Recent cyberattack causes area jobless rates to soar

Not on the list

It appears Big Lots in Van Wert will not be affected by a number of store closings. In fact, no Ohio stores are on the list of stores to be closed. In early July the Columbus-based discount retailer announced the closure of 35-40 underperforming locations throughout the country. Company officials also warned that Big Lots might not be able to survive the remainder of 2024 and said a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing might be imminent. Big Lots has approximately 1,400 stores nationwide. Scott Truxell/VW independent

ODOT shares weekly construction report

VW independent staff

LIMA — The following construction projects are anticipated to affect roads in Van Wert County next week, according to District 1 of the Ohio Department of Transportation. All work is weather permitting.

U.S. 30 rest area reconstruction: The U.S. 30 rest areas between Ohio 49 and U.S. 127 in Van Wert County closed on January 11 for approximately one year for complete reconstruction of the buildings.

U.S. 30 bridge repair: Converse Roselm Road and Stripe Road over U.S. 30 are closed until further notice as a safety precaution due to a bridge strike caused by an over-height vehicle.

U.S. 30 chip seal: U.S. 30 westbound between the Indiana state line and Liberty Union Road will be restricted to one lane until August 2 to chip seal the surface. A width restriction of 10 feet is in place during the project.

U.S. 33/State Route 49/State Route 81 resurfacing: Routes around the village of Willshire will have lane restrictions for a resurfacing project.

Work will take place in the following areas:

• U.S. 33 between the Indiana state line and the village of Wilshire
• U.S. 33 between the village of Wilshire and the Mercer County line
• Ohio 49 between the village of Wilshire and the Mercer County line
• Ohio 81 between the Indiana state line and the village of Wilshire

U.S. 127 resurfacing: U.S. 127 between the Mercer County line the city of Van Wert is restricted to one lane for resurfacing.  Work will pause from August 1-4 for the annual U.S. 127 Yard Sale.

U.S. 224 resurfacing: U.S. 224 between U.S. 127 and the Putnam County line will be restricted to one lane for resurfacing.

State Route 81 reconstruction: Ohio 81 between Willshire Eastern Road and Harrison Willshire Road, just east of the village of Willshire closed on May 6 for approximately 150 days to raise the roadway profile and replace two culverts. Access for local traffic to all properties will be maintained throughout construction.

Leeson Avenue reconstruction: Leeson Avenue between Shannon Street (Ohio 118) and Rose Drive in the city of Van Wert closed on Febuary 7 for 245 days for reconstruction including curb and gutter, storm sewer, and a multi-use path on the north side of the roadway.

Cruiser contest

Voting ends at 12 p.m. Monday, July 29, for the 11^th annual “Best Looking Cruiser” contest sponsored by the American Assocaition of State Troopers. The OSHP’s new Dodge Durgano is in the contest. Votes can be cast by visiting the Patrol’s social media pages or through the survey link on the AAST website. Votes can be cast once per day, per device. The Patrol has placed in the top 13 and made the calendar nine out of the last 10 years. Photo submitted

Clock in place, to be operational soon

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It’s not completely finished, but the Van Wert National Bank clock is back in its familiar spot.

Earlier this week, employees of Smith’s Bell and Clock Service of Camby, Indiana, began the process of reinstalling the clock and its base at its longtime home at the corner of E. Main St. and Washington St. in downtown Van Wert. Thursday, Main St. Van Wert officials, elected officials and others gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the return of the clock, which dates back to the early 20th century.

“We’re super excited and we’re really appreciative of the donors and all of the hard work,” Main Street Van Wert Executive Director Mitch Price said. “We know it’s not 100 percent complete, there’s some components we need to work on but hopefully when we get that done it’ll be here for 100 years and we won’t have to worry about it. It looks great and it’s been a big staple for Van Wert and we can’t wait for people to walk by it, drive by it, take pictures of it or do whatever.”

Price said he hopes the clock will be running within a day or two and he thanked the numerous private donors who contributed and make the restoration project a reality. All told, the end cost will be about $80,000. 

“We got on the horn and started talking to people and said we need ‘x’ amount,” he said. “Van Wert Leadership paid for the base and they raised $6,000 and people were very generous about it. A lot of people have history with the clock and know about the clock – I think everybody knows what this clock represents.”

“It was an easy sell but it was a lot of hard work,” he added. “We just put our hard hats on and got the job done. The stained glass (that reads Van Wert National Bank) will be in it and it’ll be digital – it’ll be internet driven and it’ll look super nice.”

Lincolnview BOE plans open house

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

More information will be released soon, but an open house is planned to showcase Lincolnview’s elementary renovation and addition project. During Wednesday night’s monthly school board meeting, Superintendent Jeff Snyder said the open house will begin at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, August 11.

“We’ll start with a program in the high school gym then dismiss for tours of the new special education suite addition and the new media center/STEM lab,” he said.

Lincolnview’s other annual open house will be held for everybody from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, August 12.

Snyder also informed the board that bus inspections are complete and the entire fleet is ready to go, and he said he’s working with the Lincolnview Band Boosters to purchase a new band truck in hopes the deal will be complete by early August. He told the board that the district was awarded a grant from the Bureau of Workers Compensation to go toward the purchase of a new lift for the maintenance. The grant will cover roughly ²/₃ the cost of the equipment. 

Indoor junior high and high school sporting events, including volleyball and basketball will continue to be streamed free of charge on Lincolnview’s YouTube channel.

The board honored state track qualifiers and a pair of retiring bus drivers – Allen Breece, who served for 13 years and Harold Smith, who served for 39 years.

“Two great people and I hate to lose them,” Snyder said.

Board members approved the list of open enrollment students for the 2024-2025 school year; an agreement with Midwest Regional Educational Service Center for vision services, and cafeteria prices for the upcoming school year. Prices will increase by 25 cents.

Ag Society has open director positions

Submitted information

The Van Wert County Agricultural Society, the managing organization of the Van Wert County Fairgrounds, has announced available director positions. Petitions are available now at the Fair Office for the following seats that are up for election this year. They are as follows:

• At-Large Van Wert County
• Washington Township
• City of Van Wert
• Hoaglin Township
• Tully Township
• Northern Region

Each candidate for the office of director for The Van Wert County Agricultural Society must fulfill the following requirements to file a petition for such office:

A. Purchase a membership certificate for the membership year in which the candidate is seeking election.

B. Complete 10 hours of voluntary service to the society, in the fiscal year in which the candidate is seeking election.

C. Attend 1 regular monthly board meetings of the society, during the fiscal year in which the candidate is seeking election.

D. State on petition the specific board position for which candidate is seeking election.

E. Collect ten (10) or more signatures from members of the society, from the area for which board position represents.

F. In the case that the ten required signatures from members of the Society from the area for which the board position represents, cannot be obtained due to circumstances such as a pandemic or other like causes, then the required number of signatures is changed to twenty of the membership as a whole. The requirement to limit it to the area being represented is waived for that election cycle only.

G. Any candidate not fulfilling the above-listed requirements shall be ineligible for election as director. Items B and C, above, will become effective for candidates seeking election for the 2022 election and each election thereafter.

Interested parties can come to the Fair Office, 1055 S. Washington St., Van Wert.

Sounds of Disney to fill Fountain Park

VW independent staff

If you’re a Disney fan, you’re in luck. The Little Mermen, a Disney tribute group for Disney fanatics of all ages will perform at Fountain Park tonight. The band’s repertoire covers nearly a century of music, including favorites from The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Frozen and Encanto. The group, which tours nationally, performs in full costume with band members dressing up as characters from the films.

Tonight’s free concert will begin at 7:30 and concessions will be available.

Stadium, more addressed at meeting

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Summer is generally a slow time for schools, which led to a quick meeting of the Van Wert City Schools Board of Education on Wednesday. During a 22-minute meeting, board members heard various reports and gave the green light to a number of agenda items.

Superintendent Mark Bagley told the board that the second phase of the Eggerss Stadium renovation project remains on schedule and is due to be complete by August 15, a day before the Cougars scrimmage Crestview. He said concrete work is mostly complete, along with painting and framing of the concession stand and bathroom. Work continues on the press box and red siding is scheduled to be done next week. Bagley also said a list of legacy and naming rights will be coming soon.

He said all positions are filled, except for a paraprofessional position and he informed the board that a district wide student cell phone policy will be ready soon.

“We’ve been working on that and that will be on our website August 1 or before,” Bagley said. “We’ll have a general policy and then every building will have a more specific policy – I’ll say that a kindergarten cell phone (policy) is different than a senior cell phone (policy).”

During his report, Assistant Superintendent Bob Priest noted sealing and re-striping work is done at the Goedde and early childhood center parking lots and he added playground equipment at the ECC is now open. He also addressed bus transportation for the upcoming school year.

“We are still playing a shell game with some drivers,” he explained. “We have some drivers who are currently taking classes and it’s our hope that they’ll be certified and driving on August 20 but in case that they’re not, we do have a couple of backup plans in place. Transportation will go smoothly on August 20.”

He added he hopes to publicize the transportation plan and schedule in the next couple of weeks and he said parents of preschool students needing bus transportation should get their information to the ECC immediately if they haven’t done so already.

Defendants appear in local court

VW independent staff

The following hearings took place in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court between Friday, July 19, and Wednesday, July 24. Judge Martin Burchfield presided over each of the hearings.

Arraignments

Krystle Shinnaberry, 37, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to aggravated trafficking in drugs, a second degree felony, and aggravated possession of drugs, a third degree felony. Bond was set at $5,000 cash or commercial surety and a pre-trial conference was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. August 7.

Emily Apple, 38, of Paulding, entered a not guilty plea to aggravated possession of drugs, a third degree felony. She was released on a surety bond and a  pre-trial conference was set for 8 a.m. August 7.

Probation violation

Jeffrey Buckner, 49, of Paulding, admitted to violating his bond by failing to report to probation and for failing a drug test. Sentencing was scheduled for 10 a.m. September 11.

Plea changes

Nicholas Muter, 23, of Bowling Green, changed his plea to guilty to a prosecutor’s bill of information for criminal mischief, a third degree misdemeanor. Judge Burchfield fined him $250 and ordered him to pay partial appointed counsel fees and court costs.

Ashley Paige, 30, of Van Wert, changed her plea to guilty to counterfeiting, a felony of the fourth degree. She was then sentenced to three years of community control, up to six months at the WORTH Center, and 30 days in jail at a later date. She was also ordered to undergo mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment, 100 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay partial appointed counsel fees, monthly probation fees and court costs.

Time waivers

Shawn Thomas, 39, of Van Wert, signed a time waiver in open court and requested additional time to prepare his case. A pretrial conference was scheduled for 10 a.m. September 11.

Clarissa Jones, 28, of Ada, signed a time waiver in open court and requested additional time to prepare her case. Judge Burchfield scheduled a pre-trial confernece for 10 a.m. September 11.

Lions Club event scheduled for Friday

Submitted information

MIDDLE POINT — A reminder that the Middle Point Lions Club will hold a benefit auction and ice cream social on Friday at the Middle Point Community Building. Food will be available starting at 5 p.m, and the auction will begin at 6 p.m.

The auction will feature a number of great items generously donated by merchants in the tri-county area.The menu will include pulled pork sandwiches, shredded chicken sandwiches, sloppy joes, hot dogs, coney dogs, baked beans and other sides, pie and ice cream.

Proceeds from the event fund all of the club’s service projects including eye exams and glasses for Middle Point area residents in need, sponsorship of youth projects such as Lincolnview Boys and Girls State participants, HOBY, Christmas Caring and Sharing project, and other community projects.