More than 800 people discovered that they’re owed unclaimed funds by stopping by a booth at the Ohio State Fair.

The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Unclaimed Funds set up a booth during the fair, inviting people to check for money they might be owed.

Officials say nearly $400,000 is now claimed by Ohioans who visited the booth.

Many of the funds recovered were from dividends and insurance policies of deceased individuals.

One Ohioan found more than $71,000 in unclaimed funds.

Most of the money came from dividends that belonged to his late mother.

Unclaimed funds are money or the rights to money that have been dormant or forgotten.

Common examples include checking and savings accounts, rent or utility deposits, uncashed checks, undelivered stock certificates and uncashed insurance policies.

Ohioans may also have unclaimed safe deposit box items held by the Division of Unclaimed Funds.

Click here to see if you have unclaimed funds.

Hancock County Job and Family Services and OhioMeansJobs – Hancock County are reminding people about the School Clothes Program.

A $250 voucher is available for each eligible child in the household (ages 5-18).

Applications can be picked up in the lobby at OhioMeansJobs at 7746 County Road 140 in Findlay and placed in the drop box once it is filled out.

Applications will be accepted until the end of August.

Families must reside in Hancock County and be at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

Get more details below.

The Cory-Rawson weight room was dedicated as the Dominic M. Francis Weight Room (The Dom) ahead of the football opener against Bluffton Friday night.

In the video below we talk with AD Caleb Scott about how much Dom meant to both communities.

Dom was a police officer for Bluffton and coach and substitute teacher for his alma mater of Cory-Rawson.

“Everyone thought of the weight room when they thought of Dom and it just made sense to dedicate this in his name,” Scott said.

“It’s something that will continue to allow his legacy to live on here at Cory-Rawson.”

Officer Francis was placing stop sticks on Interstate 75 in Bluffton on March 31st in an effort to end a pursuit of a stolen car when he was struck and killed by the fleeing vehicle.

Tickets are now on sale for the Hancock Historical Museum’s 2022 Historic Barn Tour.

The self-guided tour this year will be held on Saturday, September 10th from 10 to 4 and feature six historic barns in Hancock County.

Each barn tells a unique story about the farm on which it sits, and the families who have owned it. Click here for a map of the barns.

In addition to learning more about these impressive structures, guests to the tour will enjoy a wide array of activities, including local food vendors, timber-framing and hewing demonstrations, and live music.

Pre-sale tickets are available for $10 at the Hancock Historical Museum and online by clicking here.

Tickets will be available the day of the tour beginning at 10 a.m. at any of the barns ($15 nonmembers, $10 members).

Children 16 and under are free.

In October 2014, the Historic Barn Tour was awarded the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office’s Public Education & Awareness Award for preservation excellence.

Ohio History Connection CEO, Burt Logan, has recognized the Historic Barn Tour as a “model program for the state.”

In 2018, the Historic Barn Tour was honored to be a recipient of the Scenic Ohio Award.

The above picture, courtesy of the Hancock Historical Museum, is of the Bower-Kerr Barn at 20088 County Road 698 in Jenera, which dates back to 1880.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol will be focusing on removing impaired drivers from the roadways during the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, which runs from August 17th through the busy Labor Day Weekend.

The Highway Patrol says drivers can do their part in keeping the roadways safe by following all traffic laws, never driving impaired and always designating a sober driver.

In 2021, there were 13,762 OVI-related crashes, which resulted in 720 deaths and 8,201 injuries.

Of those OVI-related crashes, 57 percent of at-fault drivers were between 21 and 39 years old, while 72 percent were male.

In 2021, troopers arrested 18,600 drivers for OVI.

“Your safety on our roads is our number one priority,” added Colonel Charles A. Jones, Patrol superintendent.

“We remain dedicated to removing motorists who are driving impaired.”

Motorists are encouraged to dial #677 to report impaired drivers and drug activity to the Highway Patrol.

Area sheriff’s offices will also be participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, like the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office below.

A trial date has been set for a former Findlay priest accused of child sex trafficking and other offenses.

Michael Zacharias’ trial is set to begin on February 6th in U.S. District Court in Toledo.

Zacharias, 55, the former pastor at St. Michael The Archangel Parish in Findlay, was arrested in August of 2020 and indicted in October of that year.

The charges he’s facing include a total of five counts; two counts of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, or coercion; two counts of sex trafficking an adult by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

The offenses Zacharias has been charged with allegedly involve boys from Catholic schools in Toledo.

“This defendant is accused of using his status and position as a religious and community leader to seek out troubled minors and exploit their personal challenges for his own satisfaction,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman.

Parishioners of St. Michael Church gathered to pray for the victims, the parish, school and community a day after Zacharias was arrested, and you can see that video below.

A man was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after crashing his car a little north of Findlay.

The crash happened on Township Road 142 near Township Road 108 a little after 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says Seth Barker, 28, of Van Buren, was northbound on Township Road 142 when he drove his car off the road and it overturned.

Seth was ejected from the car and it came to rest in a field and then caught on fire.

Seth was flown to a Toledo hospital with possible serious injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office says Seth was not wearing a seat belt and that alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation.

It’s back-to-school time and safety officials are reminding drivers to start watching out for school buses and schoolkids and to follow all state laws.

Parents are also urged to talk with their kids about how to act around school buses as drivers are reminded to keep their eyes peeled for children getting on and off of buses.

The Findlay Police Department says drivers also need to remember to slow down in school zones when children are present.

A driver who fails to stop for a school bus that’s loading or unloading students can be fined up to $500 and have their license suspended for a year.

On a two-lane road drivers going the same direction and opposite direction must stop for a school bus that’s loading or unloading students.

On a four-lane road, only vehicles going in the same direction as the school bus must stop.

Get more school bus safety tips here.

The first day for students in Findlay City Schools is Tuesday, August 23rd.

The high school football season kicks off on Friday night.

The Findlay Trojans will begin the season on the road at Anthony Wayne High School at 7 o’clock Friday night.

Pregame begins at 6:30 on WFIN.

The first home game for the Trojans will be the following week as they host Perrysburg High School at Donnell Stadium.

Head Coach Stefan Adams recently joined John Marshall on Coaches Corner to discuss the expectations for the new season.

In some other action in week 1, Ottawa-Glandorf kicks off the season against Eastwood on 106.3 The Fox.

And Liberty-Benton begins the season at Leipsic on 100.5 WKXA.

The Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled that Federal law prevents enforcement of an Ohio law against trains blocking railroad crossings for more than five minutes.

CSX Transportation was cited for five instances of blocking crossings near a Honda plant in Marysville in 2018.

CSX fought the charges.

A divided Supreme Court ruled that the Marysville Municipal Court properly dismissed five charges against CSX for violating a state law that prohibits a stopped train from blocking railroad crossings.

The Court ruled that because the state law “regulates, manages, and governs rail traffic,” it is in conflict with federal law covering the same subject and cannot be enforced.

“We acknowledge the significant danger to the public that is created when stopped trains obstruct the movement of first responders across railroad tracks,” said Justice Sharon L. Kennedy.

“However, the regulation of railroad transportation is a matter of federal law, and the federal government alone has the power to address the threat to public safety caused by blocked crossings.”

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Jennifer Brunner stated that all seven justices agree that no federal law regulates blocked railroad crossings. Without a federal regulation, states can adopt their own antiblocking laws, she wrote. She noted that Ohio has had some form of law against blocking railroad crossings since 1853.

Seneca County Sheriff Fred Stevens let people know about the ruling in a post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.

“We received this from the County Prosecutor today and are just as surprised as everyone else. This is going to affect not only the regular traffic flow for our county, city and village residents but our law enforcement and fire & ems responses as well. There will no longer be any “bite” to the barking (complaints) when RR crossings are blocked for long periods of time.”