Officials at Little Miami High School have reversed their decision to punish two football players who carried flags the district called political.

The players were suspended from the team after they took the field on 9/11 with Thin Blue Line and Thin Red Line flags, which represent support for police and firefighters.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the school now says that there were no political motivations behind the display.

However, they say the students were “insubordinate” since they had been told not to bring out the flags.

A few weeks ago, a school district in Geauga County banned Thin Blue Line flags after a football player carried one onto the field.

Putnam County still has the highest occurrence of COVID-19 cases in the state based on population.

In his Tuesday coronavirus update the governor said Putnam County had 280.6 cases per 100,000 people from August 31st through September 13th.

95 cases were reported during that timeframe.

State data shows Putnam County, which has a population of 33,861, has had 493 cases and 18 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Putnam County is at the “red” alert level, or level three, on the state’s COVID-19 county by county alert map.

Hancock County is still at level two, or the “orange” level.

https://twitter.com/GovMikeDeWine/status/1305931199437778946

A man is facing a felony charge after getting pulled over by the highway patrol in Wyandot County.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says troopers stopped a car on State Route 15 on September 4th for speeding.

Troopers say they could smell an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

They say a probable cause search of the car revealed about 1,300 doses of ecstasy pills and 120 bottles of promethazine cough syrup worth approximately $158,000.

The highway patrol says the driver, Daniel Woodard, 23, of Columbus, was booked at the Wyandot County jail and charged with possession of drugs, a 2nd degree felony.

The Ohio Department of Transportation will be holding hiring events to find seasonal snowplow drivers.

Throughout September and October, ODOT Districts 1 and 2 will be holding three hiring events to fill approximately 65 winter seasonal positions across the region.

The schedule of events is as follows:

Saturday, Sept. 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at ODOT District 2 district garage, 317 E. Poe Rd., Bowling Green

Tuesday, Oct. 13, from noon to 4:30 p.m. at ODOT District 1 district office, 1885 N. McCullough Street, Lima

Tuesday, Oct. 20, from noon to 4:30 p.m. at ODOT District 1 Defiance County maintenance garage, 2340 Baltimore Rd., Defiance

District 1 is looking to fill 36 positions in Hancock, Putnam, Allen, Defiance, Hardin, Paulding, Van Wert, and Wyandot counties.

District 2 maintains Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood, and Williams counties.

District 2 seeks drivers for Lucas, Northwood, Ottawa, & Wood garages.

Plowing snow is the primary job responsibility for winter seasonal positions but employees may also be asked to perform other operational duties.

Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent; a valid class A or B commercial driver’s license (CDL) with a tanker endorsement, without air brake restriction; and three months of training or experience in basic equipment operation.

Previous experience plowing snow is not necessary. Training is available for applicants who meet the basic requirements.

The salary is $18.05 per hour. The positions are temporary, and benefits are not provided.

People planning on attending one of the hiring events are encouraged to apply in advance here.

Drivers who use a portion of North Main Street in Findlay will have to take a short detour for a few weeks.

North Main Street is closed at the railroad crossing just north of Center Street as crews make repairs to the crossing.

The closure began on Monday is anticipated to last until Friday, September 25th.

In addition to the work the railroad is doing at that crossing, the City of Findlay has several projects underway this week.

From the city:

Due to the construction, the following streets will be closed to traffic 09/14 thru 09/18:

Sixth Street will be closed from Brookside Drive to Main Street. Access to the businesses and residences on Sixth Street between Blanchard Street and Washington Avenue will be maintained if no other access is available to their property.

Hancock County 236 will be closed from Lakeview Parkway to Sandusky Street.

Front Street will be closed from Main Street to East Street for curb replacement and resurfacing.

Blanchard Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Sixth Street to Main Cross Avenue.

Motorists are advised to avoid these areas if possible. Short delays should be expected in these areas over the next week. Contact the Findlay Engineering Department at 419-424-7121 for more information.

Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill giving people, businesses, schools and other entities legal immunity from COVID-19-related lawsuits.

Supporters of the bill say it should alleviate the fear that some schools and businesses might have about reopening and unintentionally spreading the virus.

The governor says the bill will help protect Ohioans from the virus while at the same time ensure that the economy doesn’t suffer further harm.

Lawsuits will be allowed to continue if the virus is transmitted by “reckless or intentional misconduct.”

The measure will retroactively apply back to March 9th, when the coronavirus pandemic began, and until September 30th, 2021.

Those voting by absentee ballot in Ohio this fall will have to pay their own postage.

The Ohio Controlling Board has denied a request from Secretary of State Frank LaRose to spend $3 million to include prepaid postage with the ballots.

Some board members say they hesitate to make changes so close to the election, adding that Ohioans still have many options for voting.

The voter registration deadline is October 5th and early voting begins the following day.

Both state and local officials are urging people voting by absentee to not procrastinate in sending back their ballot for the November 3rd general election.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s office mails an absentee ballot application to all registered voters.

The Hancock County Board of Elections has an absentee ballot drop box outside their building. Get more details here. 

A student at Findlay High School has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The school district sent parents a letter on Monday informing them of the positive case.

The letter states that Hancock Public Health will be reviewing how many people the infected student came into contact with.

And the health department will get in touch with individuals who were determined to have had close contact with the positive-test student.

Findlay City Schools points out that its greatest priority is the safety of its students, staff and community members and will continue to follow all COVID-related safety procedures.

The school district also encourages people to remain calm and to be empathetic and respectful to those affected.

Findlay City Schools has created a daily-reporting dashboard of students and staff who have the coronavirus which you can access by clicking here.

As of Monday afternoon, the dashboard indicated that one student at the high school had tested positive and 46 were in quarantine.

The dashboard also says three teachers at the high school are under quarantine.

As of Monday, Hancock County was still at level 2, or the orange level, on the state’s COVID-19 alert map.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded $42,742 in federal traffic safety funding from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office.

The sheriff’s office says the funding, which is passed through the Ohio Traffic Safety Office from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will support efforts that focus on traffic safety priority areas such as seatbelt use, impaired and distracted driving, motorcycle safety and youth drivers.

The sheriff’s office says competitive grant proposals are accepted and reviewed by OTSO, with funds awarded to projects that will have the greatest impact on reducing fatal crashes or significantly improving traffic safety systems.

For more information on the national effort to improve traffic safety click here for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

(below is video from a crash that the sheriff’s office responded to in June)

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure will be virtual this year.

We spoke with the director of Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio, Mary Westphal, as the street ribbons were painted in Findlay in advance of this year’s event.

The pink ribbons were painted in front of Blanchard Valley Hospital and Maraton Petroleum.

Mary says Findlay has really rallied around the virtual event this year.

And she says some people plan to walk the actual route of the race on Saturday, September 26th in Findlay.

Get more on the 2020 Komen Findlay Virtual Race for the Cure here.