Monthly Archives: January 2020

Two Tornadoes Touch Down In Western Ohio

The National Weather Service says two tornadoes touched down in western Ohio Saturday night as a cold front was blowing through the state.

The weather service says one of the weak tornadoes touched down on the southwest edge of the city of Troy.

It crossed the city center and the Great Miami River before lifting on the northeast edge of the city.

The city said the downtown area significantly affected and the square will be closed to traffic until further notice.

Then, north of the last known damage on the east side of Troy, another tornado touched down, causing sporadic damage.

Both tornadoes have a preliminary designation of EF-0, meaning they had winds of 65 to 85 miles per hour.

No injuries have been reported.

Persistent Rain Swells Blanchard River And Eagle Creek In Findlay

The National Weather Service has issued Flood Warnings for the Blanchard River and Eagle Creek in Findlay, as well as the Blanchard River in Ottawa.

The Flood Warning for the Blanchard River in Findlay goes from Saturday night to Monday morning.

Moderate flooding is anticipated, as the river is forecast to rise to around 12 feet by Sunday afternoon, that’s one foot above flood stage.

The river will fall back below flood stage by early Monday.

At 12 feet water impacts River Street and Apple Alley on the west side of Findlay, Blanchard Street between Sandusky and Main Cross, and several streets south of Clinton Court near Riverside Park.

There is also a Flood Warning for Eagle Creek in Findlay that goes through Sunday morning.

Flood stage is 9 feet and the creek is anticipated to rise to around 10 feet Saturday night, before falling back below flood stage on Sunday.

At 10 feet water from Eagle Creek will impact portions of South Blanchard Street, Brookside Drive, Fremont and Graceland Streets. The intersections of Beechmont Drive with Fairmont and Rosemont Drives flood.

And there is also a Flood Warning for the Blanchard River in Ottawa.

In addition to the flooding threat, there will also be a High Wind Warning in effect Saturday night into Sunday morning with winds of 30 miles per hour, gusting up to 60 mph.

Click here to check the situation of rivers and creeks in the area.

High Wind Warning Includes Findlay And Hancock County

Findlay and Hancock County are included in a High Wind Warning issued by the National Weather Service.

The High Wind Warning goes from Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Forecasters say we can expect winds of 30 miles per hour, gusting up to 60 mph.

Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines.

The weather service says you should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees or branches.

Travel will be difficult, especially in high-profile vehicles.

Power outages are expected.

Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a high of 38, a far cry from the warmer temps we experienced on Saturday.

Flood Warnings Issued For Blanchard River, Eagle Creek

The National Weather Service has issued Flood Warnings for the Blanchard River and Eagle Creek in Findlay.

The Flood Warning for the Blanchard River goes from Saturday night to Monday afternoon.

Moderate flooding is anticipated, as the river is forecast to rise above flood stage (11 feet) by Saturday night and rise to around 12.5 feet by Sunday afternoon.

The river will fall back below flood stage by Monday afternoon.

At 13 feet floodwaters impact East Sandusky Street, Main Cross Street, Blanchard Street, Clinton Court, and many other streets near the Blanchard River. Backwater will affect residents living along Eagle and Lye Creeks.

There is also a Flood Warning for Eagle Creek in Findlay from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.

Flood stage is 9 feet and the creek is anticipated to rise above flood stage by Saturday afternoon and rise to around 11 feet by Saturday night.

The weather service says the creek will fall below flood stage by Sunday morning.

At 11 feet flooding will threaten residences along Fremont and Graceland Avenue, East Lincoln Street, and Brookside Drive.

Other roads impacted include East High Street, Wilson Street, Blanchard Avenue near Graceland Avenue, Rosemont Drive and Beechmont Drive to Main Street, and Eastview north of 6th Street.

There is also a Flood Warning for the Blanchard River in Ottawa.

Never drive your car through flooded roadways. The water may be deeper than it appears.

There will also be a Wind Advisory in effect for Saturday into Sunday morning with winds of 30 miles per hour, gusting up to 50 mph.

State Legislators Present In Findlay

Local Republicans got to hear from two state legislators about their time in office and legislation they’ve worked on.

House Representative Jon Cross said that he is proud to serve the community by working on things like the TechCred Program.

He added that he is working hard to make sure Ohio takes care of its infrastructure.

Senator Rob McColley told the group that the State Congress is working on occupational licensing oversight and reform.

McColley added that they also went to work on deregulating the state of some its outdated legislation.

He explained that for every regulation that gets approved, two need to be removed.

This includes regulations on stagecoaches that McColley said isn’t necessary anymore.

Ottawa Woman Killed In Putnam County Crash, O-G Game Postponed

The Ottawa-Glandorf community is mourning the loss of a community member after a fatal crash Friday morning.

Athletic Director and varsity boys basketball coach Tyson McGlaughlin told the Lima News that Angela Schumaker, wife of junior varsity coach Brad Schumaker, was killed this morning.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that Angela was heading east on U.S 224 around 7:15 this morning when 16-year-old Trevor Gerten of Leipsic went left of center and struck her head-on.

After the accident, a semi driven by 51-year-old Richard Greene struck Gerten’s vehicle but didn’t cause any additional injuries.

The Putnam County Coroner pronounced Mrs. Schumaker dead at the scene.

Gerten suffered serious injuries and was rushed to Blanchard Valley Hospital.

Greene was not injured in the accident.

The State Patrol continues to investigate the crash.

Due to the accident, the OG game against Lima Bath has been postponed.

Ottawa-Glandorf Basketball Game Postponed

The Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball game at Lima Bath that was scheduled for Friday night has been postponed.

The postponement is due to a death in the O-G community from a traffic crash that occurred on Friday morning.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a crash on U.S. 224 and Road 5 in Putnam County.

The patrol confirmed that 39-year-old Angela Schumaker, wife of junior varsity coach Brad Schumaker, was killed in a head-on collision.

You can learn more about the accident here.

The O-G game at Findlay Saturday night will continue as scheduled.

Officers Receive Thanks On Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day was on Thursday and local agencies are posting to social media some of the thanks and support they’ve received from the community.

In Fostoria, the Fostoria Police Division posted a picture of a half-eaten pizza on its Facebook page and thanked Domino’s for lunch.

The pizza box had a personal message written on it that said, “Thank you for all you do to keep this town safe.”

The Findlay Police Department posted a thank you to Fox Run Assisted Living for the nice homemade card and cookies.

“Also thank you to the Heritage for their donation of Power Rings… a.k.a. donuts,” the post also said.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office (below) also thanked Domino’s for delivering some pizza along with Fox Run Assisted Living for the homemade card and cookies.

And a big Thank You from Blanchard River Broadcasting to all the law enforcement members out there that keep us safe on a daily basis.

Ohio Working To Get Ahead Of Potential Threats To Election System

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are leaving some worried about potential threats to upcoming elections across the country, including in the Buckeye State.

Ohio leaders are getting ahead of any potential threats to our election system.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose sent a memo to Ohio’s 88 counties explaining how to block Iranian IP addresses.

In the memo he said, “the bad guys only have to be right once. We have to be right every day.”

He said there have been no successful intrusions into Ohio’s elections network, including county boards of elections.