The Seneca Regional Chamber has launched a campaign to encourage those living in Seneca County to support all things local instead of going out of town or online to non-locally owned and operated entities as the holiday season approaches.

The Love Local campaign was inspired by the annual Small Business Saturday event sponsored by American Express that will take place on Saturday, November 26th in communities across the country.

The Seneca Regional Chamber is encouraging the community to support local every day of the year.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for every dollar spent at a small business in the United States, approximately 67 cents stays in the local community.

The campaign will feature highlight videos of local organizations, social media features, social media contests, and more.

The campaign will look to educate the community on why supporting local is so vital.

The Chamber will focus on four main whys for the campaign.

These four pillars include economic impact, job creation, quality of services and products, and supporting your neighbor.

Community members can participate by posting pictures of themselves with products and/or services they receive from locally owned organizations with #mylovelocalwhy to help support the campaign.

Local organizations can request a Love Local window cling at www.TiffinChamber.com/LoveLocal to proudly display and to identify them as a local business and they will have the opportunity to be featured on the Chamber’s website and social media platforms.

The Chamber encourages the community to put their money where their heart is, in Seneca County.

(pictured above is Kate Hade, owner of Rose & Co. Mercantile)

People lined the streets of Findlay on Sunday afternoon for the Veterans Day Parade.

The parade began at the corner of Lincoln Street and South Main Street and ended at the Hancock County War Memorial at North Main Street and Center Street where a ceremony was held.

Nichole Coleman, executive director of the Hancock County Veterans Service Office in Findlay, spoke at the service and we caught up with her afterwards.

Veterans Day is on Thursday, November 11th.

On Veterans Day, Chamberlin Hill Elementary School in Findlay will hold a Salute to Veterans Drive Through Parade.

Many area restaurants are offering Veterans free or discounted meals on Veterans Day as well.

The public is invited to attend the dedication of the new Veterans Memorial in Van Buren on Veterans Day.

The memorial is located at the Village Square and will be dedicated on Thursday, November 11th at 11:11 a.m.

The memorial is an Eagle Scout project created by Jacob Deiter, a senior at Van Buren High School.

Get more on that and other ceremonies and events by clicking here.

The Findlay Trojans defeated Dublin Coffman in convincing fashion to advance in the football playoffs.

The final score was 38-8 Friday night at Donnell Stadium.

The Trojans will now take on Springfield in the regional semifinals on Friday, November 12th.

The game will be played at Lima Spartan Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday.

Findlay is 9-3 and Springfield is 10-1.

Ottawa-Glandorf also advanced in the playoffs with a dominant win over Waynedale.

The Titans will play Tontogany Otsego at Napoleon Buckenmeyer Stadium on Saturday at 7.

McComb is also still in the playoffs.

McComb will play Bascom Hopewell-Loudon at Bowling Green High School Bobcat Stadium on Saturday.

Check out all the matchups in the next round by clicking here.

The Findlay Police Department says an 18-year-old was killed in a crash on Saturday.

Police say Taylor Benson, 18, of Findlay, was driving south in the 500 block of Bright Road at 2:53 Saturday afternoon when her car went left of center and struck an SUV head-on.

Police say Benson was transported to Blanchard Valley Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The driver of the SUV was not injured in the crash.

Both vehicles were towed from the scene due to disabling damage to the front end.

The City of Findlay is partnering with the Ohio Department of Transportation on a project to install a shared-use path along the north side of State Route 568.

The proposed shared-use path will start at the existing Greenway Trail on East Main Cross Street and will extend to the east towards the County Road 236 shared-use path.

Officials would eventually like to see the path extend all the way out to Riverbend Recreation Area but this portion will end at County Road 236.

The proposed path will go under the Bright Road overpass, turn south towards State Route 568, and then turn back to the east.

At the Blanchard River a new pedestrian bridge will be constructed, just north of the existing bridge, to get users across the river.

This project is scheduled to begin construction in spring 2023 with a completion by the end of December 2023.

The city says the project is currently being designed and there may be times that the City of Findlay, the city’s design consultant, and/or ODOT may need to enter properties to complete the necessary environmental field studies.

A portion of this path will take place within the boundaries of Eastpoint Area and Vogelsong Conservation Area.

Work within the parks will consist of installation of the proposed shared-use path.

Detailed construction updates will be posted along the impacted route on the City of Findlay’s website, www.findlayohio.com, prior to the start of construction.

During construction, traffic will be maintained along State Route 568 by closing the westbound shoulder and allowing vehicles to travel along an eleven foot wide lane in the westbound direction.

Access will be maintained to all adjacent properties and businesses for the duration of the project.

The city welcomes questions and comments about the project.

Comments are requested by November 26th, 2021, to ensure your comments may be considered during project development.

For any questions or comments, people can contract the City of Findlay Engineering Department at 419-424-7121 or email at engineering@findlayohio.com.

The University of Findlay says its annual Helping Hands Food Drive shattered all expectations this year.

The university says the 16th annual food drive held Wednesday brought in a record-breaking 214,559 pounds of food.

As in years past, the 2021 food drive continued the trend of surpassing the previous year’s collections by setting a new personal record for the university.

To date, the total amount collected through Helping Hands is 1,097,963 pounds of food.

All non-perishable and monetary donations benefit CHOPIN Hall, a Findlay nonprofit that has been providing food to Findlay and Hancock County families in need for nearly 40 years.

UF thanks Garner Trucking Inc. for generously supplying two semi-trucks to accommodate all food transportation to CHOPIN Hall; Campbell’s Soup Company, which made a substantial donation; and Walmart, which also donated a large amount along with providing community donation locations for food drop-offs.

The 2021 sponsors include Walmart, Garner Trucking Inc., Gateway Church, Great Scot Community Markets, Axe Ventura: Premier Axe Throwing, AMF Sportsman Lanes, and Dietsch Brothers.

The Cleveland Browns have released wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

After excusing Beckham from practice the last two days the Cleveland Browns have officially released the three-time pro bowl wide receiver.

A statement reads in part, quote, “we appreciate all his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we’ve just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell.”

Beckham’s father recently posted a video showing the receiver open on a number of plays in which quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t throw to him.

Beckham himself was silent on the issue.

The Findlay Veterans Day Parade will be held on Sunday, November 7th at 2 p.m.

The parade will begin at the corner of Lincoln Street and South Main Street and end at the Hancock County War Memorial at North Main Street and Center Street where a ceremony will be held.

Veterans Day is on Thursday, November 11th.

The public is invited to attend the dedication of the new Veterans Memorial in Van Buren on Veterans Day.

The memorial is located at the Village Square and will be dedicated on Thursday, November 11th at 11:11 a.m.

The memorial is an Eagle Scout project created by Jacob Deiter, a senior at Van Buren High School.

Also on Veterans Day, Chamberlin Hill Elementary School in Findlay will hold a Salute to Veterans Drive Through Parade.

Many area restaurants are offering Veterans free or discounted meals on Veterans Day as well.

Get more on that and other ceremonies and events by clicking here.

The Findlay Fire Department is reminding everyone to change the batteries in their smoke detectors over the weekend when they move their clocks back for the time change.

We spoke with Inspector Eric Wilkins, who told us that there’s nothing in our houses that’s more important to our safety than a smoke detector.

He says batteries should be replaced every six months and smoke detectors last about ten years before they should be replaced.

Instead of “smoke detectors save lives”, Inspector Wilkins says he says “working smoke detectors save lives”, because if it’s not functional it isn’t going to help.

He says when they have a fire in which a smoke detector didn’t go off to alert the occupants it’s usually because of human error, such as dead batteries or the detector was taken down because it was going off during cooking and wasn’t put back up.

People are also urged to have carbon monoxide detectors in their home as well.

Everyone is invited to celebrate the Arts in downtown Findlay during the Fall ArtWalk on Friday, November 5th beginning at 5 p.m.

VisitFindlay says the fall ArtWalk will take place in-person at more than 25 locations in downtown Findlay.

All within walking distance of each other, these locations will house artists displaying their work.

Artists invite you to view their work, talk to them about their inspiration and process, and in a few instances, even watch them work.

Bobbie Grenerth will be demonstrating Pyrography, the art of wood burning, at Journey Salon & Day Spa, while Encaustic Painter Beth Genson will be demonstrating her medium and allowing guests to try it out at Ryse Fitness.

In addition to small businesses hosting art, be sure to visit downtown Findlay’s art anchors.

Several artists in the Jones Building will be opening their studio doors for tours, demonstrations, and displaying their work for sale.

The Findlay Art League will be hosting their Fall Art Show featuring work from community members while also featuring music from Findlay String Factor, Findlay City Schools’ String Quintet.

Live music can be heard at other Downtown Findlay locations during ArtWalk, including at Alexandria’s, Amy May’s Downtown, Logan’s Irish Pub, and The Baker’s Café.

ArtWalk is a semi-annual, family-friendly, free event that takes place the first Friday of May and November in an effort to promote the arts and integrate them throughout the Downtown Findlay business community.

The event was planned in collaboration between Visit Findlay: Hancock County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Findlay Art League, Jones Building Artists, and Marathon Center for the Performing Arts.

A complete list of participating locations and artists can be found at VisitFindlay.com/ArtWalk.

Printed maps of ArtWalk locations are available at the Visit Findlay Welcome Center, 123 E. Main Cross St., with limited copies at all participating locations the evening of the event.

For more information, go to VisitFindlay.com/ArtWalk.