The State Fire Marshal’s Office of Ohio is saying goodbye and thank you to a retired bomb-sniffing canine who passed away.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office says Dodger, an explosive detection canine for the Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau, made one last visit to the SFM Reynoldsburg campus to receive ‘good boys,’ ‘thank yous,’ and a fond farewell from his SFM family prior to passing away.

“Dodger had been the backbone of our canine program for years,” said Kevin S. Reardon, State Fire Marshal.

“This is a tremendous loss and we will certainly miss Dodger but he will live forever in our hearts.”

Dodger was born in Ohio and was rescued from the greater Cincinnati area before starting his career in November 2010 to become the first State Fire Marshal Explosive Detection Canine.

Dodger was trained to detect many different types of explosives, firearms, and post-blast debris and supported missions with Homeland Security and other law enforcement functions throughout Ohio.

During his career, Dodger assisted in several bomb threats, protection details, evidence searches and pre-event sweeps.

Upon retirement, Dodger lived at his home in Blacklick, Ohio with his handler, Ron Stemen and his family.

Dodger was an asset to the safety of all the citizens of the Ohio.

He was 13 years old.

Dodger’s Career Statistics:

Missions: 1,438

Demonstrations: 287

Finds: 387

Citizens Served: 15,575,923

A new program will offer residents of The City Mission of Findlay the opportunity to earn industry-recognized credentials to gain entry-level employment at local healthcare facilities to fill vacant Environmental Services and Nutritional Services positions.

The program is a collaboration between ProMedica Fostoria Community Hospital, Northwest State Community College, The City Mission, OhioMeansJobs-Hancock County, and the Fostoria Learning Center.

Students will complete 24 hours of curriculum in an industry-recognized Certified Health Care Environmental Services Technician (CHEST) program, a 16-hour SERV Safe program and a 10-hour OSHA certification course to qualify them for employment at an area healthcare facility and for funding through OhioMeansJobs.

In total, the course will be 50 hours of comprehensive training. All three courses will take place at the Fostoria Learning Center.

The primary focus will be to train City Mission residents who are seeking entry level careers in healthcare.

“The City Mission is excited to be on this journey with such amazing partners,” says Kathryn Bausman, executive director, City Mission. “This is the third class in our Workforce Development Program, each one has been different and has allowed us to offer a variety of opportunities to our guests.”

She says the workforce pathway programming continues to have a positive effect on their residents, the local community, and economy.

As a result of the workforce programming, 11 of 13 participants in welding and manufacturing training programs are now employed.

This new Healthcare Services Program will feature five participants.

Garner Trucking again is in the top 20 on the list of the Best Fleets to Drive For in North America.

The Best Fleets program is presented by The Truckload Carriers Associations and CarriersEdge.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Garner Trucking, headquartered in Findlay, has been named one of the Best Fleets to Drive For in North America.

“Garner is thrilled to be a part of the Best Fleets to Drive For 6 years running. Our people, staff, managers, technicians, and drivers are the reason why we have been successful with the Best Fleets program,” said Chief Operations Officer Tim Chrulski.

“Their hard work and dedication to improving our organization is truly what differentiates us. Garner has competed with and stands alongside some of the best trucking companies in the industry on a national stage. The honor is not taken lightly.”

To be considered for the Best Fleets program, companies operating 10 or more trucks had to receive a nomination from one of their company drivers or owner operators.

The fleets were then evaluated using a scoring matrix covering a variety of categories, including total compensation, health benefits, performance management, professional
development, and career path/advancement opportunities, among other criteria.

Driver surveys were also conducted to collect input from drivers and independent contractors working with the fleets.

Continental Express in Sidney, Ohio and Thomas E. Keller Trucking in Defiance, Ohio also made the top 20.

Two overall winners, in large and small fleet categories, will be named during The Truckload Carriers Associations Annual Convention in Las Vegas in March.

Three Findlay churches are seeing who can collect the most food for the City Mission in what they’re calling the 1st Annual Super Bowl of Churches.

The three churches involved in the friendly competition are St. Marks United Methodist Church, St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church and St. Paul’s Church.

The churches are collecting as much food for the City Mission as they can by Super Bowl Sunday.

Get more details in the post below.

(ONN) – The Supreme Court of Ohio has rejected as gerrymandered a second set of Ohio legislative district maps that retained strong Republican majorities – and has sent the maps back for a third try.

The court gave the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission 10 days to pass a constitutional map.

The court ruled that the panel’s redrawn maps of Ohio House and Senate districts still violate a 2015 constitutional amendment intended to avoid partisan favoritism and to proportionally distribute districts to reflect Ohio’s current split of 54 percent Republican and 46 percent Democrat.

Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor provided a pivotal swing vote.

Peloton is pulling its plans to build its first U.S. factory in Wood County as the exercise bike company loses revenue and subscribers.

WTOL-11 is reporting that a spokesperson confirmed to them that Peloton Outpark Park in Troy Township will be sold once external construction is complete.

The company announced plans last May to build a $400 million facility on more than 200 acres. Construction on the facility began last summer.

“We are forever thankful to Wood County, Troy Township, JobsOhio, the Ohio Development Services Agency and the Regional Growth Partnership for welcoming Peloton to the community and for their invaluable partnership,” a Peloton spokesperson told WTOL-11.

“While we won’t be able to ultimately occupy the property, overall we not only had the opportunity to highlight the talent and resources Troy Township offers, but we also invested approximately $90-$100 million in the area.”

Peloton announced that CEO John Foley was stepping down on Tuesday as part of a restructuring of the business, which includes the elimination of 2,800 jobs.

Findlay Trojans football standout Luke Montgomery has set the date on which he’ll announce his decision on where he’ll be playing in college.

Luke took to social media on Monday to say he’ll he committing on Thursday, February 17th at 3 p.m. in the Findlay High School gym.

The 6-foot-five 265 pound junior lineman has been recruited by all the big college football powerhouses.

In the fall, Luke will play his senior season for the Trojans, while his brother, Ryan, will be in his sophomore year at quarterback.

The Ohio State University has unveiled the design of the new playing surface that will be installed at Ohio Stadium over the summer.

The Ohio State Department of Athletics engaged Buckeye Nation in October to send in fan-inspired design concepts for the field.

More than 1,300 designs were submitted, and elements most favored by fans included the Block O at midfield, incorporating Buckeye leaves, and scarlet end zones (46%, compared to 21% suggesting gray end zones).

All three of those elements, plus others favored by fans, are included in the new design that was ultimately determined by an internal panel.

Details of the design include:

The Block O at midfield has been emphasized with the outer strokes color adjusted to gray.
Buckeye leaf decals replace the two X’s at the respective 35-yard line kickoff locations.
Official OHIO STATE and BUCKEYES athletics word marks, consistent with those on other venue playing surfaces and on team uniforms and apparel, are in the two scarlet end zones.
The outer boundaries of play have been color adjusted to gray to complement the scarlet end zones.
Yard line numbering matches the block type font on the players’ uniforms.
The iconic black/white/scarlet striping pattern, found most prominently on Buckeye helmets, will have a home in each end zone along the end lines, matching the width of the goal posts.

Fans will see the new turf first on September 3rd, when Ohio State hosts Notre Dame.

See Ohio State’s full football schedule by clicking here.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office is looking at purchasing a new armored vehicle to assist the emergency response teams within the sheriff’s office and Findlay Police Department.

Lt. Mark Price, with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, says their current armored carrier dates back to the early 1980s and is an armored car that was once owned by a company that did money runs for local banks.

He says their current vehicle has been experiencing some mechanical issues and can’t go off-road and the new vehicle would be better equipped to do that.

He says the new armored vehicle would be very valuable in any scenario involving officer safety, like a barricaded subject with a gun and having to make an approach.

As Lt. Price mentioned in the audio above the armored vehicle would also give officers some cover while making an approach and also help them reach an officer who may have been injured at a scene that is still active.

The vehicle they’re looking at would cost around $270,000.

The Lt. says they recently made a presentation to the Hancock County Commissioners about the need for the new armored vehicle.

He says they’re working with the City of Findlay about possibly splitting the cost of the vehicle.

The Findlay Police Department has announced the hiring of a new officer.

Jon-Paul Maiden was sworn in by Mayor Christina Muryn at the municipal building on Monday morning.

Maiden, 27, is a graduate of Middlesboro High School in Middlesboro, Kentucky.

He then graduated from Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

Maiden lives in Findlay and was employed as a corrections officer at the Wood County Juvenile Detention Center.

Maiden will attend the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy in order to earn his Ohio Peace Officer Certificate.

He will be assigned to the department’s patrol division after successfully completing the academy.