Richmond Power & Light is in line to receive assistance serving customers during peak demand times. The Indiana Municipal Power Agency’s board of commissioners voted at its Oct. 25 meeting to allocate funds for a battery energy storage system at the Richmond 6 solar park. Tony Foster, the general manager of RP&L, informed his board, […]
Author Archives: Mike Emery
Mike Emery is a reporter and layout editor for the Western Wayne News.
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PHOTOS: Our flag, their legacy
Parade goers waved flags and paid tribute to the service of military veterans during the Veterans Day parade in Richmond on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. View photos captured by Joshua Smith in our gallery below.
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$825K in sanitary district payments missing
Richmond Sanitary District banked more than $800,000 less than it should have on nearly 1,000 deposits made during a 6 1/2-year span, according to a State Board of Accounts investigation. Jennifer Wilson was fired from her sanitary district position following an internal investigation initiated after Richmond Police Department received a tip about the shortfalls, according […]
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4 radio project contracts exceed $2.6M
Barry Ritter of Ritter Strategic Services and a Wayne County Council member presented Wayne County’s commissioners four contracts related to the county’s ongoing emergency communications project that totaled $2,626,006.90 during the commissioners’ Oct. 30 meeting. The project, which is estimated to cost $3.1 million, will convert the county’s volunteer fire department communications to an 800 […]
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Clyde Moberly travels long route to become official public road
Clyde Moberly Road was named Nov. 27, 1978, by Wayne County Commissioners Elmer Toschlog and Jerry Dils. What once was a private lane accessing a single farm from Webster Road served multiple homes by then. Wayne County has maintained Clyde Moberly and cleared snow from the roadway, the U.S. Postal Service has delivered mail to […]
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Stabilizing Queen Anne house remains concern
A month after deciding a historic Queen Anne-style house along East Main Street should be saved, Richmond’s Historic Preservation Commission had a short discussion about the house Oct. 15. The house at 1828 E. Main St., on the northwest corner of 19th and East Main streets, has been saved twice. Commission members have met with […]
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Council trims county’s general fund budget to $38 million
With 6-0 votes Oct. 16, Wayne County Council approved the county’s 2025 budget and Wayne Union Recycling’s budget. Council worked since hearing six hours of departmental budget requests July 17 to trim the general fund budget. That budget was estimated on the Department of Local Government Finance’s Gateway website at $40,325,920. Council passed a general […]
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Emergency communications project cost: $3.1 million
American Rescue Plan Act dollars presented Wayne County an opportunity to address a decades-old emergency communications problem, while one official says it’s the wrong project to prioritize. During their Oct. 16 workshop, Wayne County Council members and county commissioners heard the price tag: $3,138,294.29. That includes outfitting two new towers with 800 megahertz equipment, equipment […]
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Well-water testing fills void
Some property purchases require third-party testing of well water, and the Wayne County Health Department will begin providing that service Oct. 28. Dan Burk, director of the health department, said the new service fills a void, because no private business currently provides well testing. Some federal housing loans require third-party testing. The health department will […]
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Bridge costs less than expected
Progress continues toward replacing a bridge that’s been closed for eight years. The Heiney Road bridge over the west fork of the Whitewater River was closed because the deck could not be repaired. The Indiana Department of Transportation received five bids for the project that ranged from $1,770,000 to $2,412,950. Brumbaugh Construction of Arcanum, Ohio, […]