The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says an armed man was taken into custody after barricading himself in a residence in Arcadia.

Deputies responded to an address on Walnut Street a little after noon on Sunday to investigate a reported domestic disturbance.

During their investigation, deputies learned that the man was armed and it turned into a barricaded subject situation.

The sheriff’s office says the man, Matthew Hickle, 25, exited the residence after a short time and was taken into custody and transported to the Hancock County Jail.

No injuries were reported.

The incident remains under investigation.

A Putnam County family is recovering after an overnight fire in which their house sustained extensive damage.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says it received a call about a house fire at 20692 Road 18S in Fort Jennings at around 12:30 Monday morning.

The two-story house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

The owners of the home, David and Bettie Hess, along with their son-in-law, Richard Walters, suffered minor injuries while escaping the fire.

They were taken to St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima to be checked out.

The house sustained severe damage as well as the detached garage and a vehicle in the driveway.

The sheriff’s office says no foul play is suspected in the fire.

The cause is under investigation.

Some Findlay City Schools students sent healthcare workers notes and artwork to thank them for their hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic.

The Millstream Career Health Professional students sent the thank you notes and artwork to healthcare workers at Blanchard Valley Hospital.

Some of the notes read things like “Stay strong and brave. Let your light shine bright,” and “Life is tough but so are you.”

Another note said, “We appreciate your hard work & thank you for your service.”

One student wrote the following letter (below): “To our front-line heroes, your passion to save patients and put their health first is greatly appreciated. We look to you as somebody to admire and see as role models during these challenging times. Thank you for being my super hero!”

The Hancock Park District has announced the winners of its 25th Annual Photography contest and the pictures that will be included in their 2021 calendar.

Each image was taken within the Hancock Park System.

Findlay resident Shawn Arnold claimed the Grand Prize with his photo (above) of a tree frog at Oakwoods Nature Preserve.

The park district says Elizabeth Hoverman’s photo entitled “Trees Above” (below) was declared the People’s Choice entry.

The photo, taken at Riverbend Recreation Area, received the most “likes” out of all the entries on the HPD Facebook page between November 20th and December 20th.

All selected photos and photographers are listed below:

• Grand Prize winner—”Treefrog” by Shawn Arnold (cover)
• People’s Choice winner—”Trees Above” by Elizabeth Hoverman
• “Autumn Path” by Kristin Fraley
• “Untitled” by Dan Donovan
• “Deep in Thought” by Mary Banks
• “Another Year Taller” by Nicole Centofanti
• “Butterfly” by Shawn Arnold
• “Fall Migration—White-crowned Sparrows” by Anne Albert
• “Robin Purple Flower” by Elizabeth Hoverman
• “Blue Heron” by Mary Banks
• “Snail’s Pace” by Julie Zaring
• “Dold Lake” by Shawn Arnold
• “Singing from the Treetop” by Anne Albert

Each photograph is featured in the Hancock Park District’s 2021 wall calendar which you can download by clicking here.

While Findlay City Schools wasn’t able to put on a holiday choir concert this year because of COVID, they have been entertaining people with their Virtual Choir project.

Choir Director Kevin Manley says the Virtual Choir videos have been very well received by the public but they will never replace in-person performances.

Manley explained how he put the videos together.

“To make the videos, each student is singing along to a rehearsal track that I created for them. The rehearsal tracks are what hold the project together. Each student then records themselves singing their part at home, their bedroom, a closet, their car…or anywhere they can find a quiet spot to record. It is up to me to collect all of the videos, create a master audio track, and then align all of the videos into the final project. For the Joy To The World project, I collected 80 videos from the students. I don’t know for sure, but I am guessing that this project took around 40 hours to complete. While virtual choir videos will never replace singing together in person, it is an innovative way to keep the singing going during the pandemic. The students enjoy putting them together, and they love watching the final project.”

Manley says the choirs have not performed since December of 2019 and it is a very tough time for the performing arts.

“Here’s to hoping that we will be able to get together soon for a traditional, in-person concert.”

In the meantime, you can enjoy the Virtual Choir performances of Joy To The World and Wonderful Christmastime below.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is reminding everyone to drive sober over the holidays.

And if you plan on drinking, designate a driver before you start imbibing.

Last year during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weekends, there were 12 fatal crashes that killed 16 people on Ohio’s roadways.

Seven of those fatalities were the result of an impaired driver and nine were unbuckled.

Troopers will have an increased presence on Ohio’s roadways to promote a safe holiday season.

The OSHP shared a video of a trooper conducting a sobriety test on a driver who ended up being arrested for his 7th DUI.

You can hear the Bucyrus District trooper saying to the driver “my job is to make sure everyone gets home safe.”

The Highway Patrol says Gary Papst, 64, of Mansfield, was arrested and charged with OVI, his 7th in the last 43 years.

On average, troopers remove 25,000 impaired drivers each year from Ohio roads.

The public is urged to call #677 to report impaired drivers.

"My job is to make sure everyone gets home safe," explained a Bucyrus District trooper to the driver he just arrested for his 7th OVI. On average, troopers remove 25,000 impaired drivers each year from Ohio roads. #ImpairedDriving is just not worth it! Designate a sober driver. pic.twitter.com/cRmnUcunld

— OSHP_NWOhio (@OSHP_NWOhio) December 23, 2020

Hancock County EMS personnel were the first people in the county to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Findlay on Friday morning.

“We got the people that are taking care of us going first, just to show everybody the faith they have in the vaccine,” said Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi.

He says Hancock County received 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine in this initial shipment. (video below)

Baroudi says these first doses of vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers, first responders and those at the greatest risk of severe illness.

He says, as the county receives more shipments of vaccine, a multi-sector coalition will allocate them in order to efficiently vaccinate the community.

He expects the vaccine to be available to the general public sometime in March.

But until it is widely available, he’s asking everyone to continue following all the proper safety protocols, especially over Christmas and New Year’s.

A Findlay firefighter is the individual getting vaccinated in the video.

The nurse told him he could have either a Spider-Man or a Care Bears band-aid.

He chose Spiderman.

Some Findlay churches will be holding a Live Nativity on Christmas Eve.

Trinity Lutheran Church, at 935 West Bigelow, will put on its Living Nativity Christmas Eve Service from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“On a year when everything is different, the community can come and experience the birth of Jesus Christ through drama and song with actors, animals, carols, and candles we will watch the miracle of our Savior’s Birth unfold from their vehicle.”

The live animals include a horse, donkey, sheep and camels, all from the Patterson Family Exotic Animal Ministry.

Get more details by clicking here.

Also, St. Marks United Methodist Church, at 801 South Main Street, will be holding a drive-thru Live Nativity from noon to 2 on Christmas Eve.

Learn more about that here. 

Ohioans are being urged to be safe and smart on the roadways over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Officials say, even though fewer people are expected to travel than in years past, the roads could still be busy.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says 16 people were killed in crashes over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays last year, and troopers will be focusing on removing impaired drivers from the roadways.

More details are in the following news release from the Ohio Department of Transportation.

As the Year-end holiday period officially gets underway on Wednesday, AAA, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), and the Ohio State Highway Patrol are urging Ohioans to drive carefully this holiday season.

After 11 straight years of year-end holiday travel growth, AAA is predicting a 30% drop in the number of Ohioans traveling during the 12-day year-end holiday travel period, which runs from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3. While public health concerns over COVID-19 are keeping nearly three-fourths of Ohioans home this holiday, 96% of those who do travel will be driving to their destination.

While ODOT works to accommodate the anticipated increase in motorists on Ohio’s roads by removing as many work zones as possible, travelers will still encounter orange barrels in locations like I-75 in Cincinnati and Toledo and I-70/71 in downtown Columbus. Drivers should pay extra attention while driving through work zones and allow additional time to reach your destination. You can find real-time travel information at OHGO.com.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is reminding motorists to buckle up, never drive impaired and always follow traffic laws. Last year during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weekends, there were 12 fatal crashes that killed 16 people on Ohio’s roadways. Seven of those fatalities were the result of an impaired driver and nine were unbuckled. Troopers will have an increased presence on Ohio’s roadways to promote a safe holiday season.

The 2019 Christmas holiday period ran for two days from Tues., Dec. 24 through Wed., Dec 25. During this time, OSHP troopers arrested 60 drivers for impaired driving. #DriveSober or Get Pulled Over this holiday! pic.twitter.com/6EBjw4q12b

— Ohio State Patrol (@OSHP) December 23, 2020

UPDATE – ODOT now says that U.S. 30 westbound in that area will be closed starting 12/23 and lasting for several days to prepare for removal of the damaged beam and bridge deck.

An overpass over U.S. 30 in Allen County is closed indefinitely after being struck by a boom truck.

The Ohio Department of Transportation says Slabtown Road, over U.S. 30, north of Lima, is closed due to the bridge strike.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says Jason Randol, 34, of Green Springs, Ohio, was westbound on U.S. 30 around 4:15 Tuesday afternoon and didn’t have the boom of his truck lowered all the way and he struck the overpass.

The impact caused structural damage to the overpass, and Slabtown Road will be closed indefinitely.

U.S. 30 remains open.

#AllenCounty Slabtown Road over U.S. 30, north of Lima, closed indefinitely due to a bridge strike. U.S. 30 remains open. pic.twitter.com/6fa4KYrOGs

— ODOT NW Ohio (@ODOT_NWOhio) December 23, 2020