The Ohio State Highway Patrol is joining forces with law enforcement agencies in six other states to enforce and raise awareness of safety belt use.

The 6-State Trooper Project runs from November 9th through November 16th.

The highway patrol says there’s no excuse to not buckle up every time you get into a vehicle.

The highway patrol says, last year, 457 people died in crashes on Ohio roads in which they didn’t use a seat belt when one was available.

A Findlay man recently joined the highway patrol’s Saved by the Belt club and you can read about that here.

Hancock County has been bumped up to level 3, or the ‘red’ level, on the state’s COVID-19 alert map.

Level 3 is defined as very high exposure and spread.

Wood County and Seneca County also flipped over to red in the new map released Thursday.

All of Hancock County’s neighbors are red, except for Wyandot County which is still orange.

State data shows Hancock County has had 1,676 cases of COVID and 32 deaths since the pandemic began. 246 of the cases were active cases.

Findlay City Schools recently switched to a 4-day per week schedule, on October 26th for Kindergarten through 5th grade and on November 2nd for 6th through 12th grades.

The district had said if the county went ‘red’ that they would go back to the hybrid model in which the school year began that placed students in two groups with one group attending school on Monday and Tuesday and the other on Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday being a remote day.

Hancock Public Health issued the following information:

Today, Hancock County has moved to Level 3, or “red” on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System, meaning that risk of COVID-19 transmission is increasing. This change was triggered due to the following factors in Hancock County over the past 7 days: 1) New cases per capita (456.6 cases per 100,000 residents); 2) Sustained increase in new cases of COVID-19; 3) The proportion of cases not in a congregate setting is over 50%; 4) Sustained increase in COVID-19 Emergency Department visits (2.1 average visits on 11/4 to 4.9 on 11/10).

We can reverse the current trend if we all work together to reduce the spread. We should all take a close look at the plans we have put in place to protect our families, our employees, our co-workers, and our community. This will be especially important during the upcoming holiday season as we are all accustomed to getting together with friends and family.

Kroger is preparing for spiking COVID-19 numbers by instituting a limit on how much toilet paper, paper towels and other items customers can buy.

The Cincinnati-based chain says people can purchase only two packages of each product at a time.

Officials say they enacted the new policy after seeing cases of hoarding in their stores when the pandemic began.

(the picture above is from the Kroger on 6th Street in Findlay from March as workers restocked the shelves with toilet paper)

The annual Thanksgiving Day Community Meal put on by Stonebridge Church will look a lot different this year.

Usually, the church auditorium is packed with people enjoying a meal together, but this year, due to the pandemic, dine-in will not be available.

Reverend Michael Wise, lead Pastor at Stonebridge says it was very important to still put the meal on this year, even though it will be different.

“As a pastor and as a member of the community, I want to serve up hope this year that we’re not going to stop doing good and loving our neighbors because things get difficult.”

This year there will be no dine-in and people will need to order a meal for drive-thru or delivery.

Delivery is available within the city limits of Findlay only.

The church is urging people to preorder so they have an idea of how much food they’ll need, and they’re also asking people to sign up to donate food.

Get more details on the meal and learn how you can help by clicking here.

See video from last year’s meal below.

Governor DeWine delivered a statewide COVID-19 address to Ohioans as cases continue to spike across Ohio.

The governor says we’re in a critical stage in our battle with the virus.

In his Wednesday night address he reissued the state’s mask order with three new provisions for stores.

Stores will be required to post a sign and enforce mask-wearing for customers and employees.

A retail compliance unit will inspect stores to see if they’re compliant.

The first violation will bring about a written warning and a second violation will bring about closure of the store for up to 24 hours.

Also in the address, the governor said if this trend continues of cases increasing the state will be forced to close restaurants, bars and fitness centers.

He’s asking everyone to avoid hosting or attending gatherings, whether it’s a birthday party, a sleepover or a football game.

And he warned people about the potential of COVID being brought into your home if you host a meal with more than just the family members you live with.

DeWine said he understands everyone is tired of the virus but says we need to recommit to things like mask-wearing and social distancing so we can bring the numbers down.

He even quoted Winston Churchill during World War II in saying “when you’re going through hell, keep going.”

5,874 new cases were reported in Ohio on Wednesday along with 76 new deaths.

There are now a total of 267,356 cases in Ohio as of Wednesday and 5,623 deaths.

Watch the governor’s speech here. 

Marathon Petroleum Corporation has announced that executive vice president and chief financial officer Donald C. Templin is retiring.

Templin’s retirement will be effective in January.

In a news release announcing Templin’s retirement, CEO Michael J. Hennigan said:

“Don was part of the original management team that established MPC as a publicly-traded company, and his deep financial experience, strong business skills and broad knowledge of our industry have been an integral part of our growth and success.”

“I’m especially grateful for Don’s leadership during this challenging year for our business and the support he provided during my transition to CEO. We thank Don for his many contributions to MPC and MPLX over the past decade, and I look forward to working with him to close out this year before he begins his well-earned retirement.”

A nationwide search for the company’s next CFO is ongoing.

Ohio State’s football game at Maryland this Saturday has been canceled.

The University of Maryland announced on Wednesday that it has paused all team activities due to an elevated number of COVID cases within the program.

“The joint decision to pause football activities and cancel Saturday’s game was made by Director of Athletics Damon Evans and University of Maryland President Darryll Pines, following a recommendation from University health officials, and in consultation with the Big Ten Conference,” the University of Maryland said in a release.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day says the health, safety and well-being of his student-athletes remains his main concern.

“Obviously, we are disappointed at not being able to compete this week, but I am incredibly proud of our team and the way they have handled themselves throughout this entire pandemic,” Day said.

“We wish Maryland, their student-athletes and programs well as they battle through this issue.”

The game will not be rescheduled.

The Buckeyes are scheduled to host Indiana at noon on Saturday, November 21st.

The City of Findlay says the Green Waste Site will be open on Veterans Day Wednesday due to increased demand.

Normally, the site is closed on Veterans Day.

The Green Waste Site is located behind the public works building at 330 North Cory Street.

The hours on Veterans Day will be 1 to 6.

The hours for the site are Tuesday through Friday 1 to 6 and Saturday 8 to 4.

It will be closed on Thanksgiving.

The site has been very busy the last few days because of the warm weather.

The video below is from Tuesday afternoon.

The City of Findlay’s leaf collection this year will run from November 16th through December 4th.

Two Republican Ohio state representatives are introducing a bill they call “law and order legislation” that would create harsher penalties for rioting, looting and violence.

Representatives Cindy Abrams and Sara Carruthers are co-sponsoring the bill that comes after summer protests across the state led to property damage and expensive cleanup costs.

House Bill 784 creates a new Riot Assault charge if a person engaged in an aggravated riot recklessly causes physical harm that is punishable by a fifth-degree felony.

The charge is a fourth-degree felony if the assault is against a police officer and a third-degree felony if the officer sustains serious physical harm.

In Columbus, at least five people are charged for their actions during the protests and there is also an investigation underway into police actions during the protests.

Learn more about the new bill here. 

The kids at Chamberlin Hill Intermediate School in Findlay weren’t able to hold their big annual tribute for Veterans this year because of the pandemic.

But the school still found a nice way to honor Veterans, in the form of a reverse parade.

We spoke with Principal Lyndsey Stephenson during the parade.

Veterans stayed in the cars and drove through the school parking lot as the youngsters waved and held signs thanking them for their service and sacrifice.

The school’s looking forward to being able to hold their annual concert and meal for Veterans next year.

Veterans Day is on Wednesday.