The Ohio State Highway Patrol says a semi crashed into an ODOT truck on Interstate 75 near Lima.
The Highway Patrol says the crash happened near mile marker 127 at around 1:25 Tuesday morning.
Investigators say Matthew Fought, 40, of Lima, was operating a semi and trailer northbound on I-75 when he crossed the edge line and struck a Ford-F-450 parked on the shoulder that is owned by the Ohio Department of Transportation and had its emergency lights and arrow board activated.
The semi then went off the left side of the road before becoming disabled in the median.
The driver of the ODOT truck, Caleb Varhees, 32, of Cridersville, was taken to St. Rita’s Medical Center with minor injuries.
The Highway Patrol says drugs and/or alcohol are not suspected factors in the crash.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reminds drivers that it’s state law to move over or slow down for stationary public safety vehicles with lights activated.
Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky has announced that it plans to hire an estimated 6,500 workers for the upcoming season.
The amusement park is looking to fill positions in areas including rides, merchandise, lifeguards, park services, food and beverage and guest services.
A virtual hiring event is scheduled for March 13th.
The adjusted flood stages of the Blanchard River went into effect on Monday.
In February, the National Weather Service announced that the flood stages of the Blanchard River in Findlay would be raised effective March 1st.
Sarah Jamison, Senior Hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, says Findlay is making a lot of progress with flood mitigation but still has a ways to go.
Findlay’s flood mitigation efforts have included benching the river and removing flood-prone properties along it.
Governor Mike DeWine on Monday announced the next phases of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution process.
DeWine said that Phase 1-C and Phase 2 will both begin on Thursday.
Phase 1-C will include pregnant women, those with type-1 diabetes, law enforcement and corrections officers, child care service employees and funeral service employees, among others at greatest risk of contracting the virus.
DeWine also announced that Ohioans 60-to-64 years old will kick off what he called Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine roll-out.
The news comes as vaccine shipments — including those of the newly-approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine — are expected to increase, in the coming weeks.
Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that nearly 1.7 million Ohioans have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far, which is about 14.5 percent of the state’s population.
The dashboard shows that around 10,500 Hancock County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is nearly 14 percent of the population.
NEW ➡ Today I’m announcing the priority groups we’ve identified to be part of Phase 1C of Ohio’s vaccination program. This includes certain professions and those with certain medical conditions not covered in previous phases. pic.twitter.com/CDQgkLNup5
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 1, 2021
Country music superstars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood joined other musicians in celebrating music teachers in Ohio and across the country in a special video.
They joined other singers after several groups including the Ohio Music Education Association asked artists to help encourage educators to keep the music playing during the pandemic.
A semi tractor caught on fire on the side of State Route 15 just south of Findlay on Sunday afternoon.
The driver of the Queen Transportation semi pulled over on westbound State Route 15 a little before U.S. 68 at around 12:15 p.m. Sunday after the truck suffered a mechanical issue.
The cab caught on fire and was destroyed but the driver was able to disconnect the trailer and it was not damaged.
The driver was not injured.
The Arlington Volunteer Fire Department responded to put the fire out.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol and Hanco EMS also responded to the scene.
A road closure for a storm sewer project in McComb has been delayed.
The Ohio Department of Transportation says the 21-day closure related to a storm sewer installation at the intersection of State Route 235/Park Drive and State Route 613/Main Street in McComb has been delayed one week and will now begin on Monday, March 8th.
ODOT says work on the project will begin on March 1st as planned but the closure will not be required until the following week.
Work will take place from the intersection, west to the railroad crossing.
Traffic will be detoured.
The State Route 235 detour will be U.S. 224 to I-75, to SR 18, back to SR 235.
The State Route 613 detour will be I-75 to U.S. 224, to SR 65 back to SR 613.
All work will be contingent upon the weather.
Get more on the project, including maps of the detours, by clicking here.
“We really are intentional about our stakeholder engagement process, which is bringing trustworthy partners to the table.”
He says that includes city and county government leaders, educational partners, business partners and non-profits.
“Once you have trust at the table, there’s not a whole lot you can’t do,” Sheaffer added.
He said in 2020 Findlay had around $150 million in capital investment and 1,000 net new jobs.
Sheaffer said, over the seven years they’ve been ranked the top micropolitan in the country, the ‘Findlay Formula’ has resulted in more than 200 projects, 6,000 net new jobs and nearly 1.5 billion in capital investment.
Another area city came in high in the rankings.
Tiffin finds itself at number 4 on the list, which you can see here.
For the seventh consecutive year, Findlay, Ohio has been ranked the top micropolitan community in the United States for new and expanding facilities by Site Selection magazine, the official publication of the Global FDI Association and the Industrial Asset Management Council. The magazine ranked 575 of the nation’s micropolitan areas, cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people that cover at least one county. Rankings are based on qualified projects meeting one or more of three criteria: $1 MM or more invested, 20 or more jobs created or 20,000 or more square feet constructed. “Winning seven years in row validates the strength of our existing office, manufacturing and logistics base,” said Tim Mayle, Director of Economic Development. “Each year our prime directive is assisting local companies as they seek to grow. The majority of qualifying projects come from companies continuing to hire employees, expand facilities and invest in machinery and equipment.” Findlay is intentional about business development. “My office works every day with business stakeholders to position Findlay to be as competitive as possible. As we invest and expand existing business, we will continue to attract new world-class companies,” said Christina Muryn, Mayor-City of Findlay. Findlay•Hancock County Economic Development focused again on residential development in 2020. “The County Commissioners are vigorous supporters of business but no more so than assisting our expanding workforce. One of the best ways to do this is via business friendly residential development thus encouraging employees to not only work here but also live here. We continue to build. Multiple residential projects are in the pipeline for 2021,” said Timothy Bechtol, County Commissioner. Note: Residential development projects do not qualify for the Site Selection Top Micropolitan award. Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development will continue to attract automotive supply chain and hightech logistics investment in 2021. “Findlay’s central location and progressive business environment give us a strategic advantage,” said Mayle.
For more information, contact the Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development Office at 419-422-3313.
More than 1,100 school personnel from Findlay and Hancock County received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic held at Findlay High School on Saturday.
We caught up with Findlay City Schools Superintendent Troy Roth at the clinic. (video below)
He said more than 500 Findlay City Schools staff received the vaccine — around 70 percent of their personnel — and he’s happy with that percentage.
He says the vaccination is a step toward helping FCS move to a full 5-day in person schedule by the end of March.
Troy says another clinic will be held on Saturday, March 20th so staff members can receive their second dose of the two-dose vaccine.
Troy said Findlay was excited to host the clinic, and being the largest school in Hancock County was the best equipped to handle administering 1,100 vaccines.
WFIN also spoke with Kim, a substitute for Fostoria and Arcadia, and you can get more of our talk with her and with Troy in the video below.
It is not mandatory that school staff members be vaccinated.
Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that around 9,500 Hancock County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is around 12.5 percent of the population.
The number of active COVID cases in Hancock County dropped again but there were two more deaths.
The latest data from Hancock Public Health shows that there are 71 active cases of the virus in the county, a drop of 12.
There are only two active cases in the county.
Active cases are defined as someone who is currently under quarantine or isolation.
Two more Hancock County residents have died of the virus and the death toll now stands at 112.
Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that a little over 1.6 million Ohioans have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far, which is nearly 14 percent of the state’s population.
The dashboard shows that around 9,500 Hancock County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is around 12.5 percent of the population.
People 65 and older are eligible for the vaccine.
A vaccination clinic for Hancock County school personnel was held on Saturday in which more than 1,100 received their first dose of the vaccine, including more than 500 staff of Findlay City Schools.
