Lawmakers in the Ohio House are considering a distracted driving bill.

House Bill 283 is a revision of the law that would make using a handheld phone a primary offense for adults. Originally it was just for those under the age of 18.

A first offense is a $150 dollar fine or taking a distracted driving course.

If you complete it you won’t have points on your license.

The bill originally wanted to cite people who were looking at their phones while at a stop sign or traffic light, but that has been removed, clearing the way for passage.

Learn more about the bill by clicking here.

It has been communicated from Liberty-Benton Schools that a lockdown was due to an anonymous report to the Sheriff’s office of a weapon at Liberty-Benton High School.

Law enforcement reports the situation is under control and all students and staff are safe.

Other schools in Ohio have also received similar hoax calls.

Earlier a very heavy police presence at Liberty Benton High school was seen on the report of an active shooter.

Findlay City Schools were on lockdown too as a precaution, as well as other local schools.

Findlay City Council voted to accept the Findlay Planning and Zoning Committee’s report concerning an applicant’s desire to rezone a property from residential to commercial so it could be part of a McDonald’s on the south side of town.

The Findlay Planning and Zoning Committee previously voted to deny the rezoning request and made that recommendation to City Council. At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, council voted to accept the report that included the committee’s recommendation.

The Findlay City Planning Commission also previously voted to deny the rezoning request.

The applicant wanted to rezone 119 West McPherson Avenue from residential to commercial.

The Findlay Planning and Zoning Committee voted to deny the request based on strong public opposition to the project because it would expand commercial creep into a residential area and threaten the intended use for the area as laid out in the land-use plan.

A property owner wanted to put a McDonald’s in place of the Fifth Third Bank at the northwest corner of South Main Street and Sixth Street/Lake Cascades Parkway in Findlay.

To make the plan work, they would have had to get a house on West McPherson Avenue that’s behind the bank rezoned to commercial.

Traffic and pedestrian safety concerns were among the biggest issues raised by residents who spoke out against the proposal, and from members of the Findlay Planning and Zoning Committee and Findlay City Planning Commission.

Tens of thousands of weasel-like creatures are on the loose in northwest Ohio.

The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office said up to 40 thousand mink were released Monday night into Tuesday morning. The sheriff’s office later said around 10,000 were unaccounted for.

It happened when someone broke into a farm near the Ohio/Indiana border.

The sheriff is telling neighbors and farmers that mink are carnivorous mammals, they stick to a diet of fresh kills.

They can be a major issue for homeowners and livestock owners.

They’re especially expensive and problematic for poultry ranchers as well as homeowners with ponds filled with fish.

Mink are known by trappers for being particularly challenging to catch.

A flower shop that’s been in business in Findlay for 60 years is closing.

Bo-Ka Flowers at 1801 South Main Street will be open for the rest of 2022 before closing up.

In a Facebook post the owners of the shop wrote, “It makes me so sad to put an end to what was my family’s dream, but it is time.”

The manager of the store, Christine Dillon, says the flower shop closing up will leave a void in Findlay and especially that neighborhood, where they have many customers they know by name.

She said they’re having a liquidation sale and most items are 50 percent off.

She said they’ll continue delivering flowers through Thanksgiving.

A Findlay man is accused of leading authorities on a chase before crashing in a cornfield and catching it on fire.

The Wyandot County Major Crimes Unit says detectives were attempting to serve a warrant on Joseph J. Tuttle, 35, for a probation violation on Tuesday morning and saw a person matching his description leaving Carey in a pickup truck.

Detectives followed the truck and initiated a traffic stop at U.S. 23 and County Highway 47 in Wyandot County.

Detectives say Tuttle fled and led authorities on a pursuit that reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour and spanned more than 20 miles.

The pursuit entered Hancock County on U.S. 30 and then the suspect exited U.S. 30 and continued fleeing.

Hancock County deputies joined the pursuit and the suspect started driving through fields in his vehicle.

His truck became disabled from driving over fences and through ditches and came to rest in a standing cornfield in the area of County Road 197 and State Route 103 near the Wyandot/Hancock County line.

Authorities say both Joseph Tuttle and a passenger, his wife Jenilee J. Tuttle, ran from deputies into the standing corn.

K9 units from Hancock and Wyandot County were deployed and the two were apprehended.

Joseph Tuttle was booked at the Wyandot County Jail on a probation warrant, and Jenilee was booked on felony charges.

Additional felony charges are pending a review by the Wyandot County Prosecutor’s Office.

The 36^th annual Blaze of Lights holiday celebration, including the lighting of the Ream collection of vintage Christmas Folk-Art, is scheduled for Saturday, November 26th in downtown Bluffton.

The Ream display and thousands of lights in the surrounding trees are available for nightly viewing on the lawn of Bluffton Presbyterian Church, 102 N. Main Street, Bluffton from November 26 through January 1.

The community joins in the Blaze spirit with numerous residential holiday light displays and folk-art decorations throughout the village.

Activities on November 26 include Small Business Saturday specials at downtown businesses and carolers on Main Street.

One of the largest holiday parades in the area begins on Snider Road at 5 p.m. and travels up Main Street to College Avenue.

Following the parade, entertainment will be offered on the main stage, the Christmas story will be read, and end with the lighting of the Ream display.

In addition, Santa will visit with children, and the Allen County RTA Trolley will offer tours of decorated homes.

A new event, the Blaze After Lighting will offer beer, bourbon pours, spiced wine, hot chocolate, food vendors, and live jazz music by The Jerry Szabo Trio and The Pinup Project, all under a heated tent on Vine Street.

The Blaze of Lights celebration is sponsored by the Village of Bluffton and Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce.  For more information about the event click here, or contact Jim Enneking, Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce executive director at 419-369-2985.

A Findlay man is facing a variety of charges after authorities say he led multiple agencies on a lengthy high-speed pursuit.

The Findlay Police Department says it responded to an address in the 200 block of Monroe Avenue on Monday afternoon on the report of a man threatening another man with a knife.

The suspect, identified by police as Michael L. Struble, 46, of Findlay, left prior to police arriving and was located in the 1500 block of Bright Road.

Police conducted a traffic stop and say the man initially complied, but during the stop he fled in his vehicle.

The pursuit went through the city and then made its way onto Interstate 75 and State Route 15 eastbound.

Police say the man at one point pointed a handgun out his car window at the pursuing officers.

The pursuit then made its way onto U.S. 30 westbound and then back eastbound and back north on State Route 15.

Police say the suspect then exited to the east of Township Highway 103, crossed State Route 199 and sped east on Township Highway 29 in Wyandot County.

This was where the suspect lost control of his car and crashed into a pole.

Police say Struble exited his car with two knives and would not comply with the orders he was given.

Police used two bean-bag rounds on Struble but he was still non-compliant.

A taser was used on him and he dropped the knives and was taken into custody.

Police say Struble was arrested on charges of aggravated menacing, OVI, and failure to stop after an accident.

He was taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital for injuries sustained in the crash and apprehension, and was admitted to the hospital for his injuries.

Police say additional charges of fleeing and eluding will possibly be submitted at the conclusion of the investigation.

The pursuit went nearly 58 miles, lasted nearly an hour and reached speed of more than 110 miles per hour.

Assisting in the pursuit were deputies with the Hancock and Wyandot County Sheriff’s Offices as well as troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Applicants with the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Cadet Class 171 participated in signing day events across the state.

The cadets signed their letter of intent to become a member of the next Academy Class and officially kicked off their cadet training to become troopers.

Three individuals participated in the signing day event at the Findlay Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

They are, DeAngelo Pearson (pictured above), Andrew Robey and Michael Cardenas.

Sgt. Ryan Purpura says the start of the 171st Academy class on Tuesday coincides with the Highway Patrol’s 89th Birthday.

Learn more about working for the Ohio State Highway Patrol by clicking here.

https://twitter.com/OSHP_NWOhio/status/1592187381255667714

The City of Findlay Christmas Tree arrived on Monday morning.

The 33-foot-tall blue spruce isn’t as big as last year’s behemoth which was around 45 feet tall and stood as tall as the Municipal Building, if not taller. That was the biggest tree the city ever had.

Due to its smaller size, it didn’t take crews as long this year to maneuver the tree into position and to get it fastened into place in front of the Findlay Municipal Building.

The city thanks Jim and Bonnie Albert for donating the tree and Miller Rigging for help getting the tree to Dorney Plaza and putting it up.

The tree went up a little earlier this year because the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation donated 300 ornaments that were decorated by the community to adorn the tree, and it will take a little longer to decorate the tree this year.

The tree lighting ceremony will be held the day after Thanksgiving at 6 p.m.