Transportation officials are moving ahead with the construction of an overpass on County Road 180 over State Route 15, just southeast of Findlay.

The Hancock County Engineer’s Office and Ohio Department of Transportation have concluded the public feedback process and have decided to proceed with the project.

Hancock County Engineer Doug Cade says the project was initiated in 2018 with a study looking at the number of crashes along State Route 15 in Hancock and Wyandot Counties.

He says the intersection of State Route 15 and County Road 180 has become more and more dangerous as traffic count and speeds have increased.

Cade says traffic will no longer be able to access State Route 15 from County Road 180 once the overpass is completed.

ODOT says the most common concern raised during the public involvement process had to do with the loss of access to State Route 15 from County Road 180.

To mitigate that issue, Cade says Hancock County will be widening County Road 172 to facilitate better access to U.S. 68 and State Route 37.

Both routes are about two miles from County Road 180 and have an interchange with State Route 15.

ODOT said another concern raised by the public was that the overpass may cause new traffic problems at other intersections, such as County Road 8.

ODOT says, due to the planned improvements to County Road 172 prior to the overpass project, it’s anticipated that most traffic will use U.S. 68 or State Route 37 to connect with State Route 15.

During construction, County Road 8 will be restricted to right-in and right-out, with left turns prohibited.

No access across the divided highway will be allowed.

Once the project is complete, Hancock County will re-evaluate the intersection to determine if further action is necessary.

The project now moves into the detailed design phase.

Construction is tentatively set for 2025, but could begin as early as 2022 if funding becomes available earlier.

ODOT says the recorded presentation for the public involvement period and all materials regarding the project will be available for an indefinite time at the following website: www.transportation.ohio.gov/Hancock180.

(FYI – the sign at the intersection says Township Road 180 but it is County Road 180)

Hancock County EMS personnel will begin to be inoculated against the coronavirus on Wednesday.

Hancock Public Health points out that the COVID-19 vaccination clinic will not be open to the general public.

Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi previously told WFIN’s Chris Oaks that he anticipates the vaccine to be widely available in early March, and mass vaccination clinics to be organized.

The number of COVID deaths in the county as of Tuesday was 76, which is an increase of eight from Friday.

Statewide, there have been more than 637,000 cases and more than 8,200 deaths.

The Putnam County Health Department also received a shipment of the vaccine on Tuesday, as they announced on their Facebook page.

Findlay students are brightening the holidays for seniors by making them Christmas cards and other crafts.

Findlay High School students made and delivered 300 cards as part of a service learning project.

Michele Branham, Activities Coordinator at Sunrise Senior Living, says the cards and other items the seniors receive really mean a lot to them.

“It makes a smile come to their face and a joyful laugh, they like getting those little gifts and treats from the kids. It makes them feel like they’re being thought about.”

She says they usually have carolers come in and sing for the seniors but they couldn’t do that this year because of the pandemic.

The preschool class at St. Michael the Archangel School (below) also made manger scenes as part of their Senior Cheer Program.

“We’re very appreciative of all their hard work they’ve been doing in the local schools to brighten the day for our residents here,” Branham added.

With Christmas just a few days away, Governor Mike DeWine is asking Ohioans to repeat what they did over Thanksgiving – to celebrate small.

Dr. Bruce Vanderhof, Chief Medical Officer for the Ohio Department of Health, says it is important for people to remain vigilant about the virus over Christmas and into the new year.

Ohio has now surpassed 8,000 deaths from COVID-19.

Click here for the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard.

For the latest Hancock County numbers click here.

The Findlay Police Department has promoted Justin Hendren to the rank of Lieutenant.

He was sworn in by Mayor Christina Muryn at the Findlay Municipal Building on Monday.

Lt. Hendren began his career with the Findlay Police Department in 1999 and has supervised the Hancock-METRICH Drug Task Force for the past 10 years.

Lt. Hendren was the Findlay Police Department Officer of Year in 2001.

He has served as a Field Training Officer and a member of the Emergency Response Team.

Lt. Hendren is a graduate of North Baltimore High School.

There’s an interesting, new activity to take part in during your next trip to downtown Findlay.

Axe throwing.

Axe Ventura held its grand opening on Saturday.

We spoke with manager Bryan White, who said they don’t just give you an axe and say ‘go have fun’.

He says each lane has an Axe Master that teaches people the proper technique.

“We teach what we call the Axe Ventura way, which is two-handed. We teach you how to stand, throw and get it to stick.”

Bryan says the owners are from Kenton and thought downtown Findlay needed a new, fun event for people to enjoy.

This is their second location. The first one is in Ann Arbor, right by the campus of the University of Michigan.

Bryan says walk-ins are welcome but advises people to book ahead to make sure there is availability.

Axe Ventura is located at 401 South Main Street.

They say they chose the name Ventura because it means adventure and good fortune.

Click here to learn more and to book an axe-throwing outing.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says several people were injured in a crash just northeast of Findlay.

The crash happened at State Route 12 and Township Road 212 at 6:06 Sunday night.

The sheriff’s office says Scott Larson, 44, of Tiffin, was northbound on Township Road 212 in a van when he stopped at the stop sign at State Route 12.

The sheriff’s office says Larson then continued northbound and was hit by a truck that was traveling east on State Route 12 and being driven by Lonzo Sampson, 77, of Fostoria.

Sampson, and a passenger, Lana Sampson, 77, of Fostoria, were taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital.

Larson, along with passenger Cheryl Larson, 56, of Tiffin, and two juveniles were also taken to Blanchard Valley.

Firefighters had to extricate some of the victims from the wreckage.

The sheriff’s office says Larson was cited for failure to yield at a stop sign.

Ohio’s $2.1 billion capital budget for 2021 that was recently approved by the legislature has money in it for a variety of local projects.

Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development Director Tim Mayle was on with WFIN’s Chris Oaks to discuss an item in the budget that’s of great importance locally.

He says the area will be getting a second installment of $15 million dollars for construction of the Eagle Creek Floodwater Storage Basin project just south of Findlay.

Tim says the money will allow them to get the site shovel-ready.

The overall project is anticipated to cost around $60 million.

The 600 to 800-acre floodwater storage basin would be constructed west of U.S. 68 and just north of Township Road 49 in Hancock County.

He says the projects already undertaken, such as the benching of Blanchard River, are making an impact on flood levels.

Project Manager Steve Wilson previously told WFIN he believes the storage basin will have a great impact on flood reduction in Findlay once it’s completed.

“It will reduce the 100-year flood elevation at Main Street by around a foot and a half, and that would be on top of the reductions we’re seeing with the work that’s currently being done along the Blanchard River.”

State Representative Jon Cross and State Senator Rob McColley were also on with Chris.

They say the capital budget bill also has around $900,000 in it for two local entities.

50 North is in line to receive $500,000 for its expansion project, while the Findlay YMCA is slated to get $400,000 for its Child Development Center.

Listen to Chris’ full interview with all three by clicking here.

You can go over the state’s capital budget by clicking  here.

There were a lot of smiling faces in front of Old Main at the University of Findlay during a Letters To Santa drive-thru on Sunday. (video below)

The university’s Amy DePuy says they put on the event to brighten the holidays for youngsters in what’s been a tough year.

“At a time when you shouldn’t need to figure out how to see Santa in what’s been such a challenging year, we wanted to make it easy for families to see Santa in a COVID-friendly way.”

She says the turnout was greater than they anticipated and they extended the event for an extra hour to accommodate all the vehicles carrying wide-eyed youngsters.

Get more of our conversation with Amy in the video below as well as plenty of video of kids dropping their letters in Santa’s sack.

Wreaths Across America Day was Saturday and a lot of people came out to Findlay’s Maple Grove Cemetery and other area cemeteries to place wreaths at Veterans’ graves. (video below)

Wreaths were placed at the graves of 1,200 Veterans this year, and organizers say they’re working toward one day being able to recognize each and every one of the 5,000 Veterans who are buried at Maple Grove Cemetery.

The mission statement of Wreaths Across America is Remember, Honor, Teach.

REMEMBER our fallen, HONOR those serve, and TEACH those in the community about our veterans sacrifices.

We talk to the Parsons Family that helped out this year and the organizer of the local event, Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, in the video below.

There were also Wreaths Across America events in Benton Ridge and Arlington.