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.

The Biden administration will extend existing requirements for travelers to wear masks on airplanes, buses, trains and boats, as well as in airports and other transportation hubs, through March to address concerns over the omicron coronavirus variant.In August, the Transportation Security Administration extended its U.S. federal transportation mask mandate through Jan. 18 "to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation" due to concerns at that time over the delta variant.The latest extension, first reported by Reuters, comes after the United States' first confirmed case of the omicron variant was identified in California. In a White House news briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the case was in an individual who had traveled from South Africa on Nov. 22 — before travel restrictions were in place — and tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.Scientists are working to determine how transmissible the omicron variant is, how sick it makes people and how well the current vaccines work against it. Until more information is available, the United States has restricted travel from South Africa and seven other countries.On Monday, Biden called the variant "a cause for concern, not a cause for panic," saying that "we'll have to face this new threat just as we face those who have come before it."The president had first signed the order requiring masks for travelers shortly after taking office in January. While major U.S. airlines had instituted their own mask requirements in spring 2020 in the absence of a federal rule, enforcing mask policies has largely fallen on flight attendants, some of whom have reported aggressive confrontations with passengers refusing to wear masks."If you break the rules, be prepared to pay," Biden said in September in announcing that fines would double for those who don't comply with the mask mandate. "And by the way, show some respect. The anger you see on television toward flight attendants and others doing their job is wrong. It's ugly."

A World War II hero was recognized on Wednesday just days before his 102nd birthday.

Valdemar DeHerrera was born in 1919 in Costilla, New Mexico.

"Still, he's very independent, uses a walker, but he loves being outdoors, indoors. He's just a wonderful inspiration to all of us," said his granddaughter, Pamela DeHerrera.

Part of that inspiration is DeHerrera’s story, it's one of hope, as he is the oldest survivor of the Bataan Death March in New Mexico's Taos County.

"He was captured and became a prisoner of war. He was there for almost four years before he was released," Pamela DeHerrera said.

During his time as a prisoner of war, he was nearly killed three times.

Each time he was saved by what he calls a guardian angel.

Once he was freed from a prison camp. He weighed 80 pounds.

"I think the biggest thing I hope people take away from his life is that he is a true hero and not just because of the war, but his everyday life," Pamela said.

And his heroism was recognized on Wednesday by the community of Taos, as he was honored by the city as an unsung hero.

"It's always such a great honor to him when anybody honors him for the things he has done, even the horrific things he had been through. But it makes us all very proud and makes him proud," Pamela said.

That pride extends to DeHerrea's whole family; his eight kids, 18 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

"His love of God and his faith has gotten him through all the adjustments from being back and always also the love of family, all of us, especially myself. You know, the love of our family that keeps us all close," Pamela said.

DeHerrera will officially turn 102 this Friday, his family plans to have a celebration for him.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — About 250 Indiana National Guard soldiers are expected to remain in Washington for about two more months after being sent there to help with security for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, officials said Tuesday.

Gov. Eric Holcomb authorized Indiana soldiers going to Washington on Jan. 13 as more than 25,000 troops from across the country were dispatched there following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

More than 400 of the Indiana soldiers arrived back Monday night at the Guard’s Camp Atterbury after assisting with crowd and traffic control at the National Mall and near the White House, the Indiana Guard said. The soldiers remaining in Washington are scheduled to stay there until the end of March.

The Indiana soldiers were dispatched as Holcomb ordered the Statehouse complex closed to the public for several days and legislative leaders canceled a week of meetings over police concerns about possible armed protests. No protests occurred surrounding Biden’s inauguration in Indianapolis.