Van Wert City Council to hold second meeting of July

Breaking: data center initiative falls short

VW independent staff

It appears as though a data center zoning initiative will not be on the ballot in Van Wert this fall.

The initiative would have given residents the opportunity to repeal an ordinance passed by Van Wert City Council in May that permits data centers in industrial zoned areas of the city.

Petitions to place the initiative on the November 3 ballot were circulated by city resident Joe Jared and others, in hopes of stopping QTS data centers from building a $10 billion data center on Van Wert’s east side. According to Pam Henderson, Director of the Van Wert County Board of Elections, the petitions needed 323 valid signatures but fell short. 255 signatures were deemed valid during the vertification process.

Because the petitions were submitted to the Board of Elections, new signatures cannot be added to them.

Property tax bills due next month

Submitted information

A reminder – in Van Wert County, the second half real estate and manufactured home tax due dates will be moved from their original dates due to the passing of the House Bill 186 inflation cap. The new due dates will be August 5, for real estate bills and August 31 for manufactured homes.

The HB 186 inflation cap may cause adjustments to be reflected on property and manufactured home bills if the parcel(s) meet the applicable criteria, but not all parcels will do so. Should you have questions regarding if your parcel meets the criteria, the Auditor’s office will be available to assist with this.

If you paid your taxes in full with the first half payment and the adjustment caused an overpayment on your parcel, the overpayment will be issued as a credit to the parcel. Should you have any questions regarding bills or payments, the Treasurer’s Office will be available to assist with this.

Chamber gathering…

The Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a Chamber Coffee at Walnut & Main Event Space in downtown Van Wert. Attendees enjoyed coffee provided by ConvoyRoad Coffee Roasters and items provided by Truly Divine Bread Co. The group spent most of their time connecting with each other, the event ended with a brief presentation and tour of the facility by owner Amy Covey. Chamber CEO Mark Verville said the Chamber is excited to host Covey her husband Chris with their second event space in Van Wert. They also the Warehouse event space. To learn more about the Chamber and how they can support your business through events, programs and benefits, call 419.238.4390 or email chamber@vanwertchamber.com.

Driver shortage, bus transportation debated

By Susan Tebben/Ohio Capital Journal

COLUMBUS — Ohio public school districts continue to be desperate for bus drivers, while the status of school transportation as a whole is being debated by public and private schools alike.

A recent transportation workgroup put together by the state recommended, among other things, a “comprehensive system change” to transportation along with immediate actions to “ease current system challenges and build the new system foundation.”

The shared goal of the workgroup was to “transport as many students as possible to and from their school of choice safely and consistently – regardless of where they are enrolled,” according to a recent report.

However, disagreement among the workgroup members on how to implement those goals was made clear in their final recommendations. In the most recent state operating budget, the Ohio Pupil Transportation Workgroup was tasked with “exploring transportation issues,” including a look at the current system and a study ending in recommendations on “the feasibility of each school district providing transportation to students enrolled in a community school or nonpublic school on days that the school district is not open for operation.” The group agreed that school transportation and the funding to do so was an issue in need of resolution, but they acknowledged that even the members of the workgroup “do no agree on what all the core challenges are.”

Members included representatives from private schools, religious schools, public schools, career centers, and educational service centers, as well as two Ohio state senators and two Ohio House members, one from each political party in each chamber.

Three workgroup members noted that they “do not support the recommendations report” – Shauna Murphy of Cincinnati Public Schools, Josh Biederstedt of Patrick Henry Local Schools, and Ohio Senator Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati).

“Family school choice” was noted in the report as a “valued principle in Ohio” that is “respected by all workgroup members.”

“However, not all stakeholders fully agree on how to best accomplish safe and reliable transportation across education systems for more students,” the report stated. “Therefore, the recommendations identify where divergence of opinion exists while seeking to inform policymakers of viable options for moving forward.”

“School choice” is a term often used by those who support the use of private school vouchers funded by taxpayers to allow students to move to nonpublic schools. Religious education advocates supported the recommendations of the workgroup when it came to opening up transportation to more students.

The workgroup used data from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, case studies and briefs submitted by members, and “panel discussions” of “transportation experts and leaders” among school districts and communities.

Transportation to school districts as it stands now was established in state law starting in 1966, when the law stated that traditional school districts were to provide bussing for the districts and chartered nonpublic schools. Districts are required to transport those students unless deemed “impractical to transport,” based on six different factors, in which case a payment is given to the family to compensate for transportation.

Downtown fun…

Downtown Van Wert was hopping Friday night thanks to a nice summer evening, Main Street Van Wert’s Block Party and Van Wert Live’s final Free Good Friday concert of the season. Hundreds of people flocked to the Jefferson St. to grab food from one of several food trucks and to hear The Dave Matthews Tribute Band perform at Fountain Park. There were vendors at the park, a kids zone, the always popular duck race and a car show along two blocks of West Main St. and some of Jefferson St. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

Block Party!

Those who attended Friday’s Main Street Van Wert Block Party had some tough choices to make, as several food trucks lined Jefferson St. next to Fountain Park. There was also a beer tent. The annual event turned out to be a big success. Scott Truxell photos

A strategy for many people was to scout out the various food trucks then decide which one or ones to order delicious food from on Friday.

U.S. 224 to close for two big projects

VW independent staff

Construction of Van Wert’s second roundabout, along with another nearby project will begin soon, leading to a notable road closure.

Friday, July 31, is when the intersection of U.S. 224 and Lincoln Highway in Van Wert will close for the construction of a roundabout. The closure is expected to last approximately 60 days and will impact the Lincoln Highway Buy-Way Sale, which is scheduled for August 13-15.

U.S. 224 between U.S. 30 and Lincoln Highway will also close on July 31 for approximately 120 days for rehabiltation of the bridge over the railroad.

The official U.S. 224 detour for both projects will be U.S. 30 to Ohio 49, back to U.S. 224.

In addition to those projects, Ohio 697 between the city of Delphos and Ohio 116 will close on Monday, July 27, for full-width paving.

Van Wert case highlighted after 29 years

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Wearing a Marilyn Manson band T-shirt to class in August of 1997, Van Wert High School senior Nicholas Boroff could reasonably have expected it to cause a stir. What he never could have predicted was that it would lead to a landmark federal ruling concerning schools’ rights to limit the free expression of students.

By many standards, Boroff’s T-shirt would be considered provocative, if not profane. The front of Boroff’s T-shirt depicted a three-faced Jesus, accompanied by the words “See No Truth. Hear No Truth. Speak No Truth.” It also prominently featured the name of the goth-rock group, which was the pseudonym of frontman Brian Warner, who sang about and was widely suspected to use illegal drugs. On the back of the shirt, the word “BELIEVE” was written out, with the letters “LIE” highlighted.

During this time, Van Wert High School’s dress code prohibited “clothing with offensive illustrations, drug, alcohol, or tobacco slogans.” An aide to the school principal determined that the shirt violated this policy and gave Boroff the choice to turn the shirt inside-out, change shirts, or leave and be considered truant. Boroff left school but returned resolute in his beliefs. For the next three school days, he wore different T-shirts that featured images of Manson in his signature ghastly makeup. Each day, Boroff was sent home and marked truant.

In response, Boroff’s mother filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in September 1997, alleging that the school had violated her son’s First Amendment right to free expression and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. The federal district court ruled in favor of the school, and Boroff appealed to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the federal circuit court, the school contended that based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986), there is no First Amendment protection for offensive language at school. Citing Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), also from the U.S. Supreme Court, the school argued it may regulate student expression if it is likely to cause disruption.

Van Wert County’s jobless rate rises

VW independent staff

Mercer, Auglaize and Putnam counties fared well in terms of jobs during the month of June.

Mercer County had the state’s second lowest unmeployment rate last month, 2.7 percent, while Auglaize had the third lowest rate, 2.9 percent. At 3.0 percent, Putnam County had Ohio’s eighth lowest jobless rate.

Numbers provided by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services this week show Van Wert County’s June jobless rate went from 2.5 percent in May to 3.2 percent in June. In June of last year, the county’s unemployment rate was 4.4 percent.

Paulding County’s June jobless rate was 3.1 percent and Allen County checked in at 3.8 percent, which was above the statewide average of 3.6 percent.

Among the state’s 88 counties, Holmes County had the lowest unemployment last month, 2.6 percent, followed by Mercer County (2.7 percent), Auglaize, Union and Wyandot counties (2.9 percent) and Geauga, Medina and Putnam counties (3.0 percent).

10 counties had jobless rates at or above 4.5 percent in June – Athens and Trumbull counties (5.0 percent), Meigs and Scioto counties (4.9 percent), Pike County (4.8 percent), Adams, Monroe and Noble counties (4.7 percent), Mahoning County (4.6 percent), and Lucas County (4.5 percent).

According to ODJFS, even though the statewide average dropped slightly between May (3.7 percent) and June, rates increased in all 88 counties from May to June.

Video: rare albino robin…

This rare albino robin was spotted on David St. in Van Wert for four consecutive days by Vern Boggs, who saw it at around 7:30 a.m. each day. Just how rare are albino robins? Only one in about 30,000 robins are all-white. According to Boggs, a mate — a regular robin — has always been by her side. Video courtesy of Vern Boggs.