A man who started one of the best-known auto dealerships in the region has passed away.

Bill Reineke Sr., of Fostoria, died on Monday.

According to Bill’s obituary from Hoening Family Funeral Homes, Bill started his career selling cars in Toledo in 1955.

He then purchased Oliver Pore Buick Oldsmobile in Fostoria in 1960 and moved his family, starting Reineke Ford and the first store in the Reineke Family Dealership chain.

Bill had a storied career in the business and often chronicled his life by the year and make of the car he drove, his obit read.

Visitation will be on Thursday, March 9, 2023 from 2 to 8 at Hoening & Son Funeral Home in Fostoria where a Vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m.

Funeral mass is at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 10, 2023 at St. Wendelin Catholic Church.

Burial will follow at St. Wendelin Catholic Cemetery where military honors will be provided by the United Veterans of Fostoria Honor Guard.

William Frank “Bill” Reineke Sr. was 95 years old.

You can read his full obituary by clicking here.

The State of Ohio is unveiling a new way to track and report overdose deaths.

Ohio’s data dashboards are modeled off of dashboards published by the National Institutes of Health.

The goal is to look at how tools for preventing and treating opioid misuse, opioid use disorder, and opioid overdoses.

More than 5,000 people died from unintentional drug overdoses in Ohio in 2020, a 25 percent increase from the previous year.

Officials are hoping that this information that is from the Ohio Department of Health will help as authorities and the community try to address the issue.

A Findlay man has been named a 2023 Jefferson Award Winner for Public Service.

Jim Slough has volunteered in the community for more than 40 years, with his volunteer service benefiting Big Brothers of Hancock County, Children’s Mentoring Connection and SAFY Center for Safe and Healthy Children, among many others.

In his nomination form, it was noted that Jim encourages other volunteers to see the big picture and believes everyone has something to give that has value and contributes to an organization’s overall success.

Jim represents the Fourth Ward on Findlay City Council, serves on several boards and is a realtor for ERA Geyer Noakes Realty Group.

The Jefferson Awards recognizes “unsung heroes” from a multi-county region who give their time and effort to improve communities on a volunteer basis.

The winners will be recognized at a March 28 banquet in Lima and one will be selected to attend the National Jefferson Awards Ceremony in New York City.

The Hancock Historical Museum has released its Classic Movie Night lineup for 2023.

The schedule features six movies from March to December.

The movies include The Quiet Man on Friday, March 17^th and Back to the Future on Saturday, August 19^th as the special outdoor summer movie. Click here for the full schedule.

The movies are free and popcorn and refreshments are provided.

There will be historical information before the movie and a discussion afterward.

Click here for more information or call the museum at 419-423-4433.

The museum is located at 422 West Sandusky Street in Findlay.

The City of Findlay is letting people know that several construction projects are continuing throughout the city.

The status of some of the projects is weather and contractor schedule permitting.

Listed below are some of the projects and the restrictions that result from the ongoing projects. The city says the restrictions are ongoing March 6, 2023, through March 10, 2023.

W. LINCOLN STREET – Western Avenue to Liberty Street – Lincoln Street will be closed to through traffic from Western Avenue to Liberty Street for storm sewer installation.

WESTERN AVENUE – Sandusky Street to Lima Street – Western Avenue will be closed from Sandusky Street to Lima Street for storm sewer installation.

Motorists are advised to avoid these areas if possible. Short delays are expected in these areas over the next week.

The Engineering Department will release updates on information and schedules when it becomes available.

People should not hesitate to contact the city with any questions about these, or other projects, at 419-424-7121.

The Hancock County Special Olympics Division III Basketball team took home the Gold this past weekend at the Special Olympics State Indoor Winter Games at Bowling Green State University.

The team entered the tournament as the Northwest Regional Champions, and won their semifinal game against Butler County on Saturday afternoon in the Stroh Center.

They advanced to the Championship Game on Sunday against West Licking County.

They defeated West Licking County 50 – 37 to capture the state title.

Playing for the Buckeyes were Javante Jones, Titus Nault, Ray Miller,  James Schuler, Tyler Cooper, Cody Stahl, Corey Jones, John McCarley, and Brian Wilkinson.

The team is coached by Austin Cornette and Lauren Warnement.

We spoke with Nadine Weinenger of the Blanchard Valley Center about this achievement.

Nadine says the team will be back in action on March 28th as a part of the Celebrity Game at Findlay High School.

In addition to the basketball team, five swimmers competed at State, all receiving medals.

The relay team also took gold.  Swimmers that went to State included Alex Beasley, Logan Beasley, Jayden Farmer, Liz Sopher, and Trevor Mahler.

The Findlay Police Department says someone mistook a slamming door for a gunshot, resulting in an active shooter report.

The police department says officers responded to Eyes on Main on South Main Street in downtown Findlay a little after 4 o’clock Monday afternoon after receiving a call about shots fired at the business.

Police arrived at the store within moments of receiving the call and there was no emergency.

The police department said there had been an encounter between two customers which resulted in the front door being slammed, and that sound was mistaken to be a gunshot.

Responding officers checked Eyes on Main and other nearby businesses and nothing suspicious was located.

All customers in question were located and interviewed.

The incident remains under investigation.

Two people from Fostoria were killed in a single-vehicle crash in Wood County.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened at around 5:34 a.m. Saturday in the 15000 block of State Route 199.

The sheriff’s office said the vehicle that Rodney Reiter and Bette Reiter were in went off the roadway and struck a culvert and then a tree.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation.

Assisting the Wood County Sheriff’s Office at the scene was Pemberville Fire and EMS and Howard’s towing.

Blanchard Valley Health System is launching a nurse residency program that will allow new nurses to transition from school to working at the bedside with mentorship and classes that will help them succeed and grow in confidence.

Classes will focus on the basics of nursing. Nurses will learn the systems of the body and will get to practice techniques during regular simulations.

They will also learn how to strengthen their clinical reasoning such as learning how to manage medical complications and appropriate actions to take.

“This will help new nurses feel more comfortable and confident,” said Jessica Geckle, RN, a clinical resource nurse at BVHS who teaches system orientation. “And it will give them a smoother transition from being in school to working as a nurse.”

Nurse residency programs are becoming more common at hospitals nationwide, but some are only 12 weeks long. The BVHS program will last a full year, allowing mentors to follow nurses throughout their early careers and to ensure that they help develop an especially strong foundation of skills and confidence.

Any new graduate with six months or less of nursing experience will be automatically enrolled in the nurse residency program.

The first class will begin in June. The program offers rolling admission, so a new nurse will join whenever they are hired by BVHS, rather than having to wait until the next year.

“BVHS is consistently looking for ways to enhance the learning opportunities for each member of our family of professionals,” Geckle said. “The tips and tricks from this program are invaluable.”

For example, while the physical mechanics of skills like inserting lines and catheters can become muscle memory for experienced nurses, new nurses may benefit from gaining some practice doing them in a simulated environment, she said.

BVHS has been in contact with area nursing schools as leaders continue to recruit skilled new nurses to the health system. This program will help them, once they arrive, to feel encouraged, motivated and supported.

Learn more about the program by clicking here or calling 419-429-7646.

The City of Findlay is reminding everyone about a previously announced time change for City Council meetings.

Going forward, City Council meetings will begin at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.

Meetings will continue to take place on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.

There will be a council meeting on Tuesday, March 7^th at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers in the Findlay Municipal Building.

Meetings are also streamed on the city’s YouTube channel.