LOVELAND, Ohio —

A roadblock is on the way for one of the region’s most popular bike trails because a new bridge will take all summer to install.

The Loveland Bike Trail will be closed at a distance from downtown that takes about one minute to walk.

The bridge will be closed for most of March and will reopen, but will then close down again from May until October.

“I don't think it's going to make too many people happy. The timing is not what I would call the best,” said Loveland resident Julie Dolbier.

“That is very disappointing because that is the riding season,” said Diana Hodges-Batzka. “It just means we will be going to the other parts of this wonderful trail that Ohio has.”

That’s the concern. The trail is important to downtown Loveland businesses.

Now, people hitting the trail at Loveland can’t go north toward Morrow and Lebanon, which is the most popular route.

Loveland City Manager David Kennedy said the Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s plan was to replace the bridge in January, but supply chain issues pushed it back to the summer.

“They're doing the right thing, timing, it's not good. It's not good for our businesses, but I'm absolutely supportive of the project,” Kennedy said.

Business owners are remaining optimistic.

“You’re always tempted to think worse-case scenario, but I think, for the most part, if you’re committed to doing good work, people want to come and find you anyway,” said the owner of Narrow Path Brewing Company, Chad Powers.

LOVELAND, Ohio —

Drivers heading down Lebanon Road in Symmes Township and Loveland Friday afternoon saw dozens of protesters lining both sides of the road.

The group held Ukrainian flags and signs, of support for Ukraine and condemnation for Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"We are strong. We are small," one man chanted. "By our heart, by our soul and the bravery, we're much stronger."

The group rallied in solidarity with Ukraine. The protest was organized by two women who lived in Ukraine and have family still there. Nazly Mamedova is one of them.

"I have family members who left about a week ago and then some family members weren't able to leave," she said. "They're sending us videos of people being bombed."

Mary Smethurst, a Loveland resident, joined the protest after seeing it live on WLWT.

"We are behind the people in Ukraine," she said.

"Ukraine means a lot to us. My daughter was in Ukraine as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years, so we got to go. We spent two weeks in 2006, and the people were just lovely," she said. "All these months that people have been talking about what's going to happen and you just feel like how could you live that, knowing that any day you 're going to be invaded."

Many who attended the rally had ties to Ukraine, Russia or Georgia.

"Children were sent off, whoever was willing to send off their children and they placed on the blood markers to know what... what blood to give them if something happens," Mamedova said through tears. "No one understands why this is happening except the ambitions of President Putin."

That is her reason for protesting, as well as her family members still in Ukraine, like her grandparents who are in their 90s.

"People there are very scared," she said. "There's no winners in war."

CINCINNATI — The high school football scene was impacted by severe weather around the Greater Cincinnati area on Friday night.

Multiple games were in weather delays prior to scheduled kickoff times. Some games were scheduled to start later than the common 7 p.m. kickoff due to heat concerns. The lightning just added to the weather situation.

The Clinton-Massie (0-0) at Anderson (0-1) game was postponed until 10 a.m. Saturday.
The game had been a Spectrum News 1 game of the week in Southwest Ohio.

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"We fought through more adversity last year than ever before and we've been trained to be prepared for any opportunity at any moment," Anderson coach Evan Dreyer told WCPO.

"I think things like this make your program and teams better. We want to be a playoff team, so we must fight through adversity. We must adapt and overcome to be a great football team."

The Princeton (1-0) at Loveland (0-1) game is postponed until 10 a.m. Saturday. There was a power outage plus lightning on Friday, according to Loveland coach Andy Cruse.

The Lakota East (0-1) at Milford (1-0) game is postponed until 9 a.m., according to the Milford athletic department.

The Holy Cross (1-0) at Walton-Verona (0-1) game is postponed until 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Franklin (0-1) at Beavercreek (0-1) game is postponed until 10 a.m. Saturday.

WCPO will continue to update this story.