Just one day after announcing her departure from the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton has already booked a new gig.
She’ll be taking part in a special town hall event sponsored by the iconic children’s TV show Sesame Street.
A one-hour special called “The ABCs of COVID-19” will air on CNN on Saturday.
The special, which will be moderated by Big Bird, will focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting children and families.
The City of Findlay is encouraging everyone to fly their American Flag proudly on Sunday, which is Flag Day.
A post on the city’s social media says “I’m encouraging Findlay, Flag City USA, to wave their US Flags proudly, just like it was done in 1968.”
According to Visit Findlay, the road to Findlay becoming designated Flag City, USA began in 1968 when John B. Cooke moved to Findlay.
As a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Cooke believed in the value of flying the American flag and went door-to-door in town asking residents and businesses alike to fly a flag on Flag Day, June 14th, 1968.
Cooke created a fund and purchased 14,000 small flags for the community.
Learn more about Findlay becoming known as Flag City, USA here.
In addition to flying your flag proudly, the city is encouraging people to get creative with a family art project of the U.S. Flag and maybe even some landscaping or exterior design.
The city wants people to share a picture of their flag or flag project to the city’s social media.
A Flag City, USA gift package provided by Visit Findlay will be awarded on Flag Day on Sunday.
Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14th, 1777.
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library will reopen on Monday, June 15th, exactly three months after it closed due to the coronavirus.
Director Sarah Clevidence (below) says she and her staff are very excited to welcome everyone back.
She says they will be limiting the number of patrons in the library at any given time to 50 in order to comply with social distancing guidelines.
Patrons are required to observe social distancing and keep at least six feet away from others.
Patrons are strongly encouraged to wear a face covering and staff are required to wear one when interacting with patrons.
Hand sanitizer will be available for patrons and they are asked to use it before handling any library materials.
Children under the age of 16 must be with an adult.
Materials returned to the library will be quarantined for three days.
The building will be sanitized nightly.
The hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The first hour will be reserved for at-risk people, those 65 and older and people with an underlying medical condition.
Curbside pickup will still be available by calling 419-422-1712 to schedule an appointment, and anyone feeling ill should not enter the library and instead use that service.
Anyone with questions about the library’s reopening can click here or call 419-422-1712.
The University of Findlay will be resuming on-campus visits for prospective students and their guests on Monday, June 15th.
The university says, in addition to the on-campus visits, virtual visits will still be available.
Both visit options include a presentation from an admissions counselor, a meeting with an academic professor, and a tour of the University of Findlay campus.
In order to protect the health and safety of the campus and visitors, the university has developed and implemented safety measures that align with the Ohio Department of Health’s orders and will provide additional information to visitors at the time of their meeting.
Get more on the resumption of on-campus visits at UF here.
Work on gas lines will shut down a section of a Findlay road.
The city says Columbia Gas will be working on gas lines in the area of Crystal Avenue and Hull Avenue on Friday, June 12th.
Due to the work, Crystal Avenue will be closed on Friday, June 12th from Blanchard Street to Garfield Avenue.
(ONN) – Governor Mike DeWine has announced that Dr. Amy Acton is stepping down as the director of the Ohio Department of Health.
Dr. Acton has received praise and criticism for how the state’s stay-at-home orders and similar health measures were issued.
Supporters of the state’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic have held up Dr. Acton as a humble hero fighting the virus.
However, a number of business leaders and Republican lawmakers have called Acton’s health orders “unconstitutional” and pushed to limit her power and the powers of the DeWine administration.
Former interim health director Lance Himes will once again assume that role.
Governor DeWine had plenty of praise for Dr. Acton, as evidenced in the tweet below.
DeWine says Acton will now serve as his Chief Health Advisor where she will continue to serve the people of Ohio in a meaningful way.
The sale of to-go cocktails from restaurants, bars, breweries, and wineries across the state could be here to stay.
House lawmakers have approved a bill to make the sales permanent in a bipartisan 84-8 vote.
The state first allowed the short-term sales of two alcoholic beverages per customer during the pandemic lockdown as a way to shore up restaurants that were forced to close their dining rooms.
The bill will now head to the Ohio Senate for consideration and could be on Governor DeWine’s desk next month.
That strong line of storms that pushed through the area on Wednesday brought down some trees and power lines around Findlay.
Justin lives on Blue Bonnet Drive and had just put away the outside furniture and was starting on dinner when the storm arrived and took out part of a tree in his front yard.
“We heard the wind pick up outside and I could see the tree start blowing and literally watched it blow right down.”
The tree took out a power line to a street light but he says his house never lost power.
“I’m just glad nobody got hurt and it didn’t damage the house.”
Justin says he has a wood-burning stove so now he’ll have plenty of wood for when winter rolls around.
He says his daughter got a kick out of the tree falling and was excited to tell the story on the phone to her grandfathers.
On the other side of town from Justin’s house, West Main Cross was shut down from a tree across the road.
State health officials are releasing guidelines for county fairs this summer.
They’ll be allowed to feature rides, animals and food vendors if safety precautions are followed.
The precautions include social distancing and requiring masks when necessary.
Food vendors must also adhere to the same COVID-19 requirements as restaurants.
The rules apply to both county and independent fairs.
Grandstands will be limited to half their seating capacity.
The state will be providing fairs some money to complete safety upgrades.
The Hancock County Fair Board says it will meet soon to review the new guidelines and begin to determine their next steps.
Findlay City Schools sent parents a survey about learning options for the 2020-2021 school year.
The school district is considering three learning options to help each individual student achieve success.
Those options are, a traditional option with technology integration, an online education option and a hybrid option.
Incoming Superintendent Troy Roth says their intention is to start the school year on August 25th.
“We are starting to make plans for starting school the traditional way on August 25th, we are making plans to have an online option and also a hybrid option of online and face-to-face.”
Krista Miller, who will be the assistant superintendent next school year, made it clear what option she prefers.
“We want your students in our buildings,” Miller said.
“Our halls are empty, our hearts are empty, and we want them back.”
Roth and Miller delivered some information in their new Trojan Talk series which you can see below.