Municipal Court changing business hours

VW independent/submitted information Van Wert Municipal Court is changing its business hours during this state of emergency.  As of today (Monday), Municipal Court will be open to the public on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; 8 a.m.-noon on Wednesday; and closed to the public all day Friday. These hours will remain in […]

Angela M. Pierce

Angela M. Pierce, 26, of Convoy, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, April 2, 2020. She was born July 15, 1993, in Van Wert, the daughter of Randy L. Pierce, who survives in Convoy, and Maria J. (Schnipke) Pierce, who preceded her in death. Angela was a 2011 graduate of Crestview High School and went on to […]

Scouts provide food giveaway manpower

VW independent/submitted information Local Boy Scouts are doing their “good deed for the day” by helping unload trucks of food for the local United Way organization. The perfect storm of school closures, quarantined citizens, and social distancing has made obtaining food a high priority for all people around Ohio. The situation is no different in […]

Agencies providing meals for Ohio elderly

Submitted information COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) is distributing $8.8 million across the state to meet the growing demand for meal assistance by older Ohioans impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency. ODA distributed the funds, provided through the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, to the state’s 12 Area Agencies on […]

ODH report: 119 COVID-19 deaths in Ohio

Van Wert independent Although Ohio Governor Mike DeWine did not have a COVID-19 news conference on Palm Sunday, the Ohio Department of Health provided an update on the virus. As of Monday morning, there have been 4,043 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state, with 1,104 people hospitalized, 346 of those in intensive care units, and […]

ODOT lists road projects in VW County

VW independent/submitted information LIMA — The following construction projects are anticipated to affect highways in Van Wert County this week, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 1. All outlined work is weather permitting. U.S. 30, between the city of Van Wert and the village of Middle Point, will be restricted through the work zone […]

Parkway hoops: a season to remember

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor ROCKFORD — It was a basketball team and a season that will be talked about for many years to come. The 2019-2020 Parkway Panthers finished the regular season 15-7 and 7-2 in the powerful Midwest Athleic Conference, trailing only Versailles, a team that finished 23-2 and No. 3 in the final […]

Monday Mailbag: April 6, 2020

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor The Monday Mailbag is back to its regular format today with questions and comments about high school spring sports, Eggerss Stadium improvements and the Bengals. Q: Is there a realistic hope that any high school spring sports will be played? Name withheld upon request A: If all Ohio school buildings remain […]

State officials urge Ohioans to wear masks

VW independent/submitted information COLUMBUS — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Dr. Amy Acton, MD, MPH, on Saturday urged Ohioans to begin wearing cloth masks while in public, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  On Friday, the CDC issued the recommendation that Americans wear face coverings in public settings where […]

Mother & daughter make, donate masks

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor For one mother and daughter, the old cliché “taking lemons and making lemonade” has become a way to deal with the changes and uncertainties that have come with the coronavirus pandemic. Although, instead of lemons and lemonade, the two have substituted cloth and making face masks to help fill the need for […]