Findlay’s Bigelow Hill Elementary School has unveiled its new Ecology Garden.
The garden provides a hands-on outdoor learning experience to make science learning more exciting for the students.
Beth Ann Nissen, project-based learning coach for Findlay City Schools, says students were very engaged in the project from the very beginning.
The Ecology Garden includes, among other things, a pollinator garden for what plants are best for butterflies, a pumpkin patch, a compost area and a bird garden that includes bird houses the students made with the help of Millstream Career Center.
Nissen mentioned that it’s not just all about science though, as the garden also has an art component.
She thanks the many community partners and donors who helped the project become a reality, and a sign at the garden recognizes them as well.
An Ohio law enforcement officer was honored at the White House for ‘demonstrating courageous action and uncommon poise to save lives’.
President Biden awarded Dalton Rushing, a deputy sheriff in Perry County, the highest decoration for bravery a US officer can receive – the Medal of Valor.
In 2021 – Rushing plunged into a frozen lake to rescue a person.
When the victim couldn’t grab on to him and said he was prepared to give up, deputy Rushing tied a rope to the victim and submerged himself into the icy water to rescue the man.
In December, Rushing was awarded the Medal of Honor from the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association.
This week is National Police Week as well as Light Ohio Blue week.
Also receiving the Medal of Valor was assistant Chief Ryan Sprunger of the East Wayne, Ohio, Fire District.
He was off duty when he responded to a call about several individuals who fell into a frozen pond.
Without any thermal protection, and equipped with nothing but a throw rope, Sprunger jumped into the freezing water to rescue the victims – a grandfather and his two grandchildren.
He pulled the grandfather and one child out, and guided medics who arrived to the second child – demonstrating extraordinary courage to save lives.
The man accused of shooting and wounding a state trooper in Findlay last fall has waived his right to counsel and will represent himself at trial.
Court records show Robert Tramaine Hathorn’s jury trial will begin on June 6th in Hancock County Common Pleas Court.
His waiver of right to counsel was filed on Friday.
The waiver points out that Judge Routson believes that it’s not in Hathorn’s best interest to represent himself at trial, and that the waiver of counsel is revocable.
Court records show that an attorney will be appointed by the court to act as standby counsel during the trial.
The 43-year-old from Muskegon, Michigan was previously indicted by a Hancock County Grand Jury on six felony charges, including felonious assault on a peace officer, in connection with an altercation with a state trooper that left the trooper with a gunshot wound.
At his arraignment on October 22nd, Hathorn pleaded not guilty to the six charges in the indictment.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol says Hathorn struggled with a trooper during a traffic stop on October 6th along Interstate 75 in Findlay and the trooper’s gun went off, striking the trooper in the lower body.
Hathorn was found the following day in the Blanchard River after an extensive search involving various police agencies.
The Highway Patrol said Trooper Josef Brobst was released from the hospital on October 9th.
The video below is from Hathorn’s arraignment in October.
The Fostoria Police Division is reminding residents of a simple way to prevent their vehicle from being stolen.
Police say they’ve been receiving several reports of vehicle thefts and that most of the thefts have one thing in common; the vehicles were unlocked and the keys/fobs were left inside.
The police department says a little prevention goes a long way, and everyone should lock their vehicle when it’s left unattended and take the keys with them.
Additionally, any valuables should be taken with you or kept out of sight in the vehicle.
Police say the recent thefts have happened in various parts of town, so it doesn’t appear the thieves are targeting one area.
Anyone who has surveillance footage of one of the thefts is encouraged to contact the police department.
In March, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office said it was seeing an increase in vehicle thefts, and in many instances, the vehicles were unlocked and the keys were inside.
The University of Findlay Women’s Golf Team completed a perfect season on Saturday by winning the Division II National Championship.
Since January, the Oilers participated in eight tournaments, taking the title in every one and putting together arguably the best season in the history of Division II women’s golf.
The final tournament of the season was played on Saturday in Gainesville, Georgia and the Oilers claimed the NCAA Division II National Championship, the first in program history.
“It’s unbelievable”, said head coach Dominic Guarnieri, who has now led his team to the national championship tournament six times.
“To do what they did this spring, it’ll never happen again. Eight-for-eight. This is once in a lifetime.”
The University of Findlay says this is the first team national championship for UF since 2009 when the men’s basketball team went 36-0 and won the national title.
The 2022 women’s golf team is the first team national champion in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) history.
This year’s Light Ohio Blue campaign will run from May 15th through May 21st and coincide with National Police Week.
The annual statewide campaign honors law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty and their surviving family members, and shows support for current law enforcement personnel across the Buckeye State.
People are encouraged to change an exterior light at their home to blue, to show their support for law enforcement.
Since last year’s campaign Ohio state has lost nine law enforcement officers in the line of duty.
They join the more than 800 names on the state memorial at the Ohio Peace Officers Memorial in London, and the more than 22,000 names on the National Law Enforcement Officers
Memorial in Washington D.C.
The support shown from our communities through the Light Ohio Blue campaign helps families honor the memories of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and encourage law enforcement personnel currently serving.
On Tuesday, May 17, the Light Ohio Blue campaign will hold the annual Cruiser Caravan.
The caravan consists of cruisers with officers and surviving line of duty family members from across the state.
It will start from the Columbus State Delaware Campus located at 5100 Cornerstone Drive, Delaware, OH 43015.
The staging of the cruisers will begin at 5 p.m.; and at 5:45 p.m., the ceremony and the roll call of officers lost in 2021 and 2022 will be read.
There will be remarks by Attorney General Dave Yost, and an honor guard and bagpipers will be present.
The Cruiser Caravan will depart from the Columbus State Delaware Campus at approximately 6:30 p.m. and travel to locations within Central Ohio.
The picture above is the ‘Thin Blue Line’ Flag hanging from the walkway connecting the Findlay Municipal Building to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office thanking all officers for the service.
The University of Findlay’s College of Health Professions is the first academic program in the United States to incorporate a new augmented reality technology, developed by MediView XR, Inc., in their hands-on Sonography Program curriculum.
MediView logoMediView, an Ohio-based medical technology company partnered with GE Healthcare and Microsoft, works to advance healthcare through intuitive visualization powered by augmented reality, remote collaboration, and evidence-based insights.
According to MediView, these technologies are “intended to synergistically improve medical imaging, clinical efficiencies, patient outcomes, and access to high-quality modern medical services.”
Adam Rakestraw, chairman and co-founder of MediView XR, Inc., explained, “MediView’s technologies allow sonographers to put their screen anywhere they want. There are differentiated ergonomic benefits to the user by putting their screen in their direct line-of-sight with their hands and the patient, and it’s much more intuitive.”
Rakestraw noted that augmented reality is the foundation for this technology. Augmented reality uses computer powered glasses that project images, such as an ultrasound, on a user’s view of the real world while still allowing the user to see and interact with their environment.
This technology is expected to explode into a multi-billion-dollar industry in the coming years and is “being utilized in education and healthcare in ways that are expanding every day,” he said.
University of Findlay President Katherine Fell, Ph.D., stated, “I am delighted with this break-through opportunity for our students in the health professions. The MediView team members are impressive, and we are honored to work with them. We are also thankful for the UF donors who have supported the acquisition of these and other transformative technologies for our students and programs.”
University of Findlay is the first in the United States to incorporate a new augmented reality technology in their Sonography Program.
The University of Findlay has the unique opportunity to be the first higher education institution to obtain this technology. “You’re not going to see this technology in any other sonography, nursing, or physician assistant schools – University of Findlay is the first and we appreciate their partnership on this journey to bring solutions to the bedside that will expand access to care,” said Mina Fahim, MediView CEO and President.
“It’s the University’s commitment to technology that really drew us to establish this partnership. The University of Findlay partnering now with a cutting-edge company like MediView, that’s a global leader in this space, reflects of their commitment to students.”
An Ohio Department of Transportation vehicle was rear-ended on the side of Interstate 77, south of Akron.
ODOT said a worker was still in the truck when a dump truck veered off the highway and slammed into the back of the ODOT truck, causing a huge fireball.
The burning trucks then slid down the embankment.
First responders had to extricate both drivers to get them to the hospital.
ODOT said its employee suffered serious injuries but they are not life-threatening.
The driver of the dump truck reportedly suffered life-threatening injuries.
ODOT’s Matt Bruning is reminding drivers to keep their eyes peeled for ODOT vehicles on the side of the road and to pay attention at all times.
ODOT says this is the 82nd ODOT crew that’s been struck this year.
Earlier today, an ODOT employee was struck alongside I-77 in Summit County. He was taken to a local hospital and is currently being treated with serious, but non-life threating injuries. We are extremely fortunate he is alive. This is the 82nd ODOT crew struck this year. pic.twitter.com/28ZLE6ec36
