Wednesday, August 26, 2026 4:55 a.m. – Deputies responded to a residence on East Crawford Street in the City of Van Wert to assist a motorist locked out of their vehicle. 6:01 a.m. – Deputies responded to an area of Monmouth Road in Harrison Township for a motor vehicle crash involving a deer. 8:39 a.m. […]
POSTED: 08/27/26 at 7:46 am. FILED UNDER: Law Enforcement
No one was injured when a car struck a house in the 900 block of Leeson Ave. The Van Wert Police Department and Van Wert Fire Department were dispatched to the scene at approximately 10:20 p.m. Wednesday. The driver turned from High St. onto Leeson Ave., lost control and struck the house. Damage to the […]
POSTED: 08/27/26 at 5:56 am. FILED UNDER: News
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports There’s no other way to put it – last week, the opening week of the 2026 high school football season, was wild. There were upsets galore around the area, results that very few people saw coming. There were also some nice surprises and for some teams that have struggled, sort of a […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 8:53 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor If all goes as planned, Van Wert City Schools will have a bus barn by this time next year. During Wednesday night’s monthly school board meeting, the board approved an architect/engineering agreement with Garmann Miller and Associates for a bus maintenance and storage building. The facility will be built just north of […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 8:48 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff Seven defendants appeared in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on a variety of matters on Wednesday. Judge Martin D. Burchfield presided over each of the hearings. Arraignments Ian Taylor, 32, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to possession of a fentanyl related compound, a fifth degree felony. He was […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 8:43 pm. FILED UNDER: News
Submitted information Ohio Senate President Rob McColley has appointed Jeff Grothouse, chief operating officer of The Marsh Foundation, to serve on the Study Committee to Evaluate the Placement of Delinquent Children in Residential Facilities. Created through House Bill 315, the statewide committee is evaluating Ohio’s current placement system, the resources and services available to support […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 8:41 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff/submitted information Nearly 200 members of Paulding Putnam and Midwest Electric gathered Monday evening at the Wassenberg Art Center in Van Wert for a joint Legislative Dinner hosted by the cooperatives’ America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC. The event brought cooperative members together with state and energy industry leaders for an evening focused on issues affecting electric reliability, affordability and the future […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 8:40 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent staff DELPHOS — Delphos Mayor Andre McConnahea is leaving office. This week, McConnahea issued a statement that said he’s resigning because his family started a small business, which led him to decide to put more time and attention into it. McConneahea won the mayor’s race as a write-in in November of 2023, and […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 8:39 pm. FILED UNDER: News
VW independent sports St. Marys Memorial swept Van Wert in WBL golf action at Willow Bend on Wednesday, winning the varsity and junior varsity matches. In the varsity match, the Roughriders recorded a 157-166 victory. For Van Wert, Joey Keysor and Cal Byrum lead the Cougars with a pair of 39s. Zach Stoller followed up […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 8:38 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
James R. Thatcher, 85, of Angola, Indiana, passed away Monday, August 24, 2026, at the Bridge Hospice Care Center in Findlay, surrounded by his loving family. James was born on November 17, 1940, in Lima, to Richard and Gilletta (Smith) Thatcher, who both preceded him in death. He married Sally Stewart, and they later divorced. […]
POSTED: 08/26/26 at 10:45 am. FILED UNDER: Obituaries