The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office believes alcohol or drugs were involved when a man crashed his vehicle into the Ottawa River.

The Sheriff’s Office says it received a call about suspicious person in the area of Road U and Road 17S in Sugar Creek Township on Sunday.

Arriving deputies located the subject, Joseph C. Skiba, 38, of Lima, in the roadway,

He told deputies that he had driven his vehicle into the river but wasn’t sure where.

Deputies located the vehicle in the middle of the Ottawa River, off the end of Road U, west of Road 17S.

Deputies were unable to reach the car and requested assistance from the Kalida Fire Department.

Skiba was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The Sheriff’s Office says alcohol and/or drugs are suspected in the crash.

Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County held a double home dedication on Saturday morning for its 46th and 47th homes.

At the dedication, Sara Carter talked about how much this home means to her family.

The two homes on Harrison Street in Findlay are for the Carter and Campbell families and were completed side-by-side by more than 700 volunteers.

The two homes are the first of four homes that will be built in 2021, as Habitat doubles construction this year to help stabilize more families within the community.

In conjunction with the dedication, Habitat honored Jane and Gary Heminger for their years of philanthropic support and service to the community.

(picture courtesy of Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County)

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash that happened just outside of Fostoria in Seneca County.

The crash happened at the intersection of State Route 12 and County Road 592 a little before 2 p.m. Friday.

The Highway Patrol says Karen Roth, 69, of Fostoria, was driving west on County Road 592 and failed to yield at the stop sign at the intersection and her car was struck on the passenger side by a Ford F350 pulling a utility trailer that was going southwest on State Route 12.

Both vehicles then traveled off the northwest corner of the intersection and came to rest in a yard of a residence.

Roth was taken to Fostoria Community Hospital where she later died from her injuries.

The driver of the Ford F350 suffered minor injuries and was not transported.

The Highway Patrol says Roth was not wearing a seat belt.

The Highway Patrol says, at this time, drug or alcohol impairment is not suspected as a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.

50 North has renamed its facility as the 50 North Heminger Center, in honor of Gary and Jane Heminger’s contributions to the recent renovation and expansion project.

Gary Heminger is the former CEO of Marathon Petroleum.

50 North Executive Director Carolyn Copus, on with WFIN’s Chris Oaks, says so many people in the community stepped up in support of the project.

Carolyn says, in 2019, 50 North embarked on a campaign to expand and improve their facilities.

And among the first people to step forward to encourage and support the endeavor were the Hemingers.

She says the Heminger’s generous gift makes it possible for the community to have facility and senior services that are worthy of the citizens of Findlay and Hancock County.

Learn more about 50 North and all they offer by clicking here. 

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is looking for citizen scientists to help survey wild turkeys and ruffed grouse this summer.

Every summer, the Division of Wildlife conducts a turkey and grouse brood survey to estimate population growth. The brood survey relies on the public to report observations of all wild turkeys and ruffed grouse seen during July and August. Observations may be submitted at the Wildlife Reporting System webpage at wildohio.gov as well as the HuntFish OH mobile app.

Information collected for wild turkeys includes the number of gobblers, hens, and young turkeys (poults) observed. Information collected for ruffed grouse include the number of adults and young observed. The date and the county where the observation occurred are recorded for both species. Biologists began tracking summer observations of wild turkeys in 1962. Ruffed grouse were added to the survey in 1999.

This survey is conducted by state wildlife agencies across the wild turkey’s range, which includes Ohio. Information submitted to Ohio’s brood survey helps to predict future population changes and guide wild turkey management. In 2020, the public submitted 248 valid reports, with a statewide average of 2.7 poults per hen. The 10-year average is 2.6 poults per hen.

A true conservation success story, wild turkeys had disappeared from Ohio by 1904. Reintroductions began in 1956, and today turkeys are again common throughout much of Ohio. The gobbling of males is unmistakable, but the birds also make a variety of clucks and other sounds. Watch for turkeys in fields along woods, especially early in the morning. A few turkey hotspots include Hocking Hills, Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area, and Woodbury Wildlife Area.

Ruffed grouse inhabit Ohio’s mostly forested regions. Grouse occur in greatest numbers in habitat with young, regenerating forests, especially those less than 20 years old. Habitat loss has driven population declines since the 1980s. In addition, susceptibility to West Nile Virus has likely caused further population declines during the past 20 years. The drumming of a male grouse – which sounds similar to an old lawn mower being started – is made by the bird quickly rotating its wings, creating a vacuum that produces a repetitive, loud booming noise. For more information, visit the Wildlife Species Guide page at wildohio.gov.

(ONN) – Republicans in the Ohio House have passed an amendment which would ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or women’s teams in the state.

The amendment was tacked onto the bill allowing college athletes to profit off their image or likeness.

Representative Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) says female athletes are at a disadvantage when they have to compete against former males.

State Representative Michael Skindell (d-lakewood), opposes the amendment.

Republicans in the Ohio Senate say they would rather see a standalone bill.

Governor Mike DeWine issued a statement about the amendment Friday morning, saying “this issue is best addressed outside of government, through individual sports leagues and athletic associations, including the Ohio High School Athletic Association, who can tailor policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and member institutions.”

The Ohio Power Siting Board has denied plans for a wind farm project in Seneca and Sandusky Counties.

In its meeting Thursday, the OPSB denied application filed by Republic Wind, LLC to construct a 200 MW wind farm in Adams, Pleasant, Reed, Scipio, and Thompson townships in Seneca County and York Township in Sandusky County.

The OPSB cited the significant amount of opposition to the project from the public and lawmakers.

State Senator Bill Reineke said it’s gratifying that the OPSB has reached a logical conclusion with regards to the project after an extensive review of the facts and the law and consideration of the overwhelming public concern.

He said he fully supports the decision of the OPSB, particularly in light of the economic and environmental impacts the project would have on the region.

The Seneca Anti-Wind Union organized the public opposition to the project.

“It would appear that all the efforts put forth to fight this project have paid off,” the group said on Facebook.

“Many thanks to EVERYONE who gave of their time and treasure to protect our community. It was a contentious battle and one that we may have to fight again at some point.”

Hancock Public Health was at the Hancock County Farmers’ Market with their new mobile health clinic, offering people the COVID vaccine.

We spoke with Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi inside the new mobile clinic.

He says it will help them reach more people across the county.

Baroudi said the “resource on wheels,” will be used for wellness checks and a variety of prevention initiatives like immunizations and health education.

Currently it’s being used primarily to help administer the COVID vaccine.

The mobile clinic is fully equipped with two exam rooms and a lab area with refrigeration and freezing capacity so they can transport medicine and vaccines.

He says they’re still in the process of hiring a permanent staff for the mobile clinic and once they have you’ll start to see it out and about even more.

Baroudi said he was concerned that the vaccination rate was slowing down and urged people to get vaccinated because the virus is still out there.

Governor DeWine has made good on his promise to treat policing like a profession in the state by introducing a college-to-law enforcement pathway program.

The pilot program under the new state Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment is an effort by the governor to both recruit more law enforcement officers as departures engulf agencies across the state and make sure the candidates who do apply are qualified.

DeWine says the objective is to connect criminal justice programs from college and universities in Ohio to law enforcement agencies in the state, effectively creating a pipeline for college students to become police officers.

Learn more by clicking here for the Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment website.

Two people were taken into custody after leading authorities on a high speed pursuit in a stolen vehicle.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says a trooper tried to pull over a Volkswagen Jetta on Interstate 75 southbound in Findlay for a speeding violation at 1:18 a.m. Thursday.

The Highway Patrol says the driver refused to stop and led them on a pursuit that lasted for about an hour and reached speeds of up to 120 miles per hour.

The pursuit made its way onto County Road 9 in Hancock County going southbound and authorities lost sight of the vehicle and terminated the pursuit.

Troopers then came across the abandoned car on County Road 9, south of U.S. 30 in northern Hardin County.

An aviation unit was called in to help search for the suspects and two people were taken into custody, Cederic Cooley, 24, and Donald Calhoun IV, 19.

Cooley was booked at the Hancock County Justice Center for an outstanding warrant in Hancock County.

The Highway Patrol says the Jetta was stolen out of Columbus, and had stolen New York plates on it.