{"id":199108,"date":"2025-11-03T16:59:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=199108"},"modified":"2025-11-03T21:51:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T02:51:15","slug":"highway-dedicated-to-oshp-commander-lt-james-kirkendall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2025\/11\/03\/highway-dedicated-to-oshp-commander-lt-james-kirkendall\/","title":{"rendered":"Ceremony held for former Post commander"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

High level state officials, including Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles A. Jones gathered in Van Wert Monday afternoon for a dedication ceremony honoring a former commander of the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 28, 1970, Van Wert Patrol Post Commander Lt. James A. Kirkendall died in a crash involving two trucks on U.S. 33, just west of Saint Johns in Auglaize County. Lt. Kirkendall was traveling west on the rain-slicked road and clipped the left rear of a truck while changing lanes. His patrol vehicle spun into the eastbound lane and was struck by another truck. He was just 45 and was survived by his wife and two children, Mike and Lori.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Governor Mike DeWine (left) chats with Mike Kirkendall during Monday’s dedication ceremony. Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Governor DeWine and Col. Jones joined members of Lt. Kirkendall\u2019s family to unveil a memorial sign, dedicating the eastbound and westbound lanes of U.S. 33, between County Road 191 and Boundry Road in Auglaize County as the Lieutenant James A. Kirkendall Memorial Highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDedicating this highway in the name of Lieutenant Kirkendall is making a promise that we will never forget his sacrifice,\u201d Governor DeWine said to those in attendance. \u201cA promise that his story will not fade with time and a promise that the values he lived by, service and courage, will continue to guide us as a state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Kirkendall was well known in the community and among fellow law enforcement officers. He had served at a number of patrol posts around Ohio, including Georgetown, Troy, Sidney, Dayton, Urbana, Findlay, Massillon, and Springfield before coming to Van Wert. His career spanned 21 years and prior to that, he was a veteran of World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat gives us some indication of his sacrifice and also the sacrifice of his family,\u201d Governor DeWine said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c55 years after Lieutenant Kirkendall\u2019s passing, his example continues to reflect the highest ideals of service,\u201d said Colonel Jones said. \u201cThis highway dedication stands as a permanent reminder of his leadership and the enduring legacy he left within the division.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

State Representatives Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) and Angela King (R-Celina), the primary sponsors of House Bill 51, attended the ceremony and shared brief remarks and Kirkendall\u2019s son Mike spoke as well, reminiscing and sharing stories about his late father. Van Wert Patrol Post Commander Joseph Sisco, Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger, Van Wert County Commissioner Thad Lichtensteiger, Van Wert Mayor Kenneth Markward and Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas M. Riggenbach were among those in attendance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor High level state officials, including Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles A. Jones gathered in Van Wert Monday afternoon for a dedication ceremony honoring a former commander of the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. On October 28, 1970, Van Wert Patrol Post Commander […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 02:09:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199108"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199121,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199108\/revisions\/199121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}