The thick, black smoke from the April 11 plastics fire in Richmond looked ominous, and it definitely carried toxic material from the burning plastic. There were many unknowns about the air quality at the time; however, constant Environmental Protection Agency testing for more than a week has left health officials confident the burning plastics won’t […]
Author Archives: Mike Emery
Mike Emery is a reporter and layout editor for the Western Wayne News.
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Jail health care costs, staff levels rise
Wayne County will spend extra money on health care for people in the Wayne County jail. Council approved 5-2 during the April 19 council/commissioners workshop to pay an additional $206,776 for increased health care staffing. Council members Tony Gillam and Bob Chamness voted against the additional expenditure. Quality Correctional Care had already been selected to […]
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EDC sees investment momentum
The Richmond Redevelopment Commission has agreed to contribute $900,000 to assist a new rail-served transloading, processing and warehousing project. Valerie Shaffer, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, updated Wayne County’s commissioners about EDC activities during their April 19 morning meeting. Project Thomas, reported on in the April 12, 2023 Western Wayne News, […]
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Richmond council OKs tax abatement scoring system
Richmond Common Council approved a new, 12-category scoring system to award tax abatements. The measure passed 8-0 during the council’s April 17 meeting after two amendments also passed unanimously. Council raised the minimum starting wage for new and retained jobs from $14 to $18 and required applying companies to provide employees health and wellness benefits. […]
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Blame for fire’s cause, costs hit property owner
“It’s his fault.” Mayor Dave Snow blames Seth Smith, owner of Cornerstone Trading Group LLC, for hazardous conditions at a three-property complex that burned for more than three days last week. Smith stored tons of plastics in six buildings that total nearly 255,000 square feet on the 13.8-acre complex. Government officials recognized the properties as […]
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Firefighters put ‘heroic stop’ to historic blaze
Richmond firefighters aggressively attacked burning plastic when they arrived shortly after 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, April 11 at a facility known as a fire hazard. Overcoming limited access to the burning pile of the 358 N.W. F St. complex, the firefighters tried to quickly gain control, but strong winds helped the fire jump to another plastics […]
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Local syringe exchange up for county renewal
Should Wayne County continue providing a syringe exchange program? Since 2016, commissioners have decided yes, and again face that decision as the most recent two-year renewal expires June 30. Christine Stinson, executive director of the Wayne County Health Department, formally requested April 12 that commissioners renew the program. They have the option of a one- […]
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Common Council applauds fire response
Richmond Fire Department continues to monitor the scene of last week’s plastics fire at a North West F Street complex. Chief Tim Brown said Monday night that two people watch for smoke around the clock more than six days after the April 11 fire ignited at 358 N.W. F St., consuming 13.8 acres across the […]
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Sheriff’s office seeks grant for drug-detection equipment
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office has applied for $102,000 in Bureau of Justice Assistance grant funding to purchase drug-detection equipment, Sheriff Randy Retter told Wayne County’s commissioners during an April 5 meeting. The Ionscan 600 is a highly sensitive trace detector that utilizes litmus paper to show the presence of and identify narcotics, including fentanyl. […]
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Fire fatigue: Evacuation order remains as officials work to assess health impact
At an afternoon press conference on Thursday, state and city officials said that while progress is being made, they are not ready to allow evacuated residents back into homes surrounding the site of Tuesday’s fire. An order to shelter in place remains active as shifting wind directions and smoke patterns mean that even more of […]