Ever since moving, I have voted via absentee ballot for pretty much every election and vote held…read more Most recently for a single issue ballot, my family and I did not request one and came physically to vote. Besides us, there may have been one or two other people voting. Certainly not use to being able to immediately vote, when going to a polling place. Back where I am from, even early voting the lines could take hours. The process was easy, the polling workers were friendly. I also have to say, the scanner look new, are modern and quickly read your vote. Great experience! Much easier than I expected. Just want to end by saying, if your of legal age and can vote... vote! Its your civic duty! Cherish this right! Take it from my family, who came from a country where this right didn't and still does not exist.

When i was moving to Van Wert in 2020, one of the very first things that impressed me about my new…read morehometown was the Van Wert County Courthouse. It is a beautiful and imposing building located in downtown Van Wert. I have a thing for old buildings... really anything old. There is a beauty to them, and this building certainly has it. Just to give you some background on this building, its history and Van Wert in general, I will copy some info from the website of the Ohio Supreme Court: "The Van Wert County Courthouse was designed by architectural firm of Thomas J. Tolan & Son and built in 1876. The building, located at 121 East Main St. in the county seat of Van Wert, is still in use and today houses the Van wert County Court of Common Pleas. The courthouse features Second Empire style architecture and is constructed of pressed brick and stone. Tolan also incorporated into his design of the courthouse materials that were not yet tested at the time. His use of pressed metal both in the interior and exterior of the courthouse reduced the cost of construction and also gained him and the courthouse notoriety in Industrial Monthly in 1876. The courthouse features a bell tower with a large clock and a mansard roof. Above the courthouse's entrance is an eight foot tall statue of Lady Justice made of zinc. Van Wert County is named for Isaac Van Wart, a soldier during the American Revolution and one of the captors of the British spy John André. John André was notorious for negotiating the betrayal of the West Point Fort with Benedict Arnold, an American Revolutionary general. The courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974." FYI for anyone reading if you want to get to know more about John Andre in a more entertaining fashion, he is the main antagonist in a tv show called Turn: Washington's Spies. It is a great series that I highly recommend. I digress.. so recently i got to tour this beautiful building that is almost 150 years old during the 200th anniversary of the county's foundation. It was fun for children and adults. For children they had face painting, and individuals dressed up as Spiderman as well as cotton candy. I will admit i also had cotton candy. For adults they had the tour and of course someone dressed as the namesake of the town, Isaac Van Wart. It was an amazing tour. We got the see the courtroom, the inner workings of the courthouse, clock tower, got on the roof and then climbed up to the top of the clocktower! The courtroom is absolutely beautiful... wood carved justice on the doors... gorgeous "sky" light. Its amazing that they have taken such great care of it especially when you consider this courtroom is still in use. The court handles all civil, felony criminal and domestic relations cases. I have to say i would love to be called to be a juror here just to spend more time in this courtroom. I cannot say much beyond the above. My only experience at this courthouse besides this celebration/tour was my experiences with the County Title Department that is also located here. Which was a pleasant experience. I am proud to have such an amazing building/courthouse in my new hometown.

The worker at the clerk of courts bold faced lied and so very rude! I was told I could pay $150…read moreof a $197 fine that is over 22 years old and when I called to pay the $150 the very rude lady said no I can't. That I imagined my conversation with a clerk of courts lady about them saying I could pay the $150 to get my registration unblocked. I even told them I could pay the remainder the following month and was overtalked and told NO. These people are liars and greedy.

Moving is a pain, especially when I have never moved across the country before. One of the…read morequestions I had was, how do I get mail now? I won't have a house for at least a month, I don't want it sent to the hotel I am staying at. Because of that, I decided to rent a P.O. Box from the Van Wert Post Office. Upon arriving to Van Wert, I went to the post office to finalize the rental. I started it online but I in order to finalize it I had to sign some paperwork at the local post office. Unfortunately when I got to the post office, I realized I completely forgot my paperwork back at the hotel. I didn't want to have to drive back there, so I talked to the postal employee. She was super friendly. She listened to me as I described my problem, and she asked me why I needed the P.O. Box? She asked me questions on how much mail I normally get and what type and she said, I would just be spending my money needlessly that I can just have my mail be sent to the general mailbox for the post office and all I have to do is come regularly and give my name and they would give it to me. I was floored. That saved me $88. It may not be a lot but I always look to save money and when your moving across the country every bit helps. My family had a bad experience with the mail service back in Homestead, Florida... and even some negative experiences back in Hialeah, Florida. Goes to show you that even government services are different when your dealing with genuinely good people from this wonderful small town than Miami. I have since come a few times to pick up my mail. I wait at most 10 minutes in line, that's not bad. One thing I noticed that I never realized is that the post office has boxes to ship gifts that are holiday themed, this time it was themed for Valentine's Day. I thought... wow cool... I didn't know that. I have sent gifts to friends before and I have always used either UPS or Fed Ex. If I had known USPS did that, I would have shipped with them. In gift giving, every detail counts and I like to spoil the people I care about or love. I will use this local post office in the future.