Windmill taxing issue addressed

Wanna start an argument? Go to almost any random group of people in Van Wert County and state your opinion about windmills. Chances are, you will quickly find someone with whom to disagree. Without question this is the most divisive issue blowing around our county, the one that puts people in ardent camps of pro […]

Bills to keep Ohio moving forward

The Ohio House of Representatives has been hard a work the past several months passing legislation that will benefit all Ohioans in all corners of the state. Three pieces of legislation in particular that I was proud to vote in favor of was a bill to give small businesses increased access to small claims courts, […]

Become a member of the VWAEDC

After months of meetings and planning, the Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation, the entity designed to combine city and county economic development efforts, will take the next step on its path to formality on Monday when elections are held for the three at-large positions to its Board of Trustees. Not a member of the […]

Community econ. develop. efforts

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 […]

Back in the saddle again

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 […]

Untangling economic development

“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 […]

Let’s build it well…

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 […]

Treating heroin as a health issue

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 […]

Details of 2016 county budget

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 […]

VWCS gets kudos for program

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 […]