In honor of their exhibit, Findlay Rocks! 1960s Garage Bands, The Hancock Historical Museum will be spending an evening celebrating the decade.

The museum is inviting people to join them for a free outdoor movie on the Hancock Historical Museum campus on West Sandusky Street in Findlay on Saturday, August 13th. (rain date August 27)

“Bring your lawn chairs and we’ll provide the popcorn. We’ll have cars and music from the era, too!”

The museum will be showing “American Graffiti,” the 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Harrison Ford and many more.

Set in Modesto, California, in 1962, the film is a study of the cruising and early rock ‘n’ roll cultures popular among Lucas’ age group at the time.

Through a series of vignettes, it tells the story of a group of teenagers and their adventures over the course of a night.

The movie will begin at 8:45.

Get more on the museum’s Outdoor Classic Movie by clicking here and see video of the Findlay Rocks the ’60s! exhibit below.

The Findlay Police Department has been having some of its officers testing out body cameras to see which company they would like to go with if they ultimately decide to implement them.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn says body cameras are a useful tool to build trust with the community and to show the work that officers do on a daily basis.

The mayor says the one concern she has with implementing body cameras is the cost, some of which would be covered by a grant from the state.

As you heard the mayor say in the audio above, the overall feedback she’s getting from the officers testing them has been positive.

The three companies whose body cameras the city is testing out are Motorola, Utility and Axon.

If the city decides to implement a body camera program for its officers it would also include dash cams for the cruisers.

She expects a decision to be reached by the end of the summer.

Two high schoolers from Hancock County have been selected for the 2022 Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board.

The Junior Fair Board is comprised of brilliant young leaders from across the state who contribute to the success of the Ohio State Fair.

Each member is selected to represent their respective organizations, including 4-H, FFA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts of America, Farm Bureau, and Tech Ed.

The individuals from these organizations represent thousands of involved youth throughout Ohio.

Erica Patterson, of Findlay, joins the JFB as a member at large.

She attends Liberty-Benton High School and is a decorated 4-H member.

She has been showing pigs for many years, and recently started showing cattle.

Zach Romero, of McComb, and a student at McComb High School joins Erica on the 2022 JFB.

Zach is representing 4-H and was the 2021 Hancock County Junior Fair King.

He was also recently elected to be the Vice President of Outreach for Ohio Teen Leadership Council.

An addition made in 2019 that will continue for years to come is the integration of members at large.

Members at large are selected regardless of organization.

This position affords all youth involved in the previously mentioned organizations an equal opportunity to be represented on the Ohio State Fair JFB.

The JFB’s contribution to the success of each Ohio State Fair is irreplaceable.

Virgil Strickler, general manager of the Ohio State Fair, recognizes the impact of these ambitious youth, saying, “The Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board is comprised of eager young leaders who have demonstrated their dedication to the state of Ohio through their respective organizations. This opportunity will help these youth expand upon their leadership skills and contribute to the success of this year’s Ohio State Fair.”

Throughout the 12 days of the Fair, July 27 – Aug. 7, 2022, the 19 JFB members can be spotted throughout the grounds in their blue polo shirts welcoming officials to livestock shows, performances, the daily parade presented by AAA Ohio Auto Club, and other exhibits.

JFB members can also be found throughout the Fair helping with the Monster Mural, assisting with the Little Farmers exhibit, and selling Fair memorabilia. In addition to these tasks, the JFB adds an instrumental level of helpful customer service, friendly faces, enthusiastic personalities, and a fresh perspective to each day of the Fair.

This year’s Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board is comprised of 19 highly accomplished individuals ages 16 – 20 from across the state, including a handful of second-year members.

A drug task force arrested a Fostoria man on suspicion of drug trafficking after executing a search warrant at the man’s residence.

The Seneca County Drug Task Force – METRICH Enforcement Unit, along with the Fostoria Police Division, Tiffin Police Department and Seneca County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at an apartment at 130 West Lytle Street in Fostoria, the residence of Richard ‘Fred’ Seaburn III, 52.

The search revealed suspected drugs, criminal tools, drug paraphernalia and other items indicative of drug use and drug trafficking, authorities said.

Seaburn, who was out on parole from a drug trafficking case in 2016, was arrested and taken to the Seneca County Jail on a parole violation.

“The task force has continued to receive complaints of suspected drug trafficking by Mr. Seaburn, who apparently hasn’t learned from his mistakes,” said Fostoria Police Chief Gabe Wedge.

“Hopefully this sends a clear message to these dealers that we will not stop pursuing them if they continue to sell their drugs in our community!”

After one week back up at the ‘medium’ level, Hancock County has been dropped to the ‘low’ level of community transmission of COVID-19 as determined by the CDC.

Hancock Public Health is reporting 158 new cases, eight new hospital admissions and one new death over the last week.

Putnam County and other area counties are at the ‘medium’ level of transmission.

Allen County is at the ‘high’ level.

Click here to see the full map from the CDC.

Health officials are still urging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if they haven’t already, and to get their boosters if eligible.

People at high risk for severe illness should talk with their doctor about whether they need to wear a mask and take other precautions.

AEP Ohio has another planned outage scheduled for Findlay, after one was held on Thursday morning.

The city says this next one will affect some residents on the west side of Findlay on Saturday morning at 6 o’clock.

This outage will be for the New Liberty Station to remove a mobile station that was in place while the structure was being upgraded.

The outage is expected to last no more than 30 minutes.

All impacted customers should receive a notification from AEP.

The City of Findlay, with support from the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation, has commissioned a more than 1,000 square foot mural of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which will be placed on the overpass named after him in downtown Findlay.

The mural, which will be completed by local artist Amber Kear of Hysteria Company, will feature a bust of Dr. King along with a quote that will be chosen with help from the Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center and the public.

“Since taking office, I have had a vision of incorporating more art throughout our community,” said Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn.

“I recently became aware of the City of Findlay Community Improvement Fund, which The Community Foundation holds on behalf of the City that can be used for community improvement projects. As I thought of how I could roll out a mural program, I saw the large stanchion of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way overpass. I thought it would be a beautiful spot to add art along the multiuse path and honor Dr. King. This is a large mural and is going to cost much more than ones I expect to see in the future, but I think it is a great way to kick off the initiative of adding more art, culture, and attractions to the City of Findlay.”

The Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center is excited to be a part of this project.

“A positive representation of Dr. King can serve as a reminder that his fight for justice and inclusion for all people is an ongoing battle. His words still remain quite relevant today as we continue the struggle to alleviate poverty and other social and economic ills.” Said Jerome Gray, Executive Director.

The mural is estimated to cost $25,000, with $15,000 of the cost being covered by a grant from the Madeleine Thomas Schneider Fund from the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation.

The remaining funds will be covered by the City of Findlay.

By giving to the City of Findlay Community Improvement Fund, you can support projects like this mural and many others.

“We’re looking forward to once again partnering with the city to beautify our community and memorializing Dr. King in our own unique way,” said Dr. Brian Treece, President & CEO of the Community Foundation.

“We are at our best when we work together, and this collaborative project is a perfect example of the beauty that can come from it.”

With the approval from City Council to accept the grant from the Community Foundation, Mayor Muryn will now work with the Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center to select three to four quotes which can be shared with the community and voted upon to be incorporated into the mural.

No specific timeframe has been released for when the project will be completed.

More information on the mural project and how you can submit a design, location, or volunteer will be on the City of Findlay website in the next few weeks.

The most recent local work by Amber Kear is a mural on the side of The Baking Company & Bread Kneads building. (below)

Her website states, “Promoting ethnic and cultural equity in our communities thru art and design.”

The Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway overpass reopened last November following a flood mitigation project.

A new litter control program that brings in the business community to help in the effort is now underway in Ohio.

Over the past few weeks, the first signage related to the Sponsor-A-Highway program has been installed along highways in the northeast Ohio area.

The statewide program allows businesses and groups to fund litter removal services along one-mile, one-direction segments of state highways.

In exchange for their sponsorship, the name of the business or group is displayed on a sign within their sponsored segment.

The program is administrated through the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) but at no cost to the state.

The financing of the program is through the sponsorships of the businesses who choose to become involved.

“The need to do more regarding litter prevention and abatement came at the direction of Governor Mike DeWine. The appearance of our highways is important to Governor DeWine, and to us as the state agency charged with maintaining highways and interstates,” said Jack Marchbanks, ODOT director.

“This new program provides support to us in our litter control efforts and allows area businesses the opportunity to promote their advocacy for cleaner highways in their communities.”

Segments are cleaned a minimum of once per month by employees working for two separate vendors who were awarded the contracts for the state.

Similar programs are in place in over half the states in the nation.

The program complements ODOT’s existing Adopt-A-Highway program, where volunteer groups adopt a two-mile segment of two-lane highway.

“With this program, area businesses may share in the task of litter removal along our highways,” said Marchbanks.

Businesses interested in sponsoring a section may contact either vendor:

Adopt-A-Highway Maintenance Corporation | Robert Davis, 800-358-0231, ext. 302
Adopt-A-Highway Litter Removal Services of America | Michele Waldron, 800-390-2420.

Learn more about the Sponsor-A-Highway program and other Ohio litter efforts by clicking here.

OODT’s Matt Bruning is asking people to put trash where it belongs, as litter cleanup takes ODOT crews away from other tasks.

On average, ODOT crews collect more than 400,000 bags of people’s trash from along Ohio highways and roads each year.

The effort costs Ohioans around $4 million annually.

ODOT says it’s disappointing that their workers have put so much time and effort into an issue that’s 100 percent preventable.

ODOT also points out that picking up trash takes them away from important jobs like filling potholes and fixing guardrails.

(ONN) – A 16-year old girl from Williams County has been missing for three weeks and authorities believe she may be in Hancock or Hardin County

Katherinne Fernandez was last seen leaving the Montpelier Pool and there’s been no sign of her.

Montpelier Police Chief Dan McGee says Katherinne, who came to Ohio from Honduras, was placed in Montpelier by Hancock County Job and Family Services and was there for less than 48 hours.

He says this case may be related to human trafficking, and that Katherinne may be in Hancock or Hardin County, with special attention to Findlay and Kenton.

Anyone who has information about the case should contact their local authorities:

Hancock Co. Sheriff’s Office: 419-424-7097
Hancock Co. Job and Family Services: 419-422-0182
Findlay Police Dept.: 419-424-7194
Hardin Co. Sheriff’s Office: 419-673-1268
Kenton Police Dept.: 419-673-0771

The two candidates in the Democrat primary for 83rd District State Representative participated in a candidate forum on WFIN.

Claire Osborn (on the right below) and Melissa Kritzell (on the left) are seeking the Democratic nomination.

The winner of the Democratic primary will take on Republican State Rep. Jon Cross in the fall, who’s running unopposed in the special August 2nd primary.

The forum was moderated by WFIN’s Chris Oaks and can be heard below.

The second primary is the result of redistricting delays after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Ohio House and Senate maps passed by the redistricting commission were unconstitutional.

However, despite the fact that the Ohio Supreme Court said the maps didn’t reflect the will of voters, a federal court ruled that the maps would be used in the August primary anyway.

One of the few races on the ballot in Hancock County in the August primary is the Democrat primary for 83rd District state representative.