There is an old Chevy Chase movie called Funny Farm where Chase’s character retires with his wife to the country to live outside a quiet small town and write a novel. It being a comedy, of course, the town is not what he had expected, full of oddball characters, including a drunk mailman who delivers […]
POSTED: 05/30/16 at 6:49 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
About five months ago, this column went on hiatus because I was running for re-election to the Commissioners’ Office. A lot has happened since then. Donald Trump, love him or hate him — and there doesn’t seem to be much in between — has redefined American politics. And even if you’re not a fan, you […]
POSTED: 05/21/16 at 6:07 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
“We always did feel the same, we just started from a different point of view” – Bob Dylan. I’ve used this lyric from my favorite Dylan song, “Tangled Up in Blue”, in a column before, but it fits better here. And to accurately quote the song, it would be “… started from a different point […]
POSTED: 02/15/16 at 8:54 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
Let’s build one united economic development effort, and do it well. The new endeavor is beginning to take shape. To date six members of a steering committee have been named, and according to a recent news article, the six members will agree on a seventh member. The steering committee will also define a job description […]
POSTED: 02/15/16 at 8:48 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
When I heard “I sleep the best when my kid is in jail” I was shocked, but I quickly understood that parents sleep better when they know their children are safe. I know I do. Think about it — it may be a jail cell, but a parent knows it’s a safe place where their […]
POSTED: 01/08/16 at 7:41 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
The presentation of a series of numbers makes for poor reading, but when you’re talking budgets, there is really no other way to do it. Balancing these numbers is a big chunk of our responsibility in the commissioners’ office. Here’s how Van Wert County’s financials look for 2016. The county budget gets approved at the […]
POSTED: 01/02/16 at 7:58 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
What’s best for all students, regardless of which school district they attend? Van Wert City Schools is on the right path as they roll out an effort to better connect the content taught at VWCS with what our community’s employers need. Vantage applauds high school principal Bob Priest and counselor Kerry Koontz for stepping out […]
POSTED: 12/24/15 at 7:39 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
It had been our goal a few years ago in the commissioners’ office to combine the various economic development entities in one location. Even before we left the contract with Ohio State that had been in the works. One of Sarah Moser’s first successes as our county’s economic development director was to win a grant […]
POSTED: 12/05/15 at 7:26 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
The Van Wert Solid Waste Management lost its director and a good man last week. Van Wert County lost an icon. For the last quarter century, George Brake personified conservation and recycling not just for our county, but also for much of the state. Earlier this week, a delegation from a nearby six-county consortium visited […]
POSTED: 10/10/15 at 8:00 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
“You can make something big when young that will carry you through life. Look at all the big startups like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. They were all started by very young people who stumbled on something of unseen value.” – Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. Steve Jobs is widely considered the genius of […]
POSTED: 09/12/15 at 5:50 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions