State Sen. Jeff Raatz and State Rep. Brad Barrett will consider drainage regulation prior to the 2024 legislative session as members of the state’s Drainage Task Force. Steve Slonaker of Centerville, an appraiser and farm manager, is among seven governor-appointed task force members who join six Senators and six Representatives. A 2022 legislative act created […]
Local news and updates from Wayne County, Indiana reportersFountain City
No more valedictorian, salutatorian
Northeastern High School is on a path leading to replacing valedictorians and salutatorians with an honor system for graduates with high grade point averages. Principal John Markward proposed a Latin Honors program during the July 19 Northeastern Wayne Schools board meeting. Rather than recognizing valedictorian and salutatorian as the seniors with the top two grade […]
Northeastern delays decision on gym mural
Faced with community support for keeping a mural in the Northeastern High School gym, the school board decided last week to let it remain, at least until next summer. Part of a summer renovation project included painting the high school gym, including a wall with a Northeastern Knight mounted on a horse that has been […]
Safety concerns scuttle retail plan
Safety concerns, including about students crossing a busy roadway, played a large role in Wayne County’s commissioners denying a zoning request that would allow a retail store near the Northeastern schools complex. The commissioners voted 3-0 against rezoning 2 acres on the northwest corner of U.S. 27 and Williams Road south of Fountain City as […]
Candidates filing for fall election
More candidates are throwing their hats into the ring for upcoming town and city elections. Richmond now has an independent candidate who has obtained enough signatures to file for mayor. Howard J. Price will face Republican Ron Oler and Democrat Dave Snow. Any other candidates wishing to run as independents or for minor parties in […]
Free music, food, tours raising Juneteenth awareness
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 — […]
National champion wrestler will test skills on world mats
Heather Crull, the daughter of Todd and Jill Crull, will be a junior at Northeastern High School this fall. She has a disarming smile, and she tends to be a little shy. If you did not know her background, you might view her as a typical teenager. But Crull’s tireless work ethic, determination, and athletic […]
Tour tells stories of freedom seekers
Freedom, according to one story, meant so much to an enslaved man named William Bush that he had himself shipped in a wooden box addressed to “Newport, Wayne County, Indiana, care of Levi Coffin.” That story from 180 years ago is one that Aaron Martin loves to hear and retell in his work as program […]
For Knights, White twins rule the day
During the 2015 season the Wayne County athletic directors decided to implement a traveling trophy for all future Wayne County tournaments. In baseball, the traveling trophy is a wooden bat from the 1960s. Until Saturday, May 13, the only teams to capture the old bat were Centerville and Hagerstown. If you would like to see […]
Knight wins top prize in high school art show
Northeastern High School has earned bragging rights in the local art scene. The Knights get to display a traveling artist’s palette trophy because a Northeastern junior, Alivia Bleil, won Best of Show in the 17th Annual All Wayne County High School Art Exhibition. Richmond Art Museum organizes the annual show, which continues through Saturday, May […]
