In response to rising Covid-19 case number in the area, Blanchard Valley Health System has established new guidelines for visiting patients at any of its locations, including Blanchard Valley and Bluffton hospitals.  These are in addition to ongoing policy requiring masks and health screenings upon entry.

Dr. Bill Kose, vice-president of Special Projects, explained that the measures are to assure the health and safety of both patients and staff.  Kose added that the public has been very accepting of the health system’s policies throughout the pandemic.

The new guidelines vary depending upon department and the patient’s Covid status. They also will change depending upon the number of local cases of Covid-19 have been found in the area.

Find an explanation of the current guidelines here.

The Blanchard Township Fire Department has gotten some good news to counteract bad. The Department suffered the loss of a variety of equipment and two fire trucks in a fire at the the department’s firehouse in Benton Ridge In February. Since that time, the department has been working on a tight leash with remaining equipment and vehicles.

Now, the organization has received some good news in the form of two grants from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The department applied for the grants well before the fire, but the funding will allow for replacement of the entire unit’s Self Contained Breathing Apparatus, including some pieces destroyed in the blaze. A second grant will be used to replace fire hoses and nozzles, including more than 500 feet that was destroyed.

Still pending is a grant application for a fire-truck.

Border Basin Solar will hold a second public meeting on its proposed solar generating facility tonight from 5 to 7 at the Arcadia Lions Community Center. Those visiting can watch a prerecorded presentation on the planned operation and ask specific questions of representatives of Border Basin.

If approved, the planned solar electric generation plant would cover over 13-hundred acres between Arcadia and Findlay, north of State Route 12, south of County Road 109, between County Roads 236. In constructed plans call for a generation capacity of 120 megawatts, roughly enough to power 19-thousand homes. Construction could begin next year with power generation at the facility to start late in 2023.

The project is a joint development effort between Boston-based Galehead Development and Tyr Energy with headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.

A map of the proposed project is here.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department is seeking help from the public on an unsolved case. The office is looking for information on a hit and run crash that occured on May 20th on Trenton Avenue. A woman died as a result of the crash and the Sheriff is looking for help in identifying the other vehicle that left the scene. It’s a red 4-door pick-up truck with a chrome tool box and running boards. Witnesses at the scene said the driver was likely in his early 20s and had red hair. If you know anything about the case, you are urged to call the sheriff’s office

Covid -19 cases in Hancock County are rising. Hancock Public Health announced on Friday that the county recorded 69 new cases of the last week, 13 news hospitalizations and one new death. Those trend put the county back to the levels of late April as the second wave of infections was waning. The rate of 83 cases per 100-thousand ranks as “Substantial” spread by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At that level, the CDC recommends that all people wear a mask when indoors in public, no matter one’s vaccination status.