Brake cared about recycling, environment

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

To many people, George Brake wasn’t just the head of the Van Wert Solid Waste Management District, he was the Van Wert Solid Waste Management District.

Brake, who died Wednesday morning in a traffic accident at the age of 58, was the first — and only — manager of the county recycling agency, created in 1995 by then-commissioners Gary Adams, George Ropp and Ava Good.

“He was all about recycling and cleaning up our country, which made it easy to hire him,” Adams recalls.

Adams remembers helping Brake set up the Van Wert Recycling Center 20 years ago, noting that he was always impressed with Brake and his work ethic.

“He was a quality man, conscientious and honest,” Adams said, who added that, in addition to setting up the current recycling program, Brake also went out and found grants to pay for the equipment at the recycling center.

Current County Commissioner Thad Lichtensteiger said he was saddened when he heard the news of Brake’s death.

“It’s kind of a punch in the stomach, you know,” Lichtensteiger said. “We have just lost a tremendous community asset.”

Both Adams and Lichtensteiger said they were amazed at the knowledge Brake had of recycling and environmental issues and the enjoyment he got from his job.

“There wasn’t a doubt that George had a passion about the environment,” Lichtensteiger said, while also adding that the county SWMD head also knew how to integrate his ideals “with the realities of a farming community.”

Lichtensteiger said he had just called Brake this past Friday while he was helping his wife, Deb, the Van Wert Municipal Court clerk, move items into the court’s new building on Main Street to see whether some old fluorescent light fixtures in the building were recyclable.

“He didn’t mind me calling him and had an answer,” he said. “Just about any time of the day I could send George a text and he could tell me whether something we had was recyclable.”

Adams said it was Brake who was instrumental in starting the county’s recycling program from scratch, traveling around the area to look at other facilities to see what he felt would work here.

Lichtensteiger said Brake was always trying to improve the recycling process and find sources for more items that he could recycle.

“He was one of those guys who absolutely loved what he was doing and was always trying to find ways to make recycling easier,” Lichtensteiger noted.

The current county commissioner added, though, that Brake’s knowledge of every facet of the program would also make it hard to find a replacement — although it’s a process the commissioners will have to begin soon.

“He’s the only guy we’ve known in this position, which does make him hard to replace,” Lichtensteiger said.

Adams noted that, along with his knowledge of recycling, Brake, who is survived by his wife, Kathy, and five children, was also a man of faith and a good family man.

“He was a good Christian man and he loved people,” the former commissioner added. “Overall, I give him an A-plus for the job he did.”