Sheriff’s Office mourns loss of Clark, tributes come in

Authorities involved in multi-county chase

VW independent staff/submitted information

A chase that began in northeast Indiana ended in Paulding County early Monday morning.

At 2:12 a.m. the Ohio State Highway Patrol was notified by Indiana law enforcement of a vehicle pursuit that began in Angola, Indiana, and continued into Williams County. Troopers with the Defiance Post successfully deployed tire deflation devices on the 2021 Jeep Compass in Williams County. However, the vehicle continued through Williams County into Defiance County before finally stopping in Paulding County.

The driver, Nelson Eddy, 78, of Angola, was taken into custody without further incident. According to a highway patrol report, Eddy appeared to be having a medical emergency and was transported by Paulding County EMS to Paulding County Hospital. His current condition is unknown.

The highway patrol was assisted by the Angola Police Department, Williams County Sheriff’s Office, Bryan Police Department, Defiance County Sheriff’s Office, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, Paulding County EMS, and Gideon’s Towing.

The incident remains under investigation.

Truck-tractor crash

This crash involving a truck and tractor injured at least one person this morning. It occurred on Ohio 116 north of Ohio 81 in Jennings Township. The Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Spencerville Fire Department were summoned to the scene. OSHP continues to investigate the accident. Photo courtesy of Rick McCoy

Murderer sentenced to life in prison

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

PAULDING — A Paulding County man accused of killing a woman and her husband in December of 2022, then stealing their car and fleeing the area has changed his plea and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Clay Dockery, 24, who’s address is listed as the Paulding County Jail, appeared in Paulding County Common Pleas Court last Thursday and changed his plea from not guilty to guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, both unclassified felonies. Court records show Judge Tiffany Beckman then sentenced Dockery to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The charges were tied to the early December, 2022 deaths of Celecitas Pelegrino Williams, 60, and her husband, Bruce K. Williams, 81. The two were found dead in a barn on their property in the 6500 block of Road 123, near Broughton.

According to a report issued by Paulding County Sheriff Jason K. Landers, deputies went to their home for a welfare check, after co-workers of Williams became concerned after she had not reported to work for two days, hadn’t called off sick and had not answered her phone.

While deputies were processing the scene, a call came in from the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office that Dockery was driving a vehicle owned by the couple when it broke down in the northeast Ohio county. He admitted to Ashtabula County authorities that he killed the two and stole the vehicle.

Shortly after that, Dockery was returned to Paulding County and was jailed on $10 million bond. While awaiting trial, Dockery underwent two mental health evaluations and was found competent to stand trial.

According to court records, after his guilty plea and before sentence was imposed, the son and daughter-in-law of Bruce Williams addressed Dockery.

State says be aware of motorcyclists

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Ohio drivers should expect to see more motorcycle riders on the road as peak riding season gets underway, according to Motorcycle Ohio, a division of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. Motorcycle Ohio is raising awareness about motorcycle safety ahead of National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May.

“There are over 500,000 registered motorcycles on Ohio’s roadways and safety is everyone’s responsibility,” said Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson. “All drivers must look twice on the highway, at intersections, and any time they are changing lanes – you may just save someone’s life.”

In 2023, 230 Ohioans were killed in motorcycle-related crashes, a 47 percent increase from just five years ago.

• 82 percent of motorcycle crashes occur between May and October.
• Speed is a leading cause of motorcycle crashes. 32 percent of riders involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared to 25 percent of passenger car drivers.
• 27 percent of all fatal motorcycle crashes last year involved alcohol or drugs, up from 16 percent in 2022.
• 78 percent of motorcycle fatalities in 2023 involved riders who were untrained.

“Motorcycle crashes are preventable,” said Kimberly Schwind, Assistant Director of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. “We know the training that happens in Motorcycle Ohio courses is saving lives. With everyone’s help, we can make Ohio’s roadways safer for us all.”

The Ohio Department of Public Safety – through the Ohio Revised Code – is charged with establishing a motorcycle safety and education program. This year, the department’s Motorcycle Ohio program is celebrating 36 years of providing Ohio’s riders the opportunity to improve their skills and make the roadways safer for all motorists.

National Day of Prayer is this Thursday

VW independent staff/submitted information

This Thursday, May 2, has been designated as the 73rd annual National Day of Prayer. 2024’s theme is – “Lift Up the Word, Light Up the World,” which is taken from 2 Samuel 22: 29-31.

“For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God – His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.”

Across America, people are gathering to pray on behalf the nation and world, focusing on families, schools and their educators, churches and their ministerial staff, military, law enforcement, first responders and our government leaders.

On April 17, 1952, a bill initiated by Conrad Hilton of Hilton Hotels and Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas was passed that states:

“The President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”

President Harry Truman signed the bill into law. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law to designate the first Thursday of May as the official National Day of Prayer. The Van Wert County Commissioners recently issued a proclamation urging Van Wert County residents to remember our nation in prayer, ask for God’s blessings, guidance, grace, and protection for the U.S.A.

A brief National Day of Prayer ceremony will be held at 12 p.m. Thursday at the Van Wert County Courthouse. Van Wert’s community collaboration includes nine pastors representing 10 congregations along with Van Wert County Commissioners Thad Lichtensteiger, Stan Owens and Todd Wolfrum. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Road closed for culvert replacement

VW independent staff

Bockey Road/Becker Road at U.S. 224 on the north side of the intersection is scheduled to close today for approximately five days for a culvert replacement.

Chief Deputy passes away

The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office is in mourning after the death of Chief Deputy Adam Clark. His death was announced in a Facebook post made by Sheriff Tom Riggenbach early Saturday afternoon. Clark had served the Sheriff’s Office honorably for over 17 years. “We will miss Adam dearly,” Riggenbach said in the post. “Please keep Adam’s family and members of the Sheriff’s Office in your thoughts and prayers as we mourn his loss.”

Local, state unemployment on the rise

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

The latest figures from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show Van Wert County came in just under the state’s overall unemployment rate in March.

Van Wert County’s jobless rate was 3.7 percent last month, while the Ohio average increased from 3.7 to 3.8 percent. Van Wert County’s jobless rate increased slightly from 3.5 percent in February. Even so, the county’s unemployment rate remains among the lowest in Ohio. Van Wert County, along with Union and Medina counties tied for the ninth lowest rate statewide.

According to ODJFS, Van Wert County had a labor force of 14,700 in March, with 14,200 workers employed. Other figures supplied by the state show the county’s unemployment rate has increased since March of 2023, when it was 3.0 percent.

Four of the five counties with the lowest jobless rate are in northwest Ohio. Once again, neighboring Mercer County had Ohio’s lowest unemployment rate, 3.1 percent in March. Putnam and Wyandot counties tied for third lowest, 3.4 percent, while Auglaize County had the fifth lowest jobless rate, 3.5 percent. Holmes County, in northeast Ohio, was second at 3.3 percent. Allen County’s March unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, 44th among Ohio’s 88 counties.

Counties with the highest rates in March were primarily in southeast Ohio. Meigs County came in at 7.3 percent, followed by Adams, Monroe and Noble counties (each 6.9 percent), and northwest Ohio’s Ottawa County, 6.8 percent.

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 11,500 over the month, from a revised 5,632,800 in February to 5,644,300 in March. The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in March was 220,000, up from 214,000 in February. The number of unemployed has increased by 17,000 in the past 12 months from 203,000.

National Prescription Take Back Day

VW independent staff

Today (April 27) is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Prescription drugs are often thrown in the trash, which can be retrieved, abused, or illegally sold.

Official prescription drug collection sites are a safe way of disposing of unneeded, unwanted, outdated or leftover prescriptions.

In Van Wert County, prescriptions may be disposed of in a drop box in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office, 113 N. Market St., Van Wert, today or any day. The lobby is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. Prescription drugs should be placed in a Ziplock or plastic bag, as prescription bottles are not accepted. Also not accepted – liquids, inhalers, Epipens or needles.

AG Yost seeking input on signatures

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants the public to weigh in on whether additional safeguards are needed to protect consumers from having their signatures used without their full knowledge or consent.

The request for comment seeks opinions on a proposed rule that businesses would be required to follow when soliciting and using a person’s signature for reasons unrelated to a transaction.

“A gap in state law has left your signature – a symbol of your identity – vulnerable to misuse,” Yost said. “It’s your signature, and we want your input on how to protect it.”

The public’s feedback will inform the Attorney General’s Office as it considers new safeguards for consumers. A proposed administrative rule could require businesses that solicit signatures during consumer transactions to obtain affirmative consent and provide clear disclosures stating how a person’s signature would be used in future communications.

Yost’s office drafted the proposed rule after learning of numerous Ohioans who alleged their signatures were included in correspondence without their consent.

Comments must be submitted by email to RFC1@OhioAGO.gov. The deadline for submissions is May 24.