A man who was a dedicated volunteer at the Hancock Historical Museum has passed away.

The museum says it’s with incredibly heavy hearts that it says farewell to Jerry Sisser, who was the father of museum director Sarah Sisser.

The museum says Jerry, 73, was always willing to help, from pouring beer at Oktoberfest to co-hosting the museum’s monthly Classic Movie Night.

“In lieu of May’s Classic Movie Night, please join us in a celebration of Jerry’s life on Saturday 5-8 and raise a glass of vodka to a person who is very special to all of us,” the museum said on Facebook.

Jerry was an avid traveler, high school teacher, and lover of classic films, television, and media. In his more than 30 years teaching at Fostoria High School, Jerry helped countless students discover and pursue their passion for television production, communications, and journalism.

In lieu of flowers, people are asked to consider a donation to the Jerry Sisser Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation.

The Fostoria Police Division says two missing girls were located in the city.

On Tuesday, Fostoria police were asked to help with the search for a missing juvenile from Galion who was believed to be in Fostoria.

Police say Emma Moore, 15, was found at a residence and taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

Also located at the same residence was 16-year-old Nevaeh Betts, of Fostoria, who was reported missing.

A man reportedly was taken into custody for questioning.

The Fostoria Police Division says the Special Response Team that helped with the search was comprised of Fostoria and Tiffin police officers as well as the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office and Fostoria Fire Department.

“We are relieved that both juveniles were located and are now safe,” said Fostoria Police Chief Keith Loreno.

“It was another example of multiple agencies working together for a favorable outcome.”

The City of Findlay was again recognized as a Tree City USA at an awards ceremony in Findlay.

This is the 40th time Findlay has been honored with the nationally recognized award.

Findlay earned the title of Tree City USA for its ongoing efforts to maintain and improve quality of life through a comprehensive tree management program.

The program is guided by the Tree Commission and City Administration.

The ODNR, Division of Forestry’s Urban Forestry Assistance Program acts as a guiding hand in helping a community to become qualified as a Tree City USA.

The Regional Urban Forester recommends a community to the Arbor Day Foundation for this standing.

To achieve the title and the honors, a community must meet four standards:

o A Tree Ordinance
o An active Tree Commission or forestry department
o A comprehensive urban forestry program supported by a minimum of two dollars per capita
o An annual Arbor Day proclamation and public observance.

Ohio boasts the greatest number of Tree Cities in the country and marks Ohio’s 44th consecutive year as the top Tree City USA state, according to the Ohio Division of Forestry.

52 northwest Ohio communities are Tree City USAs and two universities are honored as Tree Campus USAs (Ohio Northern University and the University of Findlay.)

All were recognized for their achievements at the awards ceremony in Findlay.

The Fostoria Police Division says a juvenile crashed a vehicle that was stolen from Findlay into a reservoir as he was fleeing from police.

The police department says an officer saw the vehicle run a stop sign at around 7:45 Tuesday night and attempted to stop the vehicle.

Police say the driver refused to stop and a pursuit ensued.

While searching for the vehicle, police learned that the driver had lost control and drove into Reservoir 2 near Lakeview Drive.

The driver was able to get out of the vehicle and ran from the scene.

He was located and apprehended by police.

The 15-year-old was taken to ProMedica Fostoria Community Hospital as a precaution.

He was then released to a parent and will be facing charges of theft of a motor vehicle and failure to comply.

As part of their ongoing project in Findlay replacing aging gas lines, Columbia Gas and their contractor will be performing a routine procedure involving a continuous open flame.

Columbia Gas says people in the vicinity of East Lima Street and Washington Avenue may notice a flame arrester.

Columbia Gas says this is a normal pipeline conditioning procedure for enhanced safety, and the open flame will be monitored 24/7.

The expected duration of the flame arrester is up to one week.

Columbia also says residents in that area may notice traffic restrictions to accommodate equipment.

Anyone who might have a question about the procedure should contact Columbia Gas.

Ohio State’s highly anticipated matchup against Notre Dame on the gridiron this fall will be played in primetime.

The official announcement was made that the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish will kick off their seasons at 7:30 Saturday night, September 3rd.

The game will be broadcast by ABC and ESPN’s College Gameday will also air from Columbus.

See the full Ohio State Football 2022 schedule by clicking here.

https://twitter.com/OhioStAthletics/status/1526609476509388800

The Findlay Police Department will be holding its 7th Annual Bicycle Rodeo at the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts.

The free event will be held on Saturday, May 21st beginning at 9 a.m.

If there’s bad weather, the event will be held on June 18th.

The event is geared towards kids ages 4 to 12, but all family members are welcome.

The Bicycle Rodeo will include a variety of stations to educate youth on the importance of safety.

Free helmets and bicycle licenses will be provided, as well as decorating supplies for bikes and helmets courtesy of Movement Findlay.

The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library will have its Bookmobile there and there will also be several emergency vehicles for children to check out.

Entertainment and a light breakfast (coffee, juice, donuts, bagels and fruit) will also be provided, with awards and door prizes at the conclusion of the event.

Ohio’s high school student-athletes will not be able to make money off their name, image and likeness without losing their amateur status after an amendment was voted down by member schools.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association says the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) proposal failed by a margin of 538 to 254.

The proposal mirrored recent changes made at the collegiate level and would have allowed student-athletes to sign endorsement agreements so long as their teams, schools and/or the OHSAA logo were not used, the endorsements did not happen on school property or in school uniform, and provided there were no endorsements with companies that do not support the mission of education-based athletics, such as casinos, gambling, alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

By rejecting the proposal, Ohio’s student-athletes remain unable to sign endorsement deals without losing their amateur status.

Findlay High School Athletic Director Nate Weihrauch says Findlay voted against the amendment.

“Member schools such as us felt there were many questions left unanswered and safeguards for students, parents and districts needing to be addressed,” Nate said.

“This doesn’t mean this is something that we wouldn’t reconsider,” he added.

https://twitter.com/OHSAASports/status/1526551368575639554

The Findlay Airport will be breaking ground on a project this summer to reconstruct its north aircraft parking apron.

The reconstruction project will include a reinforced concrete parking hardstand to accommodate larger aircraft, improved drainage and clear pavement markings.

“The Findlay Airport is a great asset to our community and we’re very excited to continue to see it grow,” said Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn.

Mayor Muryn says the airport plays a pivotal role in the community by offering easy access to Findlay and on-demand cargo for local manufacturers, private charters, and corporate business travelers.

She said the airport currently has 25 based tenants and is maintaining a 100 percent occupancy rate.

The City of Findlay has received advance notice of a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the reconstruction of the north apron.

The project also includes two bid alternates to further rehabilitate the adjacent tie-down apron and T-hangar taxilane.

The total project cost is a little under $2.3 million and the local share will be just under $100,000.

The mayor says the terminal building will be updated in the coming years and they’re looking at other projects as well.

A drug task force says one man was arrested and many illegal drugs were confiscated during a drug raid in Tiffin.

The Seneca County Drug Task Force – METRICH Enforcement Unit, along with the Tiffin Police Department, Seneca County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant at 248 Second Avenue in Tiffin.

The task force says their search of the residence yielded suspected crack cocaine, suspected cocaine, suspected methamphetamine, suspected fentanyl, pills, psilocybin mushrooms and other items indicative of drug trafficking.

A gun, cash and criminal tools were also found.

The task force says John Martin Fonseca-Beck, 31, was arrested.

The task force says it has been receiving a lot of drug intelligence from road patrol officers and from citizens’ complaints.

“This operation and the teamwork that went into it shows that we stand as a united front against drugs in Seneca County,” said Tiffin Police Chief David Pauly.