A man has been indicted on several charges in connection with the shooting of an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper in Findlay.

A Hancock County Grand Jury on Tuesday indicted Robert Tramaine Hathorn on six felony charges: felonious assault on a peace officer, aggravated robbery, two counts of having a weapon under disability, failure to comply and tampering with evidence.

The Highway Patrol says the 42-year-old from Muskegon, Michigan struggled with a trooper over the trooper’s gun during a traffic stop on October 6th along Interstate 75 in Findlay and it went off, striking the trooper in the lower body.

Hathorn was found the following day in the Blanchard River after an extensive search involving various police agencies.

Hathorn’s bond will be set at his arraignment, which had not been scheduled as of the time this story was published.

He’s being held at the Hancock County Justice Center.

The Highway Patrol said Trooper Josef Brobst was released from the hospital on October 9th and is continuing his recovery at home.

This is National School Bus Safety Week.

Findlay crime prevention officer Brian White says we all need to do our part to make sure schoolkids are safe around their buses.

He says drivers are required to stop at least 10 feet in front of or behind a school bus when flashing lights and a stop arm are displayed and cannot resume driving until the school bus begins moving.

On a two-lane road all lanes of traffic must come to a stop for a school bus that’s loading or unloading students.

On a four-lane road, only vehicles going the same direction as the school bus must stop.

A driver who fails to stop for a school bus that’s loading or unloading students can be fined up to $500 and have their license suspended for a year.

National School Bus Safety Week runs October 18th – 22nd.

The leaves are changing, which means it’s time for the Ohio Department of Transportation to begin changing over to winter operations by prepping equipment and hiring extra snowplow drivers.

ODOT District 1­­, which is comprised of Hancock, Allen, Defiance, Hardin, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert and Wyandot counties will be holding two hiring events to find approximately 37 seasonal snow plow drivers.

The hiring events will take place at the following locations:

-Thursday, October 21, from noon to 5 p.m. at the ODOT District 1 Office, 1885 N. McCullough Street, Lima.
-Thursday, October 28, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Defiance County maintenance garage, 2340 Baltimore Road, Defiance.

During the event applicants will complete interviews, physical abilities tests, and a driving record review.

Applicants should bring their driver’s license, and if possible, complete the online application prior to the event.

Applicants must have a valid Class A or B CDL with tanker endorsement, a good driving record, and submit to a drug screen and background check.

Plowing snow is the primary job responsibility for winter seasonal positions.

A typical work week is 40 hours, more for snow and ice events. However, on-call and part-time options may be available.

Seasonal drivers can expect to work from December through March.

The pay is $18.59 an hour.

Previous experience plowing snow is not necessary.

Training is available for applicants who meet the basic requirements.

Learn more about the open positions and apply in advance by clicking here.

The American Red Cross of North Central Ohio needs local volunteers who are trained to respond to disasters in their community.

To help recruit new Disaster Action Team volunteers, the Red Cross will be holding a public information presentation on Wednesday, October 27th, 5:30 p.m. at the Hancock County office at 125 Fair Street in Findlay.

The Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters every year, said Executive Director Todd James.

The majority of those disasters are local home fires.

“People see major disasters like hurricanes and wildfires in the news and they know the Red Cross is there providing shelter, food and comfort,” James said.

“But it’s here at home where we handle most of our disaster responses, helping families who have lost their homes to fire or a local flood or storm.”

James said the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their volunteer teams, like it has almost every other organization.

“We have a lot of volunteers who had to step back from helping and haven’t been able to return. It’s vital that we have trained volunteers ready to answer a call for help at all times.”

James said he knows that there is a commitment of time and effort to being a Disaster Action Team volunteer, but the return is well worth it.

“Our volunteers will tell you that the hugs they get and the feeling that comes with helping a family after a fire or other disaster is worth more than gold, knowing that on someone’s darkest day they are the light of hope.”

At the information session, attendees will learn the requirements to be a Disaster Action Team volunteer and will have the opportunity to speak with current volunteers to ask questions and learn about their experiences.

Refreshments will be provided at the event. People can attend in person or virtually. RSVPs are requested but not required for in-person attendance.

Virtual attendees will need to RSVP to receive a link to the event.

For more information or to RSVP, contact the Red Cross at NEOvolunteer@redcross.org or call (216) 431-3328.

Also, the Red Cross continues to experience an emergency blood and platelet shortage that has caused the blood supply to drop to the lowest post-summer level in at least six years.

With less than a day’s supply of certain blood types in recent weeks, the Red Cross asks donors of all blood types – especially type O – to make an appointment to give blood or platelets as soon as possible to ensure patients can receive the lifesaving transfusions they rely on.

Appointments can be made by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

One of the next blood drives coming up locally will be at the Findlay Knights of Columbus at 701 West Main Cross Street on Friday, October 22nd from 11 to 5.

Blanchard Valley Health System has announced that Renee Smith will become its new chief medical officer (CMO).

Dr. Smith comes to BVHS from Aspirus Network, Inc. (ANI), a clinically integrated provider network in Wausau, Wisconsin with more than 1,100 physicians, advanced practice clinicians and other providers with 110 practices.

She will take over from current CMO, Dr. Michael Denike, who is returning full-time to his cardiology practice within BVHS.

“Dr. Smith has an extensive background, which includes years of experience in key leadership roles throughout her career,” stated Myron D. Lewis, president and chief executive officer of BVHS.

“We used a recruitment firm that conducted a national search in order to find the strongest candidate to fill this role. She’s an exceptional fit for our culture and we are very excited to welcome her to our family of professionals.”

Most recently, she served ANI in the capacity of executive director (since 2016) and as medical branch director – emergency operations center (since 2020).

In 2015, Dr. Smith accepted the role of chief medical officer for ANI, a role she held until 2020. Prior to serving as CMO at ANI, Dr. Smith held several administrative roles at Aspirus Langlade Hospital in Antigo, Wisconsin, which include CMO, chief of staff and regional director.

During her time with ANI, Dr. Smith also served as a family physician at Aspirus Antigo Clinic, where she practiced on a limited basis since 2006.

She holds a bachelor of science degree in medical microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin (Oshkosh).

Dr. Smith obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed her family medicine residency at Waukesha Family Practice, an affiliate of the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is board certified in family medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Additionally, Dr. Smith is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Group Practice Improvement Network and the Wisconsin Medical Society.

“I am truly excited to be joining a collaborative group of healthcare leaders. From what I’ve seen, Myron has done a great job, in a short time, of setting his direction for where he anticipates the organization is going to go, and creating consistent messages about that,” Dr. Smith noted.

“As I interviewed, it felt as everybody was rowing in the same direction. They know where they fit into the vision and strategy, which is great. I feel fortunate to be able to help the organization accomplish that.”

Dr. Smith and her husband, Michael, a general contractor, have four children: Dominic (20), Sam (10), Lilly (8) and Lizzy (7). In her spare time, Dr. Smith enjoys horseback riding (along with her daughters), reading, watching her kids’ sporting events and watching high school, college and professional football.

Dr. Smith will begin her role at BVHS on November 11, 2021.

“BVHS seems like a really strong organization, with a strong culture. The community seems really respectful and proud of this organization, and I think that is a really great situation to come into,” Dr. Smith stated.

“I’m looking forward to challenging myself in this role and learning how we can ensure that we are optimizing all the parts and pieces of healthcare we have for our patients.”

The Ohio Department of Transportation says it will be looking into what can be done to lessen the number of crashes on the Interstate 75 southbound flyover ramp to U.S. 68/State Route 15 and Lima Avenue in Findlay.

There have been a number of crashes since the flyover ramp opened in November of 2018, particularly in wet weather.

Just last Friday, a semi overturned on the ramp and slid down the embankment.

ODOT says, while the ramp is up to standards and meets all safety specifications, measures can be taken to reduce the number of crashes occurring.

ODOT says some things they’re considering are more signage to better alert drivers about the curves in the ramp and the need to slow down, extending the guardrails along the ramp, and checking the road surface to make sure it has enough friction. The friction testing will take place on Tuesday.

Drivers are being reminded to slow down when approaching the ramp, and to not take it too fast, especially in wet weather.

Two prominent Ohio Republicans are reacting to the passing of former Secretary of State and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman tweeted about the former secretary of state, saying “today we lost an American hero. Colin Powell was a soldier, statesman & friend.”

Governor DeWine wrote, in part: “today our country has lost one of its most accomplished citizens, General Colin L. Powell.” The governor’s full statement is below.

Powell’s last known visit to Ohio was three years ago.

Powell was in Columbus for the opening of the National Veterans Museum and Memorial in Columbus.

Powell called the museum a place of unity.

In accordance with the orders issued by the President of the United States of America and in honoring the life and service of General Powell, Governor DeWine has ordered that the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio until sunset on October 22nd, 2021.

The Findlay Police Department is reminding people to be cautious of emails they receive and to never allow remote access to their computer.

Police say a resident was recently scammed out of thousands of dollars in a phishing scam.

The resident received an email claiming to be from McAfee, stating they would be billing the resident’s account.

A phone number to dispute the transaction was provided in the email.

When the victim contacted the number, they were told the charge would be reversed, but the provider would need remote access to the victim’s computer and bank account.

The scammer appeared to transfer too much money and directed the victim to send back the overage in store gift cards.

The card numbers were provided to scammer, which allowed them to remove the balances from those cards.

A request for gift cards is an immediate red flag and should be considered a scam, as scammers frequently use gift cards since they are mostly untraceable.

Scams such as these frequently target the elderly.

Ohio State will be installing a new playing surface at Ohio Stadium before next season and wants your ideas about what it should look like.

The Ohio State University Department of Athletics is seeking fan-inspired color and design concepts for the new artificial turf that will replace the current turf in Ohio Stadium.

Fans can submit their design concepts for what they’d like the new turf to look like by clicking here.

An internal department panel will review the submitted designs and ultimately create the new look of the field.

Some fan submissions will be shared on the Ohio State athletics Twitter account.

Ideas can be submitted through Friday, October 29th.

The 2022 Ohio State football season will feature an eight-game home schedule beginning with Notre Dame on Saturday, September 3rd, 2022.

A semi crash closed the ramp from Interstate 75 southbound to U.S. 68/State Route 15 and Lima Avenue in Findlay on Friday afternoon.

The crash happened a little before 2 p.m. and caused quite a backup on the interstate.

Video from an ODOT camera showed the semi on its side.

Many southbound drivers got off at State Route 12 and detoured through the city to get to where they were going.

The ramp was still closed at around 7 o’clock Friday night, but it sounded like it wouldn’t be much longer until it reopened.

There was no word on any injuries or how the crash occurred.