Junior Fair livestock weigh-in scheduled

VW County Junior Fair information Sheep, goat, and dairy feeder weigh-in will be Saturday, June 6, at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds. Dairy feeders will weigh in at the Beef Barn and sheep and goats will weigh in at the Hog Barn. All exhibitors should enter off of Fox Road (Gate 4), and acquire their […]

Grain truck overturns

A semi tractor-trailer truck hauling grain overturned near the intersection of Ohio 49 and U.S. 30 north of Convoy on Monday. The driver of the semi was taken to Van Wert County Hospital by the Convoy EMS squad for treatment following the crash, which is being investigated by the Van Wert Post of the Ohio […]

Friends of Putnam Library set book sale

VW independent/submitted information OTTAWA — The Friends of the Putnam County District Library will be holding their annual used book sale on June 2-3, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fourth Street Gym in Ottawa. There will be many hardback and paperback books for all ages, plus tapes and CDs, attic treasures, electronics, […]

Ray M. Burk

Ray M. Burk, 67, of Pleasant Township, died Sunday evening, May 10, 2015, shortly after arriving at Van Wert County Hospital in Van Wert. He was born September 18, 1947, in Scott, the son of Richard and Thelma (Schwartz) Burk, who both preceded him in death. On September 30, 1967, he married Carol L. (DeMaderios) […]

Blackmore: Heroin remains drug of choice

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor Heroin is still the drug of choice for most local drug users, and that’s a serious problem, says Van Wert DARE Officer Greg Blackmore, because of the drug’s potency and the difficulty of getting users off the drug. Blackmore said heroin has been Van Wert County’s biggest drug problem for 7-8 years, […]

Salvation Army campaign moves forward

Salvation Army information The Van Wert Salvation Army’s capital campaign continues to make progress, largely because the organization did not enter into a $500,000 capital campaign haphazardly. The Timothy Group conducted a feasibility study in 2010 on behalf of the Salvation Army that found that 94.6 percent of those interviewed rated the image of the […]

Gasoline prices rise in Ohio last week

Gasoline price information Average retail gasoline prices in Ohio have risen 5.2 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.49 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 5,345 gas outlets in Ohio. This compares with the national average that has increased 4.0 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.66 […]

Red Cross seeking summer blood donors

American Red Cross information The American Red Cross asks eligible donors to help ensure blood is available for patients in need by giving blood in May before the busy summer season kicks in. Blood and platelet donations often decrease when regular donors are vacationing and school is out of session, but the need for blood […]

Lake Campus to host Camp TALK event

Wright State University-Lake Campus information CELINA — Camp TALK by the Lake will be held at Wright State University-Lake Campus from August 3-7.  This is an extraordinary opportunity for children between the ages of 6 and 14 who struggle with speech, language and/or social communication challenges. Camp TALK offers a true “summer camp” experience, as […]

Local dancers perform in Dr. Oz’s gala

VW independent/submitted information Two dancers from Kim Hohman’s DanceWorks, Kelsea Allenbaugh and Kylie Hohman, were selected to perform at Dr. Mehmet and Lisa Oz’s HealthCorps Gala.  The dancers attended Dynamite National Talent Dance Competition last May in Columbus and auditioned at the competition. They were selected following an intense audition directed by Stepp Stewart, owner […]