The Ohio Mayors Alliance has announced its policy priorities for 2021, which focus on local recovery efforts, resiliency, and equity.

The mayors also discussed a letter sent to Ohio’s congressional delegation urging them to come together and pass a bipartisan COVID-relief bill that includes direct, flexible fiscal assistance to frontline communities.

“Our communities have been on the frontlines responding to this health and economic crisis and we’ve appreciated our strong working relationship with our state and federal partners,” said Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn. (pictured above)

“While there is reason to be hopeful in 2021, there is still much more critical work to do to respond and recover from this pandemic.”

Muryn and other mayors say their communities need continued support to respond to and fully recover from the pandemic.

“For some communities, the need for direct, flexible fiscal relief could not be more urgent,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

“To sustain our response efforts and recover effectively, we need a significant infusion of resources to support our frontline communities and bolster our local economies.”

The Ohio Mayors Alliance policy priorities for 2021 focused on Recovery, Resiliency, and Equity include:

-Supporting a safe, stable, and strong recovery from the coronavirus pandemic

-Addressing racial inequality, promoting justice, improving public safety

-Advocating for a balanced redistricting process that strengthens our democracy

-Promoting the economic impacts of cities and the value of continued investments

-Strengthening educational attainment and career pathways for the next generation

-Advancing clean energy solutions and supporting improved sustainability

-Promoting healthy communities and continuing to confront the addiction crisis

-Protecting and promoting the importance of home rule for local communities

-Finding solutions for more accessible housing and cities’ comprehensive infrastructure needs

Formed in 2016, the Ohio Mayors Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of mayors in the largest 30 cities by population.

Ohio’s COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard on Wednesday showed that 6,617 Hancock County residents had received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

That 6,617 number is 8.7 percent of the county’s population.

The state says the vaccine is now available to Ohioans 65 and older. However, local health officials are still working on getting the vaccine into the arms of older county residents who pre-registered.

Get details on pre-registering here.

Hancock County health officials say the county hasn’t been receiving enough doses of the vaccine to meet the demand that’s out there.

Ohio’s COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard shows that more than 1.1 million Ohioans have received the vaccine, or 9.4 percent of the state’s population.

(ONN) Some students in Ohio have suffered academically because of the strains the pandemic has put on education.

With the help of state and federal money, Governor Mike DeWine wants schools to make plans to help them.

New data shows students are falling behind throughout the state.

Schools saw a decrease of enrollment by about three percent and more high school students dropped out.

DeWine is asking each school district in the state to create a plan by April 1st to help students get caught up.

Options include extending days or school years, tutoring or adding summer classes.

Findlay City Schools says, due to the loss of instruction related to COVID-19, students will report to school on Wednesday, February 10 and Wednesday, February 17 which would have typically been a remote learning day. Students will return back to the four-day model the week of February 22, 2021.

The automated pedestrian signals at Findlay’s mid-block crosswalks in downtown have been replaced with push button activators.

The automated flashing lights were supposed to warn drivers when a pedestrian was crossing Main Street but they frequently malfunctioned.

At times, the lights would be going off with no pedestrians in sight.

In the fall of 2019 the city set up a camera to hopefully uncover what was causing the issue but had no luck.

Now, pedestrians simply have to press the button, and the lights will activate and they can safely cross Main Street.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Hancock County dropped again.

The latest data released by Hancock Public Health on Tuesday shows that there are 110 active cases of the virus in the county, a drop of 42 from a week ago.

Active cases are cases that are currently under quarantine or in isolation.

Five people were hospitalized with the virus on Tuesday, one less than a week earlier.

A total of 411 people in Hancock County have been hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic.

94 Hancock County residents have died from COVID-19, the same as a week earlier.

Statewide, more than 925,000 people have had the virus and 11,793 have died from it.

Click here for information about vaccine distribution in Hancock County.

The City of Findlay held a virtual public meeting about a proposed Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA). (video below)

A Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) is a specific area in which alcoholic beverages may be sold by licensed liquor establishments for outdoor consumption.

The city says a DORA is designed to make it easier to social distance, stroll within the district and support local restaurants and bars.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn explains more about the goal of the DORA in the audio below.

In a DORA you CAN:

-Purchase a drink at an authorized location and walk around the DORA using an official DORA Cup.

-Take a purchased drink into a non-liquor serving establishment if the owner allows.

You CAN NOT:

-Bring your own drinks into the DORA.

-Walk around with a purchased drink not in a designated DORA plastic container (no cans, no glass, no outside drinks are permitted).

-Take a beverage purchased at one liquor serving establishment into another liquor establishment.

Click here for the boundaries of the DORA, and other information.

The virtual meeting can be viewed below.

Findlay City Council will be considering the legislation at their meetings on February 16th and March 2nd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR1lPwVakdNOB6MQWVHYYnJTLwrowOBrO5gaZp0tnyDRltc09QrcL2Ueh_k&v=gJX0BRapQQ4&feature=youtu.be

Governor Mike DeWine is renewing his efforts to make distracted driving reason enough to pull someone over.

Under current law, police need another reason to pull drivers over before a distracted driving ticket can be issued.

DeWine says he’s including in his two-year state budget a proposal to strengthen Ohio’s distracted driving laws.

The measure would address writing, sending or looking at texts, watching or recording photos or videos, holding a device to make a call, or livestreaming while handling an electronic device, among other activities.

DeWine’s proposal would make those a primary driving offense, meaning police don’t need another reason to pull drivers over first.

With limited exceptions, the Hands-Free Ohio provisions in Governor DeWine’s budget proposal will make driving while handling any electronic wireless device a primary offense for adult drivers and will increase fines for drivers who habitually use devices while driving.

In cases where a driver using a device causes serious injury or death, the penalties will mirror those of drunken driving.

“Ohio’s current laws don’t go far enough to change the culture around distracted driving, and people are dying because of it,” said Governor DeWine.

“Distracted driving is a choice that must be as culturally unacceptable as drunk driving is today, and strengthening our current laws will lead to more responsible driving.”

In March of 2020, the stretch of Interstate 75 between Findlay and Beaverdam (below) has been designated a Distracted Driving Safety Corridor with extra enforcement and higher fines. Read about that by clicking here. 

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says hunters in the Buckeye State took nearly 14,000 more deer this season than a year ago.

Officials released county by county totals with a final state count of nearly 198,000 deer harvested in 2020-2021, which is up from 184,000 in 2019-2020.

“We are pleased to see an increased number of deer taken this season as Ohio’s hunters spent more time in the woods during the fall and winter,” said Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker.

“Hunting provides a great connection to the outdoors as well as a direct link to a healthy and natural food source.”

Coshocton County led Ohio with 6,791 deer, followed by Tuscarawas, Ashtabula, Licking, Knox, and Muskingum, rounding out the top five.

The final harvest total represents all deer taken during archery, gun, muzzleloader, and youth seasons.

The entrepreneurial spirit of Ohioans and modernizing elections were two things Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose spoke about during a legislative roundtable at the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce on Monday. (video below)

LaRose said 2020 was a record-shattering year for new business creation in Ohio with more than 170,000 new businesses created through the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.

“To me that’s a fundamental statement of optimism,” LaRose told WFIN News.

“It tells me that Ohio’s entrepreneurs are doing what they do best, they’re finding creative ways to serve their customers in the free market and to create wealth and opportunities for their communities.”

LaRose said, while the 2020 election was the most successful in Ohio even under difficult circumstances, the state will not be resting on its laurels.

He spoke about two things he’s been working on to modernize Ohio’s elections.

One is creating an online absentee ballot request and the other is to improve the state’s voter registration process.

“We want to automate this process with the BMV locations. When you go in to get your driver’s license, we want to make that a more automated process so it happens seamlessly right there at the counter.”

One of the viewers of the Chamber’s roundtable event with LaRose asked him when we’ll be able to vote online and on our phones.

He said that’s a ways off and requires two things — competence and confidence.

LaRose elaborates on that and much more in the video below.

Two women who work at Fox Run Assisted Living in Findlay are being honored for saving a resident’s life and preventing what could have been a big fire at the facility.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn recognized Jennifer Rose and Lori Willming as Community Heroes with certificates in recognition and appreciation of their outstanding contribution to the community.

Findlay Fire Chief Josh Eberle and Hanco EMS Chief Rob Martin also honored Rose and Willming during the small ceremony.

Full details are in the following news release from the city.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn recognized Jennifer M. Rose, LPN, and Lori Willming, RCA, as Community Heroes with certificates in recognition and appreciation of their outstanding contribution to our community. Findlay Fire Chief Josh Eberle and Hanco EMS Chief Rob Martin also presented challenge coins to Rose and Willming.

Mayor Muryn stated, “I am proud to recognize these two incredible individuals as community heroes for their quick actions. There is no doubt in my mind that they saved not only the resident they were assisting but the entire facility from what could have been a horrendous fire. Many times when things turn out well, we do not hear about them. In this situation, I am glad that we are able to recognize their selfless actions. They are a true example of heroes each and every day. They may not be Findlay residents but they are Findlay heroes.”

In the early hours of December 17, 2020, Jennifer M. Rose, LPN and Lori Willming, RCA, employees of Fox Run Assisted Living acted quickly and courageously to save the life of a resident and keep other residents safe. One of the residents was considered high risk, which required staff to check on her every 30 minutes. According to Debra Conkle, Director of Nursing, Ms. Willming was diligently conducting these checks and was asked by this resident for some pain medication. She immediately went to alert the nurse about this request.

At the same time, Ms. Rose was also conducting rounds, and heard the oxygen machine from this high-risk resident’s room make a loud noise. She entered the room and found the patient on fire “from head to toe”, apparently caused by the combination of smoking while on oxygen. The nurse immediately grabbed the patient, pulled her to the floor and began rolling her to extinguish the flames. She then smothered the remaining fire with towels, including the oxygen tubing and surrounding carpet, which had also ignited. By this time Ms. Willming had returned, and immediately assisted Ms. Rose in her efforts. She then assisted the surrounding residents in the adjacent rooms, keeping them safe and calm. During these actions the fire department was called to respond.

When the fire department arrived, all flames had been extinguished, but there was smoke in the hallway and the fire alarms were sounding. The patient had burns to her face and head, but was conscious and viable. She was treated on scene by firefighter/EMTs and transported by Hanco EMS. She was then transferred to a burn unit.

The quick actions by Nurse Jennifer Rose and Resident Care Assistant Lori Willming undoubtedly saved the life of the resident the morning of December 17. They also took care of surrounding residents and prevented additional fire damage, while minimizing the life safety hazard of others at Fox Run.

Jennifer M. Rose, from Tiffin, has been an employee of Fox Run Assisted Living since June of 2020. Lori Willming, also from Tiffin, has been an employee of Fox Run Assisted Living since October of 2019.

Findlay Fire Chief Josh Eberle stated, “These employees acted very selflessly, and their actions saved a life and prevented a larger emergency that day. They didn’t hesitate, and used their training and instincts to do what needed to be done, even risking their own safety to help someone. The community should be very proud of them.”