The University of Findlay has announced that ‘Phantom of the Opera’ Star John Cudia will perform at the university later this month.

Details are in the following news release from the University of Findlay.

Broadway and opera star John Cudia will perform as University of Findlay’s guest artist for the Donnell Broadway Concert Series on Jan. 30, 2022. Joining Cudia will be Grammy Award nominated Broadway conductor Phil Reno.

The concert will be held in-person in the Winebrenner Building, TLB Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults, $27 for senior citizens, $10 for non-UF students, and free for UF students, faculty, and staff with a valid University ID. Tickets can be purchased at the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts box office at 200 W. Main Cross St., or online at MCPA’s website.

Cudia is equally at home on opera, theater, and concert stages. A lyric tenor, he proudly made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Curly in their production of “Oklahoma!” and his Broadway debut in “Les Misérables.” Cudia most recently sang Count Danilo in “The Merry Widow” for Vancouver Opera where he previously sang Cassio in “Otello” and Juan Peron in “Evita.” For Indianapolis Opera, he created the role of Dr. Woodly in the World Premiere of “Happy Birthday Wanda June” by Richard Auldon Clark with Libretto by Indiana’s own Kurt Vonnegut.

Most notably, Cudia holds the distinct honor of being the first and only actor to have performed both as the Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera” and Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables” on Broadway. John’s most recent Broadway run counted him as only the 12th performer to play the Phantom in its historic, record-breaking 30+ years. John played Jean Valjean at the Marriott Theater in Chicago where his performance earned him the Joseph Jefferson Award for “best actor in a musical.”

Along with his many performances, Cudia has helped develop new works for the theatre with Roundabout Theatre, the Banff Theatre Centre, Paper Mill Playhouse, composers Jonathon Dove, Frank Wildhorn, and Maury Yeston. In concert, John has sung with The Baltimore Symphony, The North Carolina Symphony, The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Deer Valley Music Festival, and Heartland Festival Orchestra among others.

Cudia earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Studies in Law from Fordham University and Fordham Law. He currently studies voice with Metropolitan Opera Baritone Mark Oswald. He and his wife, Broadway actress Kathy Voytko, reside in New Jersey with their two daughters Alena, 12, and Evelyn, 10, and their dogs Kingsley and Fajita.

The Thomas and Kathleen Donnell Broadway Concert Series Endowment Fund, in addition to other donor funds, enables noted Broadway artists to visit each year to provide concert entertainment for both UF students and the community.

For more information on the Concert, visit the Donnell Broadway Concert Series webpage or contact Cindy Bormuth at cbormuth@findlay.edu.

The number of cases and hospitalizations went up in the latest Hancock County COVID data while the number of deaths was down.

Hancock Public Health is reporting 713 new cases, 34 new hospitalizations and 4 new deaths for the week of January 7th through January 13th.

The previous weekly reporting period saw 692 new cases, 16 new hospitalizations and 14 new deaths.

Hancock County is averaging 101.9 new cases per day and cases per 100,000 is 1031.9.

48.7 percent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated.

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

969 Hancock County residents have been hospitalized with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic and 219 have died from it.

(ONN) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says he has no regrets about his response to the coronavirus pandemic, even if Republican voters who thought he went too far are angry enough to vote him out in the upcoming May primary.

DeWine is running for a second four-year term, which he has said will mark the end of his career in politics.

DeWine has faced at times harsh criticism from GOP voters and fellow Republicans in the legislature over his early shut-down orders and mask mandate.

DeWine told the Associated Press in an interview that his pro-life stance includes protecting people from death from COVID-19.

The Findlay Police Department says three people were injured in a head-on crash.

The crash happened at 6:09 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Tiffin Avenue and Blanchard Street.

The police department says Jeremy Spence, 48, of Findlay, was eastbound in the 400 block of Tiffin Avenue and Jane Crawford, 50, of Bluffton, was westbound in the 500 block of Tiffin Avenue.

Police say as Crawford began to turn south onto Blanchard Street Spence’s vehicle entered the intersection to continue eastbound on Tiffin and the two vehicles collided head-on.

Spence and two kids in his vehicle were taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening.

Police say no citations were issued due to conflicting statements.

The Findlay City Planning Commission on Thursday tabled its decision on Kroger’s plans to add a fueling station to its location on Sixth Street.

The five pump fueling station would be located on the east side of the grocery store.

Matt Cordonnier, director of the Hancock Regional Planning Commission, says the commission put off its decision to give them time to consider some changes to the plan that Kroger is proposing.

Among the changes to the plan that Kroger is proposing would be to center the pedestrian entrance of the store on the west side of the store, under the Kroger sign.

That would remove the pedestrian entrance from the corner near Sixth Street and eliminate some of the congestion caused by cars waiting for people entering and leaving the store.

Kroger also says it will add a masonry wall on the east side of the new pumps and replace the wall on the south side of the property and add some length to it.

Traffic remains a concern with the project and the potential troubles with access for emergency services due to traffic flow and the potential for vehicle back-up at the site.

Cordonnier said he was doubtful the project would earn approval heading into the commission’s Thursday morning meeting but with the potential changes that Kroger is making he does see a path forward where it could get approved.

Kroger previously withdrew a proposal for the fueling station in February of last year after becoming concerned that it would be rejected due to traffic concerns.

The planning commission will likely decide the fate of the project at its next meeting on February 10th at 9 a.m. at the Findlay Municipal Building.

Troy Roth, Findlay City Schools Superintendent, has sent a letter out to the FCS community cancelling classes for Friday, January 14 and Tuesday, January 18. In the letter, Roth states staffing shortages and student absenteeism. Monday, January 17 is a scheduled day off for students and staff to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Classes will resume on Wednesday, January 19. St. Michael the Archangel School  will also follow this schedule.

The letter goes on to say the buildings will be closed to thoroughly sanitize. Information is also provided regarding guidance for COVID protocols.

Letter can be read below.

The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library, which has been out of COVID test kits for several days, says it has been informed by the Ohio Department of Health that they will receive no more test kits in January.

The Ohio Department of Health says it’s prioritizing the state’s supply of COVID-19 tests to first support testing for K-12 schools and colleges/universities.

Sarah Clevidence, director of the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library says they’ve handed out 36,087 tests since they started giving them out in March of last year, and the last few shipments lasted only about four hours.

The Ohio Department of Health says as tests become available after the urgent needs of K-12 schools and higher education institutions are met, the state will again send tests to libraries and local health departments to distribute.

As Sarah mentioned in the audio above, the library gave out 2,592 tests in their last shipment on January 5th.

She says the library is hoping to get more tests from the state in February, and when they get more in they’ll let everyone know via their social media, website and on the phone message on the library’s main number of 419-422-1712.

The Ohio Department of Health says rapid testing kits can still be purchased at many locations, such as pharmacies and grocery stores.

The Supreme Court of Ohio has struck down GOP-drawn state House and Senate maps as unconstitutional, saying they don’t meet voter-approved provisions of the Ohio Constitution to reduce partisan gerrymandering.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor was the key vote in the 4-to-3 decision, breaking with her party to rule against the maps.

The Supreme Court concluded the maps are invalid because the Ohio Redistricting Commission did not attempt to draw legislative districts that correspond with the statewide voter preference of Ohioans.

The new plan shall be adopted within 10 days and the Ohio Supreme Court retains jurisdiction for review of the new plan.

Advocates of fair maps hailed the decision as a resounding victory for Ohio voters who overwhelmingly approved changes to the state constitution to limit partisan line-drawing.

The GOP-drawn congressional map, which is also being challenged by lawsuits, is also under review by the court.

Columbia Gas recently began two natural gas line replacement projects in Findlay.

One of the projects is focused on Washington Avenue between Lima Street and Yates Avenue. (pictured above)

Crews there are installing approximately 16,000 feet of new pipe serving 300 residences.

The other project is focused on an area north of Tiffin Avenue from about G Street to McManness Avenue.

Crews there will be installing approximately 9,200 feet of new pipe serving 210 residences.

Columbia Gas is replacing the aging gas lines with newer, state-of-the-art plastic pipe.

Columbia Gas says the new plastic pipe has several benefits, including enhanced safety features and the ability to bend to the earth’s contour while expanding and contracting with shifting temperatures.

Once installed, the modernized system will last longer and reduce the amount of future maintenance required for upkeep.

The project requires only a short interruption to natural gas service.

Columbia Gas crews or contractors will contact affected customers to schedule the brief shut off and relight appointments.

All employees and contractors carry identification cards with their names and photograph and must show them upon request.

In light of COVID-19, crews are also following strict recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep everyone safe.

There is no additional cost to customers and Columbia Gas will restore all impacted property.

Work on each project is expected to last about four to five months.

Tuesday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and the folks at Garner Trucking in Findlay wore blue to bring awareness to the horrible crime.

President and CEO Sherri Garner Brumbaugh says each of their drivers are trained on human trafficking awareness and signs to watch out for.

As Sherri mentioned in the audio above, the trucking industry continues to play a big part in helping raise awareness and report suspected trafficking activity.

Not only was Tuesday National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, but the month of January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month.

Truckers Against Trafficking says human trafficking is an everywhere problem and cases are reported each year in every state in the U.S. and every province in Canada.

They say the more eyes and ears trained on how to recognize and respond to human trafficking, the more able they are as communities to put a stop to the heinous crime.

People can join their mobile army by clicking here.

National Human Trafficking Hotlines are, in the U.S., 1-888-373-7888 and in Canada, 1-833-900-1010.