Civil suit filed by convicted sex offender’s neighbors

Trade Days to start next Thursday

Submitted information

WILLSHIRE — The Willshire Sportsman’s Club’s annual Trade Days event will be held from dawn to dusk Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 23-25 at 3385 Ohio 81, two miles east of Willshire. Bring the entire famiy – admission and parking are free.

There will be all types of flea market items, crafts, cement figures, tools, dog supplies, antiques, fishing, and hunting supplies. The vendor auction will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 25. Breakfast and concessions are available.

No three-wheelers or four-wheelers are allowed except for the handicapped, and you must be 16 to drive a golf cart. Vendor spaces are available for $50 each. Check out the latest details and updates on the Willshire Sportsman’s Club Facebook page..

Willshire Sportsman’s Club is a non-profit organization that offers membership for $10 per year. Club meetings are every third Monday at 7 p.m. Contact Ron Schumm at 419.495.2730 or Dan Strader at 419.203.4557 for details.

DSJ announces new Hall of Fame class

VW independent staff/submitted information

DELPHOS — The Hall of Fame of St. John the Evangelist Catholic School was created in 2004 to honor and recognize those whose deeds and actions exemplify the spirit of Delphos St. John’s. The honorees are recognized in four categories: Professional Achievement, Arts/Athletic Achievement, Service to Mankind and Service to St. John’s.

Anyone is eligible and welcome to submit a nomination into the Delphos St. John’s Hall of Fame. Nominations throughout the year and must be submitted by March 1 in order to be considered for that year’s induction. All nominees must be at least five years post-high school graduation. Nomination forms and requirements for each category, as well as a full list of past inductees and current committee members may be found on the school website at https://www.delphosstjohns.org/hall-of-fame.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2026 includes: Professional Achievement – Mark Wellman, Class of 1978; Art/Athletic Achievement – Scott M. Elwer. Class of 1992; Service to Mankind – Mandy (Unterbrink) Weimerskirch, Class of 2002; and Service to St. John’s – Jeff Rode, Class of 1984.

Mark Wellman, Professional Achievement

Wellman is a 1978 graduate of St. John’s High School. As a student, he was active in the National Honor Society, student council, acted in the senior class play “Brigadoon,” played trumpet in the concert, marching and pep bands, and served as Head Drum Major as a senior.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a French Minor from The Ohio State University in 1982. As a Buckeye, he was linked into Sphinx Senior Honorary, the highest honor accorded to an Ohio State student.

He was selected as a member of the 1981 OSU Homecoming Court.

Wellman graduated from the DePaul University College of Law in 1986 and joined the leadership staff of Ohio Senate President Paul Gillmor. In 1988, he joined the Gillmor for Congress campaign as Press Coordinator for the primary, then as Campaign Manager for the general election.

Congressman Gillmor selected him to serve as his Chief of Staff, a position he held from January 2, 1989 until September 2007. Wellman played a key staff role in privatizing and thus saving the National Rifle Matches held annually at Camp Perry, Ohio, and in securing federal funding for the Delphos Reservoir, named for the Congressman.

He was elected President of the bipartisan U.S. House of Representatives Chiefs of Staff Association, and was selected as a Stennis Fellow. For two years, he coordinated an exchange between US Congressional staff and staff of the German Bundestag. He visited the Village of Riemsloh, the ancestral home of Delphos’ first settlers, and spent time with the German Wellmann family, visited the original family farm and attended mass in Sankt Johannes Catholic Church.

Wellman holds the rank of Colonel (Retired), National Guard of the United States, serving as a Judge Advocate in the Ohio and the District of Columbia Army National Guard over a 27-year career. His unit was the first mobilized by the Army after the attacks on 9/11. He volunteered for deployment to Baghdad, Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom from Feb 2008 to May 2009. He commanded the National Guard Bureau Legal Support Office from 2011 until 2015. His awards and commendations include the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal.

Upon his retirement from U.S. Congressional staff and from the Army, Wellman joined the faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY as Assistant Professor in the Law and Legal Studies Program. He currently teaches Introduction to Legal Method and Advanced Constitutional Law. He also serves as the Head Department Academic Counselor in the Department of the Law and Philosophy. He is a volunteer photographer for Army athletics.

Area gas station robbers caught, jailed

VW independent staff

PAULDING — Two people suspected of holding up a gas station/convienence store in Paulding earlier this week have been arrested and jailed.

Robert Louis Chatman III, 21, and Kirsten Lynn Cox, 18, both from Defiance, are facing felony and misdemeanor charges. Online records from Paulding County Common Pleas Court show Chatman is currently charged with aggravated robbery, a first degree felony, and theft, a first degree misdemeanor. Cox is currently charged with complicity, a first degree felony, and theft, a first degree misdemeanor.

The two are accused of entering Circle K on N. Williams St. shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday. They were wearing all black and masks and Williams allegedl brandished a pistol and demanded all the money. The two fled the store on foot with a small amount of cash but in a press release, the Paulding Police Department said it didn’t take long to identify the duo.

“With the use of residental, business cameras and the recently installed Flock cameras, officers were able to identify a vehicle used by the suspects,” the press release stated.

The evidence enabled arrest warrants to be issued and Chatman and Cox were arrested later the same day in Defiance.

Both remain in the Paulding County Jail, with bond set at $21,125 each. It’s not known when the two will appear in court again.

Box City event canceled due to smoke

VW independent staff

Due to air quality concerns caused by Canadian wildfire smoke, tonight’s Haven of Hope Box City event at Fountain Park has been canceled. Organizers hope to reschedule the event.

Smoky Friday…

Smoke from Canadian wildfires was quite evident in downtown Van Wert late this morning. The hazy smoke shrouded other parts of the city and the county as well. An air quality alert remains in effect through tonight (Friday). Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

Hamfest event will be held on Sunday

Submitted information

The annual Van Wert Hamfest will be held this Sunday morning, July 19, at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds Administration Building Annex. The event, sponsored by the Van Wert Amateur Radio Club, will begin at 8 a.m. and will feature indoor and outdoor vendors displaying radio, computer, and electronic flea market items. Admission is a $5 donation.

The event is the annual fundraising event for the club, which provides volunteer public service communications such as weather spotting, parade security, and bicycle tour security. Club members also routinely respond to any emergency situation that requires on-site communication, and they work closely with the local Emergency Management Agency.

The Hamfest is open to the public, and each entry includes a ticket that may be submitted for door prizes. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

For more information, go to the club’s website at w8fy.org, or look for the Van Wert Amateur Radio Club on Facebook.

RCUT work continues, other projects on tap

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

The month of July is proving to be a busy one for the Ohio Department of Transportation District 1 office, with planned projects underway in Van Wert County and more slated to start in the very near future.

According to ODOT District 1’s weekly traffic impact report, John Brown Rd., west of the Van Wert City limits, will remain closed to all traffic until approximately July 30, while crews continue to construct an RCUT (restricted crossing U-turn) crossing at its intersection with U.S. 30. The highway is restricted to one lane of traffic in each direction. There is no detour for John Brown Rd.

Once complete, crews are expected to turn their attention to two other projects, including construction of Van Wert County’s second single-lane roundabout, which will be built at the intersection of U.S. 224 and Lincoln Highway, just west of the Van Wert city limits. The intersection has long been considered a dangerous one. Work is expected to begin on August 1 and should take about 60 days. The official detour has not yet been announced.

Along with the U.S. 224/Lincoln Highway work, U.S. 224 between U.S. 30 and Lincoln Highway will close on August 1 for rehabilitation of the bridge over the railroad. Detour information will be provided later.

In southern Van Wert County, Ohio 709 between Ohio 118 and Ohio 116 will close on Monday, July 20, for approximately five days for chip seal resurfacing. Access to all properties will be maintained.

Ohio 118 between the city of Van Wert and the Mercer County line will be restricted to alternating one-way traffic between July 27-31 for chip seal resurfacing. Traffic will be maintained via flaggers.

In Van Wert, Fox Rd. between S. Shannon St. and S. Washington St. will continue to have intermittent lane restrictions for construction of a shared-use path.

Special Vantage BOE meeting is brief

VW independent staff

This week’s special meeting of the Vantage Career Center Board of Education centered around personnel matters.

Tuesday afternoon’s meeting lasted less than five minutes and began with a public hearing regarding the retire-rehire of career technology instructor Kevin Van Oss. No one opposed it. 

The board approved one-year contractors for Emily Heck, special education coordinator; Doug Hughes, intervention specialist, and Lucas Metcalfe, sports exercise therapy instructor. An $800 stipend was approved for Metcalfe as a mentor, and Metcalfe, Heck and Hughes were approved for 3-5 additional days at a per diem rate. The board also approved JR Long as adult education fire coordinator and Austin Miller as a firefighting instructor.

One resignation was on the agenda and was accepted by the board – Wendy Baumle, sports exercise therapy instructor, effective at the end of last school year.

The board went into executive session to discuss other personnel matters but outside of adjournment, no other action was taken.

The next meeting of the Vantage Career Center Board of Education will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, August 6.

Majority of fourth graders struggling

By Megan Henry/Ohio Capital Journal

Despite Ohio ranking 12th in education overall, 68 percent of Ohio fourth graders were not proficient in reading and 68 percent of Ohio eighth graders were not proficient in math, according to the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Book. 

The study shows the percentage of Ohio students not proficient in reading has increased four percent from 2019 and Ohio students not proficient in math has jumped six percent since 2019. 

Despite those increases, Ohio fared better than the rest of the country. 70 percent of American fourth graders were not proficient in reading and 73 percent of American eighth graders were not proficient in math, according to the report.

Ohio ranked 27th in the nation overall, 12th in the nation for education, 26th for health, 27th for economic well-being, 27th for child well-being, and 33rd for family and community, according to the study released last month. This is the 37th edition of the foundation’s data book. 

“Our current rankings reveal the urgent need for policies that reduce child poverty, improve educational outcomes, and expand health coverage,” Ohio’s Children’s Defense Fund Director John Stanford said in a statement. 

“We cannot afford to wait—our children’s futures depend on it.” 

Ohio school districts were required to teach the science of reading curriculum starting with the 2024-25 school year, one year after the law was enacted through the 2023 state budget.

The science of reading is based on decades of research that shows how the human brain learns to read and incorporates phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine often touts the science of reading and lists it among some of the most important work he has done for Ohio’s children.

Ohio’s literacy scores were down from last year, with 61.3 percent of third graders reading at or above grade level in the 2024-25 school year compared to 64.5 percent from the 2023-24 school year, according to the most recent state report cards that were released in September.

DeWine recently signed an academic interventions bill into law which requires school districts or individual schools to provide academic interventions for free to students who scored at a limited skill level in a state assessment test in math or English language arts, or both.

Paulding Putnam names new CEO

VW independent staff/submitted information

PAULDING — The Paulding Putnam Board of Trustees has announced that Nick Eltzroth, the cooperative’s current Chief Operating Officer, will become the cooperative’s next President and Chief Executive Officer. Eltzroth will succeed current President and CEO Randy Price, who will retire on January 4, 2027, after leading the cooperative through three years of growth and change.

Eltzroth’s appointment takes effect January 5, 2027, making him the seventh CEO since the cooperative was founded in 1935 to bring electricity and now high-speed fiber internet to rural communities across northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana.

According to a press release announcing the appointment, the board conducted a thorough, structured search process, engaging an independent third-party firm to help evaluate candidates and ensure the selection reflected the best possible fit for the cooperative’s members, employees, and long-term strategic direction.

“I am very excited to begin this next chapter of Paulding Putnam with Nick as our next CEO,” Board Chairman Adam Schnipke said. “Nick has proven himself a valuable asset to our cooperative, starting out as an engineer, then working into the COO position, and now as our CEO. He lives, breathes, and understands the cooperative model, and brings the enthusiasm, knowledge, expertise, and energy needed for this position as our cooperative is changing rapidly.”

Outgoing President and CEO Randy Price echoed that confidence.

“One of our greatest virtues is our investment in people,” Price said. “Nick is one of those people that our co-op and the industry have developed to be a leader and advocate for those we serve. Nick and the entire Paulding Putnam team will continue to practice the cooperative values, such as concern for community, and will find innovative ways to lead in the electric and broadband industries.”

For his part, Eltzroth credited the team around him.

“I am incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the next CEO of Paulding Putnam,” he said. “I would not be in this position without the talented and dedicated team I have the privilege of working alongside. I look forward to serving our members, employees, and communities with integrity, transparency, and a servant’s heart.”

Eltzroth has served as Paulding Putnam’s Chief Operating Officer since July, 2023, providing executive leadership across the cooperative’s engineering, operations, broadband, and IT departments. In that role, he has partnered directly with the board on strategy, capital planning, and financial performance, and has led execution of the cooperative’s major initiatives — most notably its large-scale fiber-to-the-home and smart grid buildout across the service territory.