Marathon Center for the Performing Arts is inviting people to check out a virtual performance of The Nutcracker by Madcap Puppets, a Cincinnati-based puppet theater.

“Clara needs a little help from The Nutcracker to keep the Sugarplum Fairy from spoiling their holiday festival. Adapted by Dylan Sheldon, Madcap turns this classic Holiday story into a fantastically funny tale, filled with giant puppets and comical characters.”

The free livestream holiday performance, made possible by Great Scot Community Markets, will be broadcast via Zoom at 2 p.m. Sunday.

A link to the livestream will be made available on MCPA’s website and Facebook page prior to the beginning of the show.

Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, of Findlay, has announced his Compass Award honorees for the month of December.

The monthly recognition program commends organizations, programs, and individuals across the state who are working to guide Ohioans toward financial literacy and empowerment.

Liberty-Benton High School was one of the December honorees.

Sprague says Liberty-Benton High School takes a comprehensive approach to give students the information and skills needed to make informed financial and career decisions at each stage of life.

High School Principal Ben Gerken tells WFIN they’re honored to receive this recognition.

Treasurer Sprague added that with a greater understanding of personal finance and career readiness, Liberty-Benton students are well-prepared to navigate life after high school.

(ONN) – The Ohio House of Representatives has canceled its Wednesday and Thursday sessions.

It says committee work will continue this week.

Some in the Ohio Legislature were calling for cancelations because three house members have tested positive for COVID-19 since Friday.

Those who tested positive include an unnamed Republican lawmaker, along with Democrat John Patterson, from the Ashtabula area, and Republican Rick Carfagna from suburban Columbus.

The House’s top Democrat called for the session this week to be canceled.

Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes said, “at the very least, they could pretend to care about the health, safety and well-being of those who enter the state’s legislative halls and share information with everyone who is affected in a timely manner.”

House Republicans said the decision to cancel the sessions was because of a scheduling conflict, not the coronavirus.

The annual rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan that was scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.

The University of Michigan made the announcement on its Twitter account.

“This decision is disappointing for our team and coaches but their health and safety is paramount, and it will always come first in our decision-making,” the tweet read.

The cancelation announcement came shortly after Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said the game was still happening.

Michigan also canceled its game last weekend with Maryland due to COVID cases.

Get more details on Michigan’s decision to cancel the game by clicking here. 

(picture courtesy of Columbus Wired)

"This decision is disappointing for our team and coaches but their health and safety is paramount, and it will always come first in our decision-making.” pic.twitter.com/IHXOD6lXyj

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 8, 2020

Hunters had a lot of success in the woods during Ohio’s weeklong deer-gun hunting season.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife reports hunters harvested nearly 72,000 white-tailed deer during the annual gun hunting week that wrapped up on Sunday.

Over the last three years, hunters checked an average of 65,500 deer during the same weeklong period.

The top three counties for deer taken during the gun week include: Coshocton (2,281), Tuscarawas (2,198), Ashtabula (2,167).

Deer hunting in Ohio has come a long way since the first gun season in 1943, when only three counties were open for hunting and 158 deer were taken.

Today, deer hunting occurs in all 88 counties and an estimated 310,000 hunters taking part in the weeklong deer-gun season.

For hunters who missed the deer-gun week, there are still more options to pursue deer.

Hunters can enjoy two more days of deer-gun season on Saturday and Sunday, December 19-20.

Muzzleloader season is open Jan. 2-5, 2021, and archery season is open until Feb. 7, 2021.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says a man fleeing from authorities in a stolen car caused an injury crash in Van Buren.

The highway patrol says a trooper clocked a car going 115 miles per hour on Interstate 75 southbound in Wood County at around 3:15 Monday afternoon.

Troopers ran the plate and learned the car was stolen and a pursuit ensued.

The highway patrol says Zachary Burnett, 26, of Lowell, Indiana continued southbound on I-75 and exited at State Route 18 and went east.

He turned south onto County Road 220 and when entering Van Buren failed to stop at the stop sign at County Road 220 (Main Street) and West Market Street, causing a multi-vehicle crash.

Burnett and two other drivers sustained minor injuries in the crash and were taken to Blanchard Valley Hospital.

Burnett was released from BVH and booked at the Wood County Justice Center on charges of fleeing, aggravated vehicular assault and receiving stolen property.

Monday was Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Flags were flown at half-staff in Findlay and across the United States in honor of the 2,403 service members killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7th, 1941… 79 years ago.

Read more about the “date which will live in infamy” here.

Hancock Public Health released the latest COVID-19 data for the county on Monday.

The agency is reporting 391 total active cases which is an increase of 19 from Friday.

Active cases are patients who are currently under quarantine or in isolation.

On Monday, 33 people were hospitalized with the virus in Hancock County, a drop of 11 from Friday.

The Monday data shows five Hancock County residents have died of the virus since Friday, putting the total number of deaths at 57.

Statewide, the total number of deaths eclipsed 7,000 on Monday, and there have been more than 484,000 cases.

St. Marks United Methodist Church again this year is offering needy families a free Christmas tree.

We spoke with the church’s Jeff Hauenstein outside the church at the corner of South Main Street and Lima Street in Findlay.

Jeff says they typically give away the trees after their live Nativity scene they held yearly but they didn’t hold the live Nativity this year due to COVID concerns.

This year they are giving away 50 trees, which is down from 80 last year, but all they could get because of a Christmas tree shortage.

People can pull in the church parking lot from 9 to 5 and find Jeff or Bruce Beck and they’ll help you out.

They only had about 20 trees left when we spoke with Jeff on Monday afternoon.

Blanchard Valley Health System says it is combining obstetric services at Blanchard Valley Hospital and Bluffton Hospital as part of their Pandemic Response Plan.

Details are in the following news release from BVHS.

In order to increase bed capacity system-wide, as well as maximize staffing availability in the pandemic response, Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS) will combine in-patient Bluffton Hospital and Blanchard Valley Hospital obstetrics on the main Findlay campus, effective December 14.

The Bluffton Hospital second floor, which houses the obstetrics unit, has an eight-bed capacity that is currently underutilized. With beds and staffing at a premium, as the COVID-19 census and acuity increases, BVHS will re-deploy beds and staffing to best meet the needs of the patients and community.

“This is the secondary phase of our pandemic response plan,” explained Scott Malaney, president and CEO of BVHS. “The associates who typically work in the obstetric unit at Bluffton Hospital will be re-deployed to the main campus in Findlay to join fellow team members, and the beds on the Bluffton Hospital campus will create additional capacity for patients in need of care.”

All births that would have taken place at Bluffton Hospital will be re-directed to Blanchard Valley Hospital. The Blanchard Valley Obstetrics & Gynecology office will continue to see patients in Bluffton, with no anticipated changes.

Additionally, Bluffton Hospital will continue to provide all other services including surgery, pain management, imaging, laboratory, outpatient cardiology, rehabilitation, specialty physician clinics and general inpatient care.

Hospitals and health systems across the nation are experiencing these same issues related to bed capacity and staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“By maximizing resources across the health system, we can better care for our patients and provide support to each other,” concluded Malaney.

For more information about career opportunities or services at BVHS, please visit bvhealthsystem.org.