Property tax rates in all 35 Wayne County taxing districts are lower for 2025 payments than in 2024. That seems like good news, but it doesn’t necessarily mean lower property tax bills. The 2025 total payments, with half due in May and half due in November, are based on 2024 property assessments. Higher assessments lead […]
Author Archives: Mike Emery
Mike Emery is a reporter and layout editor for the Western Wayne News.
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Council considers bonds for 6Main build
With demolition of the former Elder-Beerman complete, construction nears for the luxury apartment development planned for the corner of South Sixth and East Main streets. The estimated $37 million 6Main development promises 150 apartments and 3,200 square feet of retail space, according to a presentation from Deron Kintner of developer Flaherty & Collins Properties during […]
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Commissioners shift gears on truck drivers’ tuition benefit
The Wayne County Highway Department invests more than $10,000 when it hires truck drivers without Class A commercial drivers licenses. The new drivers are enrolled in a six-week course to obtain their CDLs. Tuition costs $5,245, and the drivers earn $22.27 per hour while taking the class. Those drivers are required to pay back some […]
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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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Former sanitary district clerk seeks dismissal of 11 charges
A former Richmond Sanitary District employee accused of stealing more than $825,000 says 11 of 16 charges against her should be dismissed. Jennifer Wilson, 48, was charged last November with eight counts of theft — seven as Level 5 felonies for the years 2017 through 2023 and one as a Level 6 felony for 2016 […]
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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 […]