Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is warning residents about potential scams as the first Ohioans start receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

He says con artists may begin contacting people, claiming to be on the vaccination distribution team and asking for personal information in order to push victims “to the front of the line.”

Yost also says cards may be distributed to consumers that have been provided the first dose of a two-dose vaccine.

The cards will likely be used to simply remind people to get their second dose, not as official “passports” to gain entry into bars, restaurants or other public areas, or to bypass public health orders.

Therefore, any attempts to buy these cards will be fruitless.

Hancock County health officials anticipate the county receiving its initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on or around Tuesday, December 22nd.

Healthcare workers and emergency medical staff will be the first to be inoculated.

Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi tells WFIN he believes the vaccine will be available to the general public in early March.

Baroudi says the vaccine went through all the steps that are required to ensure that it’s safe and effective.

He says the county would need 60 to 70 percent of the population to get the vaccine to reach herd immunity to where things could start going back to normal.

Karim was on with WFIN’s Chris Oaks.

Listen to that full interview by clicking here.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol has created a Work Zone Safety Dashboard to reduce work zone crashes and to illustrate the work troopers do every day to keep drivers safe.

The new Work Zone Dashboard can be accessed by clicking here.

Full details on the new initiative are in the following news release from the Highway Patrol.

In an effort to curb work zone crashes and further empower the public, the Ohio State Highway Patrol has released a new dashboard devoted to work zone safety. The Work Zone Dashboard is a detailed view of work zones across Ohio, and the important work that troopers around the state are doing to make them safer.

The brand new Work Zone Dashboard is a part of the Ohio Statistics and Analytics for Traffic Safety (OSTATS), a series of internal and public-facing dashboards dedicated to exploration, analysis, and visualization of crash data across Ohio. Users of the newest public-facing Work Zone Dashboard have the ability to filter data and find the exact statistics they’re looking for, while also getting a front seat view of what our troopers do every day in Ohio’s work zones. Users of the dashboard have the ability to look at their own counties and routes, providing flexibility for them to get the exact data they want. An interactive map on the dashboard plots high-priority work zones throughout the state, as well as videos of troopers enforcing work zone violations.

“Ohio’s work zones are a top priority for the Patrol, making sure that everyone has a safe driving and working environment,” said Colonel Richard S. Fambro, Patrol superintendent. “Troopers are committed to making work zones safer through focused enforcement and taking dangerous drivers off the road.”

Troopers on the ground are also assisted by troopers in the air from the Patrol’s Aviation Section. Throughout Ohio’s construction season, the Patrol’s Aviation Section has been utilized by focusing on dangerous speeds and distracted driving in work zones. The Patrol is dedicated to using every available resource to make these zones safer, making sure everyone gets to their destination safely.

Since 2015, there have been over 32,500 crashes in Ohio work zones, with 114 of them killing 126 people. During the same timeframe, troopers have issued over 72,500 citations, with 34% of those being for driving 20 mph or more over the posted speed limit. As holiday travel continues, safety for everyone driving through and working in work zones will be an important focus for the Patrol. Motorists are reminded to follow speed limits, always buckle up, maintain safe following distance, and never drive impaired or distracted.

The Work Zone Dashboard can be viewed at: http://www.WorkZoneDashboard.ohio.gov

A holiday food distribution is being held in Hancock County to help people in need.

CHOPIN Hall, the West Ohio Food Bank and Hancock County officials are joining together to hold Mobile Food Pantries in multiple locations on Thursday.

Hancock County Fairgrounds December 17, 2020 (Noon-2pm) (4-6pm)
Liberty Township House 7692 County Rd. 140 December 17, 2020 (4-6pm)
McComb Fire Dept 139 W Main St – McComb December 17, 2020 (4-6)
Mt. Blanchard Town Hall 103 East Clay Mt. Blanchard December 17, 2020 (4-6)

It will be a no-touch distribution, as volunteers will place food inside of vehicles, so people should have trunk space available.

People can sign up to schedule a time to pick up food by going to www.chopinhall.org.

For the second update in a row, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Hancock County has dropped.

Hancock Public Health says there were 315 active cases on Monday, a drop of 65 from Friday.

Active cases are patients who are currently under quarantine or in isolation.

31 people were hospitalized with the virus on Monday, a drop of seven from Friday.

66 Hancock County residents had died of the virus as of Monday, an increase of two from Friday.

Statewide, there have been more than 570,000 cases and 7,500 deaths since the pandemic began.

A deer taken by a hunter in Wyandot County has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and similar species.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.

Details are in the following news release from the ODNR.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has identified a positive test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a wild Ohio white-tailed deer in Wyandot County. The Division of Wildlife is gathering additional details about the adult male deer taken by a hunter on private property. Tissue samples were submitted for testing by a taxidermist and the positive test was identified after results were obtained on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.

The Division of Wildlife will implement its CWD response plan, which includes enhanced surveillance within a 10-mile radius of the CWD positive deer location in Wyandot County. Mandatory deer disease sample collection will occur on all remaining Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area controlled hunts. Hunters who harvest a deer in Wyandot County during the remaining deer hunting season, which closes on Sunday, February 7, 2021, will be contacted to obtain disease samples by Division of Wildlife staff.

The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, testing more than 25,000 deer without finding a CWD positive deer in the wild herd. CWD has previously been detected at captive deer breeding facilities in Ohio. Find more information about Ohio’s CWD surveillance at wildohio.gov.

CWD has been detected in 26 states and four Canadian provinces. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at cwd-info.org.

Hunters should take precautions when handling and processing any harvested deer. Hunters may have a harvested deer tested at the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for a small fee. Call (614) 728-6220 for more information.

Marathon Petroleum President and CEO Michael Hennigan on Monday reaffirmed the company’s commitment to Findlay.

“Findlay is our corporate headquarters. There’s absolutely no plans to change that,” Hennigan said.

Hennigan says Marathon is opening an office in Houston, Texas but the company headquarters will remain in Findlay.

“Some people have misinterpreted that, that I wanted to move the company headquarters to Houston. That is not the case. We are committed to northwest Ohio, that’s where the corporate headquarters is.”

Hennigan says they are continuing to make significant investments in the Findlay campus to make it viable for many years to come.

Hennigan was the speaker at the Findlay Rotary Club’s meeting on Monday and you can listen to some of his comments below.

In September, Marathon cut jobs across its operations, including in Findlay, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to hurt its business operations and financial position.

You can read that story here.

(ONN) – The first shipment of coronavirus vaccines is arriving at hospitals around the state.

Within the next 24 hours the first COVID-19 vaccines will start going into the arms of some Ohioans.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has indicated that 10 hospitals in Ohio will be among the first to receive the vaccines.

The vaccines have to be stored at extremely low temperatures and several hospitals have obtained cold storage units.

The first vaccines will be given to healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines.

Then nursing home residents will be next to get the vaccine.

The governor was on hand at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Monday morning when the first vaccines arrived.

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the robbery of a Findlay convenience store.

The police department says Conley W. White Jr., 48, of Findlay is in custody.

Hancock County jail records show he was arrested on Thursday and is being held on $30,000 bond.

He was arrested at a residence on U.S. 68 a little south of Findlay. (pictured below)

Som Carry Out, at 825 North Main Street, was robbed at gunpoint at around 9:30 Wednesday night.

Police say the suspect went to pay for a drink and asked for four packs of cigarettes.

The clerk asked if he needed anything else and that’s when he instructed the clerk to give him all the money in the cash register.

The clerk said, when she didn’t comply immediately, the suspect pulled a gun and began waving it.

The clerk gave the suspect the money and he fled southbound from the store.

The surveillance photo below of the suspect was posted inside the store just after the robbery.

Earlier that day, the Circle K on Crystal Avenue was robbed a few blocks away.

Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team will be undergoing a name change.

The New York Times is reporting that the team is dropping the Indians nickname after years of protesting from Native American groups and fans.

The Times reports that the team could make the announcement this week.

ESPN reporter Jeff Passan says sources also confirmed this to him, as you can read in the tweet below.

It’s unclear how soon the Indians name will be phased out and what the team’s new nickname will be.