Findlay City Schools has released information about the upcoming Findlay High School graduation ceremony so students and families can plan accordingly.
Graduation will be held on Saturday, May 27th beginning at 10 a.m. at the University of Findlay Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex.
The graduation will be live-streamed on the district’s website www.fcs.org.
The last full day for seniors will be Friday, May 19th, however, students are expected to participate in graduation rehearsal on May 25th as their official last day.
“This is a special class that has worked very hard academically, athletically, and musically throughout their high school career! This class has many talented students and we will miss their contributions, energy and enthusiasm. We wish each and every senior a successful future and look forward to sending them off to new adventures awaiting them!”
Sarah Clevidence says state funding through the Public Library Fund is critically important because it remains a primary source of revenue for public libraries.
“With over 7.7 million registered borrowers, Ohio’s public libraries have the highest use per capita in the nation.”
During the event at the Ohio Statehouse, Sarah joined representatives from other libraries across Ohio to meet lawmakers and advocate on behalf of Ohio’s public libraries.
She says the strong partnership between the State of Ohio and local library systems is crucial to the ongoing success and popularity of Ohio’s public libraries.
The graduate and undergraduate ceremonies will both take place at the Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex.
Following each ceremony, graduates will participate in the University of Findlay’s long-standing tradition of marching back through the Griffith Memorial Arch.
As freshmen, the same students walked through the Arch towards Old Main to symbolize the start of their journey at UF, and tradition states that students must not walk back through the Arch until commencement, or they wouldn’t graduate.
Graduate commencement is set to begin at 9 a.m. and the undergraduate ceremony will begin at 3 p.m.
Students range in age from 19 to 71, and in total, 10 associate degrees, 464 bachelor’s, 228 master’s, and 182 doctorate degrees will be awarded.
Get more on the graduating class by clicking here, and see video from last year’s Arch Ceremony below.
The Seneca County Sheriff’s Office says it arrested a man who was found in a parked vehicle with a child in the middle of the night.
The Seneca County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy was patrolling in the village of New Riegel at around 12:25 Tuesday morning when they came across a parked vehicle in a parking lot on North Perry Street.
Upon approaching the vehicle, the deputy discovered two people inside the vehicle. The operator of the vehicle was found to be Victor Franklin West, 40, of Oregon, Ohio, and the passenger was a 14-year-old juvenile.
Investigating further, deputies discovered the two met on a social media app and met up with one another in the parking lot.
The Seneca County Sheriff’s Office said West was arrested for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile and Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor. The juvenile was also charged with Delinquency.
The sheriff’s office said detectives are looking further into the case and it is presently considered an ongoing investigation.
“Due to the nature of the online world, young people can easily place a stronger emotional connection with online-only relationships at the expense of friends and family that they know in real life,” said Seneca County Sheriff Fred Stevens.
“Not everyone children meet online will have the right intentions, so it’s important to discuss the risk surrounding online dating such as online grooming and also what signs to look out for to avoid putting themselves in unsafe situations.”
The Special Olympics of Ohio Northwest Region is hosting its Spring Games on Sunday, April 30th at Findlay High School beginning at 8 a.m.
The event will feature more than 800 athletes from the 26 counties that make up the region, as well as six programs from other regions across the state.
The games will include bocce, volleyball, track, and other field events.
The athletes will be placed into divisions and compete at those levels for gold, silver, and bronze medals.
“The event is open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend and cheer on the athletes,” said Nadine Weininger with Blanchard Valley Center in Findlay.
With 800 athletes competing, the event is up nearly 240 participants from 2022.
Local program coordinators spend a lot of time working to make sure that everyone who is qualified to participate can do so.
While the event is coordinated by a committee of eight coordinators and a handful of volunteers, the event will be supported by Findlay High School staff and students and nearly 100 other volunteers from across the 26 counties.
Food vendors will include Campus Pollyeyes and the high school.
Athletes who qualify will then compete at the Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games (State Games) in June.
The State Games will take place at The Ohio State University and will feature more than 3,000 athletes competing in the sports mentioned above, including bowling.
The Hall of Fame School Award recognizes schools that engage faculty, students, and the community to provide a quality school experience.
The school staff submitted an extensive application documenting the effectiveness of their educational program in several areas.
Hall of Fame Schools were selected by committees of OAESA members.
OAESA will recognize winners of the Hall of Fame Award during the Awards Luncheon, June 16, at the OAESA Professional Conference to be held June 14-16 in Columbus.
Chamberlin Hill Principal Misty Sager will be presented with the award and $1,000 to be used for the school.
Misty says they’ve been working on some great projects over the last two years, including their land lab project, playground, Leader in Me, beautification of the grounds and more.
The school will hold a ribbon-cutting celebration for its land lab project on May 18th at 1:45 pm.
Click here for more on the school’s CH Shake completion, and here for their annual Veterans program.
Other schools in northwest Ohio receiving the Hall of Fame designation are Ottawa Elementary and Van Wert Elementary.
The American Red Cross of North Central Ohio will be installing smoke alarms in Findlay homes that need them and teaching people about what they can do to be prepared should a fire break out in their home.
“Installing smoke alarms cuts the risk of someone dying from a home fire in half, so we’re joining with groups from across our community to install smoke alarms,” said Executive Director Todd James.
Red Cross volunteers and members of the Findlay Fire Department will partner with Marathon Petroleum employees and members of the company’s Veterans employee network to visit homes in the neighborhood north of West Main Cross to Findlay Street, east of Durrell Street to Western Avenue. People who don’t live in that area and need smoke detectors can contact the Red Cross at 419-422-9322.
Local volunteers are needed to help. No experience is needed, all supplies will be provided, and volunteers will be trained. Registration for volunteers begins at 9 a.m. at the Hancock County Red Cross office, 125 Fair Street in Findlay.
Seven times a day someone in this country dies in a fire. The Red Cross Home Fire Campaign aims to reduce deaths and injuries from home fires by as much as 25 percent.
The Red Cross and thousands of campaign partners have helped save at least 1,664 lives and installed more than 2.5 million smoke alarms in homes across the country since the campaign launched in October 2014.
The Findlay Municipal Court will be holding its 6th Annual Safe Surrender Day on April 27th from 9 to 4 p.m. in conjunction with Second Chance Month.
April is Second Chance Month, which aims to inform and highlight the many opportunities for state and local governments and community-based service providers to build meaningful second chances for our community members.
Over the past five years, the court has assisted 383 individuals in clearing up their legal issues by clearing 450 bench warrants.
“Safe Surrender Day has been a great success for the court, law enforcement and the community by reducing the number of active bench warrants issued to area law enforcement and affording offenders a chance to address their legal issues without immediately going to jail.”
Judges Stephanie Bishop and Alan Hackenberg were on with WFIN’s Chris Oaks to discuss the program.
Individuals with active FINDLAY MUNICIPAL COURT bench warrants who report to the Court on that day will not be arrested and will work with designated court staff to clear their warrants. Some examples include:
Individuals who failed to attend a court hearing will be seen by the Judge, Magistrate or court staff that day.
Individuals who failed to perform community service will be reassigned to a work location. If the individual missed a community service contempt hearing, the hearing will be conducted to and the person will be permitted to reschedule their community service;
Individuals who did not complete counseling for mental health or substance abuse will be allowed to re-engage in treatment.
Individuals who did not attend a status conference will meet with a magistrate or court staff to review their financial ability to pay outstanding fines and to establish a new payment plan;
Individuals who did not report to serve a jail sentence will be issued a new date to report;
Staff from the City of Findlay Law Director’s Office will be available along with staff from the Hancock County Public Defender’s Office to meet with their clients. Upon reporting to the Court on Safe Surrender Day, the warrant will be lifted and recalled from law enforcement. This is a one day only event. The Court currently has 2858 active bench warrants. Individuals who are unsure if they have an outstanding bench warrant can view a list of active Findlay Municipal Court warrants here.
Appointments are preferred but walk-ins are also accepted. To schedule an appointment or for more information call the Clerk’s office at 419-424-7141.
The State of Ohio has awarded more than $42 million to support physical safety and security upgrades at hundreds of Ohio schools.
A total of 624 schools will receive funding as part of the fifth round of Ohio’s K-12 School Safety Grant Program.
This latest round of funding brings the total number of schools served by this program to 2,789 and the total amount of funding awarded to more than $215 million.
“Our educators care deeply about the safety of Ohio students, as evidenced by the thousands of schools that came forward with solid security improvement plans that they intend to carry out with this funding,” said Governor DeWine.
“There is nothing more important than the safety of our kids, and with today’s announcement, every qualifying school that applied for a grant has now received at least one award, including schools in all 88 counties.”
Several Hancock County schools will be receiving funding in this latest round, including Arlington Local Schools, Riverdale Local Schools, Vanlue Local Schools, Hancock County ESC and Van Buren Elementary School.
The restaurant has submitted a site plan to the planning commission to build a location in the parking lot in front of R.P. Home and Harvest at the Findlay Mall at 1800 Tiffin Avenue.
A gas station is also planned for that area as well.
The Findlay Planning Commission will vote on the site plan at its May 11th meeting.
The Wood County Building Department would also have to approve the plan.
