Governor Mike DeWine on Monday announced the next phases of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution process.

DeWine said that Phase 1-C and Phase 2 will both begin on Thursday.

Phase 1-C will include pregnant women, those with type-1 diabetes, law enforcement and corrections officers, child care service employees and funeral service employees, among others at greatest risk of contracting the virus.

DeWine also announced that Ohioans 60-to-64 years old will kick off what he called Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine roll-out.

The news comes as vaccine shipments — including those of the newly-approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine — are expected to increase, in the coming weeks.

Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that nearly 1.7 million Ohioans have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far, which is about 14.5 percent of the state’s population.

The dashboard shows that around 10,500 Hancock County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is nearly 14 percent of the population.

Country music superstars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood joined other musicians in celebrating music teachers in Ohio and across the country in a special video.

They joined other singers after several groups including the Ohio Music Education Association asked artists to help encourage educators to keep the music playing during the pandemic.

March is national Music In Our Schools Month.

Music teachers and music education advocates are encouraged to share on social media how their schools are celebrating music education.

A semi tractor caught on fire on the side of State Route 15 just south of Findlay on Sunday afternoon.

The driver of the Queen Transportation semi pulled over on westbound State Route 15 a little before U.S. 68 at around 12:15 p.m. Sunday after the truck suffered a mechanical issue.

The cab caught on fire and was destroyed but the driver was able to disconnect the trailer and it was not damaged.

The driver was not injured.

The Arlington Volunteer Fire Department responded to put the fire out.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol and Hanco EMS also responded to the scene.

A road closure for a storm sewer project in McComb has been delayed.

The Ohio Department of Transportation says the 21-day closure related to a storm sewer installation at the intersection of State Route 235/Park Drive and State Route 613/Main Street in McComb has been delayed one week and will now begin on Monday, March 8th.

ODOT says work on the project will begin on March 1st as planned but the closure will not be required until the following week.

Work will take place from the intersection, west to the railroad crossing.

Traffic will be detoured.

The State Route 235 detour will be U.S. 224 to I-75, to SR 18, back to SR 235.

The State Route 613 detour will be I-75 to U.S. 224, to SR 65 back to SR 613.

All work will be contingent upon the weather.

Get more on the project, including maps of the detours, by clicking here.

For the seventh year in a row, Findlay has been ranked the top micropolitan community in the country.

The award, by Site Selection magazine, is based on job creation, new construction and capital investment.

A micropolitan area is defined as having a population between 10,000 and 50,000.

Dan Sheaffer, project specialist for Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development, says the ‘Findlay Formula’ continues to produce big results.

“We really are intentional about our stakeholder engagement process, which is bringing trustworthy partners to the table.”

He says that includes city and county government leaders, educational partners, business partners and non-profits.

“Once you have trust at the table, there’s not a whole lot you can’t do,” Sheaffer added.

He said in 2020 Findlay had around $150 million in capital investment and 1,000 net new jobs.

Sheaffer said, over the seven years they’ve been ranked the top micropolitan in the country, the ‘Findlay Formula’ has resulted in more than 200 projects, 6,000 net new jobs and nearly 1.5 billion in capital investment.

Another area city came in high in the rankings.

Tiffin finds itself at number 4 on the list, which you can see here. 

Get more details in the following news release from Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development.

For the seventh consecutive year, Findlay, Ohio has been ranked the top micropolitan community in the United States for new and expanding facilities by Site Selection magazine, the official publication of the Global FDI Association and the Industrial Asset Management Council. The magazine ranked 575 of the nation’s micropolitan areas, cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people that cover at least one county. Rankings are based on qualified projects meeting one or more of three criteria: $1 MM or more invested, 20 or more jobs created or 20,000 or more square feet constructed. “Winning seven years in row validates the strength of our existing office, manufacturing and logistics base,” said Tim Mayle, Director of Economic Development. “Each year our prime directive is assisting local companies as they seek to grow. The majority of qualifying projects come from companies continuing to hire employees, expand facilities and invest in machinery and equipment.”
Findlay is intentional about business development. “My office works every day with business stakeholders to position Findlay to be as competitive as possible. As we invest and expand existing business, we will continue to attract new world-class companies,” said Christina Muryn, Mayor-City of Findlay. Findlay•Hancock County Economic Development focused again on residential development in 2020. “The County Commissioners are vigorous supporters of business but no more so than assisting our expanding workforce. One of the best ways to do this is via business friendly residential development thus encouraging employees to not only work here but also live here. We continue to build. Multiple residential projects are in the pipeline for 2021,” said Timothy Bechtol, County Commissioner. Note: Residential development projects do not qualify for the Site Selection Top Micropolitan award. Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development will continue to attract automotive supply chain and hightech logistics investment in 2021. “Findlay’s central location and progressive business environment give us a strategic advantage,” said Mayle.

For more information, contact the Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development Office at 419-422-3313.