A new high school football season kicks off tonight with a  full slate of gridiron action for the entire Tri-County area.  Most area schools will be taking on a non-conference foe in their season opener.  On ESPN Radio 1430 WFOB, the Fostoria Redmen are at home against Toledo Scott.  On wfob.com, Tiffin Calvert travels to Hopewell-Loudon…And on Mix 96.7 WBVI, state powerhouse Marion Local is in McComb to fact the Panthers.  All games start at 7pm.

This fall, The University of Findlay brought in its largest freshmen class ever, and is celebrating its sixth consecutive semester of enrollment increases.  A total of 715 first-time, full-time freshmen are enrolled this fall compared to 619 in fall 2014, which represents a 15.5 percent increase.  Since fall 2012, the University has seen a 23 percent freshmen enrollment increase.  Administrators credit the University’s outstanding faculty and staff, and stellar academic offerings as some of the primary reasons for the record-setting numbers.

The Hancock County commissioners met Thursday with Gary Tuttle, district technician for the Hancock Soil & Water Conservation District, for an update on a project to clear dead ash trees from the Blanchard River.  In June, the Blanchard River Stream Enhancement Project, a collaborative effort by Hancock and five other counties, agreed to the ash tree project that is closer to going to bid.  Initial estimates put the cost at about $941,500 to clear about 8,900 dead ash trees, and any other downed trees, from the river.  Part of Thursday’s discussion focused on developing a solid cost estimate.