SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor While much of Wednesday’s Lincolnview school board meeting consisted of presentations and reports, the board handled a number of other items on the agenda. In addition to presentations on a new elementary playground and artificial turf baseball and softball infields, board members heard a presentation from Kelly Hoy, director of curriculum and […]
POSTED: 09/17/25 at 9:01 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff/submitted information This is National Roundabouts Week when transportation officials across the country tout the safety improvement that follows where they’re implemented. Roundabouts are a proven safety tool for decreasing crashes and virtually eliminating crashes that result in serious injuries or deaths. ODOT analyzed crash data from 76 intersections that had been converted to roundabouts, including […]
POSTED: 09/17/25 at 9:00 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff/submitted information OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital has completed a $3.15 million expansion of its pharmacy, nearly doubling its size and strengthening the hospital’s ability to deliver safe, efficient, and advanced care for patients. Unlike a retail pharmacy, this pharmacy operates behind the scenes inside the hospital. It plays a vital role in supporting […]
POSTED: 09/17/25 at 8:59 pm. FILED UNDER: News
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports Just like that, the halfway point of high school football’s regular season is here. It doesn’t seem possible. The results so far have been interesting and the games have been entertaining. We’ve seen some upsets here and there, a tremendous showing by Crestview’s Braxton Leeth, a freshman quarterback (Xavier Gammon, Kenton) account […]
POSTED: 09/17/25 at 8:58 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
Lyla Kay Caris, 82, of Paulding, passed away on Thursday, September 11, 2025, at Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Kay was born on August 20, 1943, in Van Wert County, to John and Ruth (Swartz) Wilkin, who both preceded her in death. On August 26, 1961 she married James “Jim” Caris. Kay grew up in […]
POSTED: 09/17/25 at 2:41 pm. FILED UNDER: Obituaries
VW independent staff Nine criminal defendants appeared for various hearings in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday. Judge Martin D. Burchfield presided over each of the hearings. Bond/treatment in lieu violations Zachariah Williams, 40, of Van Wert, admitted to violating his bond and treatment in lieu by failing to report to probation. Bond […]
POSTED: 09/17/25 at 2:28 pm. FILED UNDER: News
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 12:36 a.m. – Deputies responded to an area of Ohio 18 in Liberty Township for a report of reckless driving. 1:33 a.m. – Dispatched Van Wert EMS to a residence on Lincoln Highway in Pleasant Township for a subject who had fallen. 3:00 a.m. – Dispatched Middle Point EMS to a […]
POSTED: 09/17/25 at 10:04 am. FILED UNDER: Law Enforcement
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor Hundreds of high school freshman and sophomores from Van Wert, Paulding and Mercer counties spent some of school day on Tuesday at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds, getting hands-on exposure to a number of in-demand and skilled trades through the fourth annual “Build Your Future” program. Van Wert, Crestview, Lincolnview, Wayne Trace, […]
POSTED: 09/16/25 at 9:16 pm. FILED UNDER: News
By DAVE MOSIER Van Wert Civic Theatre is opening its 2025-26 season with the musical version of Bonnie & Clyde, and it’s a banger of a show. The Tony-nominated musical, with book by Ivan Menchell, lyrics by Don Black and music by Frank Wildhorn, tells the story of Texas-born bandits Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, […]
POSTED: 09/16/25 at 9:15 pm. FILED UNDER: News
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor The cause of an early Sunday morning Van Wert fire in downtown Van Wert is undetermined, according to a report from a State Fire Marshal investigator who was at the scene. The call to the two-story building at 113 W. Main St. came in at 6:23 a.m. Sunday, and the Van Wert […]
POSTED: 09/16/25 at 9:15 pm. FILED UNDER: News