Local amateur radio club prepping for annual excercise

Where’s the water?

The question has been asked – why isn’t the fountain at Fountain Park running as it typically does at this time of the year? According to Van Wert Parks Director Kyle Klinker, crews are in the process of replacing a pump/motor that went bad. He also said workers ran into more issues on Monday, so it’s not known exactly when repairs will be complete. Klinker added the Parks Department is doing the doing the best they can to get the fountain up and running ASAP. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

United Way makes donation

Submitted information

The United Way of Van Wert County recently granted the Van Wert School at the Goedde a check for $2,000. The money was given on behalf of the New Initiative Funds which allows organizations that are tax exempt to apply in order to help with a one-time need or project in Van Wert County.

The funds will be used for “Cooking at The Goedde” – a weekly podcast/youtube video teaching how to cook simple, affordable, and nutritious meals at home through the Middle School Culinary Lab.

Designed to combine hands-on learning, student voice, and real-world life skills, this program will empower students in grades 6–8 to plan, prepare, and demonstrate simple, affordable meals that can be recreated at home, while also developing communication, collaboration, and leadership skills. This program directly supports their mission to “Break the Cycle: one decision, one choice, one day at a time” by equipping students with essential independent living skills while also giving them a platform to be heard.

If you are a tax-exempt organization located in Van Wert County and would like to learn more about or even apply for New Initiative funds, contact the United Way office at 419.238.6689 or email administration@uwvwco.org.

Outdoorsmen hosting match on Saturday

Submitted information

MIDDLE POINT — The Van Wert County Outdoorsmen Association will host a CMP sanctioned M-1 Garand match this Saturday, June 27 at the Van Wert County Outdoorsmen Club at 9093 Ringwald Road. The safety briefing will be held at 9:30 a.m. and the match will start at 9:45 a.m.

Any military rifle may be used such as an M-1 Garand, AR 15, and other such rifles. You may use iron sights or scoped rifles. Once you shoot in the match, you will be eligible to purchase an M-1 Garand from the CMP. If you do not have a rifle, the club has M-1 rifles to loan out to the public to use in this match. The club also has a National Match AR 15 for participants that might wish to try it out.

The cost to participate is $5, which is a target fee. If you need to purchase ammo to shoot in this match, the club has 30.06 ammo at $30 for 35 rounds, and AR-15 ammo is $18 for 40 rounds which includes the target fee. The ammo needs to be used to shoot in the match, no extraneous purchases are allowed.

Fight at fairgounds leads to one arrest

VW independent staff

What began as a report of a weekend fight involving a gun at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds turned into a chase involving multiple officers. It ended with the arrest of an Indiana man.

Officers with the Van Wert Police Department were dispatched to the fairgrounds just before 11 p.m. Saturday, during the Freedom Truck Meet, after a caller said two suspects jumped the fence and were running eastbound.

Security staff gave the responding officers a description of the suspects – a white male with no shirt, black shorts, and a black male with no shirt and green shorts, with a gun. The immediate area was checked then a short time later, an officer spotted the two running through back yards along Warren Rd.

A perimeter was established, a VWPD drone was put into operation and multiple law enforcement officers from the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office and the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol were called to the scene for assistance. Both of the suspects were spotted hiding behind a detached garage on Warren Rd. As officers approached them, Drake Scheumann, 19, of Monroeville, Indiana, fled eastbound, which prompted a foot chase that lasted several minutes. It ended when officers cut him off and took him into custody. He admitted he had been drinking and told officers he ran because he’s scared of police. Scheumann was later charged with ostructing official business and underage consumption, and was taken to the Van Wert County Correctional Facility.

The second suspect could not be found but the police report states an officer found a bag near the area where the suspect was running. His driver’s license and a debit card were found in the bag.

According to the report, the case is closed because the victims in the alleged assault fled the scene and have been uncooperative.

Sunday night crash…

One person was taken to the hospital by ambulance after a one-vehicle accident at the CF&E rail crossing on Mendon Rd., not far from Lincoln Highway in Van Wert. The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, Van Wert Fire Department and Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol were dispatched to the scene shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday after the driver, Myca Thompson, 19, of Van Wert, was southbound when she went off the roadway and struck the railroad signal. She was later found to be under the influence of alcohol and was taken by EMS to OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The OSHP is investigating the accident. Bob Barnes/VWFD photographer

Sheriff’s Office practices crisis situation

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

The call came in at 9 a.m. Saturday – an active shooter was inside Lincolnview Jr. High/High School and shots had been fired within the building, which prompted a rapid and large scale response from local law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel.

Thankfully, it was just a drill – a training exercise organized by the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office. For the next three hours, emergency responders worked to hone their skills in the simulated crisis situation.

“The purpose of the exercise is to allow all of the agencies that are operating within our county the opportunity to come together and work through an active shooter/active threat situation within a school setting,” Van Wert County Sheriff Tom Riggenbach said.

The training excerise is done once a year each summer and is usually rotated between the county schools. However, this year’s drill was moved from Crestview Local Schools to Lincolnview due to Crestview’s ongoing renovation project. 

“It allows everybody to spend some time performing the different tasks within the schools, because they’re all different,” Riggenbach explained. “How do we get to the school…how do we get into the school..how do we respond based on the stimulus that is part of the drill? It’s very important for us to work on this and being able to have this drill every year is vital to put the different things we’re working on throughout the year to a test.”

“We’re always looking for ways to get better in our response,” he added.

He also noted it’s not the same scenario every year.

Data center ban won’t be on fall ballot

Megan Henry/Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio voters will not have a chance to vote to ban data centers in the November election. 

Conserve Ohio, the grassroots organization behind the proposed constitutional amendment, said they are now hoping to make the 2027 ballot. The amendment would prohibit building data centers with a peak load of more than 25 megawatts per month, which would prevent most modern data centers. 

“We want to make it clear: we will not be stopping,” Conserve Ohio said in a statement. “Construction won’t be stopping, so signature gathering and community action will not be stopping.”

Conserve Ohio originally was trying to make this year’s ballot after the Ohio Ballot Board gave petitioners the green light to start collecting signatures in April, but they were up against a tight deadline. 

“The July 1 deadline was our best case scenario for the quickest possible action,” Conserve Ohio said in a statement. “Internally, we set that as our ideal target and it just didn’t pan out. We are not going to be submitting this year.”

The amendment would have needed more than 413,000 signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties by July 1 to get on this year’s ballot. The signatures they have collected so far remain valid since they did not submit them to the Ohio Secretary of State. 

Conserve Ohio has collected more than 70,000 signatures as of June 18, according to their campaign. The counties with the most signatures are Lucas County (6,482), Stark County (6,329), and Butler County (4,030).

“We can’t change when we began, but we can determine how it ends,” Conserve Ohio said. “All is not lost. The end goal has not changed. Our resolve has not changed.” 

Conserve Ohio is only using volunteers to collect signatures, and they have more than 1,000 volunteers. 

Ohio has more than 200 data centers, the sixth-highest state in the country, according to Pew Research Center. Most of the data centers are in central Ohio. Cincinnati has 26 and Cleveland has 22, according to the Data Center Map. 

Friday accidents under investigation

VW independent staff

A pair of Friday accidents in northwest Ohio remain under investigation by two different posts of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The first involved a semi-truck and train and occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m. June 19 on County Road 11, just south of County Road F in Fulton County’s York Township.

According to a report from the Toledo Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a 2024 Peterbilt driven b Steven E. Campbell, 45, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was southbound on County Road 11 when he tried to cross the tracks and the rig became disabled. A westbound Norfolk Southern train struck the semi-truck. Campbell was transported to the Fulton County Health Center for treatment of minor injuries. No Norfolk Southern employees were injured.

The second accident was a head-on collision that occurred just before 7:30 p.m. Friday on U.S. 6 in Williams County, near Edgerton.

An OSHP report states that a 2002 Mercury Mariner driven by Kevin Eugene Mudrack, 36, of Bryan and a 2002 Victory Motorcycle driven by Charles Ivey, 62, of Defiance collided when Mudrack crossed the center line.

Ivey was pronounced dead at the scene. Mudrack was flown by Parkview Samaritan air ambulance to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. His current condition is unknown.

Ralph’s World!

A good time was had by all at Fountain Park Friday night, as kids’ themed Ralph’s World took over Van Wert Live’s Feel Good Friday concert series. It featured a summer snowstorm of bubbles, music, dancing and more. Bob Barnes/Van Wert independent

YWCA receives summer reading grant

VW independent staff/submitted information

A $2,500 Summer Reading Grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation is providing a boost to the YWCA of Van Wert County. The funding will be used to purchase books for children participating in the YWCA Summer Food Program.

YWCA officials said books serve as part of a positive behavior incentive program designed to encourage kindness, respect, responsibility, and helpfulness among participants. Throughout the summer, children can earn “Book Bucks” by demonstrating positive behaviors such as being thoughtful, respectful, and supportive of others.

Once a child earns five Book Bucks, they are rewarded with the opportunity to select and keep a book of their choice. The incentive continues throughout the seven-week program, allowing children multiple opportunities to build their own home libraries.

“We are grateful to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for supporting literacy and helping us put books into the hands of local children,” said Betsy Hamman, Director of Youth Programs. “Many of our participants have been working hard to earn books this summer, and this grant helps us continue encouraging both positive behavior and a love of reading.”

The YWCA Summer Food Program provides free meals, educational activities, and enrichment opportunities for area youth during the summer months. The addition of books helps support literacy development while making reading fun and accessible for children and families.

The YWCA is an agency of United Way of Van Wert County and is partially funded by the Van Wert County Foundation.