December 14, 2015, 11:02 am
Monday, December 14, 2015
On Saturday, several police officers and law enforcement personnel were at the Walmart. Not because there was a massive crime scene that required nearly every uniformed personnel in the county, but because it was the annual Shop with a Cop event.
More than 30 law enforcement officials met at the Knights of Columbus hall, 614 N. Dixie Highway, at 8:15 a.m., where more than 100 kids and their families were waiting to join them for juice, milk and donuts. Once at the store, assigned officers took the children through the store and they picked out new clothes and new toys to enjoy.
Representatives from just about every law enforcement agency in Auglaize County were present to help with the event.
See Monday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 14, 2015, 11:09 am
Monday, December 14, 2015
In several short, yet solemn ceremonies, wreaths were placed Saturday on the graves of those who gave their lives for their country.
Wreaths Across America is a nationwide effort that honors our country’s veterans. Their mission is : “Remember, Honor, Teach” — Remember the fallen, honor those who served, teach others of the sacrifices that were made.
Locally, a group of loyal veterans and friends took time on Saturday to place wreaths on the graves of nine veterans — all from Auglaize County — who died in the service of their country from the Vietnam War and later. Wapakoneta VFW Post 8445 provided the honor guard.
See Monday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story and a list of the veterans honored.
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December 15, 2015, 8:04 am
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Mayor Lorali Myers attended her final village council meeting as mayor on Monday and gave thanks to all those who helped her along the way, recalled the highlights of her career as a public servant and handled the usual year-end tasks that needed to be done.
As the village council meeting was coming to an end, council member and Mayor-Elect Rick Walls presented a gift to Myers, a statue which said:
“Lorali E. Myers, Village of Cridersville thanks you for your dedication and service as a councilwoman, Sept. 2003 to Dec. 2007, and for your years of leadership as mayor from Jan. 2008 to Dec. 2015. Your commitment has helped shaped this community for the years to come.”
Myers continued to give thanks to the citizens of Cridersville and again to all the workers and volunteers who have helped with past events in the village, giving them credit and praise for the hard work they did.
See Tuesday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 16, 2015, 8:27 am
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
The Wapakoneta High School pre-engineering program was presented with a $5,000 grant from Ametek on Tuesday during a Wapakoneta City Schools board of education meeting.
The program, taught by Graham Fennell to all eighth-graders, is in its first year. Representatives from Ametek Ron Gasior and Heather Nolte were present.
“When I learned about this program earlier this year, during Keith's (Horner) updates at one of the WEDAC meetings, I said 'wow, this has some potential here for support from the Ametek Foundation,'” Gasior said.
He spoke of the history of the corporation and provided some information on the products it produces, which he said are very technical in nature.
See Wednesday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story on the board meeting.
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December 16, 2015, 8:35 am
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Combat casualty surgery is something most people know about only from what they see in movies or TV shows, but for locally-raised Capt. Amanda Johnston of the U.S. Army, it was part of an assignment that changed her life during her deployment to Afghanistan in 2013.
Johnston worked as a trauma nurse in Afghanistan with the 758th Forward Surgical Team, where her team would be the first point of surgical contact for combat casualties from the field.
Johnston was actually wounded during her deployment in Nov. 2013, and she noted she was one of the "very, very small number of wounded nurses in Afghanistan/Iraq."
The daughter of Jack and Cindy Preston of Wapakoneta, Johnston was a 2005 graduate of Wapakoneta High School and lived in Wapakoneta for several years. She considers Wapakoneta her hometown, she said, and much of her family lives in the area.
See Wednesday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 17, 2015, 8:48 am
Thursday, December 17, 2015
With no confirmed cases in Ohio and no immediate threat of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (avian flu) outbreak, Ohio Agriculture Director David T. Daniels and State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey today rescinded the order prohibiting bird shows in Ohio, according to a news release from the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Officials urge poultry and bird owners, however, to remain vigilant and cautious in order to protect the health of their flocks during migration seasons.
The order, issued on June 2, was originally intended to remain in place until April.
The ban included county and independent fairs, the Ohio State Fair, and all other gatherings of birds for show or for sale, including auctions and swap meets.
See Friday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 17, 2015, 9:44 am
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Four students were honored Wednesday at the Wapakoneta VFW Post 8445 for their written words in the Voice for Democracy essay competition.
The competition is an annual event for the VFW in which high school students in grades nine through 12 write an essay that they have to not only write, but also record, themselves. This year, the theme was My Vision for America.
The winners were: in first place Emma Walker, a Wapakoneta junior, who received a $100 prize; second place went to Stephen Hayes, a senior from Waynesfield-Goshen, who received a $75 prize; in third place was Austin Gegel, a freshman from Wapakoneta, who received $50; and fourth place went to Hope Gossard, a senior from Wapakoneta, who got a $25 prize.
See Thursday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 17, 2015, 9:59 am
Thursday, December 17, 2015
The children in the Wapakoneta Family YMCA Kids Express after school program showed just how much they care about others by donating coloring books and crayons to help the cause of a Bath High School student on Wednesday at the Wapakoneta Family YMCA.
Logan Stratton of Bath was born with a heart problem and spent a lot of time in the hospital as a child, said Stratton’s mother Kris Stratton. He decided that he wanted to help other children with health problems by collecting coloring books and crayons and then giving them to children in different hospitals.
Connie Krites, a counselor for the Kids Express program at the Wapakoneta Family YMCA, said the children in the after school program have been collecting coloring supplies for about two weeks. The children donated three boxes of coloring books and supplies to Stratton’s cause.
See Thursday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 18, 2015, 6:30 am
Friday, December 18, 2015
According to scanner traffic, a gas leak sprung up near the intersection of West Auglaize Street and Hamilton Street as of 9:20 a.m. this morning. Authorities have closed all access to West Auglaize Street by Hamilton Street where the incident occurred. Scanner traffic indicated that evacuation of the homes in the area is deemed unnecessary. The Wapakoneta Fire Department is currently on scene.
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December 18, 2015, 8:49 am
Friday, December 18, 2015
The Wapakoneta VFW Firefighter and Police Officer of Year awards went to Chris Hefner and Kevin Prenger, respectively.
A small get together was held at the Wapakoneta Police Department on Thursday afternoon. VFW 8445 Post Commander Delmar Merricle handed out the awards.
“It's awesome,” Hefner said. “It's an honor that all the guys at the firehouse voted me, one of the younger guys. It's definitely some encouragement.”
“It's an honor, just to be respected by chief that much and the rest of my peers as well,” Prenger said. “It is just an honor. We all enjoy what we do.”
See Friday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 18, 2015, 1:00 pm
Friday, December 18, 2015
Just before noon Friday, the Wapakoneta Police Department along with the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office arrested Jade L. Miller, 34, 314 Jackson St., Wapakoneta.
According to a news release from Wapakoneta Police Chief Russel Hunlock, the arrest was a result of two indictments; one for murder and one for aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with the death of Michael R. Angel, of Lima.
Angel was struck by a vehicle driven by Miller on Brighthorn Street just south of North Street on Sept. 1, 2015, at around 8:43 p.m.
Miller is being held at the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office awaiting a bond hearing.
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December 18, 2015, 2:44 pm
Friday, December 18, 2015
Here's a slice of what you may have missed this week in the Wapakoneta Daily News:
Monday: Youth shop with a cop
Tuesday: Cridersville mayor bids farewell
Wednesday: Ametek donates $5k to school
Thursday: VFW honors student orators
Friday: Top Brothers in Blue
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December 23, 2015, 5:24 am
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Josh Hines’s last day as Executive Director of the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce is Jan. 8, and he said he has really enjoyed working with local businesses as well as organizing and promoting local events during his time with the Chamber. Hines started in the position two and half years ago in 2013, and he was on the Board of Directors for 10 years before he became director.
Hines talked about some of the accomplishments he is especially proud of during his time with the Chamber.
“Probably the biggest thing was moving the (Summer Moon) Festival and growing the festival from behind town to uptown last year,” Hines said.
Hines is originally from Celina but has worked in Wapakoneta since 2002, he said, and he and his wife Sara currently live in Wapakoneta with their two daughters, Emme and Lucy, who are 6 and 4 years old.
Hines said his next endeavor will be going to school for a degree in computer information technology at Edison Community College in Piqua.
See Tuesday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 23, 2015, 5:32 am
The former Toot ’n Tell Drive-Thru, 709 Defiance St., has become the site of Mikey’s Drive-Thru which will be sharing its location with CJ’s Pizza in the near future. The drive thru came under the new ownership of mother and son team Denise and Josh Schoolcraft, who are also the owners of CJ’s Pizza. This is another step toward what they want for the future of their business.
They will be installing a bigger kitchen and doing renovations to make it ready to be the new location of Wapakoneta’s CJ’s Pizza. But the kitchen will be open on Dec. 29 where customers will to be able to order hamburgers, hot dogs, appetizers and such, while also being able to get their pop and beer at the drive-thru.
The name of Mikey’s Drive-Thru holds a special place in the owner's heart as it is named after Josh’s half-brother, Jon Michael “Mikey” Schoolcraft III. A 2001 graduate of Wapakoneta High School, he went to Army boot camp two weeks after graduation. He was killed in action in Iraq on Jan. 18, 2008.
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December 23, 2015, 5:39 am
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Monday’s meeting of the Wapakoneta City Council was preceded by a couple of swearing in ceremonies.
Mayor Rodney Metz swore in Law Director Dennis Faller, who, in turn, swore in Council President Steve Henderson and then First Ward Councilman James Neumeier, Second Ward Councilman Dan Lee, Third Ward Councilwoman Bonnie Wurst, Fourth Ward Councilman Chad Doll and At-Large Councilors Rachel Barber, Randy Fisher and Dan Graf. Faller also swore in Tom Stinebaugh as mayor. Following the meeting, Faller swore in Wilbur Wells as City Auditor.
On behalf of the council, Council President Steve Henderson presented outgoing Mayor Rodney Metz with a plaque and thanked him for his 25 years of service, both as a council member and then as mayor.
See Tuesday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story and photos of the swearing in ceremonies.
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December 23, 2015, 8:37 am
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
A solar energy project was proposed to the Auglaize County Board of Commissioners by Palmer Energy Company out of Toledo on Tuesday. The proposed project would benefit the Auglaize Acres Nursing Home, a county facility, and in attendance at the meeting were members of the City of Wapakoneta Electric Department as well.
One of the most enticing factors about a solar energy project to an investor or developer is that a tax credit can be gained by the private investor for the project, said Melissa Webne of Palmer Energy. The benefit of the tax credit to the investor would then be handed down to the facility receiving the solar power in the form of lower energy costs.
According to Webne, the proposed project would most likely help Auglaize Acres save on their utility bills by having a portion of their energy needs provided by solar panels.
See Wednesday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 23, 2015, 8:49 am
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Longtime employee John Jauert recently announced his retirement from the Auglaize County Engineer’s office after 42 years of service, according to a news release. Jauert began his career with Auglaize County in June of 1973 after graduating cum laude from Owens State Technical College with an associate’s degree in civil engineering.
According to the release, Jauert’s first duties were to survey and design petitioned drainage improvements along with roadway drainage and safety projects. He also was instrumental in the monumentation of the original survey sections corners throughout the county.
Jauert said he always enjoyed his job and looked forward to going to work and meeting a lot of different people.
Jauert is native to Wapakoneta and lives with his wife Paula north of Wapakoneta. They are members of Harvest Baptist Church, of which Jauert is a member of the building committee. His favorite Bible verses are Romans 5:8 and Philippians 4:13 and he says, “God is good, all the time.”
See Wednesday's print edition of the Wapakoneta Daily News for the full story.
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December 23, 2015, 1:43 pm
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Here's a little slice of what you may have missed this week in the Wapakoneta Daily News.
Monday: Josh Hines is resigning as the Executive Director of the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce.
Tuesday: Mayor Rodney Metz attended his final Wapakoneta City Council meeting as mayor.
Wednesday: Auglaize County considers a solar project.
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December 24, 2015, 6:40 am
Thursday, December 24, 2015
According to a news release from Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon, a Delphos woman was arrested late Wednesday afternoon following a burglary investigation by Auglaize County Deputies and Detectives.
At approximately 12:50 p.m. yesterday a call was received of a home being entered and two persons were observed leaving the home. None of the residents were home at the time but an observant citizen reported the incident. Deputies responded to the 10,000 block of Kelly Road north of Wapakoneta and began an investigation.
Information developed at the scene revealed the suspect information, and in cooperation with Delphos Police and Van Wert Police one of the suspects was arrested for burglary.
Michelle L. Porter, 46, of Delphos, was arrested and booked into the Auglaize County Jail Wednesday night. More arrests are anticipated in the near future.
The case remains under investigation.
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December 28, 2015, 8:14 am
Monday, December 28, 2015
According to a Facebook post from the Auglaize County Sheriff, Auglaize County is under a flood watch in effect through Tuesday morning. Two inches of rain is possible.
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