Backyard Mission Trip has canceled their August 1st event in Findlay.

Organizers say it is with deep sadness that they had to cancel the event due to growing concerns about the coronavirus in Hancock County.

They say that it’s out of the love they have for their neighbors that they made the difficult decision to cancel the community mission trip.

They say they explored many ways to move ahead with the event but in the end, the health and safety of everyone is the top priority.

Organizers say the Backyard Mission Trip remains committed to serving the communities of Hancock County and looks forward to their next event on April 24th.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association has sent schools guidelines and sport-specific recommendations for returning to play in August.

The OHSAA says the recommendations within the Return to Play document have been made with the health, safety and well-being of all student-athletes in mind.

Officials say the risk of coronavirus transmission will still be present to some degree as interscholastic athletics activities begin in August and will continue until there is a widely available vaccine, possibly through the 2020-21 school year.

The OHSAA points out that many of the recommendations can only be utilized if mandates from the Ohio Department of Health are modified.

Among the sport-specific recommendations for football:

-The ball will be cleaned and sanitized throughout the game.

-Officials will have limited contact with the ball.

-The offensive team will handle the ball and take it with them into the huddle.

-The team box will be extended on both sides of the field to the 10-yard lines to allow for more social distancing space for teams.

-Players will maintain social distancing of six-feet at all times while inside the team box.

-It’s still being determined how to best handle the tooth and mouth protector during the game.

You can go over all the guidelines and recommendations by clicking here.

The National Weather Service says Moderate Drought conditions have reached parts of northwest Ohio.

Hancock County and Seneca County are under Moderate Drought conditions as well as most of Hardin County and most of Wood County.

Ed Lentz, with OSU Extension Hancock County, says if drought conditions persist it could affect crop yields.

He says, while some areas of the county have received some rain over the last few days, we need to start seeing more consistent rain over wider areas of the county.

Governor DeWine announced that 23 Ohio counties are currently under a level 3 – or red – health alert related to COVID-19, an increase from last week.

And one northwest Ohio county is close to reaching the highest alert level.

The governor said that Allen County has also been upgraded to a watchlist, meaning that they have met indicators to be raised to level 4 but are given one week to contain cases.

Other counties upgraded to a red alert this week are: Hardin, Clark, Defiance, Erie, Henry, Lawrence, Marion and Medina.

Since last week, Wood, Butler, Lorain and Summit Counties have been downgraded from level 3.

Hancock County has been upgraded to a level 2 while Wood County has been downgraded to level 2.

When the map was created, counties at a level 3 had to require face masks.

A statewide mask order goes into effect Thursday at 6 p.m.

See the full alert level map here.

Police have arrested the man they believe is behind recent fentanyl and heroin overdoses in Tiffin and Seneca County.

Jacob Woodruff was taken into custody in Tiffin on Wednesday without incident and officers say they found fentanyl in his vehicle.

The 25-year-old from Fostoria has been charged with trafficking and possession.

Woodruff is a person of interest in numerous overdoses in Seneca County.

“We can say without any hesitation, the community is a little safer tonight putting him behind bars for the time being,” said Tiffin Police Chief Fred Stevens.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Hancock County continues to rise.

Hancock Public Health said there were 160 cases as of Wednesday, which is an increase of 24 cases from two days earlier.

The number of active cases was at 62 as of Wednesday, which is a jump of 18 from two days earlier.

Two Hancock County residents have died from the virus, the latest death just a few days ago.

Health officials say they traced at least 10 cases back to an event in Findlay.

Governor DeWine has issued a statewide mask order that will be effective at 6 p.m. Thursday.

In addition to the mask order that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued on Wednesday, he is also putting a travel advisory into place in Ohio.

It will require residents of nine states (so far) to quarantine for 14-days after coming to the Buckeye State.

It also applies to Ohioans who visit those areas and then return home.

Get more on the travel advisory by clicking here and in the governor’s tweets below.

The Findlay Police Department has identified a suspect in the vandalism of LGBTQ+ Spectrum of Findlay’s ‘Rainbow Ohio’ street painting.

Police say the investigation is continuing and the suspect’s name will be released upon the filing of charges.

The painting, which was at the intersection of South Main Street and Main Cross Street, was vandalized sometime early Saturday with the words “STRAIGT PRIDE”.

Findlay’s mayor and Marathon Petroleum are among those that joined LGBTQ+ Spectrum of Findlay in condemning the vandalization.

The painting was made on May 31st to celebrate June being Pride Month.

Two Ohio lawmakers are introducing a measure to repeal House Bill 6.

House Bill 6 is the measure federal authorities say House Speaker Larry Householder and others were bribed with $60 million to push through, that sent state money to two power plants managed by FirstEnergy in Northeast Ohio.

The bill tacked a surcharge on Ohio energy consumers to help bail out the two unprofitable nuclear power plants.

The bill will be introduced by Democratic State Representatives Michael J. Skindell and Michael O’Brien.

The bailout bill for Ohio’s two nuclear power plants was signed into law last July.

Federal prosecutors allege that from March 2017 to March 2020, Householder and others received millions of dollars in exchange for help in passing the bill.

Senator Rob Portman, Governor DeWine and several other state political leaders are calling for Householder’s resignation.

The Findlay Police Department says a suspect is behind bars in connection with a road rage shooting from last weekend.

Police say the suspect was arrested on charges unrelated to the shooting.

The police investigation, which led investigators to link the suspect to the shooting, is ongoing.

Police say the suspect’s name will be released when charges are filed against him.

The shooting happened at 11:01 Saturday night near the intersection of South Main Street and Lima Street.

The Findlay Police Department says the victim was shot by a male passenger in a white SUV that was being driven by a female.

The victim was able to get himself to Blanchard Valley Hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound described as not life-threatening.