Richmond Common Council last year approved a zoning change for the Smith Hill planned unit development on 80 acres south of Backmeyer Road between South 37th Street and Garwood Road. Bryan Stumpf of 11th Street Development returned June 16 to update council about the project’s progress. He talked about challenging financial and market changes that […]

Author Archives: Mike Emery
Mike Emery is a reporter and layout editor for the Western Wayne News.
Health officer aims to prevent drownings
June and July are peak times for the nation’s top killer of children ages 1 to 4. That’s why Dr. Jennifer Bales, the health officer for Wayne County, took time during the June 10 Board of Health meeting to discuss drowning. Bales provided information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana Board of […]
Candidate touts unity among agencies
Kyle Weatherly observes a rocky relationship among Wayne County law enforcement agencies, something he wants to change as the county’s elected sheriff. “I want to bring unity to all law enforcement agencies and really start doing what I think is the best for the community,” said Weatherly, who currently leads one of those agencies, the […]
City serves ‘greater good,’ pays WCTV
Richmond will increase its contributions to Whitewater Community Television this year. The city’s Board of Public Works and Safety approved a resolution June 12 boosting the city’s contribution from Comcast franchise fees it receives from 40% to 65% this year, retroactive to Jan. 1. The resolution was drawn after Richmond Common Council unanimously voted its […]
City’s council votes support for WCTV
Richmond Common Council members expressed their support for Whitewater Community Television during their June 2 meeting. An 8-0 vote passed a two-pronged motion to use WCTV for live-streaming city meetings and storing the meeting videos and to increase its financial contributions to WCTV. Council member Jerry Purcell stressed “how important it is that we have […]
RP&L’s smart meter transition project nears completion
Richmond Power & Light expects to complete its transition to smart meters next year. General Manager Tony Foster on June 2 updated RP&L board members, who are Richmond Common Council members, about the conversion project that began in 2017. During the day May 27, 16,485 advanced metering infrastructure meters had been installed. That left — […]
RPD chief will run for sheriff
Kyle Weatherly spent 22 years with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office prior to being selected Richmond Police Department’s chief. Now, he’ll try and return as the sheriff’s department’s leader. Weatherly posted June 3 on Facebook that he would be a Republican candidate for sheriff. The post was titled, “The job’s not finished.” Weatherly will speak […]
Bond could fund library updates
The Morrisson-Reeves Library building on North Sixth Street turned 50 years old a couple of years ago, and the building’s beginning to show its age. The problems aren’t just cosmetic. Dena Little, director of MRL, appeared before Wayne County Council during its June 4 meeting to describe a nearly $26 million project planned to fix […]
Wayne County reviews meeting coverage options
Whitewater Community Television has provided Wayne County’s commissioners a $40,000 proposal at a rate of $250 per hour to livestream and store video of county meetings under the new state law that takes effect July 1. The county has tested a system of handling the livestreaming and storage itself using an Meeting Owl 360-degree camera. […]
County ends syringe exchange program
Wayne County’s commissioners unanimously chose June 4 to discontinue the county syringe exchange program that began in August 2016 aimed at reducing the county’s hepatitis C cases. Dr. Jennifer Bales, the county health officer, had requested a one-year program extension, and the county’s Board of Health voted that there remains a county hepatitis C emergency […]