With four months remaining in 2025, Wayne County ridership on Whitewater Valley Regional Transit exceeded the 2024 total.
Trisha Dearth-Adkins, the executive director of the Union County Council on Aging and Aged, provided Wayne County commissioners with an update Aug. 27. Through Aug. 22, 4,308 rides were provided Wayne County residents, closing in on 2024’s 4,781. The service, which covers three counties, has already had 14,330 passengers this year, compared to 12,999 in 2024.
The former Union County Transit has taken over Fayette County service previously provided by Fayette County Transit, creating Whitewater Valley Regional Transit. Through Aug. 14, Whitewater Valley had provided 4,631 rides in Fayette County and 4,360 rides in Union County.
Dearth-Adkins said a recall for air bags has sidelined three of its vans, reducing its routes from 14 to 10 and cutting ridership by about 10%. The three vans are expected back in service during September.
Of Wayne County’s riders, 85.1% (3,665) go to medical appointments. Other trips include work (475), school (130), recreation (24) and shopping (14).
Whitewater Valley has met with Well Care in Richmond about providing rides to its new West Main Street location that’s now under construction. Dearth-Adkins said Well Care staff worry that patients who walk to the East Main Street location across from the courthouse will not walk to the new location.
Wayne County has supported the transportation provider for more than 14 years. Commissioner Jeff Plasterer told Dearth-Adkins that the $10,000 remains in the 2026 budget at this time.
Alley vacation
Commissioners will conduct a public hearing at 9 a.m. Sept. 17 about a Williamsburg couple’s request that the county vacate an alley between their home and their neighbors’ residence.
Wayne County Area Plan Commission on Aug. 21 gave a favorable recommendation to the request from Daryll and Lilah Webb. Laura Miller, the county planning administrator, brought the vacation ordinance before commissioners to schedule the public hearing.
The Webbs requested the vacation because neighbors are parking and blocking the alley, parking within inches of the Webbs’ home. If the county vacates the alley, the Webbs and their neighbors would each add five feet to their property from the 10-foot-wide alley.
Project fixes
Commissioners continued discussions about solving problems with the courthouse exterior and chamber renovation projects.
Bollards placed outside the courthouse’s east entrance were not the type selected by commissioners and are not properly placed. Other bollards could be placed over the installed bollards, or the installed bollards could be removed. That issue will be sorted out with help from LWC Inc.
The chambers’ audio and video systems have not been working properly. The audio system was a notable problem during recent public hearings when residents attending could not hear.
“It’s embarrassing,” Commissioner Aaron Roberts said. “It is.”
Commissioners are asking for a proposal with an estimate for how to rectify the situation.
Fairgrounds change
Steve Higinbotham, the county administrator, informed commissioners that Haley Baker, the fairgrounds sales and marketing coordinator, has resigned effective Sept. 9.
Higinbotham said that Baker, who implemented the waynecountyfairgrounds.org design and social media presences, would be hard to replace. He plans to request permission from Wayne County Council to post the job opening.
A version of this article will appear in the September 3 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.