City Mission of Findlay will be helping people stay warm as extremely cold weather settles in.

The City Mission says it will be a warming center from Saturday evening, January 13^th through Wednesday, January 17^th, and may open on Thursday, January 18^th depending on the weather.

The warming center at City Mission will be open from 8 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday.

Then, Sunday at 9 a.m., the Annex at St. Andrews on Crawford Street will open and remain open until 4 p.m.

City Mission will be transporting to and from St. Andrew’s Annex at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

City Mission will have its warming center open from 4 p.m. to the following morning Sunday through Wednesday. 

Lunch and dinner will be provided by City Mission.

Get the latest forecast and weather alerts by clicking here. 

Preparations are underway for the final phase of the Greenway Trail project in Findlay – phase III.

Phase III will be along the north side of State Route 568 and take the trail from County Road 236 out to Township Road 241, the road with the covered bridge and entrance to Riverbend Recreation Area.

The ten-foot-wide multi-use path will be on the north side of State Route 568 and cross over to the south side at Township Road 241.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn says their goal is to create safe paths to increase recreational opportunities. 

Construction is anticipated to take place in 2026. The city says 90 to 95 percent of the cost will be covered by the Ohio Department of Transportation with the city covering the rest.

Phase II was recently completed, taking the Greenway Trail over the Blanchard River along State Route 568 and to County Road 236.

Phase I took the trail from the downtown area along East Main Cross Street to Eastpoint Landing near Bright Road.

Findlay and Hancock County are included in a High Wind Warning issued by the National Weather Service.

The High Wind Warning will be in effect from Friday at 4 p.m. until Saturday at 7 p.m.

Winds could gust up to 60 miles per hour at times.

The damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines.

Widespread power outages are possible.

Travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles.

The two windows of strongest wind gusts will be late Friday evening, and then Saturday morning and afternoon.

Gusts more than 40 miles per hour could linger through Saturday night.

Get the latest forecast and weather alerts by clicking here.

(From the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office)

We would like to congratulate the 2023 Top Cop Leaders for their hard work, keeping Hancock County roads and community safe.

We would also like to thank Vortex Optics and Galls for their support in this year’s Top Cop Officer Recognition Program. This program recognizes deputies exemplary service in OVI enforcement and seizures of dangerous narcotics. Well done!

Deputies listed in order from left to right: Deputy Smith, Deputy Renz, Deputy Sevitz, Deputy Staley and Deputy Ritter

The American Red Cross recently declared an emergency blood shortage and a desperate need for donors.

Now, giving blood is going to win someone a trip to one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

Todd James is the executive director of the North Central Ohio Chapter of the Red Cross in Findlay.

He says there are several reasons for the shortage, but the biggest is the pandemic canceled many regularly scheduled blood drives that had trouble getting regular donors to come back.

As an extra incentive, anyone who donates to the Red Cross in January will be automatically entered into a drawing for an all-expenses paid trip for two to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.

See upcoming blood drives in the area by clicking here.

Children’s Mentoring Connection of Hancock County will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2024.

Executive Director Stacy Shaw says they’ve connected hundreds of mentors and mentees over the years and wants to hear your story as part of their 50^th anniversary.

Stacy says she got a nice surprise in her email the other day.

“A lovely surprise of a picture of a mentor and mentee from years ago who had got together over the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Stacy was on with WFIN’s Chris Oaks and you can more of the interview below.

Stacy says they’ll be holding events throughout 2024 to celebrate their 50^th anniversary.

She says people can send their stories to her email stacy@cmchancock.org.

She reminds everyone that Children’s Mentoring Connection of Hancock County in 2022 moved to its new location in the Family Center at 1800 North Blanchard Street, Suite 126.

The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation’s ‘Fun for All’ series of free community events will continue in 2024.

According to the Community Foundation’s website, the first event of 2024 will be ice skating at The Cube from 1 – 2:50 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, January, 13^th.

“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.

The Fun for All series started in January 2023 and more than 10,000 people have attended events such as Family Movie Nights at MCPA and Free Play Days at the Children’s Museum.

(From Liberty-Benton Local Schools)

Liberty-Benton proudly preserves history with the installation of the original dedication plaque from the 1921 Centralized School Building.

This plaque is displayed alongside the dedication plaque for the new prek-8 building.

Both plaques are in a highly visible place, located across from the main office, on the cafeteria side of the auditorium.

UPDATE – The advisory has been upgraded to a High Wind Warning. Click here for details. 

Findlay and Hancock County are included in a Wind Advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

The Wind Advisory will be in effect from Friday at 4 p.m. until Sunday at 1 a.m.

Wind gusts of up to 55 miles per hour will be possible. 

Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects.

Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.

Forecasters say future trends in the forecast may warrant an upgrade to a High Wind Warning.

Get the latest forecast by clicking here.

(From the University of Findlay)

University of Findlay students will learn from professionals in various fields how to be more aware of patients who may be in bad situations and how to recognize and report information properly.

UF and the Soroptimist Club are sponsoring the Human Trafficking Awareness event Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Winebrenner Theological Seminary.

The community is welcome to attend. Doors open at 8 a.m. and the event runs from 8:30 to noon.

Assisting in the educational event are doctors and residents, nurses, local law enforcement, Hope House, Family Resource Center, and prosecutor office representatives. Break-out sessions will cover topics of:

Warning signs

Approaching patients/victims

Post sexual assault resources

Victim advocacy

At noon, following the sessions, the film “Sound of Freedom” will be played. The film is based on a true story and shines a light on the topic of human trafficking. The film is rated PG-13 for thematic content involving sex trafficking, violence, and language.

Community members can arrive at the free event Saturday morning at the Winebrenner building. Sessions will be held throughout the building during the day.