Editor’s note: this year the Brumback Library is celebrating 125 years of service to the community. Each month, library officials will tell the story of The Brumback Library, chapter by chapter. This month’s installment looks back at the history of the library’s branches around Van Wert County. The story is told by Brumback Library Patron Service Specialist Susan K. Semer.
By Susan K. Semer
The successful opening of The Brumback Library in 1901 was the culmination of years of planning, building, purchasing and staffing. The location was conducive to allow city residents acquisition of books on a daily basis. However, the original goal of John S. Brumback was to give access to the entire county.
The board realized books must be sent to the people of the rural districts, but there wasn’t a forerunning formula to follow. It was important to keep support for this venture of a county library and to establish trust and service to every person in the 423 square miles of Van Wert County. The board proposed an experimental plan utilizing the railroads, the rural general stores, drug stores and hardwares, and finally the proprietors of each of these establishments.
Willshire was chosen as the first recipient of branch services. Willshire had been the original county seat and was the furthest location from the main library. The Hurless/Brown Hardware received a shipment of 100 books via the Clover Leaf Railroad, from the Van Wert Brumback Library. The books were packed in a stenciled gray Brumback packing crate with hinged lid and lock. A bookcase was provided for display and so inaugural library service at this branch began with twenty-five young people checking out books the first day.
The same year Ohio City received a shipment of 50 books to be housed in the Swoveland Drug store and it was noted “Good books are the best companions…. and we would like to share in the benefit of this library as well as the expense.”
Convoy, Middle Point, the Van Wert County portion of Delphos, Hutchinson, Venedocia, Dasie (present day Middlebury), and Cavett also were recipients of books to establish mini-libraries in their places of business.
(more…)POSTED: 03/01/26 at 9:41 pm
VW independent staff/submitted information
The Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation (VWAEDC) is now offering in-person sales of Regional Transit Authority (RTA) public transportation tickets, providing residents with a convenient local option to purchase bus fare using cash.
The service supports the launch of public transportation in Van Wert County earlier this year, and provides an accessible solution for residents who prefer not to share credit card information over the phone or who do not have access to banking services.
Residents can purchase RTA tickets at the Van Wert Area Economic Development office located at 140 E. Main Street in Van Wert.
- Tickets cost $3 each, the starting fare for one-way rides within Van Wert.
- Fares may increase depending on travel distance throughout Van Wert County.
- The VWAEDC office accepts cash only.
After purchasing tickets, riders will:
- Call the RTA at 419.222.2782 (press 0 for a dispatcher) or use the mobile app to schedule a ride.
- Create a personal rider profile using their name, address, and phone number.
- Provide the ticket(s) to the driver when picked up.
Once a profile is created, future rides can be scheduled more quickly.
(more…)POSTED: 03/02/26 at 8:21 am. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff
This weekend is when we “Spring Forward” one hour to Daylight Saving Time. The time change will officially occur at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 8.
POSTED: 03/01/26 at 9:40 pm. FILED UNDER: News
Submitted information
Van Wert City Schools will hold kindergarten registration for the 2026–2027 school year from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, March 23, through Thursday, April 2, at the Van Wert Early Childhood Center, 1120 Buckeye Drive.
To enroll in kindergarten, children must be five years old on or before August 19, 2026, the first day of the district’s school year. No child shall be admitted to first grade who has not successfully completed kindergarten.
There is no kindergarten screening prior to the start of the school year. Screenings will be conducted within the first six weeks of school while students are attending.
Kindergarten registration forms are available here. Parents are encouraged to download and complete forms prior to arrival to help expedite the registration process.
Parents who live outside the Van Wert City Schools district and wish for their child to attend the Van Wert Early Childhood Center must complete an Open Enrollment Request form in addition to the registration packet during this time. Open enrollment spaces are limited.
Required documents for registration
Parents/guardians must bring the following documents at the time of registration:
- Completed Registration Packet
- Child’s Official Birth Certificate
- Child’s Immunization Records
- Parent/Guardian Photo ID Copy
- Custody Decree (if applicable)
- Court Orders (if applicable)
- Grandparent POA or Caretaker Authorization (if applicable)
- Proof of Residency in the Van Wert City School District for parent/legal guardian (consisting of a deed, building permit, rental agreement, tax statement, voter registration, or completion of Form 5111 F2)
POSTED: 03/01/26 at 9:40 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff/submitted information
LIMA — The University of Northwestern Ohio will host the Ohio Future Farmers of America Association’s State Finals in Agricultural Power Diagnostics Contest on Friday, March 6. The top 15 high school teams from Ohio will compete for more than $75,000 in scholarships in the 400 Building on UNOH’s campus in Lima. Teams qualify by placing first in the district contest, or second at the district contest and having one of the top 5 team scores on the online exam for Farm Power Diagnostics.
The state finals contest will from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a lunch break from 12:45-1:15 p.m.
Each team member of the winning teams will receive the following scholarships to the University of Northwestern Ohio: first place – $10,000; second place – $6,000; third place – $5,000; fourth place – $5,000; fifth place – $4,000; sixth place – $3,000; seventh place – $2,000; eighth place – $1,000; ninth place – $1,000, and tenth place – $1,000.
Schools qualifying for this year’s contest are: Allen East High School, Ansonia High School, Belmont Career Center, Buckeye Career Center, Delaware Area Career Center, Fairfield Union High School, Fairview High School, Fayetteville High School, Four County Career Center, Harrison Career Center, Hillsdale High School, Mechanicsburg High School, National Trail-MVCTC, Warren County Career Center, and Wynford High School
POSTED: 03/01/26 at 9:39 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff/submitted information
FORT SHAWNEE — A crash involving a semi-truck and multiple cars claimed two people in Allen County Saturday night.
At approximately 08:15 p.m., the Lima and Wapakoneta Posts of the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a report of a commercial semi-truck that had struck multiple vehicles backed up on Interstate 75 North, just north of the exit to Cridersville in Fort Shawnee.
Yvio Michel, 53, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was driving a 2017 Great Dane semi-truck northbound on Interstate 75. Michel failed to maintain an assured clear distance as he approached backed up traffic and struck four passenger vehicles and another semi-truck.
Those struck included Kayla Route, 28, of Mason, who was driving a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse; Ronald Foley, 58, of Ypsilanti Michigan, in a 2022 Ford F-150; Amanda Gipson, 45, of Lima in a 2015 Buick Enclave; Jason Ford, 46, of Cincinnati in a 2017 Wabash semi-truck, and Cynthia Harter, 66, of Grand Rapids in a 2014 Mazda CX-9.
Michel and Foley were transported to Lima Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Route and Gipson were transported to Mercy Health St.Rita’s with serious injuries. Gipson was also accompanied by her husband Hurshel, 52, and their 11-year-old son. Both passengers were pronounced deceased at the scene and were transported to Lima Memorial Hospital.
The roadway was closed for approximately five hours. The Ohio Department of Transportation assisted with creating a detour for northbound traffic.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol Lima and Wapakoneta Posts were assisted on scene by the Allen and Auglaize County Sheriff Offices, Shawnee Fire and EMS, Perry Fire, Lima Fire, Lima-Allen County Paramedics, Cridersville EMS, Mercy EMS, Auglaize County CERT, Auglaize County Emergency Management, Wapakoneta Fire and Police Department and Miller Auto.
The crash remains under investigation.
POSTED: 03/01/26 at 9:43 am. FILED UNDER: News
Submitted information
CONVOY — On Sunday March 1 at 2 p.m., the Village of Convoy Historical Society will host a lecture and discussion at the Convoy Opera House.
James Lautzenheiser will present “Declaring Independence : The Path to Separation (June-August 1776).” He will be examining the work of the Second Continental Congress to create our fundamental charter document of American freedom. Those attending will inspect artwork, letters, revised documents, and final products from the summer of 1776. The public is invited to attend.
The Convoy Opera House, 111 S Main St., is a featured site of Visit Van Wert’s America 250 Passport Challenge for March, 2026. The next event at the Opera House is a book signing from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, March 14, featuring six local authors.
POSTED: 02/28/26 at 7:31 pm. FILED UNDER: News
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor
The hiring of 2026 fall sports head coaches, along with assistant coaches for the upcoming spring sports season and other personnel decisions made up a big part of Thursday’s Van Wert City Schools Board of Education agenda.
By a unanimous vote, the board approved supplemental contracts for head football coach Keith Recker, girls tennis coach Kannen Wannemacher, cross country head coach Bob Spath, head volleyball coach Rachel Black, head golf cach Kim Doidge and head fall cheerleading coach Samantha Fleming.
Scott Bigham and Matt West were approved as assistant varsity softball coaches and Destiny Coil, junior varsity coach. Damian Helm was approved as varsity assistant baseball coach, Jalen McCracken as junior varsity baseball coach, Mason Place as ninth grade coach and Jeremy Kitson as a volunteer assistant coach.
Kim Laudick, Nick Pauff, Alexis Burdette and Ben Laudick were hired as assistant high school track and field coaches, while Gage Chiles was approved as a volunteer coach. Kerry Koontz, Bob Spath and Bryce Crea were approved as middle school track and field coaches, and Noah Carter was approved as a middle school volunteer track coach. The board also approved Mark Verville as boys high school assistant tennis coach.
Other personnel matters handled by the board included a supplemental contract for Ben Hemming as high school musical pit orchestra director, approval of Grace Dowler as a fifth grade teacher, Natalie Ungruhn as a fourth grade teacher and Alycia Lindeman as a high school intervention specialist for the upcoming school year. A leave of absence was approved for kindergerten Lydia Mendenhall from March 6 through the 2026-2027 school year. The board accepted the resignation of keyboarding instructor Nicole Gamble, then immediately approved her as middle school family and consumer science teacher for the upcoming school year.
While the data center scheduled to be built at the Mega Site will be in the Van Wert city limits, it will be in the Lincolnview local schools. Nonetheless, Superintendent Mark Bagley addresed during his monthly report.
“We know the data center is being talked about a lot and there’s lots of things being discussed,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to go visit a data center up in Michigan and it was a good experience to know the power plant and how that works with natural gas and recycled water. It was good to see the noise level – the noise on the street was louder than the plant – so I was able to view that firsthand and not rumor or what you read.”
(more…)POSTED: 02/27/26 at 9:57 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff/submitted information
Students from Vantage Career Center earned top honors at the recent Business Professionals of America (BPA) State Leadership Conference, with four students officially qualifying to advance to the national competition and several others earning state finalist recognition.
Business Professionals of America is a national career and technical student organization that prepares students for leadership and careers in business and information technology. The State Leadership Conference brings together top students from across Ohio to compete in rigorous, industrybased events.
Advancing to the BPA National Leadership Conference, held May 6–10, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, are:
- Henry Walpole – third place, computer security
- Spencer Stabler – sixth place, server administration using Microsoft
- Xander Bartley – seventh place, computer security
- Silas Foltz – seventh place, server administration using Microsoft
These four students have secured guaranteed spots at the national level based on their state performance.
Additional students earning state finalist honors include:
- Riley Wenzlick – 10th place, computer network technology
- Gavin Westgerdes – 10th place, C# programming
- Xander Bartley – ninth place, digital communications and design concepts and 10th place, information technology concepts
Pending additional qualifying results, Wenzlick and Westgerdes may also have an opportunity to advance to the national competition.
“These students have dedicated countless hours sharpening their technical skills and preparing for competition,” said Austin Meyer, Network Systems Instructor at Vantage Career Center. “Having four students advance to nationals is an incredible accomplishment, and we are proud of how they represented Vantage.”
Vantage students will now prepare for the national stage in Nashville, carrying with them the support of their instructors, classmates, and community.
POSTED: 02/27/26 at 9:56 pm. FILED UNDER: News
Lincolnview boys basketball coach Brett Hammons finishes cutting down the net, after his Lancers won the Division VI sectional championship, 58-29 over Hicksville Friday night. A full game story and pictures can be found on the Sports page. Photo courtesy of Hanna Young
POSTED: 02/27/26 at 9:56 pm. FILED UNDER: News
Submitted information
The Van Wert County Republican Central Committee will meet at 7 p.m. March 10 at Truland/John Deere, 10305 Liberty-Union Rd., Van Wert, for the purpose of filling the vacated prosecuting attorney’s position. Those wishing to be considered must meet the minimum qualifications for a prosecuting attorney (outlined in the Ohio Revised Code, section 309.02) and must be a resident of Van Wert County. The position is currently being filled by interim Prosecutor Dillon Staas, IV, who was appointed by the Van Wert County Commissioners. Interested inviduals should submit their name and resume to President Jim Bonifas jim.bonifas@trulandequip.com.
POSTED: 02/27/26 at 9:55 pm. FILED UNDER: News
