Raise the Bar Hancock County (RTB) is partnering with Owens Community College (OCC), the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM), and Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County’s Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) to launch a short-term training program, WorkAdvance.

WorkAdvance has benefitted job seekers and manufacturers in other Ohio regions. The model relies on local partnerships to conduct grassroots referrals, screen participants for program eligibility, offer a short-term training to equip individuals with job readiness and technical skills necessary for manufacturing roles, and pair program alum with a career coach to reduce barriers to employment.

Hancock County’s WorkAdvance program requires eligible individuals to participate in a two-week training. The training covers job readiness skills; math refreshers; and technical training such as safety, robotics, machining, quality, troubleshooting, and assembly. Participants will interact with OCC and FOC instructors to gain familiarity and comfort with the expectations of local manufacturing workplaces.

At the end of the training, partnering manufacturers will interview participants and potentially offer positions on their teams. For up to 365 days, too, participants will have the support of the FOC’s career coach to address issues with financial stability, housing, transportation, daycare, food security, mental health, or continuing education.

“This funding is allowing our community’s greatest assets to come together and better support our local workforce,” said Raise the Bar Executive Director Tricia Valasek.

“The Financial Opportunity Center added Jen Galbraith as a career coach to focus entirely on this program. She brings a wealth of experience in human resources and vulnerable populations to this project. Pairing Jen with the incredible manufacturing and safety expertise at Owens Community College and the University of Findlay’s All Hazards Training Center, which will be facilitated by the new Center for Advanced Manufacturing, makes our WorkAdvance program prime for our region.”

The initiative is part of The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association’s statewide strategy to build a talent pool of entry- and higher-skilled manufacturing employees. Funding for this effort, up to $950,000 for Hancock County, comes from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Challenge grant program. Raise the Bar expects to train more than 70 new manufacturing employees and upskill an additional 40 current manufacturing employees through the WorkAdvance program.

Statewide, WorkAdvance programs are targeting untapped workforce pools, including the unemployed, underemployed, underrepresented, people of color, women, veterans, and returning citizens. Interested referral organizations and individuals can reach out to jen.galbraith@habitatfindlay.org to learn more.

 Raise the Bar intends to host a Community Connectors event in June 2023 for area referral agencies to tour manufacturing facilities and learn about employment opportunities and expectations.

Findlay’s annual Memorial Day Parade is coming up on Monday.

Bill Johns, President of the Hancock County Veterans Council, hopes to see everyone there.

Bill says the Bridge Ceremony on the Main Street Bridge will happen at 9 a.m. as wreaths will be placed in the Blanchard River in memory of the area’s fallen Veterans.

New this year, the Hancock County TAPS program will hold a ceremony at the Hancock County War Memorial after the bridge ceremony.

And then the parade will start at 10 in front of the American Legion on West Front Street.

The parade will make its way to Maple Grove Cemetery where a service will be held at the War Memorial.

Bill says anyone else who wants to participate in the parade is welcome to show up Monday morning and he’ll find a spot for them.

People can also contact Bill at 419-721-7275 with any questions.

Video from last year’s parade and service is below.

Chamberlin Hill Elementary sent its 5^th graders out in style with a clap-out.

The 3^rd and 4^th graders lined the halls and cheered, clapped and high-fived the 5^th graders as they walked by.

The 5^th graders then proceeded outside to the front of the building where families that lined the sidewalk cheered them on.

Principal Misty Sager says this is a big moment for the students.

“The last day of school is always very emotional, it’s exciting but it’s also very bittersweet. Students have shed some tears as well as parents and even us staff members, I know I’ve shed tears about three times today.”

Most of the 5^th graders will be attending Donnell Middle School next school year, while some will be attending Glenwood Middle School.

Other schools in the district did a clap-out for students as well.

See some video of the clap-out below.

The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation has announced its Fun for All series of free events for the summer.

The free events include a concert at the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts, free play days at the Children’s Museum of Findlay and more. Click here for the full list.

“We’ve heard time and time again that finding affordable, family-friendly activities is a challenge in Hancock County. The Community Foundation is proud to provide Fun for All to help bridge the gap,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Brian Treece.

Brian says the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation is thankful to its community partners for making the events possible.

Findlay High School recently added to its Military Wall that honors members of the military who attended the high school.

The new addition is a section that includes names of all military Veterans who attended Findlay High School and it has room for more names to be added.

The new part of the wall joins the previous section that’s been up for about five years that honors former students who are currently serving.

Additionally, down the hallway, there’s a wall honoring military members from Findlay High School who died serving the country.

We spoke with Principal Ryan Imke about the Military Wall.

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to thank those that have served, as well as those that continue to serve.”

Ryan says community members can view the Military Wall during school events and from 3 to 4 on school days.

And he invites people who have a name to add to the wall to contact the high school.

Memorial Day is on Monday, May 29^th.

(From the Findlay Rotary Club)

Nathan Haines has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Richard E. “Dick” Daugherty Scholarship.

Haines is a 2023 graduate of Findlay High School and the son of Amy and Kenneth Haines.

He plans to attend Baldwin Wallace University in the fall to pursue a degree in Music Education.

While in high school, Nathan was a member of the Distinguished Honor Roll and OMEA Honors Band, participated in the marching band, indoor drumline, Findlay Theatre and e-sports. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and also active at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church.

The Richard E. “Dick” Daugherty Scholarship fund was endowed by The Findlay Publishing Company and the Findlay Rotary Club in 2004 in honor of Daugherty, who passed away in 2008.

He had spent more than 50 years with the company. Daugherty had been recognized as “Mr. Findlay Rotary.”

Dick was the first recipient of the Findlay Rotary Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award has since been named the Richard E. Daugherty Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Richard E. “Dick” Daugherty Scholarship is designated for students studying art, including graphic design, music, dance, theatre or speech (broadcasting).

Anyone wishing to contribute to The Richard E. “Dick” Daugherty Scholarship Fund may contact The Community Foundation at 101 West Sandusky Street, Suite 207 Findlay OH 45840 or call (419) 425-1100.

(ONN) – Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana.

House Bill 168 would allow for the cultivation, purchase, and possession of cannabis by Ohioans over the age of 21.

The bill would also allow some previous offenses to be expunged from records.

Currently in Ohio, possession of up to 100 grams of recreational cannabis is considered a minor misdemeanor that’s punishable by a fine of $150.

Bluffton historian Fred Steiner will be giving a presentation titled “Unusual Bluffton visitors, saloons and other stories” at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24th, at the Bluffton Public Library.

“From the 1880s to the 1930s Bluffton was part of a circuit visited by interesting groups of itinerants,” said Steiner.

“Most of these visitors were harmless and homeless persons traveling the countryside. They included drifters, peddlers, misfits and people from the Romani culture.”

They told fortunes, traded and sold horses and merchandise, and provided entertainment while often looking for work or a handout.

Some arrived in Bluffton by freight trains, while other carried their possessions in wagons. One group even came with a trained bear. Often these people were escorted out of town by the village marshal.

In addition, during the 1890s, 13 saloons, mostly on Main Street, created several cultural issues residents faced as the village grew. Many of these issues are part of the presentation.

Those interested in attending should contact the library at 419-358-5016.

(Pictured above is a photograph provided by Steiner of one of 13 Bluffton saloons in the 1890s)

UPDATE- The Highway Patrol at 6:30 Wednesday morning said inmate James Lee had been captured in Henderson, Kentucky. As of 6:30 Wednesday morning inmate Bradley Gillespie, a convicted murderer, remains at large in Kentucky.

Lee is on the left and Gillespie on the right in the picture above.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call the Highway Patrol at 419-423-1414 or the US Marshals at 1-866-4-WANTED.

A reward of up to $21,000 is available for information leading to their capture.

Jail records show that Gillespie was in for murder and Lee for burglary.

Original story-

The Allen County Sheriff’s Office says two inmates escaped from Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima on Tuesday, one of which was serving time for murder.

Authorities say the inmates should be considered dangerous.

Anyone who sees them should not approach, but call 911 immediately.

They are identified as:

James Lee – 47 years old. Male, brown hair, blue eyes, 300 pounds

Bradley Gillespie – 50 years old, male, bald, blue eyes, 200 pounds.

Jail records show that Gillespie is in for murder and Lee for burglary.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said the two were last observed in the facility at 8:41 Monday morning.

A reward of up to $21,000 is available for information leading to their capture.

People should call the Highway Patrol at 419-423-1414 or the US Marshals at 1-866-4-WANTED.

The Allen-Oakwood Prison is located at 2338 North West Street in Lima.

The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation Board of Trustees approved more than $915,000 in grants at their May board meeting.

“These grants represent the investment of generous local philanthropists in the community,” said Brian Treece, President & CEO of the Foundation.

“We’re proud to partner with these donors to award these grants and improve the quality of life for all in Hancock County.”

Among the grants awarded, The Children’s Museum of Findlay was awarded $10,500 for a free play day as part of the Community Foundation’s Fun for All series of community events.

The Marathon Center for the Performing Arts received $12,000 for a free performance of PuppyPals for residents in August.

And Open Arms Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services was awarded a $25,000 matching grant for a mobile unit for rural services.

See the full list of grants awarded by clicking here.