Raise the Bar Hancock County will be holding its first-ever Community Leadership Summit.

The event on Tuesday, March 21^st at the University of Findlay’s Winebrenner Building will showcase Hancock County’s efforts in developing current and future leaders.

Keynote speakers will be Aaron Craft, Liberty-Benton graduate, Ohio State Basketball alum and current medical student, and William Blackford, FranklinCovey Leadership Coach and Consultant.

Raise the Bar Executive Director Tricia Valasek was on with WFIN’s Chris Oaks to discuss the summit.

There will also be adult and youth panels during the event and much more.

Learn more about the full-day leadership summit, and get yourself registered, by clicking here.

The Ohio Department of Transportation held a construction season kickoff event in Findlay.

ODOT expects to invest a record $2.5 billion into more than 1,000 projects during this year’s construction season to improve transportation and make Ohio’s roads safer across the state.

In Hancock County, the new projects include two overpasses over State Route 15.

One of the projects will construct an overpass on County Road 180 over State Route 15 near Findlay and the other will be at County Road 169 and State Route 15 near Vanlue.

Hancock County Engineer Doug Cade ( video below) says the projects will improve safety by eliminating crashes, which have become more frequent over the years as traffic has increased.

The overpass projects are expected to begin in April and be finished in the fall.

During construction, both County Road 180 and 169 will be closed at State Route 15.

Traffic will no longer be able to access State Route 15 once the overpasses are completed.

ODOT expects State Route 15 to be open with lane restrictions during construction of the overpasses.

Due to safety concerns, ODOT says County Road 8 will also close at State Route 15 during the project, and ODOT supports removing access there permanently with cul-de-sacs.

In preparation for the project, in 2021, Hancock County improved County Road 172 for better access to the State Route 15 interchanges on U.S. 68 and State Route 37.

Get more information about the overpass projects, and other area road construction projects, by clicking here.

The Seneca County Sheriff’s Office hosted a presentation on school safety.

Co-sponsors of the event included the Tiffin and Fostoria police departments and the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center.

The presenter was the father of a student killed in the Parkland Shooting five years ago last month.

Not only did he go over the mistakes made by all those involved, but he also talked about the solutions to help with preventing future tragedies.

The audience was varied and ranged from law enforcement, school officials from superintendents and principals to teachers to current SROs and some local politicians.

“This was valuable information and comes at the perfect time on the heels of some legislative mandates on school safety, threat assessment requirements, and SRO talks in and around our community,” said Seneca County Sheriff Fred Stevens.

“Thank you to NCOESC Director Brenda Luhring for graciously hosting this presentation and also co-sponsoring it with law enforcement.”

“Another fine example of collaboration with our community partners and law enforcement agencies.”

The University of Findlay has announced that Marcia Sloan Latta, Ed.D., vice president for University Advancement, will retire from the university in May 2023.

Latta joined UF in 2013 to provide leadership for fundraising, alumni and parent relations, and the Mazza Museum. During her time, she has led teams that set records for revenue raised, number of endowments created, and number of donors engaged.

“During Dr. Latta’s years as vice president for University Advancement, UF has successfully raised funds for the new Center for Student Life and College of Business Building; completed the final phase of the Give Voice to Your Values Campaign; and organized and launched the Together We Will Campaign, which has already raised more than two-thirds of its record-setting $75 million goal,” said University President, Katherine Fell, Ph.D.

In addition, Latta has worked with the University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum, assisting and advocating for the world’s largest collection of original artwork by children’s book illustrators. She played a key role in developing the relationship with the Toledo Zoo, leading to the Mazza gallery there, and provided team leadership for the creation of the new Joseph and Judith Conda STEAM Education Center at the Mazza Museum. A tireless advocate for bringing special guests and informative speakers to campus, Latta helped raise the University’s profile and build awareness of its programs among thought and opinion leaders.

Before coming to the University of Findlay, Latta served as the chief advancement officer at two other universities as well as chief executive officer of a health care foundation.  She has shared her advancement knowledge and board governance expertise through presenting at and chairing many conferences throughout the U.S. as well as internationally.  Throughout her decades of advancement leadership, her efforts have resulted in thousands of students receiving privately funded scholarships, programmatic and operating funds that impact every area of campus, and raised funds for multiple new buildings and expansions.

Through her success at Findlay, and previously in her role at Bowling Green State University, Latta is one of very few individuals throughout the U.S. to lead advancement programs that have received the prestigious designation from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) of Most Improved Fundraising Program awards. The recognition evaluates performance of university advancement programs at colleges and universities throughout the nation based on measurable factors over a three-year period; CASE selects 50 top performers among the several thousand colleges and universities.  Latta was recognized as a top performer while leading a team at BGSU, and then again for her success in leading the advancement division at the University of Findlay.

President Fell is working closely with Latta and the University Advancement team as UF prepares for transition. A decade after joining the University of Findlay, Latta leaves behind a legacy of success, and the groundwork for the University to continue to grow. “I will miss my colleague and friend, and the many road trips we have taken on behalf of the cause we both love,” stated President Fell. “Under her leadership, University Advancement has reached its highest levels of fundraising success in its history.”

After 40 years of experience in the professional workplace, Latta will use the transition into retirement to serve on several boards, do special projects and consulting work, and participate in other activities that better the region, state, and nation.

(story and pic courtesy of the University of Findlay)

The state is suing Norfolk Southern in the aftermath of the East Palestine train derailment.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says the railroad must be held accountable, calling what happened an “epic” and “expensive” disaster.

He says the point of the lawsuit is to force Norfolk Southern to cover the costs of the cleanup, which he says, continues to add up quickly.

The lawsuit also demands Norfolk Southern pay for future costs related to the spill and to conduct continued monitoring of the soil.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says a man suffered serious injuries in a two-vehicle crash a little northeast of Findlay on Tuesday afternoon.

The sheriff’s office says Nicholas Hasselbach, 42, was driving his SUV northeast on State Route 12 when he attempted to pass two vehicles on a double yellow line and crashed into a car that was also traveling northeast on State Route 12 and making a left turn onto Township Road 243.

The sheriff’s office said Hasselbach was taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital, and then life-flighted to a Toledo hospital, with suspected serious injuries.

The sheriff’s office said there were no injuries reported at the scene from the four occupants of the car.

Hasselbach was issued a driving in marked lanes citation by the sheriff’s office.

The Hancock Park District is holding a fun event ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

“Do you know how to catch a leprechaun? This is your chance to bring the children out to build a leprechaun trap that they can set up before St Patrick’s Day arrives. That tricky little guy has a pot of gold and here is how you can try to get it!”

The park district says kids can enjoy the Story, “How to Catch a Leprechaun” by Adam Wallace, and then build their own trap just like the children in the book did with boxes, sticks, pipe cleaners and more.

Each child will be given a shiny lucky coin to put in their trap to trick the leprechaun with.

The event will be held at Oakwoods Nature Preserve Discovery Center at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 16^th.

For more information and to register for the event, click here.

The Ohio Department of Transportation is accepting public comments on the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) for 2024 to 2027.

The program identifies the transportation improvement projects that are scheduled for some phase of implementation throughout the state over the next four years.

Included in the program is the project to redo the I-75/County Road 99 intersection on the north end of Findlay into a diverging diamond.

The draft documents will be available for public review and comment online during the review period through April 10, 2023.

There will also be an open house held at ODOT District 1’s headquarters, 1885 North McCullough Street, Lima, on Tuesday, April 4, from 3 – 6 p.m.

During the meeting, officials from ODOT District 1 will be on-hand to take your comments regarding projects planned for Hancock, Putnam, Allen, Defiance, Hardin, Paulding, Van Wert, and Wyandot counties.

Comments concerning the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program can be submitted online, by email to Natasha.Turner@dot.ohio.gov, or postal mail to:

Mr. Tim McDonald, Deputy Director
Division of Planning
Ohio Department of Transportation
Mail Stop # 3260
1980 West Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43223

The Hancock Historical Museum’s first Classic Movie Night of the year is on Friday.

The museum will be showing John Ford’s love letter to Ireland, ‘The Quiet Man’ on Friday, March 17th at 7 p.m.

From 1952, The Quiet Man stars John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.

Click here to check out the full Classic Movie Night lineup for 2023, which includes Back to the Future on Saturday, August 19^th as the special outdoor summer movie.

The movies are free and popcorn and refreshments are provided.

Seating is limited and reservations are encouraged but not required.

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

The Hancock Historical Museum is located at 422 West Sandusky Street in Findlay.

A task force executed a search warrant at a Findlay business after receiving numerous complaints about it, authorities said.

The Hancock County METRICH Drug Task Force along with the Findlay Police Department, Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Investigative Unit and Findlay Street Department executed the search warrant at Lucky Dragon Internet Café at 1107 Tiffin Avenue.

The task force said the search stemmed from an ongoing investigation into several citizen complaints about the business.

The complaints included the use and sale of illegal narcotics by patrons inside the business, an overdose, and illegal cash payouts from the gaming machines.

The task force said it seized 60 gaming devices from the business and more than $53,000 in cash from the gaming devices, payout monies and business profits.

Authorities said charges of gambling and operating a gambling house will be pursued against the owner of the business pending the outcome of the investigation.