A lot of people attended an open house at the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office to thank retiring K9 officer Charlie for his service.

Charlie has served the sheriff’s office and the people of Hancock County and surrounding communities loyally for the past nearly eight years.

One of the first people at the open house was a mom whose lost son was found in a cornfield by Charlie in 2020. Read more about that story here.

You can see video of that and our interview with Deputy Matt Brunswick below.

He says Charlie’s next chapter will be being a home dog, and that he has three kids at home that will play with Charlie and keep him busy.

The sheriff’s office will be getting another K9 to replace Charlie in 2023.

Deputy Brunswick will not be the new K9s handler, as he is moving to another position within the sheriff’s office.

The other sheriff’s office K9 is Sonny, who is handled by Sgt. Tom Miller.

The Findlay Police Department has two K9s, Deke and Shadow.

Findlay City Schools recently recognized several students for achieving a perfect score on state tests.

The 25 students had their names read and received a certificate during the most recent Board of Education meeting.

“We are proud to celebrate 25 Findlay Trojans who demonstrated academic excellence on Ohio State Tests last spring,” said Katie Abbott, Director of Whole Child and Secondary Instruction for Findlay City Schools.

“This is an amazing feat that should be celebrated. Congratulations to our scholars!”

The students were from the elementary, middle and high school levels.

At the high school level the students recognized were, Takeru Matsuo, Daniel Jung, Erin Meier, Ryan Clarke, Xander Ray, Preston Perkins and Matthew Reuille.

At the middle school level were, Zoe Perkins, Cameron Trice, Emmalyn Cislo, Troy Palte, Landon Brim, Julia Bollenbacher, Charlie Ernst and Tyler Strabley.

And at the elementary level were, Juliana Burrow, Fiona DeVelvis, Meng LuTalia Zhang, Noah Anders, Knox Lindahl, Alexandria Johnson, Ian Luo, Emersyn Tiell, Jasper Gaberdiel and Ian Luo.

A person involved in a vehicle pursuit was apprehended after fleeing on foot and barricading himself in an attic, according to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said it assisted the North Baltimore Police Department in a vehicle pursuit on Interstate 75 in Findlay on Wednesday night due to a fleeing, suicidal subject.

The pursuit ended near County Road 8 and County Road 26, near Houcktown, when the individual barricaded himself in a nearby garage attic.

The sheriff’s office said negotiations with the male subject were unsuccessful and a PepperBall Powder irritant was deployed.

The male was taken into custody and turned over to the North Baltimore Police Department.

Findlay High School was placed on lockdown on Wednesday.

The school district said the lockdown was initiated after the school received what was later determined to be an unsubstantiated threat.

The school district said they immediately contacted the police department to investigate.

The lockdown began around 1 p.m. and, out of an abundance of caution, lasted until dismissal at 2:40 p.m.

“The safety of students and staff continues to be a top priority for the district,” the school district said in an e-mail to the community.

“We appreciate our strong partnership with the Findlay Police Department as they teamed closely with us to navigate this situation.”

It’s Trick-or-Treat time, and most area communities are holding it on Saturday, although some are on Thursday and Monday.

Visit Findlay compiled a list of Hancock County Trick-or-Treat times and you can see that full list below.

Findlay is on Saturday, October 29^th from 5 to 7.

Arlington, Van Buren and other communities are also on Saturday.

Bluffton’s Trick-or-Treat is on Thursday and McComb’s is on Monday.

A list of Hancock County Trick-or-Treat celebrations is below from Visit Findlay.

Visit Findlay says other area Halloween activities can be found on their website.

Bluffton resident Fred Steiner will present “Where Bluffton’s Ghosts Sleep,” given at 2 p.m., Sunday, October 30th, in the Folsom Auditorium of the Allen County Historical Museum, 620 West Market Street in Lima.

Steiner will share unexplained stories about his hometown collected during a career as editor of the Bluffton News and Bluffton Icon. These range from the native American era to today.

Stories include mystery beasts, a 1920 UFO, ghost sightings, graveyard incidents, a woman almost buried before she was dead and mysterious events surrounding a Revolutionary War veteran’s grave in rural Bluffton.

“Every town has its ghost stories,” said Steiner.

“Like many of these, Bluffton’s stories have several versions, developed from oral history.  I’ve documented the sources of stories I’ll share, helping listeners gain an understanding of each story’s origin.”

The talk includes a PowerPoint, showing photographs and news clippings.

Steiner grew up in Bluffton where he lives and has a history website Blufftonforever.com.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Office says a farmer was killed in an accident in a field.

The sheriff’s office says it received a report of a single-vehicle crash in a farmer’s field in Milton Township at 2:13 Tuesday afternoon.

Sheriff’s deputies along with Weston EMS and Milton Township fire crews responded to the scene.

The sheriff’s office says an unoccupied tractor was being started utilizing the battery from a pickup truck.

The tractor began moving and struck the pickup, knocking over the farmer, 82-year-old William Wilhelm, and pinning him to the ground.

Wilhelm was located by a family member who called 911.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Ohio Turnpike’s second annual Name-a-Snowplow contest is underway.

The name submission period runs from Oct. 24 through Nov. 20.

Ohio Turnpike officials will select 50 names for a public vote.

The voting period will run from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2.

The eight snowplow names receiving the most votes will be declared the winners and be announced on Dec. 9. Each winner will receive a $100 gift card.

To enter the contest, visit www.ohioturnpike.org.

Eight unique names will be assigned to eight snowplow trucks in service at maintenance buildings located in Pioneer, Swanton, Elmore, Castalia, Amherst, Richfield, Windham, and Canfield along the 241-mile Ohio Turnpike.

The contest launch coincides with the Ohio Turnpike’s snow and ice safety inspection of snowplow trucks and equipment, which was completed from Oct. 18-21, 2022.

These are last year’s winners ranked in order by votes: Snow Force One, Darth Blader, Plowy McPlowface, Snow More Mr. Ice Guy, Snowbi-Wan Kenobi, O-H Snow U Didn’t, Sir Plows-A-Lot, and Ah, Push It… Push It Real Good!

“When the snowplow trucks are in action, motorists should take every precaution to avoid passing the trucks and allow extra space for the drivers to clear the road,” said Ferzan Ahmed, executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission in Berea.

“Don’t crowd the plow. The safest place to be on the road is behind a snowplow truck.”

People packed the sidewalks for the Cops and Kids Findlay Halloween Parade on Tuesday night.

Youngsters dressed up as superheroes and princesses grabbed the candy that was tossed their way by the many floats in the parade while marching bands, including from Findlay High School and Liberty-Benton High School, entertained the crowd.

You can see some video from the parade below.

Findlay’s Trick-or-Treat is on Saturday, October 29^th from 5 to 7.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office will be holding an open house to celebrate retiring K9, Charlie.

Charlie has served the sheriff’s office and the citizens of Hancock County loyally for the past seven years.

Click here to read one of the many articles written about how he helped the sheriff’s office apprehend a suspect over the years.

Click here for a story about Camp 911 in Findlay where youngsters got to see Charlie and other local K9s show off their skills.

Above is a picture we took of Charlie at Camp 911.

The open house will be in the lobby of Hancock County Sheriff’s Office at 200 West Crawford Street in Findlay from 2 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 27^th.

“Charlie will be missed! Happy Retirement!” the sheriff’s office wrote on their Facebook page.