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
The first step is admitting that you have a problem. Then you have to figure out what the problem is. Economic conditions here are not good, but most of you already know that. According to the 2010 census, Van Wert County had the lowest per capita income of any county in northwest Ohio except Hardin […]
POSTED: 09/05/15 at 1:28 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
It’s been a few years since the Van Wert County Fair has presented a headliner band. James Otto a few years ago was barely an opening act. The low turnout for that show and the prior main event, the Edgar Winter Group, foretold a possible end to the fair’s ability to produce the big name. […]
POSTED: 08/24/15 at 6:47 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
Can anyone tell me what falling asleep, applying makeup, eating a sandwich, swatting at a mosquito, and admiring landscaping have in common? They are all something that you should not be doing…when operating a vehicle. The Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol has handled serious injury and/or fatal crashes just this year […]
POSTED: 07/20/15 at 6:19 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
Reality television came to Van Wert in 2014 when a show called “Vanilla Ice Goes Amish” featured a project at one of our county’s homes. For those who aren’t fans of early 1990s pop music, Vanilla Ice was a white rapper who made it big by swiping a bass-line from a Queen song and creating […]
POSTED: 02/07/15 at 6:32 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
It may have happened faster than any of them expected, but the members of the famous generation known as the Baby Boomers are starting to retire. With them goes inestimable expertise and decades of on-the-job experience. What follows them is an enormous demographic problem which is the subject of a book by Mark Lautman titled […]
POSTED: 01/12/15 at 8:39 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
Less than two weeks until Christmas. If you’re like me, you’re having to start thinking about what you might buy for people at 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve. I used to have to worry a lot more, but now I sleep easy, thanks to the miracle of gift certificates. Most people are better shoppers than […]
POSTED: 12/13/14 at 6:33 am. FILED UNDER: Opinions
“We always did feel the same, we just started from a different point of view” – Bob Dylan. Changing things ain’t easy. The status quo doesn’t come to be without gathering inertia along the way. We, the Van Wert County Commissioners, set about charting a different course in economic development about a year ago. That […]
POSTED: 11/21/14 at 10:02 pm. FILED UNDER: Opinions