The Findlay Rotary Club presented $46,000 in grants to various local non-profit organizations at its latest meeting.

The grants come from the Findlay Rotary Club’s Forward Fund, which was established in 1991 to build over the years through donations and bequests.

The objective was to build a permanent fund that could make a substantial and lasting contribution to the community.

The Forward Fund is also supported through outright gifts, matching funds, contributions through wills, life insurance gifts and shares of stock and memorials.

This year’s recipients include:

· Raise The Bar Hancock County: $5,000 for Literacy + Manufacturing (Lit Man) program

· Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County: $10,000 for Critical Home Repair program

· Findlay Hope House for the Homeless Inc: $6,000 for Security System

· Findlay Family YMCA: $8,000 for Parkinson’s Program: Rock Steady Boxing

· City Mission of Findlay, Ohio: $17,000 for Walk-in freezer and additional shelving

Over the years the Forward Fund has supported a number of local organizations including Hancock Public Health, Hancock County Center for Safe and Healthy Children, Findlay Area Youth for Christ, Christian Clearing House, Blanchard Valley Health Foundation, Miracle League of Findlay, Adopt-A-Door Boot Security System, Children’s Museum of Findlay, University of Findlay, The Literacy Coalition of Hancock County, among many others.

The spring ArtWalk will be held in downtown Findlay on Friday, May 6th.

Artists will be located throughout the downtown area in local shops, restaurants, and businesses.

Visit Findlay says downtown art anchors Findlay Art League, Marathon Center for the Performing Arts, and Jones Building Artists Studios will be open.

The free event is open to the entire family.

The spring ArtWalk is being held on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m.

Duran Duran and Pat Benatar are among the newest inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

They’re joined by names including Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Eminem, and Dolly Parton.

The Hall of Fame said it’s worth noting that all five of the performers who topped the 2022 fan vote made this year’s induction – Duran Duran, Eminem, Pat Benatar, Eurythmics and Dolly Parton.

They’ll be inducted later this year in Los Angeles.

That ceremony is set for November 5th.

The National Weather Service says a tornado touched down a little southwest of Findlay as severe storms blew through Hancock County on Tuesday.

The NWS survey team has confirmed that an EF-0 tornado with winds of 80 miles per hour touched down about a half-mile south of Rawson.

The tornado traveled in a northeast direction between County Road 313 and Interstate-75.

The tornado was on the ground for about seven miles before lifting just west of the Findlay Airport.

The NWS says a barn metal roof was ripped off and wood beams were snapped and driven into the ground.

Additionally, a residential barn was destroyed, several power poles were snapped and blown down, and several trees came down.

The picture with this story is from County Road 12, a little south of County Road 313.

Findlay and Hancock County, as well as other areas, were under Tornado Warnings on Tuesday as a strong line of storms went through the area.

The storm also sent a tree crashing into a Findlay home. Get more on that by clicking here.

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The University of Findlay will hold commencement ceremonies for its 2022 graduates on Saturday, May 7th in the Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex.

The graduating class of 2022 includes a total of 790 students, ranging from the age of 19 to 65, and has completed a total of 6 associate degrees, 419 bachelor’s degrees, 212 master’s degrees, and 168 doctorates.

Doors will open at 8 a.m. for the graduate commencement ceremony, with the formal procession to begin at 9 a.m.

The undergraduate ceremony will be held in the afternoon.

Doors will open at 2 p.m., and the formal procession will begin at 3 p.m.

Following each ceremony, graduates will participate in Findlay’s long-standing tradition of marching back through the Griffith Memorial Arch.

The ceremonies will be broadcast by UFTV on its YouTube Channel, UFTV Productions, and UF’s social media accounts, including a Facebook Live of the Griffith Memorial Arch processions.

Below is video from last year’s Arch Ceremony.

The Findlay Police Department says a motorcyclist was arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase.

The police department says an officer attempted to pull over a Harley-Davidson for no registration on East Sandusky Street near Wilson Street at 11:35 Tuesday night.

Police say the operator of the motorcycle, Duane Noel, of Fostoria, refused to stop and led police on a five-mile pursuit that reached speeds of 100 miles per hour.

Police say Noel lost control of his motorcycle in a grassy area near Ashwood Drive in the Birchaven subdivision and was taken into custody.

Noel is facing charges of fleeing and eluding and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

He was also given citations for no motorcycle endorsement, driving under suspension and operating without a title.

Last week another motorcyclist led Findlay police on a high-speed chase, and you can read about that chase by clicking here. 

The Hancock Historical Museum will host its monthly Brown Bag Lecture on Thursday, May 5th at noon.

Judge Reginald Routson will be talking about Findlay’s rock and roll bands, music venues, stores, and the culture of the garage band in the 1960s.

Judge Routson was instrumental in assembling the histories compiled in the Museum’s current exhibit “Findlay Rocks the ‘60s” and the lecture will explain more about the details in the exhibit.

Routson had his own band in the 1960s and lived the life and culture of the Garage Rock of the 1960s.

The Honorable Reginald Routson is a judge for the Hancock County Court of Common Pleas.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Liberal studies and a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University before completing his J.D. at the University of Toledo College of Law.

The lecture is free for museum members, and $3 for nonmembers.

Reservations are requested but not required.

Space is extremely limited.

For more information, please call the Hancock Historical Museum at 419-423-4433.

In the video below, museum curator/archivist Joy Bennett talks about the instrumental role Judge Routson had in the exhibit.

The Hancock Historical Museum is located at 422 West Sandusky Street in Findlay.

Hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10 to 4, Sunday 1 to 4 and Saturdays by appointment for large groups only.

Learn more about the museum by clicking here for their website.

JD Vance came out on top in the crowded race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Ohio.

Vance was victorious in a primary that saw seven candidates vying for the nomination.

On the Democrat side, Congressman Tim Ryan was victorious.

That means Vance and Ryan will face off in the fall for that Ohio U.S. Senate seat.

The position opened up when Senator Rob Portman announced he would be retiring.

Click here for results from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, here for the Hancock County Board of Elections, and here for the Putnam County Board of Elections.

Hancock County voters approved a replacement levy for mental health services in the county in the Tuesday primary.

Unofficial results have the levy passing by a wide margin of 62 percent for it and 36 percent against it.

The Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) says supporting mental health not only benefits the individuals who need the help, but the entire community.

Dr. Ami Orr, a local pediatrician, says without taxpayer support, a lot of mental health services that people rely on would cease to exist.

ADAMHS says, in the past year, thousands of Hancock County residents were directly impacted by mental health and substance use services provided by local agencies including: Ohio Guidestone (formerly A Renewed Mind); Family Resource Center; FOCUS Recovery and Wellness Community; and, NAMI Hancock County.

Local levy dollars were used to subsidize the services when there was no other source of funding.

The 1.3 mill replacement levy will be for continuing operations as well as an expansion of services beginning this year.

The levy was the only countywide issue on the ballot in Hancock County.

Click here for results from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, here for the Hancock County Board of Elections, and here for the Putnam County Board of Elections.

Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine survived a test of the far right’s sway as he seeks a second term in office.

DeWine handily won Tuesday’s primary despite losing the backing of some conservative groups who were angry over his aggressive pandemic policies.

DeWine was up against three far-right challengers in the primary, including former Congressman Jim Renacci.

Ohio Democrats chose former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley as their nominee for governor over former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley

DeWine and Whaley will now face off in the fall.

Democrats haven’t won the governor’s office in nearly 16 years.

Click here for results from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, here for the Hancock County Board of Elections, and here for the Putnam County Board of Elections.

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