Deer-gun totals down in Ohio but increased locally

Man arrested for OVI at drive-thru

VW independent staff

Sometimes the wait at a fast food drive-thru can take longer than expected, due to large or separate orders from one person, special requests or a shortage of staff. There was a different reason for a recent delay at a local fast food joint – an alleged drunk driver.

A report from the Van Wert Police Department indicates an officer was dispatched to Taco Bell on S. Shannon St. at 12:48 a.m. Saturday, December 6, after a call of an unresponsive male in the drive-thru. The responding officer arrived to find several people standing next to a white Jeep and the officer noticed the driver breathing but passed out in the driver’s seat. The Jeep was still in drive and the man’s foot was on the brake.

In the report, the officer stated he noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the vehicle and he said he was able to wake the driver up and have him put the Jeep in park. The man was then asked to exit the vehicle, which he did, and the officer noted his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and watery and an odor of alcoholic beverage was coming from him.

The man, identified as Chad Thatcher, 38, of Van Wert, told the officer he had four beers and a shot and admitted he shouldn’t be driving. He willingly took standard field sobriety tests, which he did not pass. After the final test, the officer asked Thatcher again how much he had to drink and he said “probably 5 beers with a shot.” He also said he felt fine and “had a buzz.”

Thatcher was placed under arrest and was transported to the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, where he initially agreed to take a breath test, then refused once the machine was ready. He was formally cited for OVI and was released to a sober adult.

It was noted in the report that Thatcher had prior OVIs in 2008 and 2020. His Jeep was towed to impound, due to the most recent OVI.

Since his arrest, Thatcher appeared in Van Wert Municipal Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for December 23 and a request to release the vehicle from impound was granted.

Tickets remain for upcoming event

VW independent staff/submitted information

Space is limited, but tickets are still available for Historic Main Street Van Wert’s Open Doors event, a special one-night-only guided tour event featuring two of Van Wert’s most significant and newly renovated historic spaces.

On Friday, December 19, participants will enjoy exclusive guided access to the Van Wert Forward Union-Block Building (107 W. Main St.) and the Van Wert County Courthouse (121 E. Main St.), both standout examples of local preservation and revitalization efforts.

Tours will depart every 30 minutes beginning at 5 p.m. with the last tour beginning at 8 p.m. Each tour will last approximately 1-2 hours. Tickets are $25 per person.

“This is a rare opportunity for the public to step inside two cornerstone projects that represent the momentum and future of downtown Van Wert,” said Mitch Price, Executive Director of Historic Main Street Van Wert. “We’re incredibly excited to open these doors and share the story of progress happening right here in our community.”

The Open Doors event is made possible through the support of the Van Wert County Foundation and Van Wert Forward and also Van Wert County Courthouse, whose investments continue to drive the downtown transformation.

Tickets can be reserved online at https://www.zeffy.com/…/ticketing/open-doors-downtown-tour.

McCoy honored…

Van Wert County Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy was recognized at the Ohio Emergency Management Conference this past week for his dedication of serving as an EMA Director for 35 years. He is currently ranked first in seniority of the 88 counties in Ohio. Photo submitted

VWHS shares semester exam info

Submitted information

Van Wert High School has scheduled first semester exams for the current school year for Thursday and Friday, December 18-19, according to Principal Chuck Rollins.

All students are required to take exams unless the course does not offer one or a student has been given permission to exempt through the Renaissance program.

Students who do not show up for their exams will be given a zero on the exam, fail the entire course for that semester, even if their percentage is equivalent to a passing grade, because they did not fulfill the course requirements, which includes taking the exam.

Students who are absent from an exam must follow all Van Wert High School attendance policies and procedures as adopted by the Board of Education. All make-up exams will occur according to district policies and procedures.

Each of the seven exam periods will last 1 hour and 20 minutes, with an hour open lunch period from 10:50-11:50 a.m. each day of the exams, and staff team time will be held from 2:40-3:10 p.m. on Thursday, December 18. Make-up testing, staff grading, or meetings will be held from 1:20-2:40 p.m., followed by staff team time from 2:40-3:10 p.m. on Friday, December 19.

Lincolnview BOE holding work session

VW independent staff

The Lincolnview Local Schools Board of Education will hold a work session for district planning and dicussion at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Neubrecht Lecture Hall. Outside of adjournment, no action is expected.

Local Salvation Army seeking help

VW independent staff

The Van Wert Salvation Army’s Red Kettles have 13 days left and are about halfway to this year’s goal. 

The local Salvation Army is still in need of volunteers to keep bells at kettles ringing from Monday to Saturday. If you can’t ring a bell but still want to help, donations can be dropped directly in the kettles that are around the area or donations may be taken to the Van Wert Salvation Army, 120 N. Cherry St., Van Wert. Checks with “Red Kettles” in the memo line may be dropped in kettles or taken to the N. Cherry St. location.

Businesses can reach out to the local Salvation Army about Red Kettle sponsorships.   

Major Deborah Weigner thanked everyone who has helped ring a bell or given a donation.

Council approves money for refunds

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Those who overpaid Van Wert city income taxes for the last eight years are getting refunds.

Monday night, Mayor Ken Markward told members of Van Wert City Council that 1,370 city residents are due refunds totaling approximately $405,000. After hearing that, council unanimously approved a supplemental appropriation of $410,000 to cover the amount owed.

“They’re not going to get a check in tomorrow’s mail, but this can be the next step in getting things moving,” the mayor said. “It will take them a while to print up a thousand checks and send them out. They’ll do a batch, mail them and do another batch and mail them so it’ll take awhile, but they want to start on that as soon as they can.”

The overpayment issue goes back to September of 2017, when members of council at the time doubled the tax credit from 25 to 50 percent for city residents who worked elsewhere and paid income taxes to other municipalities. It was done with the intention it would be rescinded if an income tax increase that was on the ballot that fall failed. The proposed tax increase failed, but council never formally passed legislation to drop the credit back down to 25 percent. Council took care of that problem Monday night, approving legislation reducing the credit to 25 percent.

Police Chief Doug Weigle addressed council about Flock cameras that have been installed at eight entrance locations around the city and he tried to clear up misinformation about what the cameras can and can’t do.

“They do not register speed, they cannot run your license plates, they cannot get your personal information, they can only identify different items on the vehicle,” he explained. “All this stuff about ‘we’re going to get people for expired plates’ – that’s not true because they can’t even run the plate in the system that tells you if the plate is expired. We can enter things in the system and say ‘look for this plate’ but it cannot run it, it can’t get into what we call NCIC or LEADS.”

YWCA hosting important January events

VW independent staff/submitted information

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and the YWCA of Van Wert County is hosting a series of events to educate the community and raise vital funds to support survivors locally and across the nation.

Human trafficking takes many forms. While 73 percent of cases involve sex trafficking – the most recognized form – another 14 percent involve forced labor. Ohio ranks fourth nationwide for reported human trafficking cases, and perhaps most alarming is that over 60 percent of victims are trafficked by a family member or an intimate partner. (Statistics provided by Polaris Project.)

“There is a misconception in the U.S. that human trafficking looks like the kidnapping scenarios in movies,” said Jamie Evans, YWCA Director of Survivor Services. “The reality is that many traffickers are someone the victim had a relationship with prior to being trafficked, such as a boyfriend or parent.”

The mission of the YWCA of Van Wert County is to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Human trafficking undermines this mission entirely, stripping individuals of freedom and treating victims as commodities. To elevate awareness and support its services for survivors, the YWCA is offering several community engagement opportunities throughout January.

The Lincolnview Lancers and Van Wert Cougars girls and boys basketball teams will face off on Saturday, January 3, in the annual Human Trafficking Awareness Game. Junior varsity matchups will begin at 10 a.m. at Lincolnview High School, followed by varsity games at Van Wert High school at 4 p.m. starting with the girls’ matchup, followed by the boys’ game. Donations will be taken at the door and all proceeds will benefit survivors of human trafficking being housed at the YWCA.

 “We always look forward to this combined event with Lincolnview and Van Wert,” said Julie Schaufelberger, YWCA Outreach Coordinator. “This game allows us to broaden our outreach and share critical information with an entirely new audience.”

Every player, coach and cheerleader will receive a specially designed awareness t-shirt, sponsored by the following businesses: Mercy Health, Advanced Insurance Group, Alspach Gearhart Funeral Home, Baker McLure Law, BRSW (Bashore Reineck Stoller and Waterman), Bridgemill Private Wealth, Red Oak Realty (Amber Davis), Superior Credit Union and Sister’s Styles and Gifts.

Downtown crash…

This two-vehicle accident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Monday at the intersection of S.Washington St. and Central Ave. in downtown Van Wert. The Van Wert Fire Department’s EMT unit was dispatched as airbags were deployed. All parties involved declined medical treatment. The Van Wert City Police Department maintained traffic at the intersection and investigated the accident. Bob Barnes/VWFD photographer

DAR meets, reveals busts and new logo

VW independent staff/submitted information

The Isaac Van Wart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution met for Christmas 2025 fellowship and food recently. Special guests were: DAR State Regent Christina Eberst-Nehring and NW Director Patricia James-Hesser.

James-Hesser spoke on NSDAR upcoming state and district events including Christmas activities and the Service Dogs program for Veterans with PTSD. Eberst-Nehring talked about ongoing research and cataloging of museum historical documents.

Regent Debra Hardeman led the meeting and mentioned the DAR’s attendance at the busts reveal party in Van Wert for Isaac Van Wart, David Williams, and John Paulding.

“The engraved plaque, with the reproduction busts display, names our IVW DAR CHAPTER as instrumental in researching and bringing the busts to Van Wert County in time for the 2026 America 250- Celebration of our Nation, Hardeman said.”

Funders Jan, Deb and Van Wert County Commissioner Thad Lichtensteiger are also on the plaque and the IVW DAR thanked them for their generosity to the community of Van Wert County. Thad Lichtensteiger was the project manager for making the dream come true. The display can be seen at 135 E. Main St. in downtown Van Wert. Check the Van Wert County Historical Society’s Facebook page for the available hours of showing.

Anyone interested in learning more about joining the Isaac Van Wart Daughters of the American Revolution is invited to email Chapter Registrar Mickey McConahay at: mickey.mcconahay@gmail.com . Visit DAR’s website at www.isaacvanwartdar.org.