(ONN) – It will cost you a little more to get in to Cedar Point this year.
The price at the gate is going up $10 to $85 for a ticket, but, of course, there are ways to save money.
You can buy tickets online and in advance and pay around $45 currently.
That’s the same price as Kings Island.
Keep in mind that Cedar Point is going cashless this year.
The park opens for the 2022 season on May 7th.
In December volunteers placed wreaths at the graves of 1,200 Veterans at Findlay’s Maple Grove Cemetery for Wreaths Across America Day, and now volunteers are needed once again to pick up the wreaths.
Wreaths Across America clean up day is on Saturday, January 15th.
The organizer of the local event, Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, is inviting volunteers to meet at the cemetery at 9 a.m. to pick up the wreaths.
“If you find yourself with some free time that morning, we could use your help. Thank you!”
National Wreaths Across America Day was held on Saturday, December 18th.
Volunteers headed out to Findlay’s Maple Grove Cemetery and other area cemeteries to place wreaths at Veterans’ graves.
Wreaths were placed at the graves of 1,200 Veterans, and organizer Sherri Garner Brumbaugh says they’re working toward one day being able to recognize each and every one of the 5,000 Veterans who are buried at Maple Grove Cemetery.
The mission statement of Wreaths Across America is Remember, Honor, Teach.
REMEMBER our fallen, HONOR those serve, and TEACH those in the community about our veterans sacrifices.
We talked to the organizer of the local event, Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, in the video below from the 2020 event.
The University of Findlay‘s spring semester got underway on Monday amid an uptick in COVID cases in Findlay and Hancock County.
As students and staff return to campus for the new semester UF says it is encouraging vaccinations and boosters but is not requiring them.
Students, staff and guests will continue to be required to wear a mask indoors as they have been throughout the pandemic.
UF says classes will be in person as scheduled and they will continue to follow CDC guidance on isolation and quarantine protocols.
The university says athletics will follow GMAC policies with NCAA sports science guidance while providing the most complete athletic experience possible.
UF says it will continue to follow all state and federal mandates and adjust as they are updated.
Get the latest COVID numbers from Hancock Public Health by clicking here.
Meantime, the Columbus Dispatch is reporting that more than a dozen Ohio college students and employees have filed lawsuits against their universities challenging what they say are “unreasonable” and “discriminatory” COVID-19 policies.
The paper reports that the plaintiffs are represented by Akron-based law firm Mendenhall Law Group and financially backed by a statewide advocacy organization that challenges vaccine mandates.
The law firm filed similar lawsuits against Bowling Green, Miami and the University of Cincinnati in November and December.
The Hancock County Auditor’s Office has launched a new real estate website.
The upgraded website can be viewed on smartphones and other mobile devices.
Hancock County Auditor Charity Rauschenberg says the site will continue to provide important property taxation and assessment information, as well as search capabilities and property record reports that users are accustomed to finding on the Hancock County Auditor real estate site.
This site has a new modern look and feel with key upgrades.
Some key upgrades include integration with Google Street View, improved printing capabilities, and mobile responsive functionality.
The property search field uses modern technology to auto complete typing that makes searches quicker and easier for users.
The mapping component upgrade is not only interactive, but also touchscreen user friendly.
“While meeting the request to provide mobile accessibility, this new platform also allows us to add more information for public use,” said Rauschenberg.
“Other enhancements and tools are underway to provide easier viewing of public information.”
Under construction is the ability to use oblique imagery, which shows properties from all aerial sides, and a new levy estimator.
The new levy estimator will provide a valuable tool for taxpayers to assess the financial impact of a levy by parcel.
The public is encouraged to visit the new site by clicking here and explore its features.
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library has assumed responsibility for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Hancock County.
The Imagination Library program was implemented in Hancock County in 2014 by Hancock Literacy.
With Hancock Literacy dissolving in December of 2021, the Imagination Library program will now be coordinated by the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library as will all Hancock Literacy programs.
The Friends of the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library will help facilitate the transition by holding existing donor dollars for the continued support of The Imagination Library program.
Donors are encouraged to continue to support the program through the Hancock Literacy fund established at The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation.
“The library is grateful to the dedicated individuals from Hancock Literacy who supported The Imagination Library in our community through its first seven years,” said Library Director Sarah Clevidence.
“We look forward to continuing their work to grow enrollment and support in our community.”
Since launching in Tennessee in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world.
The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has mailed well over 167 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States.
The Imagination Library mails more than 1.8 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five.
Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading in children and inspiring them to dream.
For more information on how to register for or donate towards the program, click here or contact the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library at 419-424-1712.
A Wood County Sheriff’s Office deputy who had been battling COVID-19 in the intensive care unit at Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green has died.
Sergeant Jody Swoap had been hospitalized since December. He passed away on Sunday.
On December 30th law enforcement officers and other first responders from around Wood County held a drive-by parade at the hospital to show support for Swoap as he battled the virus.
Sergeant Jody Swoap was 42 years old.
The Wood County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page, “Rest In Peace, Sergeant Jody Swoap. Your service to our country, to our citizens and the Office of Sheriff in Ohio will never be forgotten.”
A man is facing a variety of charges after allegedly leading a Findlay police officer on a short pursuit and tossing drugs out a window.
The Findlay Police Department says an officer attempted a traffic stop on a pickup truck in the 1100 block of West Trenton Avenue at 2:48 Sunday afternoon.
Police say the truck cut off a vehicle in an attempt to elude the officer at the intersection for southbound Interstate 75.
The officer continued to pursue the vehicle which was now operating at a slow speed and said he saw a couple of baggies being thrown from a window.
The truck then came to a stop and police say the driver was detained and identified as Austin Wickman, 28.
Wickman was booked at the Hancock County Jail on charges of drug possession, tampering with evidence and failure to comply with a police officer. He was also issued a citation for driving on a suspended license.
Arlington United Methodist Church says the Baby Jesus that was stolen from their new nativity has been returned.
Pastor Mark Gregory posted on Facebook on Sunday HE HAS RETURNED JUST AS HE SAID HE WOULD!!!
He says it was a little more than 3 days (more like 7) however He is back.
Pastor Gregory says now the Christmas story at AUMC will forever be changed to “He was wrapped in a Dollar General bag and placed in a manger…”
The pastor thanks the parties who returned their Baby Jesus, saying you did the right thing and we are good.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol says a Tiffin man was killed in a crash in Seneca County.
The crash happened on U.S. 224 at mile post 4 in Loudon Township at 2:37 Friday afternoon.
The Highway Patrol says Dwayne Stephens Jr., 40, of Tiffin, was driving his car eastbound on U.S. 224 and Eugene Ward, 69, of Tiffin, was driving his truck westbound and the two vehicles collided head-on in the westbound lane.
A third vehicle struck debris from the crash and became disabled.
The Highway Patrol says Stephens Jr. died from injuries suffered in the crash and was not wearing a seat belt.
The Highway Patrol says Ward suffered serious injuries, as did a passenger in his vehicle, Patricia Ward, 65, of Tiffin.
The Highway Patrol said Eugene Ward was not wearing a seat belt while Patricia Ward was.
Both were flown by medical helicopter to a Toledo Hospital.
Assisting on scene were Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, Bascom Fire, Seneca County EMS, Seneca County CERT, the Ohio Department of Transportation, Seneca County Coroner, and D & D Towing.
Raise the Bar Hancock County has received a second grant from Ohio’s Office of Workforce Transformation.
Raise the Bar Executive Director Tricia Valesek says they are one of only 13 partnerships in Ohio receiving these competitive grant funds.
She says they’re still generating positive outcomes from their first grant award from the state, and they’re really excited about the additional programming this second grant will allow them to do.
You can get more details on the grant in the following news release from Raise the Bar, and there’s also some audio from our conversation with Tricia about the grant.
For the second year in a row, Raise the Bar Hancock County (Raise the Bar) is among a limited number of recipients statewide receiving grant funds from the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and the Ohio Development Services Agency.
Through the Industry Sector Partnership Grant, Ohio aims to accelerate essential workforce development strategies that benefit youth, adults, and employers.
Grant funding will enable Raise the Bar to better connect businesses and education in strategies that get individuals trained with the right skills by the most qualified training providers. Funds will also allow Raise the Bar to support current and future employees with attaining in-demand industry-recognized credentials as well as learn about the manufacturing industry and its occupations.
“Hancock County’s collaborative approach to workforce development shines regionally and statewide. We succeed on countless efforts because local businesses, education providers, policymakers, and social services consistently work together to co-create solutions,” said Tricia Valasek, Raise the Bar’s Executive Director.
“We want our area talent to thrive professionally, and this funding will be an instrumental piece in helping us accomplish this goal.”
Availability of this state funding will allow Raise the Bar to simultaneously reach educators, parents, employers, job seekers, and students.
Funds will support new efforts including summer externships for high school teachers and structured on-the-job training for apprenticeships. Monies will also bolster ongoing initiatives including Leader in Me(R) and industry credentialing.
Valasek added, “Hancock County was primed to receive this grant. We are still generating positive outcomes from the first grant award, which has allowed us to build our internal capacity, support a Career Assessment Specialist for high school seniors, extend the Leader in Me(R) to Liberty-Benton Local Schools, launch a new leadership series for entry-level managers, and support industry exposure events like Manufacturing Day for 8th graders and Lit Man for 3rd graders. We are eager to build upon these successes and further impact the local economy and workforce.”
Ohio’s Industry Sector Partnership Grant strives to help bring Ohioans into the workforce pipeline while meeting the needs of job creators and the local economy.
This second year of the competitive grant program provided $2.58 million to 13 partnerships focused on in-demand industry sectors, including information technology, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and aerospace.
Raise the Bar facilitates a cradle-to-career economic growth strategy that will produce a pipeline of employees capable of filling Hancock County’s workforce needs, today and into the future.
To learn more about Raise the Bar and its programming, visit www.raisethebarhancock.org.