The Marathon Center for the Performing Arts is seeking nominations for the Fifth Third Bank Wall of Fame.

People are encouraged to submit nominees with a connection to Hancock County whose accomplishments have greatly impacted their chosen arts discipline locally, regionally or nationally.

Nominees can be living or deceased.

Past Fifth Third Bank Wall of Fame inductees include Al Abrams, Micheal Anders, Jonathan Baker, Gavin Creel, Russell Crouse, David Cryer, Barbra Hennigs, Clifford Hite, Scott Lavender, Jack McBride, Wendene Shoupe, Phil Sugden and Jack Taylor.

Nominations must be received by December 31st.

The Wall of Fame Committee, comprised of community member and representatives of Fifth Third Bank, will review the submissions and select a minimum of one nominee to be inducted to the Wall of Fame in May 2021.

Click here for more details and for a nomination form.

The Hancock County Board of Elections says everything went well on the first day of early voting on Tuesday.

Jody O’Brien, Republican Director of the Hancock County Board of Elections, says 515 people cast their ballot at their office on the first day of early voting, which is likely a record.

People were already waiting in line outside when they opened at 8 o’clock Tuesday morning and traffic was steady throughout the day.

The board of elections will be open from 8 to 5 this week and next for early voting which will continue through November 2nd.

Also beginning Tuesday, absentee ballots started to be mailed out to people who requested one.

Nearly 10,000 Hancock County residents have requested an absentee ballot, and more than 2 million across the state, which is a record.

Get more important election information from the Hancock County Board of Elections by clicking here.

The City Mission of Findlay is dealing with a food shortage.

Joy Barger, Chief Development Officer, says they served around 90,000 meals last year and the need is even greater this year.

Joy said, due to the pandemic, fewer food drives have been held and they’re at a deficit of 50,000 pounds of donated food.

She’s asking individuals, businesses and churches to donate what they can.

Learn more about the City Mission of Findlay and how you can help them out here.

The Ohio Department of Health is allowing more fans at Cleveland Browns home games.

Officials agreed to a request from the team to allow 12,000 fans at FirstEnergy Stadium, doubling the current limit of 6,000.

The venue can hold nearly 68,000 people.

Fans will be required to wear masks the entire time and can only use the entrance and exit closest to their assigned seat.

The Browns host the Colts on Sunday.

The Ohio Department of Transportation’s annual Paint the Plow contest has gone virtual due to the pandemic.

Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade are urged to download the contest material, come up with their best design and then submit their entry.

ODOT is urging students to be creative, and they love to see themes of safe driving, school pride, patriotism, Ohio and the weather.

Submissions will be accepted through October 23rd.

Finalists will move onto a final round of voting that will take place on ODOT’s social media channels.

Statewide winners will be announced before Thanksgiving.

Winners will be featured online on ODOT’s social media platforms, website, weekly video series, The Loop, and other agency publications.

What would you paint on one of our plows if you could? ? Students, K-12, please submit your entry in our virtual Paint the Plow contest by Oct. 23, 2020! Learn more here: https://t.co/bXjnoXINTI pic.twitter.com/I1tztEvbFD

— ODOT NW Ohio (@ODOT_NWOhio) October 6, 2020

Investigators say drugs were found during a traffic stop in Tiffin and then later in a room where the suspects were staying.

The traffic stop was made on Monday in the area of Sycamore Street and Monroe Street.

Agents from the Seneca County Drug Task Force and Tiffin Police Department say they detained Kaleb Luidhardt, 29, of Tiffin, and Richard Mitchem, 31, of Tiffin.

Agents say they found meth, criminal tools, drug abuse instruments and money from the vehicle.

A search warrant was obtained for a room at 315 West Market Street where the suspects were staying and agents say additional meth, drug paraphernalia, drug abuse instruments and money was found.

Both men are facing charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of criminal tools and possession of drug abuse instruments.

“I am pleased to see the outcome of today’s operation,” said Tiffin Police Chief Fred Stevens.

“Drug investigations like today’s, allow area Law Enforcement to send a strong message to the folks who come into our area to poison our community that it simply will not be tolerated in this city.”

(above picture courtesy of the Seneca County Drug Task Force)

Early voting for the November 3rd election gets underway on Tuesday.

Jody O’Brien, with the Hancock County Board of Elections, says don’t be alarmed if you see a line stretching outside.

She says with social distancing requirements and the fact that their office is rather small, most of the line will be outside.

She says their office hours this week will be 8 to 5.

Also beginning Tuesday, absentee ballots will start to be mailed out to people who requested one.

In addition to voting early in person at the board of elections, voters can also mail back or drop off their absentee ballot, and of course just show up to the polls on election day on November 3rd and cast your ballot then.

Get more important election information from the Hancock County Board of Elections by clicking here.

Monday was World Teachers’ Day.

Findlay High School Principal Ryan Imke says it’s always important to appreciate all that teachers do, and especially so this year considering the challenges the pandemic has been presenting.

“You cannot say enough about all the hard work that our teachers are doing, they are going above and beyond to meet the needs of our students on a daily basis.”

Imke said he believes every day should be teacher appreciation day.

The theme of World Teachers’ Day this year was “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”.

Get more on World Teachers’ Day by clicking here. 

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive Monday saying that county board of elections officials could vote to have more than one drop box per county, but the additional drop boxes would have to be located at the board of elections.

LaRose’s directive means voters will still have to go to their county board of elections to deposit their absentee ballot in a drop box if they don’t want to mail it back.

Democrats and voting rights groups argue that distrust in the postal service and concerns about COVID at the polls would lead more Ohioans to drop off their absentee ballot rather than to mail them or vote in person.

On Friday a panel of judges from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that LaRose could allow counties to have multiple drop boxes throughout their county.

For months, his main contention was that he didn’t have the legal authority to allow multiple drop boxes, but was in favor of the idea.

The Ohio Democratic Party and voting rights groups had filed lawsuits on the state and federal level to allow multiple drop boxes per county.

LaRose’s directive also allows boards of election to station bipartisan elections officials outside the building to collect absentee ballots.

The Hancock County Board of Elections  has a drop box outside its building at 201 East Lincoln Street in Findlay.

Both total cases and active cases increased in the latest COVID-19 data released by Hancock Public Health.

The agency says, as of Monday, there have been a total of 807 cases in the county, which is an increase of 28 from Friday.

The number of active cases as of Monday stood at 85, an increase of 15 from Friday’s numbers.

A total of 62 people have been hospitalized from the virus in Hancock County since the beginning of the pandemic.

13 Hancock County residents have died of COVID-19.

Hancock County is still at level 2, or orange, on the state’s COVID-19 alert map.

State data shows Putnam County had 677 cases and 27 deaths as of Monday.

Putnam County is still at level 3, or the red level on the alert map.