Cultural celebrations are among local June activities that recognize Juneteenth as well as local residents’ positive impacts on their community. Although the commemoration started in Texas in 1866, Juneteenth (short for June Nineteenth) became a federal holiday in 2021. It recognizes June 19, 1865, as the day that enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas — […]
Author Archives: Millie Martin Emery
Millicent Martin Emery is a reporter and editor for the Western Wayne News.
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New voices to answer Centerville’s after-hours utility calls
Centerville’s town council is making alternate plans for how its after-hours, nonemergency utility calls will be answered as of July 1. Wayne County Emergency Communications dispatchers currently answer those calls, but Director Matthew Cain said the operations board asked the town to find another solution. Dispatchers are receiving an increasing number of non-emergency calls, particularly […]
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Math education career adds up for Cheek
After studying philosophy and urban studies, Brian Cheek says he started his midlife crisis early and decided he wanted to be a math teacher. That apparently was a wise decision, because Centerville-Abington Community Schools honored Cheek as its Teacher of the Year at its May 23 meeting. Cheek teaches seventh grade math at Centerville Junior […]
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Trials set for pair accused of cemetery theft
Trial dates have been set for a couple accused of stealing more than $150,000 from the Lutheran Cemetery Foundation of Pershing. An initial hearing took place May 30 for Trisha C. Taylor of Cambridge City in Wayne Superior Court 2. Judge Gregory Horn appointed Richmond attorney Mark Cox to represent Taylor as indigent counsel at […]
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RCS staff to receive trauma-informed coaching
All of Wayne County’s school personnel soon will have more insights for their interactions with students who’ve been impacted by trauma and adversity. Richmond Community Schools’ board approved a $47,215 contract for Trust-Based Relational Intervention, known as TBRI, through Greenwood-based consultant Hope Alight. TBRI is geared for anyone working directly with children, such as paraprofessionals, […]
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Centerville searches for water leak
Centerville currently has a water leak of 70 gallons per minute that hasn’t surfaced. Town Manager Kevin Slick hired an outside company to investigate the leak’s source, but they didn’t find it. Town employees will continue “hit-and-miss” checking for up to three months because further high-tech investigation is costly, he said. Residents with any information […]
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United Way offering new support, fundraisers
United Way of Whitewater Valley is gearing up for its annual campaign to help kids and working poor people in Wayne and Union counties. The organization recently conducted its annual meeting to review the previous year and note upcoming fundraising plans. United Way is focused on helping improve economic mobility for thousands of local families […]
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Livestock auction’s fate to be decided
A decision might be made Thursday as to whether a livestock auction can open next to an agritourism destination, and it’s unclear whether a previously seen standing-room-only crowd will return to share its views. Two of the five members of Wayne County’s Board of Zoning Appeals weren’t present at the May meeting where two petitions […]
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U.S. 40 bridge closing June 5 in Centerville
Indiana Department of Transportation has posted signs to alert motorists that a U.S. 40 bridge on Centerville’s west side is closing soon. The bridge being replaced over Nolands Fork is just west of Centerville Church of the Nazarene and Gillman Home Center. All four lanes of the National Road will be closed starting on or […]
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Free youth meals offered at schools, parks
Several local school districts and parks will offer a variety of free summer meals for toddlers as well as high schoolers. Some will be offered in a weekly grab-and-go format weekly, while others will be offered daily and need to be eaten on site. Here’s a look at some of those opportunities around Wayne County. […]