Gas prices predicted to be lowest since pre-COVID

Two men sentenced, others in court

VW independent staff

Two criminal defendants appeared for sentencing in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court Wednesday morning, while five others facing various charges also appeared in court. Judge Martin D. Burchfield presided over each of the hearings.

Gunnar Faterkowski, 19, of Van Wert, was sentenced to sentenced to three years of community control, 180 days electronic house arrest and 30 days in jail at a later date for failure to comply with the signal or order of a police officer, a fourth degree felony. He is to possess no illegal drugs or alcohol, undergo mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment, and was ordered to pay monthly probation fees and court costs.

Kyle Coble, 40, of Willshire, was sentenced to three years of community control, 90 days electronic house arrest, 30 days jail at a later date and 100 hours community service for domestic violence, a first degree misdemeanor, and intimidation of a witness, a fourth degree felony. He is to have no contact with the victim, must maintain employment, undergo mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment, and must pay partial appointed counsel fees, monthly probation fees and court costs.

A pair of defendants changed their pleas to felony charges.

Sarah Allen, 44, of Van Wert, changed her plea to guilty two two counts of harrassment with a bodily substance, fifth degree felonies. Judge Burchfield ordered a pre-sentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for 9 a.m. February 29.

In a case that dates back to September of 2022, Bryant Hunt, 22, of Van Wert, changed his plea to guilty to an amended charge of robbery, a third degree felony. Hunt, who was originally charged with second degree felony robbery, was previously in the custody of the St. Joseph County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Office. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered and sentencing was scheduled for 9 a.m. February 25.

Christmas tree pickup has started

VW independent staff

Citywide Christmas tree pickup is underway in Van Wert and the street department will continue it through Friday, January 16. Christmas trees should be placed by the curb and should be clear of all ornaments, lights, tinsel etc. and not in any type of bags. The pickup is for live Christmas trees only.

Over 14,000 calls…

2025 was a busy year for the Van Wert Police Department. According to statistics released by the PD, officers handled 14,232 calls for service. That figure includes 1,621 fire/EMS calls, 1,549 traffic stops, 444 alarms, 408 disturbances, 370 vehicle accidents, 170 disorderly conduct calls, and 35 OVI citations. VW independent file photo

DeWine highlights anti-fraud measures

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Governor Mike DeWine has reaffirmed that Ohio has strong safeguards in place to prevent fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in the state’s publicly funded childcare system and emphasized the importance of the public in reporting suspected fraud.   

“Ohio takes allegations of fraud in our child care system seriously,” Governor DeWine said on Monday. “We have built multiple layers of accountability into our system, and we actively encourage Ohioans to report concerns so we can investigate and take action.”

The Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) has taken numerous steps to combat fraud in 2025, and will impliment additional safeguards this year. Those steps were detailed in a statement Governor DeWine released last week. 

   Since the creation of DCY, daycare attendance has been verified by requiring a personal identification number (PIN) with a photo confirmation or a location-specific QR code.

   In June 2025, DCY began an anti-PIN-sharing enforcement process. More than 65,000 families were reminded that PINs must never be shared with providers. As a result, over 7,500 families reset their PINs.

DCY also conducts unannounced health and safety inspections and reviews family eligibility and financial management practices.

Prior to last week’s statement released by Governor DeWine, the Department of Children and Youth had received 124 tips from the public. Of those tips, 61 have resulted in daycare centers being required to pay back overpayments to the State. They have also resulted in the Department of Children and Youth closing 12 programs. Further, it was found that 30 of the daycare centers identified through the tips are operating in accordance with state and federal laws. And, 26 are still in the final stages of review.
 
After DeWine’s statement, DCY received an additional 26 tips that have now either been investigated or are in the process of being investigated.

OSHP releases holiday statistics

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Provisional figures released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol show nine people died in nine fatal crashes on Ohio’s roadways during the 2025-2026 New Year’s holiday. Four of the fatailities occurred in northwest Ohio, but none were in the immediate area. The five-day reporting period began at midnight on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, and ran through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, January 4, 2025.

Of the nine fatalities, at least one occurred when a safety belt was available but not used. During the reporting period, troopers made 4,470 traffic enforcement contacts including 238 OVI arrests, 297 distracted driving and 469 safety belt citations. Franklin County saw the most incidents amongst all counties with 464, followed by Lorain, Mahoning and Medina counties.

The public is encouraged to continue using #677 to report dangerous or impaired drivers, as well as drug activity.

New Brumback Library series begins

Editor’s note: this year the Brumback Library will be celebrating 125 years of service to the community. Each month, library officials will tell the story of The Brumback Library, chapter by chapter. It starts with the story with the man who began it all, John Sanford Brumback. This chapter is told by his great-great-grandson, D.L. Brumback.

By D.L. Brumback

When I was a boy, the stories about my great-great-grandfather always began the same way: lamplight, a small hand on a ledger, a quietness that felt like thought. My family still points to a faded portrait and says, “There he is, counting coins and counting lessons.”

To me, that image is less about thrift and more about purpose. John Sanford Brumback learned early that a book could do useful work: teach a clerk arithmetic, show a gardener how to graft, help a teacher plan a lesson. Books, for him, were tools, not trophies.

He carried that idea through his life. People who knew him called him deliberate and humane. He kept modest habits but thought in big, durable ways. He wasn’t interested in a ribbon-cutting that made the papers and then faded. What haunted him was how to make learning available to the boy who must milk cows before school, or the woman who could not afford a subscription. His answer wasn’t rhetoric, it was a plan: build something that would last, and design it to be shared beyond a single main street.

Over family holiday dinners, we learned his reasoning at family tables. He pictured a library not as ornament but as infrastructure, like a bridge that carries people to new places without asking them to leave home. He wanted a library that would cross township lines, reach into schoolhouses and farmhouses, and be staffed so anyone who could not read well could be guided to the right book. That practical generosity, private means turned into public access, became the quiet creed we inherited.

There was moral economy in his choices. Where some donors give a building and expect the city to maintain the plaque, J.S. insisted on arrangements that made upkeep the community’s duty: a durable building, a plan for trained librarians, and a funding model that would not let the place rot when officials changed. He thought of succession as a machine you could build; parts that fit together so the machine would run after he was gone.

Appellate Court picks 2026 leaders

VW independent staff/submitted information

Judges William Zimmerman and Mark C. Miller have been tapped to provide leadership respectively as the presiding and administrative judges for the Third District Court of Appeals in 2026.

Judge Zimmerman will lead the Court by scheduling and presiding over hearings while Judge Miller will be responsible for the daily administration of court operations, policies and its employees.

The Appellate Court, based in Lima, reviews rulings from 17 counties that make up the Third Appellate District. This includes cases from each county’s common pleas court (including probate, juvenile and family courts) and municipal courts. The Appellate Court consists of four judges who review cases in panels of three to ensure that legal proceedings in the trial court complied with Ohio law and constitutional standards.

Judge Zimmerman was previously the probate/juvenile judge in Shelby County and joined the Third District bench in 2017. Judge Miller came to the Court in 2021 having previously served as Hancock County Prosecutor and Findlay Municipal Court judge.

The counties in the Third District Court of Appeals include: Allen, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Logan, Marion, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Seneca, Shelby, Union, Van Wert, Wyandot.

Applicants sought for scholarships

Submitted information

The YWCA of Van Wert County will host its annual Women of Achievement Scholarship Dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at Willow Bend Country Club. This event celebrates the accomplishments of local girls and women and the impact they make within the community.

During the evening, the YWCA will award three scholarships to female high school students and recognize Women of Achievement honorees in the following categories: Professional Leadership, Advocacy, Women’s Empowerment, Racial Justice, Volunteerism, Youth Development, Civic Dedication, and Overcoming Adversity. Tickets for the event will be available for purchase on the YWCA website beginning in early February.

The YWCA scholarship application process will be entirely online this year. Female applicants residing in Van Wert County may apply here. Additional eligibility criteria and application deadlines can be found within the online application.

Scholarship funds may be used at the recipient’s discretion to support future educational goals or career plans and recipients will be recognized and presented with their awards during the Women of Achievement Dinner. Women of Achievement nomination forms are also available online here. Nominees must either live or work in Van Wert County. The first ten qualified nominees will be honored at the dinner and the deadline to submit nomination forms is 5 p.m. Friday, February 13. Nominations will close earlier if 10 candidates are received prior to that date.

For questions regarding the scholarship or nomination process, contact Julie Schaufelberger, Director of Outreach and Communications at julies@ywcavanwertcounty.org.

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

Deck fire…

The Van Wert Fire Department was dispatched to a deck fire in the 400 block of Burt St. just before 1:30 p.m. Monday. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze and damage was limited to about a quarter of the deck and an area of vinyl siding that was melted. Van Wert Police blocked off Burt St. from Cable St to Bonnewitz Ave. The fire department was on the scene for about 30 minutes. Bob Barnes/VWFD photographer

Submissions welcome for essay contest

Submitted information

The Optimist Club of Van Wert is encouraging area students to participate in the Optimist International essay contest for the 2025-2026 school year. The essay contest entry deadline is Thursday, February 12. The contest is open to all Van Wert County students who are under the age of 19 as of October 1, 2025, and are not enrolled as a degree seeking student of a post-secondary institution. There is no minimum age.

The topic for this year’s competition is “How My Acts of Service Help Me Understand What My Community Means to Me.” The students’ essays will be judged to determine local winners and awarded medallions, along with cash awards of $300 (first place), $200 (second place) and $100 (third place). The first place essay will advance to the district contest to compete for a $2,500 college scholarship. Plus, the Ohio District of Optimist International also awards a $1,000 scholarship.

Students wanting to participate in the essay contest can receive application information by contacting their English teacher or guidance counselor or by emailing Diana Cearns, club essay chair, at diana@1stfedvw.com. Completed applications with essays will be picked up from local schools on Thursday, February 12, and home school/individual entry students should mail or drop off completed essays (address on application) to be received by 4 p.m. on February 12.

The Optimist Club of Van Wert sponsors many local youth programs and conducts positive service projects. The goal of Optimist is to encourage students to bring out the best in themselves and others.