Two northeast Ohio lawmakers are introducing a bill to create a day recognizing the holiday movie classic “A Christmas Story” that was filmed in Cleveland.

Representative Terrance Upchurch of Cleveland and Representative Tom Patton of Strongsville are sponsoring House Bill 623, which would designate November 18th as “A Christmas Story Family Day” in Ohio because that was the date in 1983 when the movie was released in theaters.

The film tells the tale of a little boy and his quest to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.

The movie used a house on West 11th Street in Tremont that is now a museum for the fictional family’s home and shot several scenes at Public Square.

(picture courtesy of the A Christmas Story House and Museum)

The man authorities say was driving the stolen car that hit and killed Bluffton Police Officer Dominic Francis on March 31st appeared in Hancock County Common Pleas Court on Thursday for his arraignment.

Emin Johnson, 20, of Euclid, pleaded not guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter and other charges at the arraignment.

His bond of $500,000 that was set in Findlay Municipal Court earlier was carried over.

A pre-trial hearing has been set for May 13th.

A backseat passenger, 21-year-old Zachary Love, was also arraigned.

He pleaded not guilty to charges including the improper handling of a firearm in a vehicle and receiving stolen property

A video arraignment was being set up for a third suspect, Dante Tate, 19, who’s still in Medina County where he was apprehended.

The charges he’s facing include grand theft of a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property.

Authorities say the three were in a stolen car that was fleeing from police on Interstate 75 southbound around 2:30 a.m. on March 31st that struck and killed Bluffton police officer Dominic Francis.

Officer Francis was placing stop sticks on the highway in an effort to end the pursuit.

The three fled on foot and one stole a car and was later arrested in northeast Ohio in Elyria.

Another was arrested near where the car was stolen in Hancock County and the third suspect was arrested that afternoon in Hancock County.

Johnson and Love are being held at the Hancock County Jail while Tate was still being held in northeast Ohio where he was apprehended.

The Fort Findlay FOP Lodge 20 Foundation has established an official fundraising drive authorized by the family of officer Dominic Francis.

Donations can be made online at fortfindlayfop20.org. and checks can be mailed to Fort Findlay FOP Lodge 20, P.O. Box 1335, Findlay, OH 45840.

The Findlay Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a person who stole several items from a jewelry store.

Police say the person in the surveillance pictures entered the Kay Jewelers at 1815 Tiffin Avenue on Wednesday at around 6 p.m. and asked to see a variety of jewelry items.

Once the items were placed on the counter, the suspect grabbed them and ran out of the store.

He got into a silver car that fled the area on Tiffin Avenue.

The suspect is described as a male with a thin build and dreadlocks.

Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to contact the Findlay Police Department at 419-424-7150 or Crime Stoppers at 419-425-TIPS.

Tipsters may be eligible for a reward.

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

The Wind Advisory goes until 8 p.m. Thursday.

Forecasters say southwest winds of 20 to 25 miles per hour will gust up to 50 miles per hour at times.

Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects.

Tree limbs could be blown down, causing a few power outages.

People should use caution when driving, especially if operating a high-profile vehicle.

https://twitter.com/NWSCLE/status/1514609086247018504

The Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS) Auxiliary and Volunteer Services recently made significant contributions to Blanchard Valley Hospital (BVH) and Bluffton Hospital.

In support of its mission to serve BVHS and the community, the Auxiliary presented a check for $86,000 to the BVH emergency room.

The emergency room will use these funds to purchase medical equipment such as a glideslope, a scope with a camera; a rapid infuser, which administers ten times faster than a normal IV pump and five additional patient stretchers.

Additionally, the BVHS Auxiliary donated $10,605 to Bluffton Hospital, in conjunction with $7,900 residual funds from the Bluffton Hospital Auxiliary.

These funds will be used to purchase portable communication equipment for staff; a tourniquet smart pump for the surgery department and a few pieces of non-medical equipment for the medical and surgical area of the hospital.

“Given we were in a recovery period from the COVID-19 virus, I am very proud of all the volunteers and the money we were able to raise for the gift to Blanchard Valley Health System,” said Jodi Karhoff, BVHS Auxiliary treasurer.

“We are still looking at other requests so we can disburse the remaining funds raised in 2021,” she added.

These donations were made possible through the Auxiliary’s 2021 fundraising efforts and retail entities, which include hospital gift shops and the Nearly New Shop.

The Blanchard Valley Health System Auxiliary in 2019 celebrated 70 years of volunteering and has more than 400 volunteers.

A man was killed in a workplace accident at Rumpke Waste & Recycling in Findlay.

The accident happened on Monday at the Rumpke facility on Prospect Avenue.

56-year-old Michael G. Wortman, a maintenance technician, was killed when the arm of a trash truck hit him in the head as he was attempting repairs.

Wortman was taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the accident.

You can read Wortman’s obituary on the Weber Funeral Home website by clicking here.

Whirlpool Corporation held a groundbreaking for the $65 million dollar expansion and renovation of its Ottawa operations.

The company says the investment will position the plant as one of the company’s refrigeration hubs and will include an expansion to accommodate production of premium refrigeration products, including high-end built-in refrigerators (BIR).

The expansion of Whirlpool’s Ottawa operations will create 109 local jobs.

Whirlpool says, with the expected growth of the BIR market, this expansion will allow Whirlpool to increase production while providing a critical competitive advantage.

Expansion of the Ottawa facility’s existing footprint will begin later this year.

Officials were on hand on Wednesday for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the expansion.

Meantime, Lt. Governor Jon Husted and other officials toured Whirlpool’s Findlay operation earlier in the week.

Get more on that by clicking here.

https://twitter.com/WhirlpoolCorp/status/1514309961106526208

The City of Findlay says people who weren’t able to attend one of the recent Move Findlay Forward Workshops still have an opportunity to share their ideas.

The city says people can fill out an online survey by clicking here. The online survey will be open until April 30th.

The Move Findlay Forward workshops were designed to give people a chance to 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 the years to come?” said Mayor Christina Muryn.

The mayor says the workshops are an opportunity to share your ideas and make Findlay an even better place than it already is.

Authorities in Wyandot County say they confiscated illegal drugs, cash and guns and made one arrest during a drug operation on Monday.

The Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office says the Major Crimes Unit, METRICH Enforcement Unit and Seneca County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at 7227 County Highway 2 in McCutchenville.

Authorities say around 40 grams of fentanyl was seized along with $10,000 in cash, guns, a truck and other items indicative of drug trafficking.

Zachary Hal Carlos Saldana, 26, was arrested and taken to the Wyandot County Jail.

The Wyandot County Sheriff Todd Frey says the operation was the result of an extended investigation into illegal drugs being distributed in the county.

A firefighter was killed and a state highway patrolman injured in a crash on Monday afternoon in Wayne County.

First responders were finishing their work at the scene of a single-vehicle accident on I-71 when a passing vehicle struck the rear of a fire engine, the trooper’s cruiser and the vehicle from the original accident.

Lieutenant Philip Wigal, 35, was killed and 37-year-old Trooper Steven Hill was injured in the follow-up crash.

The driver of the vehicle that crashed into the accident scene suffered minor injuries.

Governor DeWine has ordered that flags of the United States and the State of Ohio be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Wayne County, the Ohio Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center, and the Rhodes State Office Tower in honor of Wigal’s life and legacy.

Flags shall remain lowered until sunset on the day of his funeral.

This is National Work Zone Awareness Week, and authorities are reminding drivers of the importance of obeying the state’s move over law, which requires drivers to move over and slow down for emergency vehicles.