9 people appear in VW County Common Pleas Court

Garage fire…

The Ohio City Fire Department was summoned to a garage fire at E. Carmean St. and Monroe St. Wednesday night. Mutual aid was provided by the Rockford Community Fire Department and Van Wert County CERT was called in for support services. No one was injured in the blaze. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

VW trick-or-treat set for October 30

Trick-or-treat in the City of Van Wert will be held between 4-6 p.m. Saturday, October 30.

Children should go only to homes with a porch light on during that time.

Brumback Star Library 12th year in a row

Van Wert independent news and submitted information

For the 12th consecutive year, the Brumback Library has been recognized as one of the best public libraries in the entire United States. The library has again been given a star designation by Library Journal, one of only 31 libraries in Ohio bestowed with the honor.

“The Brumback Library is truly honored to have been named a Star Library for the 12th year in a row,” Library Board of Trustees Vice President Joan Stripe said. “Its ranking as a five-star library, first in its overall category in the United States, is most exemplary. The people of Van Wert County are well served by a Library that has over 352,000 items, a very exhaustive collection size for any library and in fact, the Brumback Library’s holdings make it one of the largest rural public libraries in the State of Ohio.”

In 2020, over 732,000 items were checked out by nearly 29,000 patrons of all ages. The library’s chief funding comes from the Ohio Public Library Fund. It makes up 82 percent of overall funding revenue. The Library’s half-mill levy is also a vital funding source. Recently approved by Van Wert County voters, it has helped the library greatly.

“We are truly grateful for the support of Van Wert County’s residents in passing the aforementioned levies. These funds are vital to our very existence,” Brumback Library Director John Carr said. “The people of Van Wert County once again supported the levy with an overwhelming majority. As always, the doors of Main library and its Branches in Convoy, Middle Point, Ohio City, Willshire, and Wren are open to one and all.”

Five different measures of the service libraries deliver to their communities were taken into account when determining this year’s index scores and star status: overall circulation, circulation of electronic materials, library visits, program attendance, and public Internet computer use.

National Honor Society…

Van Wert High School inducted 37 new members into the National Honor Society during a ceremony held Sunday at Willow Bend Country Club. Juniors and seniors are invited to be a part of this prestigious group by maintaining a 3.6 (or higher) GPA and displaying the four pillars on which NHS is founded: leadership, character, scholarship, and service. The new inductees are (above, Row 1, left to right): Sayler Wise, Lexi Barnhart, Lauren Black, Abbie Mengerink; Row 2: Isabella Ricker, Katie Gamble, Makenna Nagel, Lyndi Delzeith; Row 3: Haylee Hill, Olivia Rutkowski, Kasee Stoller; Row 4: Mackenzie Jones, Whitley Fast, Carly Bebout, Danesha Branson; Row 5: TJ Stoller, Ian Place, Carson Smith, Finley Foster; Row 6: Aidan Pratt, Sofi Houg, Maria Bagley; Row 7: Kyra Welch, Tyra McClain, Garett Gunter; Row 8: Erin Schaufelberger, Kianna Cook, Serena Havill, Noah Spector. Not pictured: Ashton Baer, William Davis, Ashlyn Jennings, Gracie Mull, Piper Pierce, Olivia Quillen, Gage Wannemacher, Jayden Welker. Below are NHS Officers Bobby Spath, Grace Dowler, Nora Doctor and Kayla Krites. Submitted photos

Work to make stadium easier to navigate

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles detailing plans to renovate Eggerss stadium.

JOHN WHITE/special to the VW independent

Traditions: the passing of customs or beliefs from generation to generation

All over America one thing unites us in the late summer and early fall: high school football on Friday nights. This tradition is enjoyed by millions of fans, each in their own unique way and locality. This is not lost on Van Wert with generations of band members, cheerleaders, trainers, coaches, referees, announcers and of course players, all adding to the excitement of the night. Eggerss stadium is our local place to be and perfectly fits the definition of tradition.

But why stop there? New traditions are being born all the time. Our community has the unique opportunity to keep decades old tradition alive while beginning new ones. It all starts with our stadium and its downtown location. What are some of the future possibilities? Just to name a few: music concerts, health fairs, soccer matches, hosting marching band and cheerleading competitions, etc. The list is only limited to our imagination.

Did you know Eggerss stadium can accommodate up to 3,200 people on the home side alone? The structure is over 250 feet long and 50 feet wide consisting of 2000 tons of reinforced concrete. However, to carry on for another 85 years, there is work to be done. This week, we’ll focus on three areas of need: the stadium infrastructure, aisle ways and handicap access.

The concrete restoration of the stadium infrastructure will include refinishing and sealing rebar underneath the stadium to include adding concrete and surfacing to all areas to make it structurally and aesthetically sound. In addition, new lighting and limited seating underneath the stadium will give fans a welcoming place to go. The seating area on the front side will include similar concrete restoration plus all new seating. Civil engineers will assess all aspects of the seating area to ensure that the stadium is well suited for another 85 years. Repairs and restoration will also be made to the ticket booth and Cougar Pride wall making the entire stadium complex uniform and structurally sound.

Justice DeWine speaks…

Justice Pat DeWine spoke to the Van Wert Rotary Club at Willow Bend on Tuesday. During his time with the Rotarians he focused on civic education and provided a behind the scenes at how the Ohio Supreme Court works. Justice DeWine was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in November, 2016, and is currently up for reelection. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

Trunk or Treat event to be held Oct. 30

First United Methodist Church, at the corner of Central and Jefferson Street in Van Wert, will host their yearly Trunk or Treat event from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Saturday, October 30, in the city parking lot across from the church.

Vehicles will need to be in place by 9:30 a.m. Over 500 costumed children are expected to visit and ask for treats.

For more information please contact Teresa Shaffer at 419.238.0631 ext. 307.

New scholarships for adult ed students

Van Wert independent news

Up to $50,000 in new scholarships are being made available for select adult education students at Vantage Career Center.

The Van Wert County Foundation is launching the scholarship program for current students in the CDL, STNA and welding programs for select adult education programs in partnership with Vantage Career The program is intended to provide funding for participants who would otherwise be unable to finance these educational opportunities.

To qualify for consideration, potential applicants must be a resident of Van Wert County and be enrolled at Vantage Career Center in one of the three qualified programs. Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate the intent of employment in Van Wert County upon completion of the program. To access funding, applicants should complete the application online at vantagecareercenter.com.

Vantage provides authentic, student-focused, career technical training that provides high school students and adults opportunities for employment and further education. For more information on adult education programs and scholarship opportunities, contact Maria Diltz, Enrollment Coordinator at Vantage Career Center at 419.238.5411 ext. 2118.

The Van Wert County Foundation is a philanthropic organization focused on creating a well-resourced and thriving quality of life for Van Wert County. More information can be found at vanwertcountyfoundation.org.

Laudick’s donation…

Mike Lichtle of Laudick’s Jewelry presents Ryan Parrish, Van Wert High School Administrative Assistant to the Principal, with a $200 check for the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) program. PBIS is designed to reward students for displaying positive behaviors and actions in school and the donation will be used to help purchase various rewards. The program has seen tremendous success in its first year thanks to the generosity and support from the community. Photo submitted

Crestview will install cameras on buses

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

CONVOY — Cameras are coming to Crestview school buses.

During Monday’s monthly Crestview Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Kathy Mollenkopf said five cameras will be installed on each of 10 buses November 22 and 23.

“We’ll have two cameras on each stop arm,” Mollenkopf told the board. “We visited with Van Wert City Schools and saw how this same system is working for them and it’s been it’s been pretty phenomenal for them in terms of monitoring student behavior, catching people who don’t respect the reds on the school bus and identifying who those folks are who are running reds.”

“We will send out a communication to all parents so that they’re aware that they’ve been installed and we’ll make our students aware of the situation too,” she added.

Mollenkopf noted the cameras will have audio and she said video will be stored between 14 and 21 days.

The superintendent also issued a reminder about a planned two-hour school delay this Friday to give employees, coaches and volunteers a chance to receive a COVID-19 booster vaccine and a flu shot.

The board heard a brief presentation from Director of Curriculum Lindsay Breese and middle school teachers Karen Germann and Deanna Ray about a summer program called Education on Location.