Nearly a third more riders used Whitewater Valley Regional Transit so far this year than during 2025’s first four months.
Trisha Dearth-Adkins of the Union County Council on Aging and Aged appeared before Wayne County’s commissioners during their May 13 meeting. She requested the commissioners approve a resolution indicating the continued need for 2027 service that she would include in a grant application, and she requested the county continue contributing $10,000 annually to the organization.
Through April, Whitewater Valley Regional Transit provided 8,376 rides in Union, Wayne and Fayette counties. That’s 2,026 (31.9%) more than the same period last year. Dearth-Adkins said medical appointments and shopping are the most frequent rider reasons and that more than half the riders need lift ramps.
Whitewater Regional receives Medicaid reimbursement and has reached contracts with more medical providers, such as Well Care, to provide patient transportation. That’s helped boost ridership.
The grant application to Indiana Department of Transportation is for $1,211,000. Dearth-Adkins said the increased ridership miles grow the funding request $200,000.
Whitewater Valley plans to purchase two new vehicles at $120,000 each and spend $20,000 for updated camera systems. The vehicles are an 85/15 split with federal funding, and the camera system an 80/20 split.
Commissioner Jeff Plasterer said he was glad to see the ridership increase, and Commissioner Aaron Roberts thanked Whitewater Valley for its service to Wayne County.
Commissioners unanimously approved the resolution that Whitewater Valley will include in its grant application. They did ask about Wayne County-specific ridership numbers, and Dearth-Adkins said she would return to the May 20 meeting with those numbers.
Commissioners budget
Commissioners discussed their part of the county’s 2027 budget ahead of the May 22 due date for submission to the auditor’s office.
While most of the line items remain unchanged, commissioners did reduce the postage line item from $125,000 to $75,000. The $50,000 will be included in the clerk’s budget for 2027.
A new line item with $20,000 was included for legal services. The money will be used as Ron Cross’s duties transition to another attorney in preparation for his retirement. The new line item is in addition to the $90,000 for Cross’ service as county attorney.
A 12% increase will be included for the county’s insurance package to anticipate the increase before renewing policies. The commissioners also must award a new emergency medical services contract for 2027, leaving that cost unknown. Social Security and retirement contributions, which come from the commissioners budget, also have unknown increases because they depend on the wage increases Wayne County Council will implement.
Commissioners also increased their travel/meals/lodging request to $5,000 because of rising costs.
They discussed having all county vehicle purchases come from the commissioners’ budget rather than from each department’s budget. All vehicle requests are considered by the county’s fleet committee, which then makes a recommendation.
Commissioner Brad Dwenger said including the vehicles in the commissioners’ budget would make the process more efficient because the recommendation would progress from fleet committee, to commissioners, to council. Plasterer said he has no problem requesting council make that change, but the decision will be council’s.
Veterans services
New tax relief rules changing veterans’ benefit amounts take effect July 1.
Veterans Service Officer Michele Padgette said veterans should visit the office after July 1 to fill out a new form that will be filed with the auditor’s office.
A Memorial Day service will be 10:30 a.m. May 25 at Wayne County Veterans Memorial Park, which is accessible from East Main Street west of Second Street in Richmond.
The monthly food pantry for veterans will be 9 to 11 a.m. May 28 at Circle U Help Center, 19 N. 13th St., Richmond. Veterans should bring identification to receive a food box.
Railroad crossings
Go Rail, a nonprofit that promotes safety at railroad crossings, requested commissioners send a letter to Indiana’s two senators and the area’s representative about federal grant funding possibilities.
Plasterer said there could be a funding opportunity to redesign the railroad crossing on Indiana 1 south of Hagerstown that currently stops emergency vehicles. The crossing could be altered so the rail line either goes under or over the roadway.
“It’s, I’m sure, a very expensive proposition, and if we did it, it would have to be with federal help,” Plasterer said.
Roberts noted that other crossings on county roads now are simply stop signs and could also be made safer.
Commissioners voted 3-0 to send the letters.
A version of this article appeared in the May 20 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.