Monthly Archives: February 2020

Ohio Senate Wants Daylight Saving Time Made Permanent

(ONN) – The Ohio Senate wants the U.S. Congress to permanently put the country on daylight saving time, eliminating the twice-a-year changing of the clocks.

The Dayton Daily News reports the Ohio Senate voted 31-to-1 in favor of a resolution sponsored by Republican Kristina Roegner of Hudson.

Roegner called changing between standard and daylight saving “government-induced biannual jetlag”.

The resolution urges adoption of the Sunshine Protection Act, which is pending in congress.

Eight states have passed similar legislation to that being proposed in Ohio, but congress must first rescind a federal ban on states adopting daylight saving year-round.

Commissioner Candidates Square Off In Forum On WFIN

Voters had a chance to hear from three candidates running for a Hancock County Commissioner’s seat during a forum on WFIN Wednesday night.

Republicans William Bateson, Miranda Lobdell and Michael Recker are vying to take over the seat of Commissioner Mark Gazarek, who decided to not run for re-election.

Flood mitigation efforts, county finances and economic development were just a few of the topics discussed during the forum.

The winner of the primary will face Democrat Ronald DeCooman in the fall.

The forum, at the University of Findlay’s Alumni Memorial Union, was aired live on WFIN and on UFTV’s YouTube channel.

A week ago a forum was held involving the three candidates for Hancock County Sheriff.

Ohio’s primary election is March 17th.

Sprague Recognizes Arlington High School For Financial Literacy Efforts

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague stopped by Arlington High School to present counselor MaryBeth Hutcheson and the high school with Compass Awards for exemplary work with financial literacy programs.

“They do very unique things to provide their kids opportunities in the community to see what that next step career choice is going to be like,” Sprague said.

Principal Nate Sorg accepted the Compass Award that went to the high school as a whole.

The treasurer says his Compass Awards shine a light on organizations, programs and individuals across Ohio who are working to advance financial literacy and empowerment.

Students had a chance to ask Sprague, who is from Findlay, a few questions during the assembly.

Basketball Tournament Games Postponed Due To Weather

The two high school boy’s basketball tournament games that were scheduled to be heard on 100.5 WKXA Wednesday night from Miller City have been postponed due to weather.

The Liberty Benton vs Coldwater and Riverdale vs Tinora games have been moved to Thursday night.

Sectional Finals will still be held on Friday.

Also, the game between Cory Rawson and Carey in Fostoria Wednesday night has been postponed as well.

Blanchard Valley Center Seeking Levy Renewal

The Hancock County Board of Developmental Disabilities is asking voters to renew their 1.9 mill five-year levy in the primary election on March 17th.

“We are very blessed that voters in Hancock County believe in what we do and are passionate about what we do,” said Superintendent Kelli Grisham.

Kelli says the 1.9 mill levy and a 2.5 mill levy that voters renewed last May, provide 75 percent of their funding, allowing them to support people with developmental disabilities their whole life.

Kelli says they’re excited about a new program.

“We’re working on a transition program for kids 14 to 22 that will prepare them for employment once they leave school, so we’re very excited about that.”

She says they keep finding ways to do more with less, and that’s why they haven’t had to ask for any new taxes since 2005.

Learn more about the Blanchard Valley Center here.

Governor Signs Ohio Veterans Exemption Payment Act Into Law

(ONN) – Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law called the Ohio Veterans Exemption Payment Act.

The bill exempts disabled veterans from paying state taxes on their disability severance pay.

It also allows them within the next two years to claim a one-time tax credit for previous years of paying the tax all the way back to 1991.

State Representative Nino Vitale, a Republican from Urbana, sponsored the bill.

He says a local priest who is a military vet brought the matter to his attention.

New Bill Would Ban Transgender Athletes From Girls’ Sports

(ONN) – Transgender females couldn’t join their high school or college female soccer, field hockey or track teams if a bill introduced by two Ohio Republicans becomes law.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the “Save Womens Sports Act” would require the Ohio High School Athletic Association to block any male-born student from participating in a girls sport in both public and private schools.

Currently, the OHSAA requires transgender girls show proof that they’ve been on hormone therapy for at least one year or demonstrate that the student doesn’t have a physiological advantage over other athletes her age.

Winter Weather Advisory Issued For Findlay, Hancock County

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory that includes Findlay and Hancock County.

The advisory goes from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning.

Forecasters say Findlay could get 2 to 4 inches of heavy, wet snow during the day Wednesday and maybe another inch Wednesday night.

The high temp on Wednesday will be around 33.

Thursday will be cloudy and breezy with a high of about 26.

The high on Friday and Saturday will be in the 20s as well.

 

Findlay Rotary Raises Money For Polio Eradication

The Findlay Rotary Club partied with a purpose at Findlay Brewing Company.

The organization raised more than $16,000 for polio eradication during their Pints for Polio event which included a celebrity server competition.

The money raised will support Rotary International’s PolioPlus program to eradicate polio worldwide.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a paralyzing and potentially fatal disease that still threatens children in some parts of the world.

Rotary International launched the PolioPlus program in 1985, the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication through the mass vaccination of children.

Rotary has contributed more than $1.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries.

(picture courtesy of the Findlay Rotary Club)

Fire Department Targeting College Athletes For Next Class

College athletes are being targeted for the next class of the Toledo firefighter academy.

Fire and Rescue Department officials met with University of Toledo student-athletes to discuss careers ahead of the April 30th application deadline.

City officials say UT is the perfect place to recruit because athletes are in shape, coachable, operate well under pressure and are a diverse group.

Battalion Chief Daniel Brown-Martinez says athletes have a coachable mentality.

“And that’s something we’re looking for in our department. We want people who are used to working as a team as these athletes are.”

Former Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman recently became a firefighter in Columbus.