police Department’s Sgt. Brian Dill reports that the school called 911 to report a man that was on campus to see his girlfriend and talk to her.

Sgt. Dill says that the school asked the man to leave and said that the girl would not be coming out.

According to Dill, the man walked out to Broad Avenue where officers asked him to leave and he complied.

The Hancock Park District says Autumn Fest was a huge success on Saturday.

“We must have had 500 to 600 people,” said the park district’s Michelle Rumschlag.

Autumn Fest was held at Litzenberg Memorial Woods and replaced Harvest The Past which didn’t have very good attendance last year.

Rumschlag says people still got to take part in 1840s activities, like the workshop and pioneer games, like last year but they added vendors this year as well as some other activities.

People also enjoyed music and there was even a homemade pie contest.

Rumschlag says they’re already thinking about what they can add to Autumn Fest next year to make it even for fun for people.

The Findlay Police Department says a driver refused to pull over and led an officer on a pursuit at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour.

Police say an officer tried to stop a silver Ford Mustang for expired registration and an equipment violation at 12:05 Monday morning on Bright Road at Croy Drive.

Police say the driver refused to stop and immediately accelerated to speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

The driver fled northbound on Bright Road and out of the Findlay city limits into Hancock County.

The vehicle was last seen on County Road 18 near County Road 109 before the pursuit was terminated.

The suspect and vehicle were not located.

The pursuit spanned 4.4 miles.

Anyone with information on the driver or the vehicle is urged to contact police at 419-424-7163.