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🌱 Patch AM: How a Columbus-linked fire truck strike cost workers their health insurance

Also, don't miss New Year's Eve Party on the Columbus Patch calendar

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Tuesday December 23rd Patch AM
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Hey hey Columbus! Your one-stop source for local news is here. Continue reading for all the updates. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • How a Columbus-linked fire truck strike cost workers their health insurance
  • Why aren’t Ohio’s new property tax cuts satisfying angry homeowners?
  • How a Columbus vehicle search advanced a Pickaway County shooting case

Also on today's calendar: New Year's Eve Party and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Columbusfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: What did one magnet say to the other magnet? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Columbusfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Tuesday: A.M. mist; otherwise, cloudy, with a high of 51 and low of 30 degrees.
  • Wednesday: Sun and areas of high clouds, temps: high: 42, low: 38.
  • Thursday: Cloudy with areas of drizzle, with a high of 50 and low of 46 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Employees lose health insurance as union strike enters eighth month (nbc4i.com) — Columbus-area Sutphen workers have been on strike since May, and many have now lost their employer health insurance while the company and Teamsters Local 284 remain at odds over wages and medical costs. The Dublin-based fire truck maker, which frequently sells to the City of Columbus and recently lost a city contract, insists it’s bargaining in good faith as some striking families turn to Medicaid and await a federal labor board hearing in February.
   

2. DeWine just signed bills aimed at property tax relief. Not good enough, say anti-property tax advocates. (wcpo.com) — From the Statehouse in Columbus, Gov. Mike DeWine has signed several new bills aimed at easing Ohioans’ property tax burdens, limiting school revenue from rising home values and empowering county officials to adjust levies. But anti-property tax groups, already gathering signatures for a 2026 ballot amendment to abolish property taxes, argue the changes are far too modest and could still leave seniors and schools in a financial bind.
   

3. Pickaway sheriff's office searching for 19-year-old man with arrest warrant in connection to shooting (10tv.com) — Detectives tracked a vehicle tied to a Pickaway County shooting to Columbus, where they obtained a search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation. A 19-year-old Lancaster man survived a chest wound, one suspect is in custody, and another 19-year-old remains wanted on complicity charges.
   

4. Ohio sheriff starts chain of five living kidney donations in honor of his father (abc6onyourside.com) — A five-person chain of living kidney donations, coordinated through Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, began when Mercer County Sheriff Doug Timmerman chose to donate in honor of his father. His decision ultimately gave Newark resident Joy Wagner a new kidney and helped four other patients, highlighting the life-saving impact of Columbus-based transplant programs.
   

5. How to protect against this year's 'super flu' (nbc4i.com) — Flu cases, including a fast-spreading “super flu” strain, are climbing in Columbus and Central Ohio just as holiday gatherings ramp up. Local experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital urge residents to get vaccinated, practice good hygiene, and stay home or mask if sick, especially to protect vulnerable older adults, young children, and people with health conditions.
   

📸 Around Columbus

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Columbus

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Found Black Kitten.
    Has little pink glitter caps on a few of her claws. She was crying outside of our door. We’re not allowed to have cats but we think she belongs to… (Nextdoor Morse and Cleveland)
  • Please share & repost to help reunite this lost cat!
    Muddy was LOST on December 20, 2025 in Columbus, OH 43206 near Kossuth Mohawk Sharing for a neighbor. For the latest information or to contact the… (Nextdoor Walnut Heights)
  • Lifetime Fitness - Life Time, Inc. posted a job opening for Kids Team Member in Columbus. Apply here.
  • YMCA of Central Ohio posted a job opening for Sports Coordinator, YMCA of Central Ohio in Columbus. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Columbus here.

Ok Columbus! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I find you very attractive!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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