Mike Emery

Penny Ullery’s eyesight problems prevent her from driving, so she uses Rose View Transit buses as her main transportation source. “I really enjoy riding the buses, actually,” she said. “When you can’t drive, it gives you some independence.” The transit system provides tens of thousands of needed rides annually while remaining mostly unchanged since the […]

Richmond has served as a city of firsts during its relationship with the Indiana Municipal Power Agency. Richmond Power and Light helped found IMPA, served as a solar park pilot site and hosted the first solar panels that tracked the sun throughout the day. And now, IMPA chose Richmond as its first battery energy storage […]

With millions of dollars to allocate, hundreds of accounts to track, strict state reporting requirements and 2027 budget time quickly approaching, Wayne County Council needs more help administering the county’s budgeting process. Originally, council was looking to contract for assistance properly recording and reporting budget requests and changes, but it has since pivoted, something council […]

The Wayne County Health Department will move back home soon. Early in 2020, the department left 203 E. Main St. when the public health department separated from the health clinic that became Well Care. The county ended its lease with Well Care on May 31, and the clinic has moved to a new building on […]

Wayne County will pay 7% more in casualty and liability insurance premiums after commissioners voted June 17 to renew the county’s policy with Travelers. The overall quote is $941,477 for the July 1 renewal. The county paid about $879,000 in premiums for the current policy year. Commissioners chose to raise the liability deductible to $25,000 […]

A Depot District intersection and the city’s downtown parking garage will receive more than a million dollars’ worth of improvements paid by tax increment financing revenue. The Richmond Redevelopment Commission approved 5-0 funding for both projects during its June 16 meeting. It committed $791,400 from its Johns Manville TIF allocation area to the intersection and […]

Wayne County government’s new voice-over internet protocol phone system has significantly changed duties for one position in the information technology department. To keep up with those changes, Craig Eason, the county’s IT director, asked the county commissioners during their July 8 meeting for permission to revise the job description for the phone system’s administrator. He […]

A misunderstanding led a Hagerstown-area business to violate terms of its zoning variance, but that’s no longer a problem. The Wayne County Board of Zoning Appeals amended its 2023 variance of use to bring Elam Lapp’s shed-building business into compliance. The board met July 9. Lapp said he believed the 2023 variance permitted him to […]

Some Mobile Manor residents fear they can’t afford rate hikes they expect from the mobile home park’s new owners. When addressing Richmond Common Council on July 6, Ron McFadden, president of the Richmond Mobile Manor Residents Association, advocated the city adopt an ordinance protecting mobile home park residents. At least 16 other residents from the […]

Renovation work at LifeSpring church will close a portion of South E Street through mid-September. During its July 9 meeting, the Richmond Board of Public Works and Safety approved the closure of eastbound South E Street in front of the church, which is at South E and South Seventh streets. The closure was scheduled for […]