The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Van Wert City Council committees could become a thing of the past. Council members will consider a change and other requests during the month of April. VW independent file photo

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

While the agenda itself was very light, a wide and varied number of topics were covered during Monday night’s lengthy meeting of Van Wert City Council.

One of the discussions centered around the future of council committees, a subject that has been broached at previous meetings. At the suggestion of Councilman At-Large Jeff Kallas, an ordinance will be prepared that, if approved, would eliminate council’s seven three-member committees (finance, streets and alleys, judiciary and annexation, properties and equipment, parks and recreation, health service and safety and economic development) and replace them with special committees on an as-needed basis. Those special committees would be dissolved once the task at hand was complete. The vote to prepare the legislation was 5-2. However, it will ultimately take six “yes” votes to change the current committee system.

“How do we change it, what do we do to make it more effective for us?” Kallas said.

During his report to council, Mayor Ken Markward recommended council members prohibit recreational marijuana dispensaries within the city limits, just as the city previously did with medical marijuana dispensaries. The matter will be discussed during a future meeting. A full story on Markward’s recommendation and the ensuing discussion can be found here.

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POSTED: 03/27/24 at 3:39 am

VW independent staff

A list of local activities for eclipse weekend and eclipse day, April 6-8, is available at visitvanwert.com, or on Visit Van Wert’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

In addition, here is a list of local parking and viewing spaces for the April 8 total solar eclipse:

  • Community Building parking lot, 300 Sycamore St., Middle Point
  • Willshire Ball Park, 103 Green St., Willshire
  • Edgewood Park, 643 N. Main St., Convoy
  • Smiley Park, 1451 Leeson Ave., Van Wert
  • Jubilee Park, 137 Gleason Ave., Van Wert
  • Van Wert County Fairgrounds, 1055 S. Washington St., Van Wert
  • Lincoln Ridge Farms, 6588 Pollock Rd., Convoy
  • Collins Fine Foods, 223 N. Washington St., Van Wert
  • Van Del Drive In, 19986 Lincoln Highway, Van Wert

School parking lots in Van Wert County are off-limits for eclipse parking and viewing.

The eclipse will travel across Ohio from southwest to northeast beginning around 1:54 p.m. in Van Wert County and ending around 4:27 p.m on Monday, April 8. Totality will begin throughout the county at 3:08 p.m. and will last approximately four minutes.

POSTED: 03/27/24 at 3:38 am. FILED UNDER: News

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It the prediction is current, it could be a very turbulent spring and early summer in this part of Ohio.

According to Van Wert County EMA Director Rick McCoy, the National Weather Service is extremely concerned there could be a super outbreak of tornadoes across the region between now and June.

“We had a bunch in February that hit Dayton and Columbus and now this latest outbreak (March 14),” McCoy said during Monday’s eclipse planning meeting and again at Monday night’s meeting of Van Wert City Council. “A very strong El Nino that gave us a mild winter is going to die off here soon. La Nina will develop and when that happens, that means lots of severe storms and many tornadoes.”

Van Wert County EMA Director Rick McCoy says it could be a stormy spring. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

“We want to make sure our community is ready,” he continued. “People are good here, they pay attention, they take heed.”

McCoy added that Van Wert County has a title it probably doesn’t want – the “tornado capital of Ohio.”

“We need to be very weather oriented in this county because we rate No. 1 in the State of Ohio in the number of tornadoes,” McCoy said. “In the 34 years I’ve been director we’ve had 34 tornadoes, so we average about one per year. No other county in our state has that many so this is mega-capital of tornadoes.”

McCoy also outlined the procedure used to sound tornado sirens, five of which are in the Van Wert city limits. All of Van Wert’s tornado sirens are on battery backup.

“They are on three minute timers so the sirens will go off and then after three minutes they will shut off,” McCoy stated. “I will reactivate them if the tornado is still coming. If you remember in 2002 when the tornado hit, I activated tornadoes for 26 minutes before it got to the city – it was still in Indiana, coming this way, so I had to keep reactivating them every three minutes for that event.”

“I want the public to understand that the sirens are not for people in their businesses or in their homes, even though we would like it to be,” he added. “The sirens are made for people who are outside to get them in.”

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POSTED: 03/27/24 at 3:37 am. FILED UNDER: News

VW independent staff/submitted information

Ben Marsee has been named a consultant at the Marsh Foundation. Since 2008, Marsee has been employed at the Marsh as a group home family teacher, lead family teacher and then program manager.

He is looking forward to the new role and is focused on using his years of experience to help others succeed.

“I hope to assist family teachers in performing their job duties at a high level resulting in them achieving certification in their respective model the first time, every time,” he said. “By preparing the family teachers to perform their duties at a high level, we will be able to assist more children and families and have a greater impact on those that we serve.”

Ben Marsee

Marsee credits his years of experience in the Teaching Family Model and consistent and effective supervision and guidance from administration as being critical to his career growth.

According to Director of Residential Services Elizabeth Truxell, Marsee has been a valuable asset to the Marsh Foundation, consistently exceeding expectations in his role as program manager.

“Due to his extensive knowledge, he has taken on additional responsibilities beyond his current role,” she said. “His dedication and contributions over the past 16 years have been instrumental in improving transporter efficiency, consistency of the on-call schedule of our family teachers and providing CPI training to our staff several times a year. These examples are just a mere smidgen of what Ben has accomplished.”

“Ben has many positive qualities mentioned by coworkers and consumers alike, such as being efficient, a good listener, and helpful to the needs of children and their families,” she added.

In his new role, Marsee will serve as consultant to Vance Hall.

“My role as a consultant will allow me to assist family teachers in developing the necessary skills to implement the Teaching Family Model with integrity and accuracy,” he stated.

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POSTED: 03/27/24 at 3:32 am. FILED UNDER: News

VW independent staff

COLUMBUS — Van Wert County’s February unemployment rate came in slightly under the statewide average, according to new figures provided by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The county’s jobless rate was 3.5 percent last month, compared to Ohio’s average of 3.7 percent. Once again, Mercer County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate, 2.9 percent. Rates in other surrounding counties were 3.3 percent in Auglaize County, 3.5 percent in Putnam County, 3.7 percent in Paulding County, and 4.3 percent in Allen County.

POSTED: 03/27/24 at 3:31 am. FILED UNDER: News

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Governor Mike DeWine has announced the state has distributed one million fentanyl test strips in an initiative to combat the opioid crisis. The strips serve as crucial tools in harm reduction efforts, allowing users to test substances for the presence of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid that has been increasingly found laced in various street drugs, contributing significantly to overdose fatalities.

“By providing access to fentanyl test strips, we empower individuals to make informed decisions and potentially avert tragic consequences associated with opioid use,” DeWine said.

Unintentional drug overdose fatalities among Ohio residents decreased by five percent in 2022, totaling 4,915 deaths, while nationwide there was a marginal one percent rise in overdose deaths during the same period. Fentanyl was involved in 81 percent of those deaths, often in combination with other drugs.

Since April 2023, RecoveryOhio, the Ohio Department of Health, and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services have been working in cooperation to distribute fentanyl test strips. Numerous channels are being utilized, including county health departments, harm reduction organizations, colleges, law enforcement, Project DAWN sites, and local outreach programs, ensuring broad accessibility across the state.

Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) is a network of opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution programs coordinated by the Ohio Department of Health. By the end of 2023, Project DAWN sites had ordered 795,300 fentanyl test strips.

This landmark distribution of fentanyl test strips aligns with Ohio’s broader initiative that includes providing wide access to the life-saving drug Naloxone. Naloxone, when administered during an opioid overdose (from heroin, fentanyl, or prescription pain medications), blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and quickly restores breathing.

In 2023, Project DAWN distributed 292,419 naloxone units. In addition, the State of Ohio has installed cabinets containing free doses of Naloxone on 48 public and private college and university campuses, and more than 130 cabinets at 65 rest areas across the state.

Ohioans can order free naloxone and fentanyl test strips to be delivered to their homes through the website http://www.naloxone.ohio.gov.

POSTED: 03/27/24 at 3:31 am. FILED UNDER: News

VW independent staff

The Van Wert County Commissioners have approved closing county offices at noon on Good Friday, March 29. This includes offices in the Van Wert County Courthouse and Annex.

POSTED: 03/27/24 at 3:30 am. FILED UNDER: News

Submitted information

The time for the Pleasant Township Trustees meeting on Wednesday, March 27, has been moved to 4:30 p.m. due to scheduling conflicts.

POSTED: 03/26/24 at 9:52 am. FILED UNDER: News

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Local residents and businesses should take steps to be prepared for a large influx of people coming to Van Wert County for the Monday, April 8 eclipse. That was the message given by Van Wert County EMA Director Rick McCoy during Monday’s final eclipse planning meeting.

The eclipse will travel across Ohio from southwest to northeast beginning around 1:54 p.m. in Van Wert County and ending around 4:27 p.m. Totality will begin throughout the county at 3:08 p.m. and will last approximately four minutes. All told, 35 Ohio counties, including Van Wert County, will have the entire county within the area of totality, which will lead to high viewing demand locally.

Van Wert County EMA Director Rick McCoy says don’t wait until the last minute to prepare for the eclipse. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

“If we would be cloudy that day that just means we’re going to be a little bit darker but when we say dark we mean it’s going to get extremely dark out,” McCoy said of totality. “It will affect a lot of the nocturnal animals. We’ll be talking with the Amish down in the southwestern part of Van Wert County. The Adams County (Indiana) Sheriff is going around to all the Amish within Adams County, warning the Amish that a lot of travelers will be coming through their county and they won’t be aware there are a lot of Amish buggies on the roads so they need to use extreme caution if they’re out.”

McCoy added that the expected influx of people wanting to experience the eclipse will come from the north and northwest.

“South Bend, Chicago, that region will be coming across and they’re going to be cutting down here on U.S. 30,” he explained. “Some of that Chicagoland (traffic) might head to Indianapolis but they’re thinking a lot of that northern Indiana region is going to be coming down U.S. 30, go past Fort Wayne because they’re not in totality, continue on U.S. 30 and come into our region right here.”

Figures previously provided by the Ohio EMA indicated as many as 28,000 people could come to Van Wert County for the eclipse, which would temporarily double the county’s population and would put a notable strain on various resources, including an overload of wi-fi and cellular services for hours.

McCoy also urged residents and restaurants to stock up on food the week before the eclipse.

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POSTED: 03/26/24 at 3:53 am. FILED UNDER: News

VW independent staff

If you’re tried to tune in WERT 1220AM but hear nothing on your radio, there’s a reason for that.

The radio station’s tower took an early morning direct lightning hit on March 14, which damaged a part needed to transmit the station’s programming. Station owner Chris Roberts said he’s waiting for a replacement part to arrive.

All is not lost – WERT transmits the exact same local programming on the FM side of the dial, at 104.3.

POSTED: 03/26/24 at 3:53 am. FILED UNDER: News

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Recreational marijuana is legal in Ohio but those who want to indulge may not be able to purchase it within the Van Wert city limits.

The topic of recreational marijuana dispensaries was addressed by Mayor Ken Marward during Monday night’s meeting of Van Wert City Council. Markward reminded council that when medical marijuana became legal in Ohio in 2016, a city law was passed that prohibited medical marijuana dispensaries in Van Wert. Monday night, Markward recommended that city council approve a similar ban on recreational marijuana dispensaries.

Mayor Ken Markward recommends the city prohibit recreational marijuana dispensaries. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

Council President Thad Eikenbary suggested council members take some time to consider the request and to gather feedback from city residents and he assigned it to the Judiary and Annexation Committee. Committee Chairperson Judy Bowers agreed with gathering input from city residents and said the matter will be discussed further during the April 22 meeting of city council.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming said there have been inquiries about recreational marijuana dispensaries within the city limits and he noted if council wants to prohibit them, it would be best to act on it before someone purchases property and opens a store.

Meanwhile, the state legislature is trying to finalize laws about recreational marijuana licensing and revenues generated, and Law Director John Hatcher said he expects state lawmakers to finish the decision making process by the end of June.

Any law passed by city council would not affect marijuana grown at home. Currently, Ohio law states up to six cannabis plants may be cultivated at home for personal use. By a 57-43 percent margin, Ohio voters approved recreational marijuana during the November, 2023 general election.

Later in Monday night’s meeting, Second Ward Councilman Jordan Dettrow wondered aloud about the use of marijuana in city owned parks, a question that was answered by Hatcher.

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POSTED: 03/26/24 at 3:52 am. FILED UNDER: News