Hair salons are allowed to reopen on Friday as the next step of the governor’s plan to slowly reopen the state.

Shear Vanity Salon in Findlay says both customers and staff will be kept safe as they reopen.

“Absolutely, we take pride in it even before the pandemic became an issue,” said owner Sarah Volpp.

She says the entire salon was cleaned and disinfected this week.

“Salons are held to such a high standard and we are just going to up it even more.”

As they welcome back customers, she says all employees will be wearing a face mask and customers are highly encouraged to wear one as well.

Customers should message the salon from their car when they arrive and they’ll be contacted when it’s time to come in.

Volpp says they’re going to be really busy when they reopen.

“Myself, currently I’m booked ’til the third week of June and I still have people that I need to call back.”

She says it’s an exciting time for them and they’re ready to get back to doing what they do best.

That strong line of storms that blew through Thursday afternoon downed several trees in Arcadia, sending one into a house on East Fremont Street.

No one was injured.

The people who live in the home were not there at the time.

They say their dogs were home and were not injured.

One neighbor had their garage destroyed and part of it ended up hitting the house.

Some other trees could be seen down and at least one homeowner had quite a bit of damage to a fence.

The National Weather Service says there was a wind gust of 63 miles per hour recorded at the Findlay Airport as the storms were blowing through around 4:30.

Friday’s weather could also be stormy with a high in the low 70s expected.

Findlay City Schools says Bigelow Hill Intermediate has been certified as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey Education.

Bigelow Hill joins Chamberlin Hill Intermediate and most recently Jefferson Primary as schools earning the prestigious designation.

The Lighthouse Certification is a highly-regarded standard set by FranklinCovey that is attainable by every Leader in Me school.

The school district says Leader in Me is a whole-school transformation model and process developed in partnership with educators that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.

“This designation is validation of the significant, positive impact the Leader in Me framework that is based on the three principles of culture, leadership, and academics has had on Bigelow Hill since it began its journey four years ago,” said Bigelow Hill Principal Dr. Jennifer Theis.

FranklinCovey visited Bigelow Hill to evaluate the environment, culture, and language.

Findlay City Schools says it’s appreciative that Raise the Bar – Hancock County partnered with the district to make the Leader in Me program possible.

There’s a lot of room at the Findlay Airport, making it the perfect place for the Findlay Police Department to practice driving techniques.

Officer Don Dawson, the department’s driving instructor, says officers trained on maneuverability and the usage of stop sticks to end pursuits.

“When a car’s barreling down the highway you need to get the stop sticks in front of them and time that.”

He says timing is crucial because the officer needs to get the sticks in front of the offender’s vehicle to disable it, but then also remove the sticks from the road so following officers don’t have their tires punctured.

And he says it’s really important to reinforce proper driving techniques because when a pursuit starts the adrenaline will really start pumping.

See some video the training below.

The Supreme Court of Ohio is upholding a law allowing the state to take over poorly performing school districts.

The court ruled that the law enabling state-appointed academic distress commissions to take over operational control of such districts is constitutional.

The court also rejected arguments that lawmakers skirted a procedural rule about repeated legislative consideration when the changes were pushed through in one day in 2015.

A lawyer who argued the challenge by Youngstown Schools says they worry the ruling opens the door for lawmakers to use similar tactics to pass other legislation with limited opportunity for public input.

State lawmakers are currently trying to find a replacement for the law that would give more assistance to struggling schools but have been unable to reach an agreement.

Raise the Bar – Hancock County has a new manager.

The Board of Directors has appointed Tricia Valasek to the role.

She’ll take over from Laurie Zydonik, who recently accepted a new position with Marathon Petroleum.

Valasek was most recently Grants Manager at the University of Findlay.

Get more details in the full release from Raise the Bar below.

The Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Tricia Valasek as the new Manager for the organization effective on May 25th. Mrs. Valasek brings a wealth of experience to the role including serving as Senior Project Director for the National Association of Local Boards of Health and most recently as Grants Manager at the University of Findlay.

As co-founder of the Center for Civic Engagement at the University of Findlay, Tricia has played an active role in assisting local community coalitions working to address a variety of complex social issues, including workforce. This has allowed her to develop strong relationships with key partners throughout Hancock County and the state.

She has served as co-chair of Raise the Bar’s Pre-K Subcommittee, been a champion for Leader in Me expansion county-wide and written state grants for Raise the Bar in order to help expand local workforce strategies. Tricia is also a Trustee for the Hancock Historical Museum and is a Community Coalition Trainer/Facilitator.

Tricia will be assuming the duties of Laurie Zydonik, who previously led the organization and recently accepted a new position with Marathon Petroleum Company. “Laurie has been an incredible resource for our community and has created instrumental programs that have helped our Children and Young Adults to prepare them with important life skills in collaboration with our educational system” said Ed Kurt, Findlay City Schools Superintendent.

Raise the Bar is also the first to have a chapter of Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) in the State of Ohio, in an alliance with Owens Community College. This program is a great step to prepare new employees for advanced learning while being employed directly with local manufacturers, as they gain credits toward their advanced degree.

Primary funding comes from the Community Foundation, The United Way, Findlay/Hancock County Economic Development, Hancock County Commissioners and the City of Findlay.

Thank you to the community for your support!

Want to learn more about Raise the Bar and help?

Please reach out to Board President at djebbett@icloud.com

Raise the Bar is a workforce partnership of education, business, social services and community leaders focused on aligning and integrating the Hancock County, Ohio community learning system. Raise the Bar • Hancock County is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization with a mission to “Prepare and connect, through education and training, an adaptive workforce for Findlay-Hancock County to meet emerging employment needs.”

The City of Findlay and Hancock Public Health have said they’re comfortable with church services resuming on Sunday if certain safety measures are implemented.

Pastor Jeff Motter of St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Findlay says their in-person services will not resume on Sunday, and it may be a while until they do.

“We’re still exploring our options and thinking about the safety protocols that we need to put into place and what’s practical and manageable and doesn’t disrupt worship too much.”

He says they won’t be resuming in-person services in May and will be taking it month-by-month based on the public health situation.

“Folks I’ve heard from are willing to not rush into anything and are glad we’re taking a measured approach,” the pastor added.

In the meantime, he says they are getting a lot of positive feedback about their online services.

You can also hear their 9 o’clock Sunday service here on WFIN.

A total of 35 boutique-style gyms in Ohio are suing Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton as well as the Lake County General Health District.

Filed this week in the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, the 85-page complaint rails on Acton for her Stay Safe Ohio order that allows some non-essential businesses to open, but not gyms.

The businesses are being represented by a Columbus group 1851 Center for Constitutional Law which says gyms can open and operate safely if given the chance.

The suit asks that all gyms reopen immediately, with safety measures in place.

Road resurfacing work will be restricting traffic and also closing some Hancock County roads.

The Hancock County Engineer’s office says traffic will be restricted on Allen Township Road 108 between Township Road 229 and 232 and on Allen Township Road 114 between Township Road 229 and 232 beginning on Thursday afternoon for pavement milling operations at intersections.

Traffic will be maintained but drivers are urged to find an alternate route.

On Friday, Allen Township Road 108 will be closed to traffic from Township Road 229 to 232 for paving.

Then on Monday, May 18th Allen Township Road 114 will be closed from Township Road 229 to 232 for paving.

Hancock County Engineer Doug Cade says the work is part of a $2.27 million joint paving project involving several townships funded by local motor vehicle gas tax funds.

(ONN) – Some good news for those of you who might not have qualified for unemployment in the past.

More Ohioans are eligible for unemployment assistance beginning Wednesday.

The new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program went live Wednesday.

The program covers people who are self-employed, work part-time or filed as 10-99 workers.

Because of the massive number of applications coming in, your application may take some time, but benefits will be retroactive to as early as February 2nd.