10/04/17 – 2:20 A.M.
City of Findlay employees have a new travel reimbursement policy. Mayor Lydia Mihalik said that they worked on the new policy after receiving complaints.
She added that the new policy is much easier to use. It was modeled after the same policy used in the Ohio Supreme Court.
Mihalik said that they are also looking at other policies that affect employees.
10/04/17 – 1:55 A.M.
Findlay City Council heard from the city auditor about an opportunity to take part in a lawsuit against the state. Auditor Jim Staschiak said that the lawsuit comes from a change in how the state collects income taxes.
Staschiak said that the change will directly affect Findlay’s revenue. He added that taking part in the lawsuit will cost about $6,000.
Council did not make a decision in the matter.
10/03/17 – 7:18 P.M.
A Findlay street will be closed during daytime hours for two days this week. The Engineering Department says that they will close Township Road 145 to all traffic from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The closure will start on Wednesday and last two days. The road will be closed from South Main Street to Goldenrod Lane.
The City of Findlay will be installing a new water line at Township Road 145 and continue to run north with the new line. You’re urged to avoid the area if possible.
10/03/17 – 7:11 P.M.
Teen Driving Safety Week is coming up later this month and the State Patrol wants young drivers to stay focused. Sgt. Ulinski of the Findlay post said that young drivers played a part in a lot of crashes.
Those crashes resulted in 286 fatalities and over 41,000 injuries. Ulinski said that the major issue facing young drivers is distractions.
He urges parents to sit down and to talk about distracted driving and other safety precautions with their teens.
10/03/17 – 6:46 P.M.
United Way of Hancock County is hosting a community forum for their new initiative next Tuesday. President John Urbanski said that the Financial Stability Initiative will help households get back on their feet.
Urbanski said that the initiative is designed to get people the services they need to get a job and keep it. You can join in the community forum next Tuesday at the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts. Registration starts at 4:30 p.m.
10/3/17 – 11:45 A.M.
Members of the Blanchard River Watershed Solutions group lobbied the Hancock County Commissioners to remove a quarter-percent sales tax levy from the November ballot today. David Blatnik is with the group, and says now is not the time to try and pass a levy…
Audio: David Blatnik
Commissioner Brian Robertson introduced a motion to take the sales tax issue, also known as Issue 3, off the ballot. Commissioners Gazarek and Bechtol did not second the motion.
Blatnik says Blanchard River Watershed Solutions will talk positively about mitigation but encourage people to vote against the levy. He says they may support a levy when a project is officially on the table…
Audio: David Blatnik
Blatnik says that businesses and agricultural interests are starting to come together on the flooding issue…
Audio: David Blatnik
Blatnik says they believe there could be better locations for flood mitigation devices like retention basins. Steve Cramer of the Hancock for a Better Blanchard Group seemed to agree in part. He said they understand the water has to go someplace. Cramer added they would prefer it stay closer to the river rather than on valuable farmland.
10/3/17 – 5:26 A.M.
A Monday morning crash involving an SUV and a dump truck injured a North Baltimore man and killed a man from New London. The Wood County Sheriff’s Office reports the collision happened around 10:15 a.m. on U.S. 6 between Wayne and Pemberville roads.
An SUV heading east on the highway driven by 23-year-old John Brendan Sands of New London hit a westbound dump truck driven by 61-year-old Richard Davis of North Baltimore. A medical helicopter took Davis to the hospital. Officers pronounced Sands dead at the scene of the crash.
The collision remains under investigation.
10/3/17 – 5:16 A.M.
Carey is taking steps to get funding for a new sanitary sewer lift station. The Courier reports the village is applying for up to $420,000 in grants and loans from the state Public Works Commission. Carey has to submit the grant application to the Wyandot County Commissioners by Friday.
Lift stations pump wastewater or sewage from lower to higher elevations. Carey has already rebuilt two of the village’s five lift stations.
If approved, Carey could pay up to 40 percent of the project. That amounts to $168,000.
The application has to pass through a ranking process. If it gets by that part of the approval process it moves to a final round in early 2018.
MORE: The Courier
10/3/17 – 5:05 A.M.
Arlington officials could consider replacing water meters in the village. The Courier reports water and sewer superintendent Casey Glick brought the issue up Monday night. He says aging meters don’t correctly read water usage, which could cost the village money.
Councilman Tom Blunk agreed. He said the longer the village waits to replace the aging meters, the more money they’ll lose. He added newer meters could alert the village to water problems faster.
MORE: The Courier
10/3/17 – 4:58 A.M.
The deadline to register to vote in the November general election is rapidly approaching. You have until the end of the day on October 10 to get signed up. The Hancock County Board of Elections plans to stay open until 9 p.m. next Tuesday to register last-minute voters.
You can also register to vote at the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library, the license bureaus in Findlay and Fostoria, and the Hancock County treasurer and auditor offices among other locations.
You can go to HancockBoardOfElections.com to see if you’re registered to vote at your current address.