(Richmond, IN)--On Tuesday, the Richmond Police Department released a clear image of a person they’d like to identify and speak to as part of an ongoing investigation.  The image shows an athletically built black male with a thin mustache who is leaning against a cooler at a convenience store or gas station.  He appears to be in his 20’s or 30’s.  RPD did not specify which investigation to which the man may be connected.  The most high-profile investigation in the last few weeks surrounds the shooting death of 20-year-old Jaziah Scudiero on South 14^th in Richmond ten days ago.  No arrests have been made in that case.  If you can provide the man's identity, you're asked to call the Richmond Police Department at 765-983-7247.

(Richmond, IN)--A public visitation has been set for Bob Van Pelt.  The community leader, businessman, volunteer, and Indiana Football Hall of Fame member died Sunday.  The visitation is set for 3-6 o’clock this coming Monday at Richmond Community of Faith, which many may know as the former Cox’s Supermarket just off Garwood Road.

(Eaton, OH)--Eaton has a new mayor.  During its Monday meeting, members of the Eaton City Council elected Matt Venable as the new mayor.  Jim Ball and David Kirsch were also sworn in this week to begin their new terms after having been successful in last month’s general election.  Recently, council also honored outgoing Mayor Joe Renner, who had served Eaton in various capacities for nearly 20 years.

(Richmond, IN)--Wayne County’s Economic Development Corporation’s Board met Sunday afternoon.  One of the topics of discussion was the former Elder-Beerman property.  The EDC is now indicating that a developer is interested in restoring two other properties described as “historical” in downtown Richmond.  In addition to Elder-Beerman, those two properties would add additional market rate apartment units that are in high demand.  On Wednesday, EDC CEO Valerie Shaffer will go before the Wayne County Council for EDIT funding consideration.  The two properties were not identified in the Board’s agenda.

(Richmond, IN)--A man who was wanted in Fayette County for felony battery was taken into custody in Wayne County Monday.  But, it’s not first time 30-year-old Derek Carter has faced a violent criminal charge.  Back in 2019, Carter was accused of breaking the arm of a two-year-old and blackening the eyes of a six-year-old.  Carter was taken into custody Monday at Reid Health.

(Wayne County, IN)--Plans to widen I-70 to three lanes through nearly all of Wayne County are progressing.  The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is taking public comment now through the end of the month regarding any impacts to water quality.  INDOT says the work could impact nearly a mile of streams and almost four acres of wetlands.  The beginning of actual construction on the project is still almost a year away.

(Richmond, IN)--A long-time Richmond business and community leader who was also one of the greatest athletes in the city’s history has died.  Bob Van Pelt died Sunday morning.  He had entered hospice care after being in failing health in recent years.  Van Pelt was the owner of Rax Restaurants in Richmond, Connersville, and New Castle.  Before that, he had played in the NFL with teams that included the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, and Detroit Lions.  Van Pelt was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2012.  Services are pending.  Bob Van Pelt was 78.

(Richmond, IN)--Over the weekend, the EPA issued an update on cleanup at the My Way Trading Fire site in Richmond.  The EPA said that, since the end of October, they have washed and removed 441,000 pounds of steel from the site and sent it for recycling at a Richmond facility.  The washing of the steel helps to reduce the spread of asbestos and other materials.  It will take the rest of this month to remove the steel.  Then, crews will focus on removing other materials.

(Richmond, IN)--An electrical issued forced the evacuation of the Richmond Civic Theater Sunday during a rehearsal for an upcoming performance.  Here’s Battalion Chief Charlie Bartlett talking about what prompted the evacuation:  "It was just light smoke."  Now, work will get underway to repair the issue.  "They do have some electrical problems going on in one of their breaker boxes.  They're going to get an electrician to check it out (Monday)," Bartlett said.  Actors had evacuated Sunday before fire crews arrived.

(Richmond, IN)--More shots were fired in Richmond early Friday morning.  For the third time in the last six mornings, officers responded and found evidence of shots that included shell casings.  According to scanner traffic, police were sent to the area of North 19^th and 21^st Streets at around 2 o’clock Friday morning.  No injuries were reported.  In addition to the locating the casings, one resident indicated that a bullet hole had been discovered in a wall.  There was no description of any shooter or vehicle.  A 20-year-old Richmond man was shot and killed last Sunday morning.  Investigators are still working to identify and locate that shooter.

(Centerville, IN)--There was no ribbon-cutting or fanfare, but a detour that has been a thorn in the side of Wayne County drivers for months is now in the rearview mirror.  The U.S. 40 bridge over Nolands Fork Creek just west of Centerville has reopened.  The old bridge closed in early June for complete replacement.  Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, U.S. 40 traffic was detoured onto county roads south of the highway.  The project finished more than a month ahead of its original schedule.

(Richmond, IN)--A Centerville man who has been labeled by the state as a sexually violent predator was back behind bars Friday morning.  Back in 2008, Gregory Carlin, who is now 54, was sentenced prison for criminal confinement of a victim under the age of 18.  Upon release, Carlin was supposed to make regular registration with the state as a sex offender.  But Carlin failed to do that in 2011, twice in 2021, and now again for the fourth time.  Carlin lists a Meek Road address in Centerville but was taken into custody on Kinsey Street in Richmond Thursday.

(Winchester, IN)--State Road 32 in Winchester has reopened Thursday morning after what appears to have been a fatal accident.  There have been no details released by law enforcement so far.  But, at around midnight Thursday night, scanner traffic indicated that INDOT personnel was being sent to the site of what was a fatal crash on 32.  The Winchester Police Department is expected to release more information Thursday.

(Richmond, IN)--Indiana State Police troopers were involved in a Richmond chase overnight.  At a little before midnight Wednesday night, troopers began to pursue a man later identified as 57-year-old James Mills of Richmond.  Mills was eventually captured in the area of South 7^th and P Streets and taken to the Wayne County Jail.  He’s charged with reckless driving and felony resisting.

(Wayne County, IN)--On Tuesday, for the first time, a Michigan woman visited the exact Wayne County spot where her mother’s remains were found 41 years ago.  It was the culmination of efforts between the family of Misty LaBean and the Wayne County Coroner’s Office in identifying the remains of LaBean’s mother, Connie Christensen.  Hunters stumble upon Christensen’s remains back in 1982 near Jacksonburg.  Coroner’s Office personnel and LaBean have now developed a personal friendship.  "I have always felt like it was all about me, and I haven't felt like that a lot in my life," LaBean said.  The identification was made public on Monday.  The man who is suspected of killing Christensen died in September.  LaBean visited the site yesterday wearing the ring that was found on Christensen’s finger.  (Note:  this photo was taken Tuesday at the spot of the discovery, which is at the end of Ted Davis Road near Jacksonburg).

(Richmond, IN)--The Richmond Community School Board this week formally ratified a new contract with the Richmond Education Association, or teachers’ union.  "This is an unprecedented pay increase and I believe it demonstrates our appreciation for our teachers," RCS School Board President Nicole Stults said Tuesday.  CFO Jamie Bolser talked about one of the highlights of the new contract:  "The salary schedule is commensurate with education and years of experience.  On average, there's a ten percent, or $4500 increase with the minimum additional compensation of $1000.  The new contract is a two-year collective bargaining agreement.

(Richmond, IN)--A manhunt in the area of Blue Buffalo in Richmond ended with the capture of two men who led police on a chase that began at least as far as west as Greenfield Tuesday afternoon.  After entering Wayne County on I-70 at speeds of up to 130 miles per hour, the two crashed near Round Barn Road and then fled on foot into a wooded area.  Drones and a helicopter helped locate the two men.  They were taken first to Reid Health and then to the Henry County Jail.  There’s no word yet on their identity or what started the chase.

(Richmond, IN)--There have been no new developments in the search for whoever shot and killed Richmond’s Jaziah Scudiero early Sunday morning, but there were shots fired Monday night not far from where Scudiero was killed.  At around 7 o’clock Monday night, according to scanner traffic, two vehicles were involved near the Excel Center in the 800 block of South I.  Shots were fired from one of the vehicles at the other vehicle.  No injuries were reported.  Officers found shell casings.  The vehicles were described as a black Honda with loud exhaust and a red Ford Fusion.  Monday night’s incident was only about five blocks from where Scudiero was shot and killed.

(Wayne County, IN)--Through the hard work and determination of the Wayne County Coroner’s Office and a little bit of luck, a Michigan woman now has answers about her mother’s life.  Around Christmas of 1982, hunters found the remains of a young mother just north of Jacksonburg in Wayne County.  She had been there for eight months, and despite efforts at the time, she could never be identified.  The remains were kept at IU in Bloomington.  Through a grant, the coroner’s office began to look at cold cases and recently did extensive DNA testing.  At roughly the same time, a member of the young mother’s family happened to take an interest in genealogy and a connection was made.  On Monday afternoon, the remains were publically identified as those of Connie Christensen of Wisconsin.  Connie’s daughter, who was just one year old when her mother disappeared, talked about it Monday.  "Obviously, it gave me answers that I had been looking for for a long time,"  said Misty LaBean.  Kicks 96 and 101.7 The Point News will have more on the identification in news on Wednesday.

(West Manchester, OH)--More information was released Monday about a double-fatal crash that occurred near West Manchester on Saturday afternoon.  According to investigators Monday, a 16-year-old New Madison boy drove a pickup through a stop sign on Wikel Road and broad-sided an SUV driven by a 66-year-old Dayton man.  That man’s 36-year-old daughter was riding alongside.  Both were killed at the scene.  The boy who caused the crash was not seriously injured.

(Richmond, IN)--The search continued Monday morning for whoever shot and killed a 20-year-old Richmond man early Sunday morning.  It was around 5:30 Sunday morning when Richmond police were called to the 700 block of South 14^th Street.  There, they found Jaziah Scudiero with multiple gunshot wounds.  Scudiero was pronounced dead at the scene.  The only description of any possible suspect that was released to the public is that the shooter was wearing a light-colored hoodie.  Multiple witnesses were taken to RPD headquarters and interviewed.  RPD investigators would like to hear from anyone with additional information.

(West Manchester, IN)--Two people were killed in a Preble County crash on Saturday.  It happened on Wikel Road near West Manchester at around 5 o’clock Saturday afternoon.  First responders located the victims in the wreckage when they arrived.  The names of the two victims and other conditions that led to the crash have not been released.

(Wayne County, IN)--For the third consecutive month, Wayne County’s unemployment rate is lower than it was the month before.  According to new numbers from the state, Wayne County’s unemployment rate this morning is 3.5%.  That’s down a modest tenth of a percentage point from last month.  Fayette County’s rate has increased to four-and-a-half percent.  That’s the second-highest unemployment rate in all of Indiana.  The number of people in Wayne County’s labor force has remained essentially the same from both last month and this time last year.

(Richmond, IN)--The remains of a Richmond man killed in World War II will finally be coming back to the United States for final burial.  Gene Walker left Richmond to fight in Germany and died there when his tank caught fire.  His wife and daughter, who he never got to meet, were left behind.  Decades later, his remains were discovered in a Belgian cemetery.  DNA testing of the remains confirmed Walker’s identification.  Those remains will be brought to San Diego and buried there in a few months.

(Richmond, IN)--For the second time in ten days, there was a serious crash Thursday night on the sweeping curve of North A Street between the jail and Richmond City Building.  According to scanner traffic, a crash late Thursday night began with the report of a stolen vehicle from Elstro Plaza.  The driver of that car fled west and hit another vehicle in the curve.  A female driver sustained minor injuries.  The male driver of the stolen vehicle was being checked out at Reid Health Friday morning.