Barry Cramer and Jeff Bessler both enjoy cooking, and for 30 years, they’ve done so in the small, oddly shaped kitchen of their South 21st Street home. “A nicer kitchen would be nice,” Cramer said March 9 when presenting to Richmond’s Historic Preservation Commission a certificate of appropriateness petition to construct two additions on the […]
Author Archives: Mike Emery
Mike Emery is a reporter and layout editor for the Western Wayne News.
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County ready to ditch troubled health RV
After discovering its pandemic-era mobile clinic RV was more lemon than lifesaver, Wayne County Health Department plans to sell the vehicle while continuing to provide mobile health services another way. About $260,000 in federal relief money purchased the unit in early 2021, but it has struggled with myriad problems, including electrical and HVAC, according to […]
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Richmond Pride celebration June 27
A Richmond Pride celebration will return June 27 to the Depot District. During its March 12 meeting, the Richmond Board of Public Works and Safety approved closing Elm Place between North Eighth and North 10th streets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the event. According to materials provided the board by Benjamin Guard, the […]
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Accessible apartments fill need
Richmond lacks handicap-accessible apartment units, according to Mike Frame, who plans to remedy that situation. Frame appeared March 11 before the Richmond Board of Zoning Appeals with a variance of use request that would permit 12 single-story accessible apartments on the southwest corner of South L and South 23rd streets. BZA members unanimously approved the […]
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Commissioners delete Facebook page at county attorney’s recommendation
Wayne County’s commissioners have discontinued their Facebook page at the county attorney’s recommendation. The Indiana American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Dillon Pitcher, the county’s chief deputy coroner, sued the county and commissioners in the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana, saying that being blocked from reading or commenting on the commissioners’ page violated […]
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2 East Main blocks will close for march
Two blocks of Richmond’s East Main Street will close for two hours March 28 for a pro-democracy march. During its March 5 meeting, Richmond’s Board of Public Works and Safety approved the closing from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. March 28. A group plans to meet at Elstro Plaza, walk to Fifth Street then return along […]
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Council OKs hiring for auditor office’s job
The Wayne County Auditor’s Office received Wayne County Council permission to replace a resigning employee. During council’s March 4 personnel committee meeting, Max Smith, the council president, said that he and Barry Ritter, chair of council’s personnel committee, gave Auditor Mark Hoelscher special permission to post the deduction clerk and claim assistant’s position, but not […]
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4 bid to sell RP&L a new dump truck
Four dealers submitted bids to supply Richmond Power & Light with a new dump truck. Tony Foster, RP&L’s general manager, opened the bids during the March 2 meeting of RP&L’s board, which is composed of Richmond Common Council members. The dump truck was budgeted for 2026, and RP&L could trade in a 2011 International dump […]
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Reid receives $6K program funding boost
Reid Health will receive an additional $6,000 for its Health First Indiana partnership with the Wayne County Health Department. Wayne County’s commissioners approved the program director’s compensation during their March 4 meeting. The compensation previously was approved by the county’s Board of Health. Reid was one of three partners to receive Health First Indiana programming […]
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Council considers how to attack parks projects
Richmond’s new 1% food and beverage tax will fund improvements to the city’s parks, but some officials are at odds about whether to use bonds to start that work before the tax revenue actually arrives. The first disbursement of revenue is expected in May. State law says it must be spent on parks, trails and […]