BOE approves union contract, to consider retire-rehires

Egg hunt scheduled for April 4

VW independent staff

The Van Wert Parks Department’s annual Easter Egg Hunt is just around the corner. It’ll be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 4, at the Smiley Park ballfields.

There will be four age groups: 2 and under, 3-4, 5-7, and 8-10. Children will need to bring their own basket or bag to gather eggs. The Easter Bunny will be on hand for pictures and to say “hi!”

Crestview board handles routine business

VW independent staff

CONVOY — The Crestview Local Schools Board of Education handled a rather light agenda during Wednesday’s monthly meeting.

Crestview Middle School Principal Trent Kreischer and middle school social studies teacher James Lautzenheiser gave a brief presentation on the upcoming eighth grade Washington, DC trip.

In other business, Superintendent Matt Dube said the board will provide public input for the 2027-2028 school calendar through May 15. The board will take action on the recommended school calendar at the May 18 meeting.

The board will honor retiring staff at the May meeting. Dube said staff appreciation week is scheduled for May 4-8. The board will provide food trucks on May 28 for employees. He also informed the board that prom will be held April 25, with after-prom at Villa Lanes in Decatur, Indiana.

The board approved a handful of trips for FFA, accepted several monetary donations and gave approval to an amended date, May 15, for the seventh grade field trip to Columbus.

Before adjourning, the board went into executive session to discuss compensation of employees, but no action was taken afterward.

The next meeting of the Crestview Local Schools Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Monday, April 20, in the multi-purpose room.

Phase IV at Eggerss Stadium is underway

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Work is underway on the fourth and final phase of improvements to historic Eggerss Stadium in downtown Van Wert.

Gone is the familiar ticket window at the main entrance and crews are working in and near that area to prepare for other improvements. The list of newest improvements should be complete in time for the 2026 football season, including:

• A new main entrance and ticket booth
• Band bleachers behind the south end zone with storage, which will create more space for fans on the home side of the stadium.
• A new concession stand and restroom.

Superintendent Mark Bagley said parking will be offered again at the south end of the stadium with grass or stone.

Once complete, it will mark the end of a long list of planned improvements to the stadium, which has been home to Van Wert High School football since 1936.

Work began in 2023 and Phase I of the project included concrete restoration to the home side stands and the Cougar Pride Wall, along fresh paint that made the stadium look brighter, plus sealing and waterproofing.

In addition, stairs and aisles on the home side were widened and hand rails were installed, new goal posts were installed in each end zone, the field itself was moved about six feet to the south. The reason – the field was never centered in the stadium. Once it was moved, artificial turf was put down.

Ohio’s hemp ban is now in effect

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Senate Bill 56 officially took effect last Friday in Ohio, and the state’s Division of Cannabis Control is explaining what Ohioans will – and won’t – see on licensed cannabis dispensary shelves going forward.

Senate Bill 56 bans the manufacture and sale of intoxicating hemp products. Many of these products, including hemp-derived beverages as well as items that were marketed as candies, cereals, and gummies to appeal to children, were untested and sold outside of Ohio’s regulated cannabis market. Those items are now banned and unavailable to purchase legally anywhere in Ohio. Any product containing more than 0.4mg of total THC per container is considered marijuana and is prohibited from being sold outside of a cannabis dispensary licensed by the Division of Cannabis Control.

All products sold within dispensaries are marijuana products, including marijuana beverages that meet the state’s testing, packaging, and labeling standards. Every item sold in an Ohio‑licensed dispensary must be grown, processed, and tested within facilities approved by the Division of Cannabis Control. All products must also meet the state’s strict child‑resistant packaging requirements before reaching consumers.

Adult consumers should look for the DCC seal on individual product packaging, which verifies that a product has met the state’s safety standards.

Students of the Month…

Crestview Elementary recently named its Students of the Month sponsored by Van Wert Cinemas. Students who make the Knight Leader Board each month are put into a drawing for a free 30-day pass to the movie theater for their entire family. Van Wert Cinemas February Students of the Month were Wesley Smith and Paisley Bunker (first grade); Drew Lichtensteiger and Haylie Blass (second grade); Scarlett Flynn and Deacon Bultemeier (third grade); Ella Berning and Barret Maxwell (fourth grade), and Lexie Sherer and Woody Young (fifth grade). Photo submitted

Registration open for YWCA program

Submitted information

Registration is now open for the YWCA of Van Wert County’s 31st annual summer food program. This year’s program will take place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. June 8 through July 24 at Trinity Friends Church, 605 N. Franklin St., Van Wert. The initiative continues to serve the local community by providing nutritious meals and engaging activities for children during the summer months.

The Summer Food Program offers two key components for youth in Van Wert County

• Recreation program: In addition to the meal program, children entering preschool through sixth grade are invited to participate in a free recreational program from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. All children wishing to join the recreation program must be five years old by the start date of the program. Students wishing to attend the recreation program must complete a registration form which can be found here.
• Free meals for children: All children aged 18 and under are invited to enjoy free breakfast and lunch at Trinity Friends Church. Breakfast will be served from 8:15-9 a.m., with lunch served from 11-11:45 a.m.

For more information about the YWCA of Van Wert County’s summer food program, visit www.ywcavanwert.org, or contact Betsy Hamman at bhamman@ywcavanwertcounty.org or call 419.238.6639 ext. 106.

The YWCA is partially funded by the Van Wert County Foundation and is a United Way Agency.

New website launched about data center

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Van Wert residents wanting more answers about the planned data center can find that information at a new website.

Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Brent Stevens addressed Van Wert City Council Monday night and said the website was recently launched at vanwertohiodatacenter.com.

“That really goes into the details,” Stevens said. “I know city council had put together some questions that they asked economic development to address and a good portion of those questions are addressed on that data center site.”

A recent announcement was made that Google plans to build a $600 million data center in Lima but Stevens said the investment in Van Wert is a much larger $10 billion project. The name of the company building Van Wert’s data center has not yet been revealed.

He also reminded council that the data center, which will be built at the Mega Site, will use a closed loop system, with some of the components made at Van Wert’s Danfoss plant. Stevens said Danfoss has leased the former Braun finishing building on Grill Rd. for storage use.

“I was able to work with JobsOhio on a $150,000 grant to help them with some of the sprinkler systems that they needed,” he stated. 

He also noted that a Danfoss plant in Tennesee closed, but 40 jobs are being transferred to Van Wert, separate from the 50 new jobs created locally to keep up with the demand for data center components.

The city’s Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding zoning for the data center at 4 p.m. this Thursday at the Muncipal Building. An application seeks to the site to “I-2 General Industrial” district. The commission met last fall to rezone the property, and Thursday’s hearing is considered procedural (see previous story here). In addition, the city is bound by an existing pre-annexation agreement. Thursday’s hearing will be to consider the application and will not be a question and answer session. If the planning commission approves the request again on Thursday and sends it to city council for final approval, council will host a final public hearing on May 4.

Concession opportunities for non-profits

Submitted information

Van Wert Live is now accepting applications for local non-profits to use the Fountain Park Rotary concessions stand during the 2026 Feel Good Friday Concert Series. This summer there will be four dates available starting with the June 12 concert.

In previous years, non-profit groups have sold concessions and drinks during the concert series to earn revenue that would be used for their non-profit groups. The determination of groups has yet to be decided and will depend greatly upon the number of organizations that pre-register.

Organizations who were awarded in last year’s concert series (2025) are not permitted to apply in 2026, but can re-apply in 2027.

To get registered, please contact the Box Office by phone at 419.238.6722 or by emailing: quincy@npacvw.org. The deadline to register will be April 10. Once registration is closed, organizations who have registered will be notified on April 17 if they are drawn in the lottery. If any open dates are remaining after the lottery selection process, those dates will then be offered to last year’s non-profits to apply.

Hospital ranked among the Top 20

VW independent staff/submitted information

OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital has been named one of the nation’s Top 20 Rural and Community Hospitals by the National Rural Health Association.

Van Wert Hospital is the only hospital in Ohio to receive this distinction.

The designation is based on an evaluation conducted by The Chartis Center for Rural Health using the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, a comprehensive and objective assessment of rural prospective payment system (PPS) hospital performance across the United States.

The Top 20 Rural and Community Hospitals represent the highest performers among the hospitals named to the Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals list. Hospitals were assessed across eight pillars of performance:

• Inpatient Market Share
• Outpatient Market Share
• Quality
• Outcomes
• Patient Perspective
• Cost
• Charge
• Finance

“This recognition reflects the incredible work of our entire team,” said Paula Stabler, president of OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital. “Our focus has always been on serving our patients and community with compassion and excellence, and I’m proud that our efforts are being acknowledged on a national level.”

An official recognition by the National Rural Healthcare Association will take place at its annual rural health conference in May.

Good Friday Prayer Breakfast April 3

Submitted information

The YMCA’s Good Friday Prayer Breakfast will be held on Friday, April 3, 2026, bringing community members together for breakfast, worship, and a morning program centered on prayer and encouragement. The doors will open at 6:30 a.m. for an open buffet breakfast served by Black Angus. The program will run from 7-8 a.m.

Guest speakers Derrin and Colby Kuhn will share a message focused on faith and hope, including reflections on how support from others can carry families through seasons that feel overwhelming. Their remarks will highlight the role community can play when life is uncertain.

Pastor David of the Church of Christ will participate as part of the annual Good Friday gathering. In past years, Pastor David has shared messages of faith, purpose, and hope, along with stories from his journeys that encourage listeners to keep moving forward.

Worship will be led by Jeremy Laukhuf, worship leader at First United Methodist Church.

The Good Friday Prayer Breakfast is open to the public. All are welcome to attend and join in prayer and encouragement.