3/20/17 – 7:35 A.M.

A Bowling Green man has avoided prison time for the overdose death of a North Baltimore woman. The Sentinel-Tribune reports a judge sentenced 27-year-old Christopher Hoseler to five years of community control on a charge of reckless homicide. Police had charged Hoseler and others in the January 2015 death of 28-year-old Maria Morales.

Hoseler pleaded guilty to the reckless homicide charge in January. He originally faced an involuntary manslaughter charge as well.

28-year-old Joshua Grant of North Baltimore is serving an 11-month prison sentence in the case. 32-year-old Robert Sterling of North Baltimore is in an intervention program for his role in Morales’ death.

3/20/17 – 6:49 A.M.

Local gas prices are up as we start a new work week. OhioGasPrices.com reports the average price for a gallon of regular in Findlay today is $2.19 per gallon. That’s even with the average price per gallon across the rest of the state.

Prices are 22 cents higher than they were a month ago. A year ago we were paying $1.96 per gallon.

The average price in Ottawa is $2.19 per gallon today. That’s up 10 cents over last Monday.

3/20/17 – 5:36 A.M.

The city has finished parts of a four-year, $550,000 renovation project in the Findlay Municipal Building. The Courier reports changes appear subtle to the general public, but make operations in the building smoother. The police records department is now on the third floor. The police chief and detectives are now on the ground floor. The Findlay Municipal Court and most of its reconfigured office space take up most of the building’s second floor.

Dave Beach is the city’s director of court services. He says drug testing is now done in a private restroom. Employees must buzz visitors in to see probation officers, as they and other areas are key-card protected. The attorney-client meeting rooms are in separate, private compartments behind locked doors.

The next phase of the remodeling project includes turning an empty room in a new courtroom. The city hopes to hire a magistrate to work in that courtroom. The magistrate would handle arraignments and fines.

The city only used $50,000 of general fund money for the project. Court fees earmarked for improvements paid for the rest.

MORE: The Courier

3/20/17 – 5:20 A.M.

Today is the first day of spring, and it’s also the first day of Severe Weather Awareness Week. That includes is a statewide tornado drill scheduled for 9:50 a.m. Wednesday. During the drill, Ohio counties and towns will sound and test their outdoor warning sirens. The national weather service is encouraging schools, businesses, and households to practice their tornado drills and emergency plans at the same time.

Ohio’s tornado season is normally April 1 through July 30.

You can go to WeatherSafetyOhio.gov to review severe weather safety information and to make sure your home is ready in case of an emergency.

03/20/17 – 2:26 P.M.

Focus on Friends is offering a new peer support group designed for the LGBTQ+ community. Men’s Recovery Home Coordinator Ben Hippensteel said that Open Air’s focus is on acceptance. The goal is to make people feel welcome and to show that there is support for the LGBTQ community.

He said that he designed the group to have a club-like scene to it. There will be music and disco lights to help make people comfortable.

Hippensteel added that people don’t have to stay for the meeting part if they don’t want to. There is a place for people to just sit and hang out or play pool. It’s open to family and friends of people in the LGBT community as well.

The group meets the first and third Friday of the month at 7:30 at Focus on Friends. You can catch the full interview with Ben Hippensteel below