Wayne County will pursue $1 million in Community Crossings funding for bridge and road projects. This fall is the final call before the Indiana Department of Transportation funding model changes, reducing Community Crossings funds and distributing funds based on lane miles of road. That change was the impetus behind Wayne County Council voting to implement […]
Author Archives: Mike Emery
Mike Emery is a reporter and layout editor for the Western Wayne News.
Posted inNews
A downtown’s $100M rebirth
If you visit downtowns across the region you will find some that are thriving, some that are almost completely dead, and everything in between. For decades, central business districts in Midwestern small towns have been gutted by suburban sprawl, shoppers fleeing to chain stores, population loss and a variety of other challenges. The downtowns that […]
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Council: Merit commission should review officers who can’t testify
Richmond Common Council has asked the city’s police merit commission to create a policy to review Richmond Police Department officers placed on the county’s list of officers whose ability to testify in court is compromised. The resolution passed 7-0 during council’s Sept. 2 meeting, with members Anne Taylor and Jerry Purcell abstaining. Taylor’s husband is […]
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New agreement needed in place of WUR
In withdrawing from Wayne Union Recycling, Wayne County government is replacing the dissolved WUR with a partnership that funds a shared educator’s position through the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District. Wayne County’s commissioners and council members reviewed a draft interlocal agreement for 2026 funding Sept. 3. The interlocal includes Wayne County, Richmond Sanitary […]
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Batteries boost solar power
Solar batteries from China are currently in a Georgia transit port, but work at a Richmond solar park prepares for their arrival in the city. The Indiana Municipal Power Agency, to which Richmond Power & Light belongs, selected the Richmond 6 solar park at South 23rd Street and Wernle Road for its initial foray into […]
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Council scrutinizes budget, raises it $85K
Wayne County Council spent more than two hours Sept. 3 poring over the county’s 2026 general fund budget, planning to trim departmental requests. Instead, council members spent some of their 2025 contingency money and added nearly $85,000 to the 2026 budget. That leaves the published budget at $44,215,326, although that figure is padded to ensure […]
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Sewer rate showdown: Funding options explored
Putting taxpayer dollars into industrial infrastructure is supposed to attract jobs and community growth that eventually pays us back. But when it comes to expanding sewer capacity at the Midwest and Northwest industrial parks, some residents are saying they don’t want to be a part of that plan. Richmond Common Council members have listened to […]
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Council trims budget, but more work remains
Wayne County Council spent more than three hours Aug. 25 scouring departmental budget requests for possible cuts. Their efforts removed $440,094 from the published general fund budget, but there’s more to do before the budget’s final approval in October. The published budget began at $44,625,627 and the special meeting ended with it at $44,185,533. Council […]
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Animal contract was doggone expensive
Richmond spent $1,961.90 per animal last year to shelter 21 animals at the Henry County Humane Society. Since 2022, the city has contracted with the New Castle shelter after local shelters could not accept the volume of animals the city housed. The renewable annual contract has cost $41,200 for up to 400 animals, with each […]
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Riders using Whitewater Valley service
With four months remaining in 2025, Wayne County ridership on Whitewater Valley Regional Transit exceeded the 2024 total. Trisha Dearth-Adkins, the executive director of the Union County Council on Aging and Aged, provided Wayne County commissioners with an update Aug. 27. Through Aug. 22, 4,308 rides were provided Wayne County residents, closing in on 2024’s […]