Everyone speaking at the Nov. 12 public hearing agreed that Centerville needs a new comprehensive plan, and the town will soon find out if it will receive $50,000 in grant funding to make that happen. The hearing was an important step in advancing the application to Indiana’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs, which was […]
Author Archives: Chris Hardie
Chris Hardie is the owner and publisher of the Western Wayne News.
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What do national elections mean for local news?
As a local newspaper focused on covering what’s happening in Wayne County, every week we make the decision to exclude coverage of what’s happening elsewhere — in the state, across the nation and around the world. We know you have plenty of options for reading nonlocal news coverage, and so we don’t need to pretend […]
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$825K in sanitary district payments missing
Richmond Sanitary District banked more than $800,000 less than it should have on nearly 1,000 deposits made during a 6 1/2-year span, according to a State Board of Accounts investigation. Jennifer Wilson was fired from her sanitary district position following an internal investigation initiated after Richmond Police Department received a tip about the shortfalls, according […]
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Local donors give to range of political causes
While there are no local political polls that predict which national candidates Wayne County voters might choose in the upcoming election, there’s one set of data that might shed some light on how your neighbors are thinking about it: campaign contributions. The Federal Election Commission collects and publishes information about political donations as shared by […]
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Flashing stoplights raise council’s concern
At the end of an otherwise uneventful 14-minute Richmond Common Council meeting, member Bill Engle raised a question about a flashing stoplight experiment that is irritating some motorists. Engle said that constituents in his district contacted him to ask why the traffic lights across North A Street near North 12th Street in downtown Richmond were flashing […]
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Pardon our dust: Building projects coming soon
As Wayne County’s commissioners advanced three major infrastructure projects for county buildings, they also began wrestling with how to schedule them in a way that doesn’t disrupt government operations. During their Oct. 24 meeting, commissioners awarded a wiring project to Northern AV Group of Indianapolis. The work will involve running new cabling to each employee […]
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PHOTOS: Monster Mash 5K
In costumes ranging from silly to scary, runners and walkers brought their Halloween spirits to the Golay Community Center’s Monster Mash 5K on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. In its tenth year, the Cambridge City community event offers trophies for top finishers as well as best costume. Browse photos of the event by Chris Hardie in […]
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PHOTOS: 4th Street Fair fall fun
Fairgoers enjoyed fall festival fun at the 4th Street Fair on Oct. 5, 2024. This year’s fair featured nearly 150 vendors, with booths showcasing crafts, food, nonprofit organizations, political parties, churches, service groups and others from around the region. Local musical talent also entertained fairgoers. View photos taken by Chris Hardie below.
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Athletes claim gender discrimination
Some Richmond High School volleyball players say the school has shown a pattern of discrimination against girls sports teams there, and are asking school administrators, and possibly state officials, to take action. Richmond Community Schools officials are asking the community to avoid speculation until an investigation is complete. RHS student and girls varsity volleyball player […]
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Reflections on the firehose of newspaper publishing
Oct. 1 marked two years into my ownership of the Western Wayne News, and there’s one word that comes to mind to describe the experience: firehose. There’s of course the firehose of information about news, events, sports, government activities, education, the arts, crime and policing, and all of the other stuff happening in Wayne County. […]