Author Archives: Mike Emery

Wayne County’s commissioners will decide if the county should accept millions of dollars designated toward improving the area’s poor public health ranking. A few local residents are asking them to say ‘no.’ Indiana’s legislature this year committed $225 million in additional health funding for 2024 and 2025. Counties must opt in by Sept. 1. Wayne […]

For the second consecutive year, Wayne County government will receive more than $400,000 in opioid settlement money in 2023. Since the county received about $411,000 last December in the first settlement installment, new settlements have been reached to hold companies accountable for their roles in the opioid addiction crisis. The Indiana Attorney General now estimates […]

Wayne County Council approved making two grant-funded health department positions county employees, after significant debate. The two positions — a full-time coordinator and a part-time employee — work as part of the fetal infant mortality review grant. A committee reviews all fetal deaths and deaths of infants up to 1 year old in Wayne and […]

Wayne County’s commissioners will discuss parking with county department heads during this month’s staff meeting. The commissioners talked during their Aug. 2 meeting about the parking situation around the Wayne County Administration Building, Wayne County Courthouse, sheriff’s office and jail, and Wayne County Health Department. Parking sometimes becomes an issue for the public visiting the […]

Would Richmond be ready? That’s the question Dana Mollenkopf asked himself while assisting with relief efforts after tornadoes decimated Mayfield, Kentucky, during December 2021. His answer was: Probably not. That’s when he began pushing to form a Wayne County Community Organizations Active in Disaster group, abbreviated as COAD. There wasn’t much momentum until the April […]

Wayne County is helping equip Richmond Community Schools’ new police department. Commissioners voted 3-0 July 26 to sell RCS four police vehicles and three protective vests for $20,000. Superintendent Curtis Wright and board member Peter Zaleski attended the meeting to make the RCS request for “those things that are essential to make sure that our […]

Repairs to the Wayne County courthouse’s exterior could conclude this fall. Steve Higinbotham, the county’s director of facilities and development, provided project updates July 19 during the combined county council and commissioners workshop. The project was originally expected to stretch into 2024; however, Higinbotham said work has proceeded this spring and summer enough to expect […]