The U.S. Postal Service is asking dog owners to keep letter carriers safe from being bitten.
Ohio ranks number five in the country for postal workers getting bitten by dogs.
In 2022, 311 postal workers in Ohio were bitten by a dog.
The postal service is joining National Dog Bite Awareness Week.
They ask people to keep their dogs inside behind a fence or on a leash when mail is being dropped off.
The postal service says they do train employees on trying not to scare dogs during deliveries.
The City of Findlay has promoted Captain James Mathias to the position of Police Chief.
Mathias will be sworn in by Mayor Christina Muryn at the City of Findlay Training Center (224 W. Crawford St.) on Monday, June 12th at 10 a.m.
Former Police Chief Robert Ring retired at the end of April.
“We are committed to ensuring Findlay is a safe place to live, work, and raise families,” Mayor Muryn said.
“The Police Chief plays a critical role in the pursuit of these goals and I am confident that Captain Mathias is the right person to lead our police department toward that shared vision.”
We spoke with Captain Mathias and he told us he’s up to this new challenge.
“I’m looking forward to working with the community and the different organizations and groups and building public trust.”
Mathias began his career with the Findlay Police Department in 1995. He was hired as a full-time officer and was assigned to the Patrol Division.
Prior to his appointment at Findlay Police Department, he worked four and a half years with the Upper Sandusky Police Department and was Auxiliary Deputy with the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office.
He has served as a Field Training Officer and was the Department’s Officer of the Year in 1996. Mathias was honored with the John Edward Seman Award for Employee Excellence from the City of Findlay in 2014.
Mathias has served in various positions within the department; including Patrol Sergeant, Detective Sergeant in the Hancock County METRICH Enforcement Unit, Special Services Lieutenant, and Patrol Division Lieutenant.
Mathias had been assigned as Police Captain, which oversees all three Divisions (Patrol, Detectives and Special Services) of the Police Department. Mathias is a graduate of New Riegel High School and of Terra State Community College. He has an associate degree in Law Enforcement/Police Science. He is also a past President and current member of the Fort Findlay Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #20.
Mathias is married to his wife Tina and they have two sons, Cory and Logan.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is urging drivers to slow down after stopping a car that was going more than twice the speed limit.
On Friday morning a trooper from the Bucyrus Post cited a motorist on U.S. Route 23 in Wyandot County for driving 132 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone.
“Yes, you read that right!” the Highway Patrol said in its tweet about the traffic stop.
This year, troopers have issued 104,182 citations for excessive speed on Ohio roadways.
The Highway Patrol is reminding drivers to slow down, saying “it can wait.”
A bridge replacement project will close a portion of a Hancock County road for about a month and a half.
The bridge is located on Hancock County Road 216 between Hancock County Road 18 and Hancock County Road 236, north of Findlay.
The project will replace an existing bridge whose condition has warranted the construction of a new structure meeting current bridge standards.
The project will begin on Monday, June 5th and last approximately six weeks.
Hancock County Road 216 between Hancock County Road 18 and Hancock County Road 236 will be closed while the bridge is constructed and residents are encouraged to use local roads to detour the area.
The Hancock County Engineer maintains 358 miles of county roads and 372 bridges throughout Hancock County.
Miller’s Root Beer & BBQ will be opening on Monday, June 5th.
That’s the new name of the Lima Avenue Root Beer Stand across from Cooper Tire in Findlay.
Stanley Miller, the owner of Miller’s Meat BBQ & Catering, bought the iconic establishment to return it to its old glory and put his own stamp on it.
“My mother retired from Cooper Tire, so I remember going there as a kid when she used to work in the offices. I remember the first time going over there and getting the trays, seeing the frosty mugs come out to the cars back when you actually had to roll your windows down by hand.”
Miller says he sees this as an opportunity to keep an artisan business alive and put his own stamp on it, while creating generational memories for his own kids.
The restaurant will be managed by Rachelle Sanchez, who fondly remembers going there as a kid.
“I grew up going there as a kid, getting my small root beer floats. We had little baby floats back then, they had little kids’ cups which was really cool. It’s just a pretty cool experience. If you haven’t been there you should definitely check it out.”
Rachelle worked for the root beer stand for around 18 years on and off and is looking forward to helping people create new memories once they reopen.
Miller’s Root Beer & BBQ will be opening on Monday, June 5th. Get more details below and by clicking here.
The Bowling Green Police Division says the two men who escaped from the Northwest Community Corrections Center on Thursday were captured in Fostoria on Friday.
Police said Justin Firman and Dakota Embry were apprehended in Fostoria on Turley Road.
Both were charged with escape and transported to the Wood County Justice Center.
Firman was being held at the corrections center on abduction charges and Embry drug charges.
Additionally, police say Emma Bulser, of Deshler, was charged with felony obstructing justice.
The Bowling Green Police Division thanks the public for submitting information about the escapees.
“We would also like to thank the following agencies for their assistance: Wood County Sheriff’s office, Ohio Highway State Patrol, Findlay Police Division, Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Fostoria Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.”
The Findlay City Schools Summer Lunch Program begins on Monday, June 5th.
Free lunches will be available for kids from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Glenwood Middle School on Monday through Thursday, and at Journey at Christ Church on Wednesdays.
Meals are to be eaten on site with activities provided as they enjoy their lunch.
Carah Alvaraz has more details on the Summer Lunch Program.
The Summer Lunch Program goes from June 5th until August 10th.
It will not be available on June 19 or July 3rd and 4th.
More details are in the flyer below.
(From the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library)
Readers of all ages are encouraged to keep reading during the summer months and celebrate friendship and kindness as The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library presents “SummerREAD-All Together Now,” their summer reading program.
Brittany Lutes, Youth Services Manager at the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library said of the SummerREAD program, “Each year our library staff work hard to plan and organize a fun and engaging lineup of summer programming. This year with our SummerREAD theme of “All Together Now” we are especially proud of the many opportunities to come together as a community and celebrate each other through reading, activities, and programs. We hope everyone else will be as excited as we are!”
Activities include crafts, art projects, games and puzzles, science and engineering experiments, and of course, reading. Partners for exciting, new programs include The Marathon Center for the Performing Arts, the Lima Symphony Orchestra, Hancock Park District, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, and more.
SummerREAD registration is open to all ages, infant through adult. The library is providing a free gift book to all early literacy, children’s and teen registrants.
This summer, the library is again using an online platform, READsquared, for participants to keep track of their reading progress. Registration for “All Together Now” begins on May 28 at findlaylibrary.readsquared.com, and all programs are free of charge.
Participants can earn great prizes by logging reading, writing a review, or completing fun activities. There will be weekly drawings for great prizes. If you prefer not to track your reading online, there will be paper forms available at the library to log reading progress.
Families are invited to join in reading together, and to attend programs such as Storytime in the Park, an escape room, Symphony Storytime, Family Book Bingo, and Family Night: Treasure Hunt at the Oakwoods Nature Preserve. Teen activities include Teen Book Bingo, a virtual Zoom program to hear about Aquatic Careers and Animal Conservation with the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, Sand Art & Succulents, and a Teen Game Night.
Adults can enjoy book discussions, cooking programs, crafts, a grant writing program, and many more informative presentations. Please check the library’s website at findlaylibrary.org for more information on programming by clicking on the Calendar tab.
Be sure to check the library’s Facebook page for updates, surprises, and entertaining contests all summer.
SummerREAD is generously sponsored by The Friends of the Library.
For more information, call the library at 419-422-1712 or check the website at findlaylibrary.org.
UPDATE – The Bowling Green Police Division at 12:40 Friday afternoon provided an update, saying the two men had been captured and that more information will follow.
Click here for more details.
The Bowling Green Police Division says two men escaped from the Northwest Community Corrections Center.
Police said the two inmates are Justin Firman, 36, and Dakota Embry, 24.
The two are pictured below.
Firman was being held on abduction charges and Embry drug charges.
Northwest Community Corrections Center is located at 1740 East Gypsy Lane in Bowling Green.
The police department said officers were actively searching for the inmates, and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and Highway Patrol are also helping.
Anyone with information about the men should contact police.
Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted visited DNC Hydraulics in Rawson.
He got a tour of the growing facility from company president Cody Conaway and owner Dave Conaway.
Husted says the company has upskilled employees with industry-recognized credentials using the TechCred program.
The company has received more than $77,000 in reimbursement through the program, and partners with Millstream Career Center to employ students in high school.
We spoke with Millstream director Pam Hamlin after the tour, who told us ten Millstream graduates are currently working for DNC
As Pam mentioned in the audio above, Aliya, from McComb, started working for DNC when she was a junior at Millstream and after graduating in 2022 continued working for them.
The Lt. Gov. spoke with her for a few minutes about what she was working on as you can see in the video below.
DNC is planning an expansion project and designs can be seen in the video below.