Monthly Archives: January 2022

Teens Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Lyft Driver

(ONN) – Four juveniles in Dayton face charges in the fatal shooting of a rideshare driver and the armed robbery of another whose vehicle was stolen.

The teens, all age 15 and 16, were taken into custody Wednesday after a short standoff at a home in Dayton.

Each was charged as a juvenile with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery, but authorities said their cases could soon be moved to adult court.

The investigation began when a rideshare driver called police to report she had been robbed at gunpoint by some teenagers.

Around that time, officers responded to a fatal shooting call involving another rideshare driver found dead in his vehicle.

 

Coach Rucki Reflects On Reaching 500 Career Victories

Findlay Trojans boys basketball coach Jim Rucki recently achieved quite a milestone in his career.

The team’s win over St. John’s on January 21st marked Rucki’s 500th career coaching victory.

He notched win 501 against Bowling Green on Tuesday and was honored in the post you can see below from Findlay Trojan Sports.

We asked Coach Rucki about his most memorable wins and the first one he mentioned was his first win ever, in 1989 when he was coaching Rocky River and defeated Richmond Heights.

His first season coaching Findlay was the 1999-2000 school year.

During his tenure with the Trojans he says defeating Toledo St. John’s in the regionals in 2007 and beating Lima Senior in the mid-2000s when they were number 1 in the state stand out as a couple of his most memorable wins.

 

 

He said he’s been fortunate to have coached so many good players and good kids during his time in Findlay.

One of his best players was in his first year as coach when Ben Roethlisberger was a senior.

 

 

Rucki also coached Luke Kraus, Findlay’s all-time leading scorer, who went on to play at Bowling Green State University.

And he says there a lot of talented players on his current team, such as Max Roth, who will be playing college ball at the University of Findlay.

Over all his years of coaching he says one thing remains the same, “you just gotta take it one game at a time and keep trying to get better.”

Findlay will be on the road Friday night at Toledo Whitmer in a game you can hear on WFIN.

Listen to our full interview with Coach Rucki below.

 

 

 

 

 

Latest Hancock County COVID Numbers Released

Hancock Public Health on Friday reported the latest COVID-19 data for the county.

The agency is reporting 614 new cases, 38 new hospitalizations and 9 new deaths for the week of January 21st through January 27th.

Hancock County is averaging 87.7 new cases per day and cases per 100,000 is 983.

Community transmission in Hancock County remains “high” as defined by the CDC.

49.1 percent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated while 53 percent of eligible residents have started the vaccine.

1,049 Hancock County residents have been hospitalized with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic and 237 have died from it.

 

First Responders Attending Seminar On Dealing With Trauma

First responders in the area are currently attending a training session on how to deal with the trauma of what they witness on the job.

Brian White, Findlay Police Department Crime Prevention Officer, recently attended the First Responder Crisis and Self Awareness Training at Owens Community College.

He says first responders respond to a lot of critical incidents of a traumatic nature and the trauma can build up and first responders may not be aware of the resources available to them.

 

 

Brian says the training gave an overview about what crisis is and some of negative consequences of letting trauma build up, and it gave first responders information on resources available to them if they find themselves struggling with an incident they witnessed.

He says one of the unique aspects of the training is that it’s open to family members of first responders as well, to give them insight into what’s going on and how they can help.

There are three sessions still to come at the end of January and into February.

First responders interested in attending should contact Family Resource Center by calling 567-271-3031 or Sergeant Michael Cortez with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.

 

 

Trooper Shooting Suspect’s Trial Delayed

The trial for the man accused of shooting a state trooper in Findlay will not begin as originally scheduled.

Robert Tramaine Hathorn’s jury trial was set to begin on Monday, January 31st in Hancock County Common Pleas Court.

But the trial will not begin on that date as Hathorn is seeking new counsel and a hearing has been set for February 8th.

It’s unclear how soon the trial might begin if Hathorn has acquired new counsel by February 8th.

The 42-year-old from Muskegon, Michigan was previously indicted by a Hancock County Grand Jury on six felony charges, including felonious assault on a peace officer, in connection with an altercation with a state trooper that left the trooper with a gunshot wound.

At his arraignment on October 22nd, Hathorn pleaded not guilty to the six charges in the indictment.

He’s being held without bond at the Hancock County Jail.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says Hathorn struggled with a trooper during a traffic stop on October 6th along Interstate 75 in Findlay and the trooper’s gun 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.

The Highway Patrol said Trooper Josef Brobst was released from the hospital on October 9th.

The video below is from Hathorn’s arraignment is October.

 

 

Ben Roethlisberger Announces Retirement From NFL

Ben Roethlisberger is officially retiring from the NFL after 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Roethlisberger made the announcement on social media on Thursday, thanking the fans.

Roethlisberger graduated from Findlay High School where he set records and then from Miami University in Oxford.

After college he was taken by the Steelers in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

Considered a sure bet for the Hall of Fame, Roethlisberger spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, where he was a six-time Pro Bowler and led the Steelers to wins in Super Bowl 40 and Super Bowl 43.

 

https://twitter.com/_BigBen7/status/1486716111802433541

WOFB Releases 2022 Schedule Of Food Distributions

The West Ohio Food Bank has released its monthly food distribution schedule for the remainder of 2022.

The schedule highlights the food bank’s regularly scheduled monthly food distributions.

The schedule does not include pop-up distributions, or any other kind of special event distributions that may occur in the upcoming months.

The food bank asks that clients carefully look over the “things to remember” section posted on the last page of the schedule.

You can pick up a copy in the main lobby during normal business hours or print a copy from their website.

“The most popular question we get is ‘when is your next food distribution?” said Tommie Harner, CEO of West Ohio Food Bank.

“We wanted to post this to allow our clients who are most in need a chance to see and plan on when they can come and receive food.”

For more information on upcoming food distributions click here for their website and here for their Facebook page.

A food distribution was held at the University of Findlay on January 22nd.

A few of the upcoming distributions in the area include one in Wyandot County on February 17th, at Ohio Northern on February 21st and in Tiffin on February 24th.

 

 

Hancock County Mentors Saluted With Yard Signs

The month of January is National Mentoring Month and you may have seen the signs placed in yards by Children’s Mentoring Connection of Hancock County saying “We love our mentors.”

Children’s Mentoring Connection also received a proclamation from Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn in recognition of January being National Mentoring Month.

Executive Director Stacy Shaw says Children’s Mentoring Connection serves youth in Hancock County ages 6 to 14 through school-based and community-based programs.

She says their mission is to positively impact lives one meaningful connection at a time.

“For children to thrive it’s critical for them to have at least one caring person in their life outside of their family, Stacy said.

She says in honor of National Mentoring Month Children’s Mentoring Connection is recognizing their volunteer mentors with yard signs showing they love their mentors.

 

 

Stacy says, 40 years ago, Kathy Peiffer and Heidi Nuhfer met through Children’s Mentoring Connections founding agency Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BBBS).

Heidi was 8 years old when her mother enrolled her in our program and their bond formed very quickly.

In celebration of their 40 years, Kathy and her husband Garry have generously established a matching donation fund up to $40,000 to support our mentoring programs.

Get more in the Facebook post below, and learn more about Children’s Mentoring Connection by clicking here for their website.

 

 

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague Files For Reelection

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, of Findlay, has filed for reelection.

“I’m proud of the work my office has done and I look forward to building on our record of success and ensuring a strong and prosperous future for the Buckeye State,” Sprague said after filing for reelection on Wednesday.

Sprague said for the past three years, his office has worked hard to protect taxpayer dollars and lead the Ohio Treasury with trusted stewardship, wise investment and bold innovation.

He says those principles have been at the forefront of his work since taking office in January of 2019.

Last fall Sprague visited Donnell Middle School to check out the Real Money. Real World. financial literacy program in action.

Get more on that by clicking here, and more on Treasurer Sprague by clicking here.

 

 

Wind Chill Advisory Issued

Findlay and Hancock County are included in a Wind Chill Advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

The advisory goes from 7 p.m. Wednesday through 11 a.m. Thursday.

Forecasters say wind chills as low as -10 to -15 are possible.

The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken.

Use caution while traveling. Wear appropriate clothing, including a heavy coat, a hat and gloves.

Wednesday night’s low will be around 2, with a wind chill of -12 at times.

Thursday is looking partly cloudy with a high of 28 and wind chills of -9.

The low will dip down to around 13 Thursday night.

Friday’s forecast is calling for clouds and a high of 18, with wind chills of zero.