After weeks of declining cases, there’s been an increase in the number of active COVID cases in Hancock County.

The latest data released on Thursday by Hancock Public Health shows that there are 73 active cases in the county, an increase of 15 from last week.

Three people were hospitalized with the virus on Thursday, which is an increase of two from last week.

The number of deaths went up to 121, an increase of five from last week.

Those five deaths are not new deaths. They are from last year when more than 4,000 statewide deaths went underreported.

In February, state health officials said human error was to blame in that underreporting and a state employee resigned.

Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that more than 2.1 million Ohioans have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far, which is around 18 percent of the state’s population.

The dashboard shows that more than 13,000 people in Hancock County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is around 17 percent of the population.

A COVID vaccine clinic was held at 50 North on Thursday in which 600 people received the vaccine. (video below)

A large vaccine clinic is scheduled for Saturday at the University of Findlay.

The site of the Findlay Village Mall will be divided into five separate lots for possible future sale.

The Findlay Planning Commission approved the request by Findlay Mall Capital Holdings LLC at its Thursday morning meeting.

Last September, the mall, at 1800 Tiffin Avenue, was sold to Kohan Retail Investment Group, the parent company of Findlay Mall Capital Holdings LLC.

The biggest of the five lots, at 28.8 acres, is the majority of the mall and 1,364 parking spots.

The other lots are; the Stock+Field building and 608 parking spaces, the site of Best Buy, the site of Five Guys and a lot to the west of Five Guys that has 138 parking spots.

Stock+Field announced in January it was closing all of its locations.

In September when the mall was sold we spoke with Tim Mayle, director of Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development.

He said he spoke with the new mall owners and said they take struggling malls and repurposes the vacant spaces with non-traditional tenants.

He said Kohan’s plans for the mall could include everything from a restaurant component, a call center, to entertainment like laser tag, a residential component and even drone racing.

A woman has been indicted in connection with a crash in Seneca County last summer that killed a motorcyclist from Findlay.

The crash happened at about 5:25 p.m. on July 25th on County Road 59, east of County Road 45 in southwest Seneca County.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says Jeremy Martinez, 35, was westbound on County Road 59 when a car going eastbound being driven by 35-year-old Tiffany Robertson, of Findlay, drove left of center and struck him head-on.

Martinez was thrown from his motorcycle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Robertson was not injured.

Upon completion of the Highway Patrol’s investigation, the case was presented to a Seneca County Grand Jury.

Robertson was indicted on a felony charge of aggravated vehicular homicide.

Deputies from the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office arrested Robertson on Wednesday.

She’s being held at the Seneca County Jail awaiting arraignment.

The United Way of Hancock County’s Days of Caring service event will take place May 3rd through the 7th.

Registration is open for nonprofits to submit their projects and for volunteer teams to sign up until April 9th.

The 2020 Days of Caring held in September.

Last year, more than 220 volunteers completed 61 projects for 16 agencies, providing nearly 900 hours of direct service to the community with a value of more than $21,000.

The number of volunteers was down last year because of the pandemic.

In 2019, prior to COVID-19, nearly 1,100 volunteers turned out for the event.

Full details on this year’s Days of Caring is in the following news release from the United Way.

Click here for our story from last year when we spoke with some Marathon employees who were painting at the Family Resource Center.

Days of Caring, United Way of Hancock County’s largest service event, will take place May 3 – 7.

Days of Caring is an annual week-long event during which employees of area corporations and small businesses lend a hand to local organizations. Nonprofits in need of help submit projects, volunteer teams register to help, and the United Way matches up the two groups. Volunteers then head out in force to complete projects such as landscaping, organizing, painting, planning an event, cleaning, or construction. This year, a smaller event will also take place the week of September 20.

Nonprofits can register their project and volunteers can sign up for the May event online at liveunitedhancockcounty.org/days-caring through Friday, April 9.
Project and volunteer team coordination will be developed and communicated on or before Monday, April 26.

“I say this cautiously, but as the pandemic begins to lift, we’re excited that Days of Caring can be held this year in May when it is typically held, and that we may see participation closer to what we have had in the past,” said Sarah Mayle, Volunteer Coordinator for UWHC. “Because of COVID, fewer volunteers were able to come out for our postponed Days of Caring in September, but amazingly, we were still able to complete all of the submitted projects. It’s exciting to think what we may be able to accomplish this year.”

Because the safety of volunteers is of the utmost importance, all projects submitted are required to have COVID-19 protocols in place. The protocols will be communicated to United Way and the volunteer team prior to their arrival onsite. United Way works closely with Hancock Public Health to be in alignment with COVID-19 protocols and guidelines.

Last year, more than 220 volunteers were able to complete 61 projects for 16 agencies, providing almost 900 hours of direct service to the community with a value of more than $21,000. In 2019, prior to COVID-19, nearly 1,100 volunteers turned out for the event.

“United Way of Hancock County is always looking for the places we can serve the community’s greatest needs,” said Angela DeBoskey, CEO of UWHC. “When we’re able to connect local nonprofits with our volunteers it not only helps from a budgetary standpoint, but frees them up to provide the essential services so needed by many in our community.”

Contact Sarah Mayle for more information about Days of Caring at 419-423-1432 or sarah.mayle@uwhancock.org.

Blanchard Valley Health System will be holding an online update about COVID vaccine distribution.

The event will be held via Facebook Live on Thursday at noon.

BVHS President and CEO Myron Lewis and Dr. William Kose, vice president of special projects, will be joined by Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn for discussion regarding COVID vaccine distribution.

Additional topics will include future plans for vaccination efforts, the city’s response, the mobile health clinic, state directives and more.

Lewis and Kose will be taking questions from the community

Questions may be submitted ahead of time by emailing community@bvhealthsystem.org or by sending a direct message to the BVHS Facebook page.

The event can be viewed on the BVHS Facebook page by clicking here.

Anyone needing assistance with viewing the event can call 419-423-5551.

It will also be posted to the BVHS website once it has ended.

Two COVID vaccine clinics are scheduled for Findlay this week.

A large clinic will be held on Saturday, March 13th from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Findlay’s Koehler Center.

More than 2,000 doses of the vaccine will be available to the community.

The clinic will be open to people 50 years of age and older, along with individuals with medical conditions and occupations outlined by the State of Ohio’s Phase 1B and 1C vaccination program.

Also, Hancock Public Health will be holding a 500+ dose clinic in partnership with 50 North on Thursday, March 11th at 50 North.

Governor DeWine said, as of Wednesday, more than ten percent of Ohioans have completed their COVID vaccinations.

“Having more Ohioans fully vaccinated will help Ohio on our road back. In time, as vaccine becomes widely available, all Ohioans who choose to be vaccinated will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccines,” the governor said.

The state’s COVID vaccination dashboard shows that more than 2 million Ohioans have started the vaccination process.

In Hancock County, around 13,000 people have started the process, which is about 17 percent of the county’s population.

Two COVID vaccine clinics are scheduled for Findlay this week.

A large clinic will be held on Saturday, March 13th from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Findlay’s Koehler Center.

More than 2,000 doses of the vaccine will be available to the community.

The clinic will be open to people 50 years of age and older, along with individuals with medical conditions and occupations outlined by the State of Ohio’s Phase 1B and 1C vaccination program.

Also, Hancock Public Health will be holding a 500+ dose clinic in partnership with 50 North on Thursday, March 11th at 50 North.

People should call Hancock Public Health at 419-424-7105 and select option 1 for COVID-19 vaccine information and scheduling.

Findlay Municipal Court is providing people with a suspended driver’s license an opportunity to resolve their issues.

The third annual Findlay Municipal Court DUS Day Clinic will be held on April 29th and 30th.

The goal of the clinic is to help people resolve their legal issues and get back on the road legally.

The clinic is by appointment only. People should call the clerk’s office at 419-424-7141 to set up an appointment.

In 2019, the court assisted more than 80 people with their license suspensions and got them on the right track to obtaining a valid license.

Some people may even leave their appointment with their driving privileges restored.

Get more information on the clinic by clicking here.

Some Findlay students are thanking healthcare workers for their hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic.

Health Profession students at Millstream Career Center made signs and then placed them out by the road.

The big sign says “Millstream Career Center sending SUNSHINE to our Healthcare Workers”.

Other smaller signs say things like “thank you for everything” and “thanks for being our heroes”.

You can see the signs in front of Millstream Career Center at 1150 Broad Avenue.

(ONN) – Ohio State has paused all football-related activities and closed its athletics offices for one week following an increase in positive COVID tests.

ESPN reports that the decision was made jointly by Athletics Director Gene Smith and head team physician Dr. Jim Borchers “out of an abundance of caution.”

The decision was made after a round of PCR testing on Monday.

Ohio State officials announced last week that the number of new positive COVID-19 tests on campus had doubled from the previous week.

The Buckeyes are scheduled to start spring practice on March 19th.

Hancock Public Health is reminding people that they have Narcan kits available for the public.

Narcan is a medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.

The reminder comes as the Fostoria Police Division is warning about a batch of bad street drugs that have caused three fatal overdoses recently.

“Obviously there is no good batch of heroin/fentanyl, but over the weekend the Fostoria Police Division responded to four suspected drug overdoses in four days,” a post said on their Facebook page.

Hancock Public Health says they were notified by the syringe service program street team of the Toledo/Northwest Ohio Syringe Service that there was a batch of unusually white and stronger than usual heroin laced with Fentanyl coming in.

“Please call Gary at 419-581-9055 or Jamie at 567-250-1109 if you need Narcan. We will get it to you. No questions asked. We care about you and want to you to stay safe and alive,” said Gary Bright, Injury Prevention Program Supervisor with Hancock Public Health.

Hancock Public Health held a Narcan distribution event in Findlay last fall.

Read more about that here.