VW independent picks top stories: 13-10

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles on The Van Wert independent’s top stories of 2017.

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent writer

As the end of 2017 draws near, The Van Wert independent is looking back at the top 17 stories of 2017. Each day through Saturday, we’ll recap the area’s important stories from the year. Since any list like this is subjective, the stories are in no particular order.

13) Tornado hits close to home

A tornado touched down in central Mercer County on November 5, causing damage to some farm buildings and homes, as well as damaging several businesses in Celina, including the Crown Controls Corporation plant, Dunham Sports, Dollar General, and C-Town Wings restaurant, and some property in the Coldwater area. Eight people were injured at C-Town Wings from tornado debris.

Van Wert County Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy said he saw F-1 and F-2 tornado damage while doing damage assessment for the National Weather Service. McCoy also noted he saw approximately 75 vehicles with windows blown out and other storm-related damage.

The National Weather Service later confirmed the twister was an F-2 tornado with wind speeds up to 120 miles per hour and a maximum width of 200 yards. Its path length was more than five miles.

12) Authorities crack down on meth labs

Local law enforcement officials shut down several meth labs and made related arrests in 2017.

A routine traffic stop in early January led to the discovery of a meth lab in an apartment at Van Wert West Apartments on West Main Street. Two people were charged and both were later convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.

Members of the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force executed a search warrant at a North Vine Street house in Van Wert in early February and seized crystal meth, drug paraphernalia, and cash. One man, three women and a child were in the home during the raid.

Authorities shut down two meth labs in Ohio City in April. The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office found the meth labs at homes on Koch Road, and the discovery led to the arrests of four people. One of the men taken into custody, 64-year-old Dan Swoveland, was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Another Ohio City meth lab was found in August. The discovery was made when deputies were sent to a Harrison-Willshire Line Road home to serve an arrest warrant. One man was hit with several charges related to the illegal drug lab.

Five people were arrested in Paulding in early November after authorities there raided a North Walnut Street home and shut down a suspected methamphetamine operation. Suspected crystal meth, drug paraphernalia, and cash were seized from the home.

11) Hite resigns from office; replacement named by state Republicans

Citing health problems, Cliff Hite resigned his 1st District Ohio Senate seat in mid-October. It was later revealed that Hite had engaged in inappropriate behavior with a female member of the Statehouse staff.

After meeting with several potential replacements, a seven-member Ohio Senate screening committee selected State Representative Robert McColley as Hite’s replacement.

The 1st Ohio Senate District includes all of Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, and Williams counties and portions of Auglaize, Fulton, and Logan counties.

10) Lincolnview breaks ground on a new community center

After many months of planning, Lincolnview school officials broke ground on a new $5 million, 33,000 square foot community center in September.

Once complete, the facility will feature two basketball/volleyball courts, three batting cages, a fitness center, an athletic training room, a concessions area for the adjacent all-weather track complex, restrooms, storage, and a community meeting room. The district’s bus barn will also be renovated as part of the project.

The building could also be used as an alternate site for students in an emergency, as well as space for the school’s robotics program, and for academic laboratories.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Lincolnview Superintendent Jeffery Snyder said he wants the new center to become a focal point for the community.

“This new building that will soon sit behind me is meant to provide an area for our students in our community to use on a daily basis in so many ways, and, uniquely, the Lancer way,” the superintendent said.

The project, which is being paid for by existing funds, is expected to be complete by late summer or early fall.

Tomorrow: more of the top stories that affected in area in 2017.