Rally in the Alley is returning this summer on Friday nights in downtown Findlay.

The Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce says it’s partnering with the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts to bring Rally in the Alley back to downtown Findlay.

Rally in the Alley will be held in the MCPA parking lot beginning on Friday, June 11th with Hipnotix.

Get more details and the full schedule by clicking here.

Pictured above is Athen Ry performing an outdoor concert at MCPA in October.

They will be performing at the July 30th Rally in the Alley.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says two people were injured in a hit-skip crash in a store parking lot.

It happened at 2:18 Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of Verhoff’s Carpet Mart at 1311 West Trenton Avenue in Findlay.

Investigators say an early 2000s red Ford 4-door truck hit a car that was occupied by two people.

The truck left the scene of the crash.

The two people in the car were taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital with minor injuries.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in identifying the truck and driver.

The Sheriff’s Office says the truck had a chrome toolbox and chrome running boards and should have front-end damage from the crash.

The driver was described as a white man possibly in his early 20s.

Anyone with information should contact the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office at 419-424-7097.

After being grounded for a year by the COVID pandemic, Flag City Honor Flight is ready to fly again.

Flag City Honor Flight President Bob Weinberg says they will have two flights and two bus trips later this year.

On September 14th and November 3rd, Flag City Honor Flight will take approximately 80 Veterans, accompanied by their guardians, on a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the war
memorials built in their honor.

All Veterans interested in making the trip are encouraged to apply now.

Applications from World War II Veterans are needed as soon as possible if they want to fly this year.

Flights are open to Veterans of all eras, but World War II era Veterans are always given priority.

Flag City Honor Flight will also be offering two annual bus trips, scheduled this year for September 24 – 27 and October 15 – 18.

The bus trips, in partnership with 50 North, are open to eligible Vietnam era Veterans.

The trips are totally free for Veterans and are made possible by generous donations and from corporate sponsors.

Get more details about Flag City Honor Flight and applying for one of the trips by clicking here.

(pictures courtesy of Flag City Honor Flight)

Governor DeWine says so far more than 1 million people have entered Ohio’s vaccine lottery.

Vax-a-Million will give five Ohioans $1 million each and college scholarships to entrants under 18-years-old.

DeWine says data shows vaccine rates are growing since the program was put into place.

Anyone who wants to sign up can go to ohiovaxamillion.com or call 833-4-ASK-ODH.

The first drawing will be on Wednesday, May 26th.

Ohio’s vaccination dashboard shows that more than 5 million Ohioans have been vaccinated against COVID, which is around 43 percent of the population.

Hancock Public Health has announced that they have been accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board.

The health department says the milestone accomplishment is official recognition that the agency meets or exceeds the rigorous standards established by the non-profit, non-governmental Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).

Hancock Public Health says the achievement of national accreditation will help guide their work to better protect, promote and preserve the health of people in the community.

The health department thanks all their staff who worked hard to get them to this point amid the pandemic.

The Ohio Educational Library Media Association has named Amanda Brasfield as the recipient of their Emerging Leader Award.

Brasfield is the district library media specialist for Findlay City Schools.

The Emerging Leader Award recognizes OELMA members who have recently assumed an OELMA leadership role for the first time.

The award honors members who demonstrate leadership potential and encourages active participation in OELMA.

Findlay High School Principal Ryan Imke, in his letter of recommendation, said that Brasfield has single-handedly transformed how the district looks at libraries, and her innovative approach and strategies have led to a transformation of the library at Findlay High School.

Brasfield will be recognized at at the 2021 OELMA Annual Conference and Awards Celebration in October.

A Fostoria man was arrested after being indicted and charged with raping a child.

Jeffrey D. Kingery, 68, was indicted on a charge of rape, a 1st-degree felony.

Court records show that the charge comes with a penalty specification that the victim was under 10 years of age.

The indictment indicates that the alleged crime occurred in March of 2020 in Fostoria.

The indictment was filed on Tuesday and Kingery (below) was arrested on Wednesday and booked at the Hancock County Jail.

His bond has been set at $30,000.

Kroger is updating its mask policy.

The Cincinnati-based grocery chain says, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fully vaccinated customers and most fully vaccinated associates no longer need to wear a mask beginning on Thursday, May 20th.

Kroger says customers who are not vaccinated are still being asked to wear a mask and non-vaccinated employees are required to keep wearing a mask.

Employees in Kroger’s pharmacies and clinics are still required to wear a mask following the CDC’s guidance on healthcare settings.

Kroger says it will continue to implement enhanced cleaning and physical distancing across all facilities as well as offering employees $100 for receiving the COVID vaccine.

A neat project for 6th graders at Donnell Middle School, who used their math skills to create a mini golf course.

Long-term substitute math teacher Jillian Prince says the students worked really hard over the past two weeks to take the project from on paper to a real-life design.

She says the project was a fun way for the students to review a little bit of everything they’ve learned this school year and get some hands-on project-based learning as well.

And then the students’ hard work was rewarded as they got to play the course, which was set up next to Donnell Stadium.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has been recognized by an advocacy campaign that seeks gender balance and diversity on corporate boards.

50/50 Women on Boards (50/50WOB) has recognized Cooper Tire for having three of more women on its board of directors.

Full details are in the following news release for Cooper Tire.

50/50 Women on Boards (50/50WOB) has recognized Cooper Tire & Rubber Company as a “3+” company for having three or more women on its corporate board of directors. With three female board members, approximately one-third of Cooper’s board seats are held by women.

50/50WOB is the leading global education and advocacy campaign driving the movement toward gender balance and diversity on corporate boards. The campaign applauds companies that have aligned with independent research that demonstrates when three or more women serve on a board, profitability, productivity and workplace engagement increase.

“It is an honor for Cooper to be recognized by 50/50 Women on Boards,” said John J. Holland, Chairman of the Cooper Tire Board of Directors. “Cooper is focused on offering a diverse and inclusive environment, starting at the top. Different backgrounds and perspectives bring about healthy debate on strategic opportunities and lead the company to be more reflective of its customers, consumers, employees, investors and the world at large.”

“Investors, legislative mandates, and enlightened leaders continue to make institutional decisions that reinforce the business advantages of gender balance,” said Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire, CEO of 50/50 Women on Boards. “We are pleased to recognize Cooper Tire for prioritizing this business imperative that benefits stakeholders and shareholders.”

Cooper has also scored a 100 percent on the 2021 Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and was named a Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality. The company was named one of the World’s Best Employers by Forbes in 2020.