The City of Findlay Green Waste Site will be open on Saturday, February 10, 2024, from 9am-3pm. This is for one day only.
The Green Waste Site is located at 330 North Cory Street, behind the Public Works Department building, with a new entrance this year near the railroad tracks off North Cory Street, follow the arrow boards. For more information on the location, visit www.findlayohio.com.
The green waste site is for yard waste disposal (such as leaves, brush, limbs, grass) and is available to City of Findlay residents only at no charge.
The green waste site is intended for residential use only. No contractors are permitted to use this site.
Only tree trimmings, brush, leaves, and grass clippings can be dumped in designated areas at the site. Absolutely no bags, trash, or debris other than leaves, brush, limbs, and grass will be accepted.
The City of Findlay will not be responsible for any damage or injury to vehicles or equipment resulting in the loading or unloading of yard debris, mulch, or dirt.
The Green Waste Site will reopen for the season on April 2, 2024.
Join WFIN Good Mornings Host, Chris Oaks, for the upcoming candidate forums, live at the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts.
The public is welcome to attend.
The forums can be heard on AM 1330 & 95.5 FM WFIN, WFIN.com and Alexa and also viewed live on WFIN Facebook and WFIN.com.
Ohio’s Primary Election is on March 19th. See what candidates and issues are on the ballot in Hancock County by clicking here for the Board of Elections.
Monday, February 12
5:00 to 6:00 pm
Hancock County Prosecutor
Heather Pendleton, Sean Abbott
Monday, February 19
5:00 to 6:00 pm
83rd District Ohio House of Representatives
Jon Cross, Ty Mathews
Monday, February 26
5:00 to 6:00 pm
Hancock County Sheriff
Mike Cortez, Daniel Harmon,
Mark Price
Monday, March 4
5:00 to 6:00 pm
Hancock County Commissioners
Holly Frische, Jeffrey Hunker,
Jeff Wobser
The Maumee Watershed Conservancy District, Hancock County Commissioners, and Findlay, Mayor Christina Muryn submitted a letter to Findlay City Council requesting support for an application to the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant. The letter outlines the progress on flood mitigation which has been made over the past ten years and how the final three projects are making progress.
The initial target for ground breaking on each project, the expansion of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, Eagle Creek Detention Basin, and the Phase II River Benching was expected this year. Due to increased estimated construction costs the group is now delaying that timeline to seek additional Federal financial support of approximately $20MM.
“Maumee Watershed Conservancy District, the Hancock County Commissioners, and the Mayor Muryn are all dedicated to completing the flood mitigation projects as soon as possible. We agreed that pushing back the timeline slightly was frustrating but the opportunity to receive the financial support was worth the wait.” – Maumee Watershed Conservancy District General Manager, Wendy Yunker
“The Hancock County Commissioners all understand how critical flood mitigation is to Hancock County and look forward to completing the final three projects over the next few years and seeing the hundreds of acres and thousands of parcels which will be removed from the floodplain.” – Bill Bateson, Hancock County Commissioner
“Hancock County has made significant progress towards decreasing the flood risk in Hancock County and moving closer to making the river an asset rather than a liability. We will all keep pushing to get these projects complete and bring taxpayer dollars back from Washington to do so.” – Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn.
In 2023, FEMA released a notice of funding for the Flood Mitigation Assistance grant. FEMA requires a member of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to be an applicant for the funding opportunity. The City of Findlay is a member of NFIP and therefore will be the applicant of record to request $20MM to be utilized for the flood mitigation efforts detailed below.
In November 2009, the voters of Hancock County passed a .25% sales tax to be utilized for flood mitigation. The sales tax generated more than $32,000,000 over a ten-year period. In addition, our community has received financial support from the Federal and State Governments. Local, State and Federal investments have supported the completion of the following: purchase of properties which had regular significant damage due to flooding, transportation corridor improvements to ensure safety service accessibility throughout the county and phase 1 benching. In addition to the projects completed there are three major projects in the design phase; widening of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge from 150’ to 300’, the Eagle Creek Flood Basin and Phase 2 Benching east of the Norfolk Southern bridge. Following the completion of the benching projects, NS bridge expansion and the Eagle Creek Basin there will be a decrease of flood waters by 3ft in downtown Findlay during a 100-year storm event as well as the removal of hundreds of parcels and hundreds of acres of tillable farmland from the 100-year flood plain.
Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn provided City Council with the following letter providing some points of clarification regarding the increase of immigrants in the city and how the city’s Immigrant Task Force is addressing the challenge.
RE: Immigrant Task Force
Dear Honorable Council,
As you are aware over the past year the City of Findlay has seen an increase in immigrants coming to our community. My understanding is that these individuals are coming here for a variety of reasons, some have had ties or knew of our region because of past agricultural work, some are here with a staffing agency or work visas, some have found our community as they looked for a safe community with good jobs, and others are here because they were able to find housing and are working in surrounding communities (Upper Sandusky, Bowling Green, Carey, etc.)
I know this is a topic that is being brought up frequently and I wanted to provide a couple of points of clarification as well as an update on how we, as a community, are trying to wrap our arms around this new challenge.
First, I want to clarify that the City of Findlay is in no way bringing these immigrants here. They are not being bussed here by Biden, the City is not paying for them, and we are not a “Sanctuary City”. As I have shared in the past, if the City interacts with an individual who cannot provide proper paperwork, and we cannot confirm its existence with proper authorities, we notify ICE. If we believe the individual is a threat to the public, we would detain them until ICE arrives. Fortunately, to my knowledge, we have not had any such situation. My goal is that the City of Findlay is a welcoming place without inviting large populations that may cause challenges to our community.
Second, there are multiple types of immigrants currently in our community. Some are here on work Visas, some are at a state in the immigration process in which they can work, and there is a population that is in the immigration process and is not able to work (this is, in my opinion, a large flaw in the immigration system, unless the immigrant is here on certain types of visas they are unable to work for the first year they are here.). Yes, there are, some individuals that are here illegally, and if law enforcement interacts with them we notify the proper authorities. As a municipality, there are limited steps beyond that that we can take. I believe it is worth noting here that the majority of our immigrant population is here legally. I also believe that significant federal reform on border security and immigration is needed and that we can both advocate for those improvements while treating individuals in our community with dignity and respect.
Third, there are at best guess between 300-500 individuals that are in our community, either living, working, or both. This may fluctuate and may grow over the next few years but this is not a goal of mine as has been inaccurately stated.
This brings me to the Immigration Task Force. As I shared a few weeks ago, the City of Findlay recognizes the challenges of seeing a larger immigrant population and though it is not one we created it is one that we must address. Yesterday, I hosted the first “official” meeting of the Immigration Task Force. This is a group of approximately 60 individuals or agencies who interact with the immigrant population regularly. Below is an outline of what I shared and what we discussed at the meeting. These reports will be provided to you on a regular basis moving forward.
Community Priorities:
– The City of Findlay wants to continue to be a safe community, that provides opportunities for a better life, and treats everyone with dignity and respect.
– Recognize that the majority of challenges faced by our immigrant population are the same challenges faced by many others in our community and that by improving these systems we are helping our community as a whole.
– Ensure managed use of resources to meet the needs of local residents while also supporting the increased demand from the immigrant population to ensure there is not a ripple effect of issues due to homelessness, inadequate healthcare, or food insecurity.
Prior to hosting yesterday’s meeting, Jaclynn and I met with our established Coalition Leaders to understand what each of their coalitions was seeing. Out of these conversations, we identified the following primary areas for discussion at our Immigration Task Force, Language, Culture, Housing, Transportation, and Food Security. Below are a few initial notes on each topic.
Language:
– Continue to provide ESL classes. Expand locations through volunteers to help increase capacity.
– Nonprofits can utilize Canva for free to translate documents. Identify a few resources that can review the translations for accuracy.
– Identify local translators who can get certified rather than utilizing pricey tele-translation services.
Culture:
– Educate the population that nonprofit services are not for everyday use but for use when in need.
– Educate on laws around domestic relations.
– Engage on health screening
– Educate on the necessity of consistently using one legal identification
– Determine most appropriate ways that immigrants and community members can support each other in understanding and engagement
Housing:
– Lack of available housing at affordable price points.
– Concerns by landlords due to no credit history, lack of access to a background check
– Educate on restrictions with the number of individuals or families living in a single-family residence
Transportation:
– Coordinate with the State and DMV to get the drivers’ manuals translated into other languages.
– Investigate fixed routes from denser population points to employment areas.
Food Security:
– Educate the population that nonprofit services are not for everyday use but for use when in need.
– Identify if there are specific foods that are desired more due to cultural differences
– Identify distributions and communication to ensure food is getting where it is needed.
We have asked each agency to identify what is working in their process, what issues they are seeing, solutions that could be offered, and what long-term success looks like. The administration is serving as the convener and facilitator of these conversations to ensure that the collective action items move forward. Out of the initial discussion, below are some action items that were presented by the groups.
Language:
– Create cards for people to have in their offices or to carry that include various common phrases.
– Create a resource summary document on the different language applications and translation services.
– Create an informal translators list (individuals qualified to help in situations that do not require certified translators).
– Create a formal translators list (certified translators).
Culture:
– Focus on community-based education regarding the immigration process and understanding of cultural differences.
– Provide support to Cultural Connections, Borderless Connections, the Black Heritage Library & Multicultural Center, and the Arts & Heritage Council.
– Promote events and activities that celebrate cultures.
– Reinforce the importance of separating the national immigration reform challenges from what the needs of our local community are.
Housing:
– Encourage landlords to work with employers to get background check information.
– Educate the immigrants on housing culture and regulations.
– Translate leases so that immigrants are aware of what they are signing.
Transportation:
– Explore the possibility of fixed-routes for better access to work, medical appointments, etc.
– Explore ways to begin providing transportation for 2nd and 3rd shift employees.
Food Security:
– Plan a resource fair similar to the “No Wrong Door” event with translators present so that individuals are able to learn about the community and resources available to them in one place.
– Create a translated pamphlet of community information that can be provided by employers to individuals.
I understand that this is a topic with varying opinions and many levels of complexity but I believe if we ground ourselves in the following we will be able to address the challenges in a manner in which we can all be proud.
1) Treat humans as humans.
2) Look for efficiencies in our existing system
3) Engage the local community of volunteers
4) Advocate for immigration reform at the federal level
Thank you for your understanding and support as we address this challenge.
Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS) has acquired two new da Vinci Xi surgical robots (pictured below) as part of its continued commitment to offering state-of-the-art technology to provide quality healthcare.
BVHS now has a total of four Xi surgical robots. One of the new robots is at Blanchard Valley Hospital, while the other is at Bluffton Hospital. They replaced da Vinci X robots previously at each site.
“An Xi robot allows the surgeon to see throughout the abdomen in all directions, without stopping to move the robot or the instruments to a new position,” said Kristie Jolliff, RN, surgery operations manager. “This means surgeries can be performed more efficiently, which is better for the patient as they have to spend less time under anesthesia.”
The robots are used to perform procedures in general surgery, gynecology, and urology. Jolliff said they can be used for a wide variety of procedures, including removal of the gallbladder, appendix, prostate, or kidney. They are often used in hysterectomies, among other gynecological procedures. Some of the most common general procedures are hernia repairs and colon resections.
BVHS has had a robotic surgery program since 2010.
“Robotic surgery, in general, allows for more efficient procedures, which can reduce complications for patients,” said Trevor Schmiedebusch, RN, director of perioperative services. “It also offers better ergonomics for the surgeons, who sit at a console controlling the robots, rather than spending many hours standing. Each new generation of robots further builds upon these opportunities to make the experience go more smoothly, improving safety and efficiency.”
For example, the da Vinci Xi robots magnify an item to 12 times its actual size, meaning a surgeon looking at even the smallest blood vessel can see it very clearly.
The robot itself can set its arms to be in the best position. Additionally, the software will automatically update as new developments improve the robots’ capabilities.
“BVHS already has surgical beds that themselves include technology that works with the robots so that the beds can adjust as the robotic arms move,” Schmiedebusch said. “Having four Xi robots available means we are offering the latest and best technology. It’s an indication of how BVHS is continually investing to ensure we are providing our patients with the best care.”
We are so excited to announce the pilot of a new visitor management system that will help us provide the safest environment for our students and staff!
When you arrive at the doors of Findlay High School our incredible security team will guide you through the new sign-in process, which includes a scan of your ID.
Your visitor badge will be printed and you’ll be headed to your destination in no time!
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding throughout this pilot.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office said their office as well as the Findlay Police Department are experiencing issues with the 911 phone lines.
The situation began on Tuesday and the sheriff’s office said the phone company was contacted and is working to fix the issue, but it was unclear how long that would take.
Officials say 911 calls made from cell phones have not been affected but calls from landline phones may not connect to the 911 call center.
People unable to reach 911 should call the sheriff’s office at 419-422-2424, or Findlay Police Department at 419-424-7150.
