Grant funds to benefit Sheriff’s Office

VW independent staff/submitted information

Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas M. Riggenbach has announced that the Ohio Traffic Safety Office has awarded the county $47,708.06 in federal traffic safety funding for fiscal year 2025.

Sheriff Riggenbach said the grant funds will help provide additional personnel time to focus on making the roadways safer for visitors and residents of Van Wert County.

“The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office is aware that reckless drivers are impacting the safety of the residents of Van Wert County,” Riggenbach said in a Facebook post. “To help save lives and make our roadways safer, the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office will use the grant funds to focus on areas of serious crashes, traffic-related fatal crashes, alcohol-related crashes, and distracted driving/inattention on the major highways and local roadways in Van Wert County.”

This is the fourth year the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office has received funds through OTSO for traffic enforcement efforts.