Gerry Keesling’s voice was full of emotion as he helped honor four of Northeastern High School’s fall sports teams at the Nov. 29 school board meeting. “I’ve been involved in athletics for 42 years,” Keesling said, with an audible tremor. “It’s not often that you have a group like this year.” He called forward coaches […]
Author Archives: Bob Hansen
Bob Hansen is a reporter for the Western Wayne News.
School district gets charged up for electric buses
Northeastern Wayne School Corporation’s participation in a national experiment with electric vehicles is already ahead of schedule. The district expects to receive the first of six new electric school buses by Dec. 31, with another five coming by the end of February. That’s several months earlier than expected. “We thought we had all the time […]
Students attend FFA National Convention
Being part of a 66,000-strong crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium created memories for some local high school students who attended the Future Farmers of America National Convention. But participating in the four-day series of meetings also left time for exploration and fun. “There were so many different people, so alike but so different, but all […]
Electricity providers challenge pollution restrictions
Threats to a reliable national electric power supply are many, and some are made by humans. A group representing Indiana’s rural electric membership cooperatives believes policy decisions are among them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed power plant rule is one such, according to John Cassady, CEO of the Indiana Electric Cooperatives organization. IEC represents […]
Town gives $7,000 to Communities in Schools
In keeping with a practice of several years, the town of Hagerstown is donating money to Communities In Schools Wayne County. Town Council agreed on Nov. 6 to give $7,000 to the Richmond-based nonprofit after a presentation from its executive director, Becky Murray. CIS provides a paid part-time site coordinator at both Nettle Creek schools: […]
Honoring service under the flag
Defending the United States sometimes means ignoring a fighting instinct when an enemy strikes. For most in military service, there’s none of the action and heroism of TV and movies. Still, the fact of their service drew a standing ovation and praises during Friday’s Veterans Day program by Northeastern Wayne School Corporation. Dave Burgess attended. […]
School board: Lincoln football will continue
Western Wayne’s school board members said there is no plan afoot to discontinue the Lincoln Middle/High School football program. All five members of the school board and Superintendent Andy Stover told a crowd at the Nov. 8 board meeting that information posted on social media was wrong. Stover said that the football coach, Danny Capps, […]
Weather favors crops this year
Nearly perfect summer growing weather contributed to better-than-average yields for soybean and corn farmers in Wayne County. But lower prices and increasing costs have left farmers feeling less optimistic than a year ago. “Weather conditions have been really good,” said Ben Alyea, a Williamsburg-area farmer who had finished his soybean harvest and started combining corn […]
Nettle Creek teachers getting raises
Teachers and other certified personnel in the Nettle Creek School Corporation will receive a 7% raise under terms of a contract that the school board expects to ratify Wednesday. Teacher base pay will be $45,000 annually, an increase from the current $42,000, according to Emily Schaeffer, superintendent. Returning teachers who are rated “effective” or “highly […]
Veteran rural mail carrier retires
Kenny May retired as a rural mail carrier last Friday, Oct. 27. A Hagerstown native, May started working at the Hagerstown post office in 1989. He worked as a substitute carrier for the first 15 years. In that position, he also subbed in other offices, including Losantville, Modoc, Economy and Greens Fork. He also did […]