6/13/19   4:04am

The Findlay Rotary Club has announced the winner of its Service Above Self Award
Sherri Garner Brumbaugh was presented with the award at the club’s weekly meeting.

The prize recognizes non-Rotary-members who exemplify the Rotary ideals in the community.
Brumbaugh is President and CEO of Garner Transportation Group while also serving on numerous boards and committees.

Brumbaugh selected the Black Swamp Area Council of Boy Scouts to receive a $500 donation in her name from the Rotary Club.

Too much money. That’s not something you often hear from a government funded entity.
The Mental Health, Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Board of Putnam County has that situation. Executive Director Jennifer Horstman explained the situation to the board at their meeting last week, according to the Putnam County Sentinel. An abundance of money has come from the federal government to stem the opioid problem in Ohio.

With just 3 unintended overdoses in Putnam County last year, the board doesn’t need the money. Even when adjusted for population and other demographics, Putnam County is well below many other counties in the state.

But the state doesn’t want the money back, so the board has been working with the state to find acceptable uses for it. Despite these efforts, the board still has a surplus of over $45-thousand.

Flushing of fire hydrants in Findlay continues on Wednesday with two areas affected.
Expect wet streets between County Road 236 and Marion Township 242, from State Route 12 south.
North of State Route 12, the affected area is between Bright Road and County Road 236.

6/12/19     4:53am

A former Bascom EMS volunteer has been indicted. Fostoria resident John E Robinson was indicted by a Seneca County Grand Jury for theft. He is alledged to have fueled his vehicle several times with a Seneca County EMS credit Card between January and April of this year.
If convicted, Robinson faces 6 to 12 months in jail and up to $2500 in fines.

6/12/19     5:10am

An Upper Sandusky charity will be shuttered after an agreement with the State Attorney General.

The Koda Bear Foundation is to close after an investigation revealed that it’s operator, Melissa Johnson of Upper Sandusky, used donated funds for personal purchases including family trips, cars, and college tuition.

The foundation’s stated purpose was to provide headstones for stillborn children. The organization had more than $33-thousand in revenue last year.

Johnson agreed to close the charity, pay $2000 in restitution, and an $8000 civil fine. She is also barred from ever incorporating a non-profit in the state, and cannot solicit funds or sit on a non-profit board for 5 years.

11/20/18 – 5:26 A.M.

Liberty-Benton will start classes later next school year. The school board voted to start the school year on September 3rd in 2019, one day after Labor Day. To accommodate for the later start, May 29th, 2020 will be the last day of school, four days after Memorial Day.

Fall, winter and spring breaks for next year are November 27th through the 29th, December 23rd to January 1st, and April 10th through the 13th.

MORE: See how about how next year’s school calendar compares to this year’s.

11/09/18 – 6 A.M.

The Fostoria Finance Committee talked about overtime costs during their Thursday meeting. The committee discussed how the Fostoria Fire Departments overtime for the year grew from over $214,800 on October 25 to over $238,400 on November 8. Finance Committee chairperson John Schuld explained that this is an increase of over $23,000 from one payroll to the next.

Safety Service Director Deb Hellman said the fire department’s jump in overtime costs included trainings that don’t happen often. Crews put in extra hours for confined space training last week, as well as fire inspector training for three lieutenants. The fire inspector class is a one-time thing for the new lieutenants, and the confined space training takes place every other year.

11/02/18 – 7:34 P.M.

Hancock County ADAMHS is working with FOCUS to host a Mental Health First Aid training this month. Director of Wellness and Education Zach Thomas explained that the training will help you help someone in need.

Zach Thomas

Thomas said that the training will help you learn how to talk to someone going through a crisis.

Zach Thomas

Thomas said that the training is a lot like CPR where you will provide help until that person is able to get to someone qualified to help them. The training will be available for $25 from 9 am to 5 pm next Friday. It will be held at the University of Findlay.

For more information, you can visit focusrwc.org

10/03/18 – 3 a.m.

Findlay City Council tabled an ordinance to put a credit card policy in place so that officials could meet and discuss. Findlay Municipal Court Judge Mark Miller explained that while the court is in Findlay, the rules would be separate.

Mark Miller

Miller said that they plan to have a similar policy in place. The court isn’t alone in wanting to discuss the current policy, though. The mayor’s office and law director Don Rasmussen also want to look over the policy for changes. Mayor Mihalik explained that her card is needed for emergency spending for things like gas for police cruisers or police equipment. Rasmussen said he is worried about card security.

Council has until January to get a policy in place.