A bill that allows Ohioans to carry a concealed gun without a permit is now headed to Governor Mike DeWine’s desk.
On Wednesday the Ohio House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 215.
If the governor signs it, people 21 and older in Ohio will be allowed to carry a concealed gun without a license or firearms training as long as they lawfully possess the gun.
Currently, Ohioans need eight hours of training and a background check to obtain a CCW permit.
Many in law enforcement have voiced their opposition to the bill, including the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, which believes it will create a greater threat to officer safety.
The bill removes a requirement to tell officers about the weapon unless asked.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recently issued Ohio’s Law on Concealed Handguns annual report showing that 202,920 concealed carry licenses were issued in Ohio in 2021.
Under current Ohio law, county sheriffs are responsible for issuing concealed-carry licenses and renewing them, as well as suspending and revoking licenses.
Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn is inviting people to attend one of the Move Findlay Forward workshops and share their ideas for the city’s new strategic plan.
“It’s really important for us to hear from the citizens. What are the hot button issues they care about, what are the things they want to see in their community in years to come?”
The mayor says the workshops are an opportunity to share your ideas and make Findlay an even better place than it already is.
The Move Findlay Forward workshops will be held on April 6th and April 7th.
More information can be found by clicking here and in the post below from the city.
A new law allowing Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to prosecute unauthorized robocalls is now in effect.
The law signed by Governor DeWine last year empowers state authorities to go after illegal robocalls with the intent to defraud, cause harm, and wrongfully obtain anything of value.
The legislation targets spoofing numbers that disguise scammers to look like they are calling from a local area.
Officials say the Attorney General’s Robocall Enforcement Unit logged more than 23,000 reports of unwanted calls last year.
A man accused of firing a shotgun at a Hancock County Sheriff’s Office deputy was in court for the reading of the verdict in his trial.
Ronald Dean Lauck, 52, of Arlington, was facing a charge of felonious assault, a first-degree felony, and a charge of intimidation, a third-degree felony, in connection with an August 26th, 2020 incident in Jackson Township.
Deputies responded to 16091 County Road 8 a little before 7 o’clock that night to investigate a domestic dispute that involved Lauck’s son.
During their investigation, the sheriff’s office said Lauck fired a shotgun at a deputy and the deputy returned fire.
No one was struck by the gunfire.
Several members of the sheriff’s office and several members of Lauck’s family were in the courtroom on Wednesday when Judge Reginald Routson announced the verdicts.
Judge Routson found Lauck not guilty of the felonious assault charge and guilty of the intimidation charge.
Both charges came with a firearm specification.
On the intimidation charge, Lauck faces 9 to 36 months behind bars.
And the firearm specification calls for a mandatory three years behind bars.
So the sentencing range Lauck is facing is three years and nine months to six years.
Sentencing has been set for March 29th at 11 a.m.
Lauck was taken into custody and taken to the Hancock County Jail where he’ll remain until sentencing.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says one teenager was killed and another seriously injured in a crash in northern Hancock County.
The crash happened a little before 9 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of State Route 613 and Township Road 236.
The sheriff’s office says Tyler Webber, 19, of Van Buren, was driving his pickup truck south on Township Road 236 with a passenger, Samantha Bauman, 17, of Tiffin.
Crash investigators say Webber ran the stop sign at State Route 613 and his truck was hit on the passenger side by a semi traveling eastbound on State Route 613.
The sheriff’s office says Bauman was pronounced dead at the scene while Webber was flown by medical helicopter to a Toledo hospital.
The driver of the semi was taken to Fostoria Community Hospital with minor injuries.
In an additional show of support for the people of Ukraine, Governor Mike DeWine has directed the Ohio Department of Transportation to illuminate the state’s two lighted bridges in blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
“This is a way to show our support of the Ukrainian people in their struggle against Russia’s unprovoked attack on their country,” said Governor DeWine.
“I hope all Ohioans will join with the more than 42,000 Ukrainians living in our state and continue to pray for a peaceful end to this senseless Russian aggression.”
Beginning Tuesday night, ODOT will change the lighting on the George. V. Voinovich Bridge, which carries I-90 in Cleveland over the Cuyahoga River, and the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway, which carries I-280 over the Maumee River in Toledo.
In coordination with this show of support, the Ashtabula County Engineer’s office will also light the Ashtabula Harbor Lift Bridge over the Ashtabula River in blue and yellow, and the City of Dayton will light up bridges and overpasses along I-75 through downtown.
The City of Toledo also plans to light the Anthony Wayne Bridge over the Maumee River in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
“I also urge other public and privately-owned building owners to join us in demonstration of deep concern about the senseless attack on Ukraine,” said Governor DeWine.
“In Ohio, we rally around those who need support, and this is a simple way to not only support those living in Ukraine but also our Ukrainian friends and neighbors living in Ohio.”
The Ukrainian flag is currently flying at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus and the Governor’s residence in Bexley.
On Saturday, DeWine directed the Ohio Department of Commerce to cease both the purchase and sale of all vodka made by Russian Standard, the only overseas, Russian-owned distillery with vodka sold in Ohio.
He also declared February 27th a Day of Prayer in Ohio to show support for innocent civilians under attack by Russia.
The University of Findlay is relaxing its facial covering requirements in response to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Facial coverings and masks are no longer required in campus buildings or at campus events, with the exception of Cosiano Health Center.
This includes all classrooms, hallways, public spaces, auditoriums, common areas and office spaces.
The change in facial covering requirements applies to everyone, regardless of their vaccination status.
Individuals may choose to continue wearing a face covering if they’re more comfortable doing so.
Those who are symptomatic, test positive or are exposed to someone with COVID-19 should wear a face covering.
People who feel unwell are asked to stay home.
The CDC’s updated recommendation on masking comes from their new tool, COVID-19 Community Levels, which may help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data from three primary metrics: new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days.
These statistics determine the COVID-19 community level which can be classified as low, medium, or high.
Under these new metrics, Hancock County is classified as “low risk.”
The University of Findlay says it will continue to monitor active COVID-19 cases on campus and respond to guidance from public health officials.
Those who are part of the campus community and test positive for COVID-19 must inform the Cosiano Health Center.
Students are also advised to contact the Oiler Success Center for assistance with class schedules and faculty notifications.
Additional information on University’s COVID-19 response and guidelines are available on the Oiler Start Safe & Stay Safe webpage.
The Rotary’s Golden Apple Award, signifying teaching excellence, is awarded annually to outstanding teachers in the elementary, middle, and high schools of Findlay/Hancock County.
The Rotary hopes the Golden Apple Awards will enhance the public’s respect for teachers and help attract new, dedicated people to the teaching profession.
People in Findlay and Hancock County who know a teacher who has improved a student’s life through excellent, dedicated teaching are encouraged to nominate that teacher for the Golden Apple Award.
Nominations will be accepted until April 8th.
There will be three semifinalists at each the elementary, middle, and high school level.
The Findlay Rotary Club will then name the three winners at an awards banquet in October.
Each of the three outstanding teachers will receive a Golden Apple Award and a $2,500 cash award.
Click here for the nomination form and to learn more, and click here to read about the winners of last year’s Golden Apple Awards. (pictured below)
The 32nd Annual Golden Apple Awards Banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, October 19th, 2022 at Winebrenner Seminary.
Ohio election officials say they have “grave concerns” about being able to carry out a successful primary election on May 3, citing the already tight timeline due to still-unresolved state legislative maps as the battle over redistricting continues.
They said many of Ohio’s 88 counties “no longer have the ability to run a successful” primary, “and more counties lose that ability each day.”
Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose on saturday ordered county boards to begin adding legislative candidates’ names to ballots, as instructed by the legislature.
The award, by Site Selection magazine, is based on job creation, new construction and capital investment.
A micropolitan area is defined as having a population between 10,000 and 50,000.
“Winning eight years in a row validates the strength of our existing office, manufacturing and logistics base,” said Tim Mayle, Director of Economic Development.
Mayle tells WFIN News that the Economic Development office’s commitment to the FindlayFormula enables a site selection process not experienced anywhere else.
“Each year our number one goal is to assist local companies as they seek to expand. The majority of qualifying projects come from companies continuing to hire employees and expand,” Mayle added.
Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn says the City of Findlay works every day with business and Economic Development to position Findlay to be as competitive as possible.
“R+L Carriers saw first-hand how we work to make permitting and operating in Findlay as smooth as possible,” the mayor said.
The mayor added that R+L Carriers was impressed with the partnership between Economic Development and The City of Findlay in 2021.
“I wish every community would embrace development the way Findlay does,” said Stan Richards, Director of Construction for R+L.
“The team was prepared to answer all of our questions to insure that we were preparing a site plan that would meet the requirements of the City of Findlay.”
In 2021 Mayle said Economic Development zeroed in on residential development as a key initiative.
“Residential development goes hand-in-hand with community growth and talent attraction,” said Andrew Yates, a single and multi-family residential developer and board chair of the Economic Development Advisory Board.
“Thanks to our residential developers we had single family, senior housing, town home, downtown infill and workforce housing constructed in 2021,” said Dan Sheaffer, Project Specialist, Economic Development.
Site Selection Magazine is the official publication of the Global FDI Association and the Industrial Asset Management Council.
In 2021, Site Selection ranked the United States’ 543 micropolitan stastical areas, with a population of 10,000 to 50,000.
Rankings are measured on qualified projects meeting one or more of three criteria: $1 MM or more invested, 20 or more jobs created or 10,000 or more square feet constructed.
Last year Findlay business invested more than $163,000,000 in expansion, machinery and equipment resulting in 1,600 net new employees hired.
Over the past eight years, qualified projects have totaled $1,645,235,695 in investment.
