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VW independent staff/submitted information COLUMBUS — With students across Ohio returning to classrooms, the Ohio Traffic Safety Office is urging all drivers to make safety their top priority during back-to-school season. OTSO is highlighting two statewide education efforts: the Stop Means Stop school bus safety campaign and Buckle Up with Brutus, Ohio’s child passenger safety […]
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor With the new school year underway, the Lincolnview Local Schools Board of Education addressed a number of agenda items during Thursday’s monthly meeting. 15 new employees were hired for the 2026-2027 school year and some of them were in attendance and introduced themselves. The list of new employees includes: There was one […]
Van Wert and Crestview opened their respective football seasons Friday night and the Cougar defense (above) gang tackles Bryan quarterback Jake Arnold while below, Crestview’s Cash Hammons catches a pass against Paulding. Van Wert won 41-6, but the Knights lost 18-6. Full game stories can be found on the Sports page. Monica Campbell/Bob Barnes photos
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports It wasn’t pretty at times but even so, Van Wert was able to cruise to a 41-6 season opening win over Bryan at Eggerss Stadium Friday night. It was the ninth consecutive time the Cougars topped the Golden Bears. Van Wert forced Bryan to turn the ball over on downs four times, […]
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports CONVOY — Turnovers proved to be very costly for Crestview, but perhaps none was more costly than a late pick-6. Trailing 12-6 late in the fourth quarter, the Knights started to drive and appeared to be headed toward a potential game-tying or game winning score, but Paulding’s Emmet Barnes had a different […]
VW independent sports Here final scores of area high school football games played on Friday, August 21. Ada 30 Upper Scioto Valley 0 Allen East 49 Perry 0 Anna 60 Spencerville 0 Arcadia 41 Corey-Rawson 14 Bluffton 42 Benjamin Logan 28 Celina 38 St. Henry 35 Coldwater 37 Valley View 21 Defiance 9 Napoleon 8 […]
VW independent sports It was “Futball” Friday night at Lincolnview High School as the Lancers and Ottoville Big Green opened their respective boys soccer seasons. Ottoville proved to be too much for Lincolnview in a 4-0 win for the Big Green. “It’s hard to fault our kids tonight,” Lincolnview head coach Eli Alvarez said. “They […]
VW independent staff A crash involving a semi-truck and a car claimed the life of a Payne resident. It occurred just after 9 a.m. Friday on U.S. 30 at Ohio 49 in Tully Township. According to a report from the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a 2010 Toyota Corolla driven southbound […]
Nancy D. Johnson, 81, of Middle Point, passed away Wednesday evening, August 20, 2026, at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima. She was born on May 30, 1945, in Wayne County, the daughter of Flory and Martha (Cutter) Virgil, who both preceded her in death. On April 6, 1965, she married James Albert Johnson, who […]
Thursday, August 20, 2026 1:33 a.m. – Dispatched Ohio City EMS to a residence on Ohio 709 in Liberty Township for a subject not feeling well and disoriented. 5:54 a.m. – Deputies responded to an area of John Brown Road in Union Township to check the welfare of a subject walking. 9:00 a.m. – Deputies […]
Van Wert picked up its first girls tennis win of the young season with a 3-2 win at Elida on Thursday. Both Cougar doubles teams posted victories, with Bristol Wollet and Ella Kimmel defeating Elida’s Abigail Lewis and Chloe Myers 6-1, 6-0 at first doubles, while the second doubles team of Annabelle Miller and Ixchell […]
Lincolnview’s McKynlee Dickinson, pictured above with head coach JaNahn Evans, hit a milestone during Thursday night’s season opening volleyball match at Elida. Dickinson, a junior, had 32 assists, which helped her surpass 1,000 career assists. She also had three aces, as the Lancers won the match 25-16, 25-7, 25-16. Kara Suever had a dozen kills […]
VW independent sports PAYNE – Wayne Trace won its own seven team golf invitational at Pleasant Valley Golf Course on Thurday. As a team, the Raiders shot a 150, two strokes better than runner-up Paulding, In addition, Wayne Trace’s Brody Rosswurm was the medalist, finishing with a 34. Here are the complete results: Wayne Trace […]
VW independent sports Here are scores of area high school football games played on Thursday night. Columbus Grove 42 Pandora-Gilboa 12 Delphos St. John’s 40 Lehman Catholic 6 Leipsic 40 Tiffin Calvert 3 Lima Central Catholic 51 Shawnee 20 Montpelier 21 Antwerp 14 Versailles 21 Harvest Prep 18
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor The massive undertaking known as the Eggerss Stadium renovation project is very close to completion. Ahead of Friday night’s season opener against Bryan, crews spent the week putting the finishing touches on Phase IV of the project, which began four years ago. According to Van Wert City Schools Superintendent Mark Bagley, the […]
VW independent staff/submitted information A new tradition – the Cougar Champion – continues in 2026 following the inaugural award granted to Willie Hernandez last year. This award has been created exclusively at Eggerss Stadium and coincides with the building of the state-of-the-art press box branded the Cougar Champions Press Box. The idea behind it is […]
How Eggerss Stadium looked when it first opened in 1936 and a look at how it was in 2016. With the stadium renovation project nearly complete, it boasts many new features and improvements. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor Imagine a Lincolnview Lancer playing football for one of six neighboring football-playing schools, or a Lancer playing tennis at Van Wert or swimming with the Cougar swim team. How about a Lincolnview student playing girls soccer at Ottoville? That’s a possibility thanks to a new state law, but the chances of it […]
VW independent staff/submitted information With the 2026 Van Wert County Fair quickly approaching, the Junior Fair Coronation Committee has announce this year’s candidates for King, Queen, Species, and Project Prince or Princess. The newly crowned royalty will reign over the 170th Van Wert County Fair, scheduled for September 1-8. The coronation ceremony will take place […]
VW independent staff WAPAKONETA — A Willshire woman has received a longer than expected prison sentence for her involvement with drugs. During a hearing held in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday, Nicole Cooper, 43, was sentenced to 10 years in prison plus five years of post-release control on one count of possession of […]
VW independent staff The City of Van Wert has been awarded a $741,000 grant for the planned S. Walnut St. reconstruction project. The money will come through the state’s Transportation Alternatives Program. The project, which is scheduled for 2030, will cover S. Walnut St. from E. Ervin Road to Hospital Drive. It will support active […]
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports Just like that, it’s here – the 2026 high school football season. The new season brings with it lots of questions – will there be a new champion in the WBL and NWC, or will the defending champions, Wapakoneta and Columbus Grove remain at the top? Can Paulding repeat as GMC champs? […]
VW independent staff Girls golf Lincolnview hosts tri-match At Willow Bend on Wednesday, Lincolnview posted a team score of 214 and finished second in a tri-match with St. Marys Memorial and Celina. The Roughriders won the match with 201 points, while Celina was third with a 239. Lincolnview’s Eme Renner was the co-medalist with Memorial’s […]
VW independent staff/submitted information The Pleasant Township Trustees have written an open letter to township residents and property owners, urging them to submit public comments regarding the proposed Butterfly Meadows Solar Project, which would span approximately 4,000 acres in Pleasant, Hoaglin and Union townships, along with approximately 38 acres in Van Wert. Here is the […]
Submitted information First Federal of Van Wert will celebrate the customers and community members who have made the bank a part of Van Wert County for more than 130 years with Customer Appreciation Day. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, August 21, at both locations, 679 Fox Rd. and […]
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 10:13 a.m. – Deputies responded to an area of Center Street in the City of Van Wert to assist the Van Wert Police Department. 10:25 a.m. – Deputies responded to an area of Pratt Street in the City of Van Wert for a report of a loose dog. 3:28 p.m. – […]
Beatrice Irene Lautzenheiser, 95, of Van Wert, passed peacefully on Monday, August 17, 2026, at Vancrest of Van Wert, with her son at her side. She was born January 27, 1931, to Harvey and Esther (Baker) Thatcher. On March 11, 1951, she was joined in holy matrimony with Herbert “Ray” Lautzenheiser, a bond unbroken for […]
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor Members of the Isaac Van Wart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered Tuesday morning to re-dedicate the historic city limit sign along U.S. 127 on the south side of town. The state-sponsored sign, which has been in place since the early 1950s, reads “Van Wert named for a captor […]
