Ottawa Police Department - Ohio

06/01/2026

🚧 Attention Residents and Visitors 🚧

If you plan to visit Subway, Morman Chiropractic, PT Services, Asian Massage, Speed Queen Laundry, or Beydoun's L**e Express today, please use the rear entrance through County Electric's driveway, which is accessible from Locust Street.

We greatly appreciate County Electric for allowing access through their property while we continue making improvements to State Route 65 curbs and sidewalks.

We also thank everyone for their patience as Smith Paving continues doing an outstanding job helping make Ottawa even better!

Please continue supporting these local businesses during construction.

Some driveways are expected to reopen tomorrow morning, and we anticipate work on the east side of the roadway being completed by early next week.

As always, please pay close attention to the orange barrels and construction zones. Our construction crews are working hard to complete these improvements safely and efficiently. Please slow down, stay alert, and help keep everyone safe.

Thank you for your continued patience and support! Please share! 🇺🇸

05/29/2026

Join us this morning as we send off our Putnam County Special Olympics athletes as they head to the State Games to compete in Track & Field and Bowling! We will be leaving Brookhill at 8am. Heading down 15 to Road 11. Through Glandorf to US RT 224 where we will es**rt the athletes through Main Street of Ottawa! Join us!!

05/28/2026

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Please join us downtown Ottawa June 19th
Queens Contest at OGHS Auditorium 4pm
Waterball Contest starting at 4pm
Cruise Night 6pm-9pm
And to close the night Electrik Circus playing in the Legion Post 63 parking lot from 8pm-11pm
Let’s make the 152nd NOVFA Convention and the 250th anniversary of our wonderful country one to remember.

05/25/2026

Attention Ottawa-area road warriors:

Did you lose a cooler off your vehicle last night, or were you just trying to start a mobile tailgate?

We found a nicer cooler in the roadway. If it’s yours, send us a message and be prepared to identify the contents. “It had drinks in it” will not be enough evidence for this investigation.

05/22/2026

Do you enjoy fresh air, sunshine, and making grass nervous? The Village of Ottawa is looking to hire one seasonal employee starting immediately through potentially the end of October.

We’re looking for someone dependable to help mow yards approximately 4 days per week. This could be a great fit for:
✔️ A retired individual looking to stay active
✔️ A college student who doesn’t mind a little hard work
✔️ Anyone reliable who enjoys working outdoors

Must be dependable, willing to work, and capable of defeating tall grass on a regular basis. Bonus points if you know which end of the mower goes forward.

Applications are available online at www.ottawaohio.us or stop in to Village Hall

Please share!

05/15/2026

South Hickory Street is officially OPEN!

A few important reminders before you test your driving skills:

• South Hickory Street is now a ONE WAY street heading SOUTH from Main Street to 2nd Street.
• The signs are posted correctly — “Do Not Enter” really does mean do not enter. We promise it’s not a suggestion or a challenge.
• Parking lines are painted, although we are still waiting on a few additional signs to arrive.

Now for the biggest change:
ALL angled parking is REVERSE-IN PARKING ONLY. That means you MUST back into the space, no pulling straight in.

Why reverse parking? Because it’s safer for everyone. Backing INTO a parking space gives drivers better visibility when pulling out into traffic, reduces the chance of accidents with pedestrians and vehicles, and makes it easier to safely unload passengers. In short: a few extra seconds parking can help prevent a lot of problems later. It is just like parallel parking on main street.

Don’t worry, instructions for reverse parking are posted along the street to help guide you. And yes, after a few tries, you may even start looking like a pro.

We sincerely thank everyone for their patience while we battled Mother Nature to get this project completed. A huge THANK YOU goes to Hohenbrink Excavating for doing an outstanding job and coordinating with all of the crews involved in the project.

We also want to thank all of the businesses and residents who have patiently waited for this work to be finished.

We understand change can feel strange at first, but change is not always bad. These improvements were made with safety in mind for everyone using our downtown streets.

Now go enjoy the new street… the correct direction, please. 😉

05/08/2026

🚧 Traffic Advisory – State Route 65 Construction 🚧

Beginning May 13th through approximately July 1st, State Route 65 between 2nd Street and Locust Street will be under construction.

What to Expect:
• Delays in travel along State Route 65
• Traffic shifted to the center lane while curb work is completed on each side
• Temporary closures of side streets and driveways at various times

Please plan ahead:
• Avoid the area if possible
• Use alternate routes when available
• Allow extra travel time
• Do NOT drive in lanes that are closed
• Use caution and be patient while work is underway

All local businesses will remain open during construction.

We appreciate everyone’s cooperation and patience as these improvements are completed.

Send a message to learn more

05/06/2026

🚧🎉 WALNUT STREET IS OPEN! 🎉🚧

Good news, Ottawa! Walnut Street is officially back open and looking sharp!

A few important reminders before everyone treats it like the Indy 500 pit lane:

➡️ Walnut Street is now ONE WAY heading SOUTH from Main Street to 2nd Street.
Yes… ONE WAY.
No… your GPS from 2014 does not count as an excuse for not going the right way.

The State will soon be installing new push-button crosswalks with flashing lights to help pedestrians safely cross Main Street. So if you see people pressing buttons and lights flashing, that’s not a game show… please stop for pedestrians.

A sealing and striping crew will also be coming soon to finish striping parking spaces on Walnut Street. The finishing touches are on the way, so please be patient while crews wrap things up. Striping will be completed shortly to finalize the project.

Signs are posted, please pay attention and help us keep traffic moving safely.

And since we’ve seen a few comments about the new “bump outs” downtown… here’s the scoop:

The bump outs are designed to create a safer crossing area for pedestrians by shortening the distance people have to walk in the roadway. They also help naturally slow traffic down a little downtown, which is kind of the point when people are shopping, eating, and crossing the street.

And no, we did NOT shrink the travel lanes. In fact, the lanes were actually made TWO FEET WIDER on each side than what ODOT requires. Trucks, semis, farm equipment, fire trucks, snow plows, and everyday traffic will still be able to pass each other just fine.

Speaking of plows… if a plow truck can’t make it through without hitting a bump out, it would also be hitting a parked car on Main Street, because parked vehicles stick out about two feet farther than the bump outs do.

We also want to sincerely thank everyone for their patience as we continue finishing up our downtown improvement projects. Hickory Street will be wrapping up soon as well!

While you’re downtown, be sure to stop in and support our local businesses and check out all the work that has been done to make Ottawa a safer and even better place to live, work, and play.

Thanks again for your patience, cooperation, and for helping keep Ottawa moving in the right direction… literally. 😉

04/27/2026

***** Update *****

If your son was playing basketball in the park on 4/25/26 at approximately 11:49 am please give us a call. All 3 boys were on bikes and left the park heading past the pool house and went south on Locust Street. Let's just say they left the area in a hurry!

One was wearing a red shirt and the other two had what looked to be matching hats on (if you are a baseball coach of Jr High and down please ask your team if they know anything about this).

Prior to posting video we will give an opportunity for our future remodeling experts to come and speak with us. If this was your son(s) who were involved in this, reach out by messaging our page, contacting us via the listed phone number, or send officer Lomeli an email.

We’d like to have a quick chat with whoever decided the water fountain in Memorial Park needed a “remodel” over the weekend… unfortunately, it didn’t pass inspection.

On a serious note, vandalism like this costs the community time and money to repair, and takes away from everyone who enjoys our parks.

We are currently reviewing camera footage and expect to be in contact with the individual(s) involved soon. We encourage you to come speak with us before we have to come find you.

If you saw anything suspicious or have information about this incident, please contact the Ottawa Police Department at 419-523-3208 or email Officer Lomeli at [email protected].

Let’s work together to keep our parks in great shape, for everyone.