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Sheriff touts support for federal immigration policy

Sheriff Randy Retter doesn’t know why Wayne County was labeled a sanctuary county by an anti-immigration think tank, but he made sure the county didn’t stay on that list. Retter told Wayne County’s commissioners during their Jan. 29 meeting that he worked with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Indianapolis to assure the […]

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Upcoming bridge projects carry $14M price tag

With 250 bridges maintained by Wayne County, there’s never a shortage of projects needing work, whether rehabilitations or outright replacements. Federal funding passed through the Indiana Department of Transportation expands the county’s ability to tackle bridge projects. Brandon Sanders, the county highway engineer, updated the eight federal bridge projects during the Jan. 29 commissioners meeting. […]

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Dispatchers again answer 40K 911 calls

On average, the Wayne County Emergency Communications Center handled a call or text every 4.6 minutes during 2024. That’s 313 per day. Or, for the communications specialists, business as usual. The 2024 call load fits in the upper bounds of calls received for the past five years. The average daily work load has ranged from […]

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County rejects Hagerstown’s 2-year EDIT contract request

Wayne County’s commissioners decided Jan. 22 against Hagerstown’s request to participate in the countywide consolidated EDIT program for just two years. The town in December provided the county a two-year contract to contribute half of its economic development income tax revenue to consolidated EDIT. That fund pays operating expenses for the Economic Development Corporation of […]

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Richmond parks help families enjoy fun times

Simply put, parks provide fun for the people who use them. During 2024, Richmond Parks and Recreation Department facilities hosted 362 birthday parties, 104 baby showers, 67 graduation parties and 61 holiday parties, according to Denise Retz, the parks superintendent, during a Jan. 21 presentation to Richmond Common Council. “That’s a lot of fun times […]

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Auditor faces 2 intimidation charges

Wayne County Auditor Mark Hoelscher faces two misdemeanor intimidation charges regarding handwritten notes left in neighbors’ mailboxes. The notes that were handwritten on envelopes read, “Break into my house again or hurt any of my animals I will give you something to arrest me for,” according to the police narrative by Indiana State Police Trooper […]

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Transformers to cost RP&L $5.5 million

Richmond Power & Light will spend more than $5.5 million for two new transformers. During a Jan. 21 meeting, RP&L’s board, which is composed of Richmond Common Council members, awarded Virginia Georgia Transformer the transformer bid for $5,543,850. Virginia George provided the lowest of four bids and the quickest delivery time, at 85 to 90 […]

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Common Council business continues despite friction

Larry Parker’s seen plenty of disagreements during four decades as a Richmond Common Council member. Even a fistfight on the elevator. So some strife during the past year between council members and between council members and the mayor wasn’t so significant, especially because council’s business proceeded during meetings. “I don’t think it ever stopped anything […]