Authorities in Madison County are investigating after the body of a man was found inside a sewage tank.

According to reports, the body of 34-year-old James Burl Powers was discovered in a tank at the South Solon water treatment facility on Wednesday afternoon.

Officials say Powers did not work at the facility, and the area where his body was found is secured with no signs of a break-in.

The Montgomery County Coroner says they will conduct an autopsy on the body to help police determine if the death should be treated as a homicide.

An Ohio lawmaker is proposing a measure that would allow drivers to renew their license every eight years.

Currently Ohioans are required to renew every four years.

State Representative Derek Merrin says the legislation would save time and lead to shorter lines at the BMV.

The eight-year license would not, however, save money, as the cost would be twice that of a four-year license.

Merrin said that other states have not reported issues with eight-year licenses impacting authorities’ ability to identify people, based on their license.

Twenty-four states currently offer the eight-year option.

There are several high school football playoff games happening this weekend.

Carey is going up against East Knox Friday at 7 pm in the OHSAA Division VI tournament at the Marion Harding Football Stadium in Marion, Ohio.

Leipsic is facing Patrick Henry in the Division VIII game this Saturday in Defiance. This game will be broadcasted live on WKXA starting at 6:40 pm.

Ottawa-Glandorf will also be playing on Saturday. They face Clyde High School in the Division IV OHSAA Playoffs at Donnell Stadium in Findlay starting at 7 pm. This game will be broadcasted on 106.3 The Fox

The Findlay Hancock County Community Foundation has awarded over $534,000 in grant money.

The Board of Trustees approved 10 responsive grants totaling $147,482 to nonprofit organizations to meet community needs.

They also approved one $3,000 president’s discretionary grant for The Community Foundation’s marketing department and 21 donor-advised fund grants to 18 organizations totaling $384,250.

The responsive grants are as follows:

• Children’s Mentoring Connection was awarded $5,249 for mentoring support for local youth

• The Community Foundation’s Program Department was awarded $21,250 for the 2020 Community Conversations Program.

• The Community Foundation’s Scholarship Department was awarded up to $2,500 for the
creation of an emergency scholarship program for local students in need.

• The Community Foundation was awarded $17,874 for the debt service for The Family
Center.

• Hancock County Parks District was awarded $9,831 for adaptive playground equipment.

• Hancock Regional Planning Commission was awarded $35,000 for a study of housing in Hancock County to support the collective impact work of the housing coalition.

• Hancock Public Health was awarded $32,000 for the Balance My Day nutrition program for with the city and county schools.

• NAMI Hancock County was awarded $3,590 for mental health support services for
residents of Hancock County.

• Village of Mt. Blanchard was awarded $188 for a youth fishing/hunting program based on the Heart & Soul action plan.

• YMCA of Findlay was awarded $20,000 for the new Y on the Fly program in partnership with the City of Findlay, Hancock Leadership and Hancock Literacy.

Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day has been named a semifinalist for the 2019 George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award.

The Maxwell Football Club announced the list of semifinalists with Day joining 21 other coaches, along with Big Ten rivals Tom Allen of Indiana, P.J. Fleck of Minnesota, and James Franklin of Penn State.

First awarded in 1989 and named for College Football Hall of Famer George Munger, no OSU coach has won the award.

Day is in his first full season with the Buckeyes and has guided the team to a 10-0 record this year and a number two ranking.

The Buckeyes take on the Nittany Lions at noon on Saturday here on WFIN.

(picture courtesy of Columbus Wired)

Officials say scammers are getting bolder, even going as far as to pretend to be your local authorities.

Becca Peckinpaugh, an Elder Victim Advocate with Crime Victim Services in Ottawa and Lima issued the following news release to offer people advice.

Phone scams are no joke. The scammer utilizes a voice of authority (police, IRS, etc.) in order to attempt to get your money. In some of the most recent cases, they have gotten bolder by pretending to be your local authorities. There have been calls for someone claiming to be the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. The scammer provides you some information about yourself, then tells you that there is a warrant out for your arrest. They tell you to buy a surety bond in order to keep yourself out of jail until you can turn yourself in. They ask you to pay by gift cards or wiring money.

Don’t do it! Here are some facts. The authorities do not warn you when they are about to arrest you. If there is, in fact, a warrant with your name, then they will arrest you without warning. Scammers only ask for payment by wiring money or tell you to buy gift cards and give them the gift card numbers. These payment methods are very hard to trace back to the scammers.

If you receive a call like this, hang up immediately. You may also let the call ring to voicemail. The Federal Trade Commission says that the more scam calls you answer, the more your number will be used by criminals. Call your local law enforcement, using the phone number you know is legitimate, to report the incident. You may also report to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Better Business Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission who keep track of scams and patterns for research purposes and to learn about the criminals who commit fraud. For any information or questions, call Becca Peckinpaugh, Crime Victim Services, at 419-523-1111.

(ONN) – Ohio remains a major focus for the nation’s largest advocacy group combatting juvenile sex trafficking, primarily because of a major legal loophole that puts Ohio all by itself.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the loophole is a law that requires a 16 or 17-year old to prove they were coerced into commercial sex acts before an adult can be charged with sex trafficking.

Ohio is the only state nationally that has such a provision, which is a major reason why Ohio’s grade remained a ‘C’ in the most recent report cards issued by Shared Hope International.

State Senator Teresa Fedor of Toledo is sponsoring a bill that would change the law to match the standards in both federal law and all other state law nationally.

Cooper Tire has named Ben Patel its Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer.

Details are in the following media release from Cooper Tire.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) has named Ben Patel Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In his new role, Patel is responsible for product planning and development, as well as engineering and technology across all regions. He leads a technology organization that includes a global technical center as well as technical centers in Asia, Europe and North America.

Patel is a seasoned technology leader with more than 20 years’ experience. He came to Cooper following eight years at Tenneco, Inc., where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer. In an earlier role at Tenneco, he served in the Global Clean Air Division as its Vice President, Global Research and Development, and helped create new products for global light and commercial vehicle customers to meet environmental and performance standards.

Earlier in his career, Patel spent 12 years at General Electric (GE) in technical roles of increasing responsibility including Senior Research Scientist at GE’s Global Research Center within the Polymer and Chemical Technology Laboratory.

“Ben is an experienced and talented leader,” said Cooper Tire President & Chief Executive Officer Brad Hughes. “He joins a strong technical team that is highly focused on enhancing our products with an emphasis on what consumers want from their tires. Ben will help us get ahead of the curve with products that meet current and future needs in mobility. He brings a strong foundation as a scientist, combined with a demonstrated ability to inspire and lead global teams to success. We are confident he will help take technology at Cooper to the next level.”

Patel has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Ottawa. He holds 24 U.S. patents and has been published in more than a dozen scientific publications. In 2017, Patel received the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2017 Rising Star Award. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Lincoln Electric, a leading producer of welding products.

StoneBridge Church in Findlay is getting ready to serve some Thanksgiving meals.

BridgeKids Director Stephanie Schack said that they won’t have a shortage of food.

Schack added that the meals are totally free.

You can get food delivered by signing up online by Tuesday, or show up at StoneBridge on Thanksgiving Day for pick-up or eating in between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

You can learn more here.

After 23 years of being on-air “A Second Look at Sports” is coming to an end.

Host Dr. Dwight Allen said he’s loved doing the show and getting to meet people like Super Bowl winner Joe Gibbs.

Allen said he appreciates the opportunity he’s had to talk to people near and far and that he is going to miss the show.

His show has been syndicated and broadcasted on over 600 radio stations but has always been anchored right here on WFIN.

He told us that he has decided to bring it to an end because he’s getting older and for health reasons.

The last show will be on December 29.

The programming of ‘A 60 Second Look At Sports’ will continue to air as a ‘best of’ on WFIN and WKXA.

You can learn more about the show here. You can also listen to the interview with Dwight below.