Christmas Garden lights up

Hundreds of children and their parents braved bitterly cold weather on Wednesday to see the lighting of the Christmas Garden in Smiley Park. Jim Clay and his many helpers spent literally thousands of hours turning the garden into a shimmering fantasyland of color (above), while characters from The Wizard of Oz, the Grinch, and others […]

6 people appear in Common Pleas Court

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor Six people appeared for criminal hearings this week in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court. On Monday, Tawnie Johnson, 28, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to a charge of possession of cocaine and two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, all felonies of the fifth degree, during an arraignment […]

VWCS campaign

Van Wert City School District recently completed its United Way campaign for 2017. Van Wert schools continue to give and get involved in events for the United Way any way they can. This year, during the Day of Caring, the Van Wert Elementary fourth grade classes made “thank you” cards (above) and reached out to […]

Attorney general has Black Friday tips

Submitted information COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine offers consumer protection tips for Thanksgiving weekend, one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. Last year, the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section received more than 3,700 complaints in November and December. This year, the National Retail Federation expects holiday retail sales to increase […]

VWCH Thrift Shop sets Black Friday sale

Submitted information The Van Wert County Hospital Thrift Shop, 131 E. Central Ave., is having a Black Friday 50-percent off storewide sale (some exclusions) today. The store is open regular hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Students take Choose Kind Challenge

The Ohio Department of Education is celebrating the release of the film Wonder, based on the best-selling book by R.J. Palacio. As part of #OhioWonderWeek, the ODE is challenging students to send 500 letters spreading kindness to others. Lindsey Litzenberg’s homeroom just finished reading Wonder in class, and accepted the Choose Kind Challenge. Wonder centers […]

Hoops previews scheduled for next week

Van Wert independent sports With the boys’ high school basketball season just around the corner, www.thevwindependent.com will preview teams from Lincolnview, Crestview and Van Wert. The Lancers will be featured on Tuesday, the Knights on Wednesday and the Cougars on Thursday. The previews will include comments from coaches, along with information on returning starters and […]

Lady Cougars home opener rescheduled

Van Wert independent sports Van Wert’s scheduled home opening girls’ basketball game against Wayne Trace has been postponed from this Saturday to Saturday, December 23. The junior varsity game will tipoff at 2 p.m. and the varsity contest will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m.

VW Photography Club sets holiday dinner

Van Wert Area Photography Club members are asked to set aside Saturday evening, December 2, at the Black Angus on Main for our annual Christmas Dinner. We ask that all are seated by 6 p.m. and order from the menu. Each dues-paying member is also invited to bring their spouse or a friend to the event. Reservation […]

Wassenberg Artists Sale still ongoing

On November 18 we launched the 28th annual Wassenberg Artist Members’ Exhibit and Sale just in time for the holiday season with an opening party. We handed out cash awards to the artists in attendance. A separate news release will list the winners shortly. While we will be closed Thursday and Friday this week for […]