(Cambridge City, IN)--It’s been years in the making, but now construction for an expanded wastewater treatment system at the Gateway Industrial Park in Cambridge City is now just days away.  Permitting dictates that actual work can begin Monday.  Not only will it allow SugarCreek to expand, it will also allow the EDC of Wayne County to more aggressively market the industrial park to other potential tenants.  For years, there was a debate about whether to send the wastewater to Connersville or treat it locally at an expanded plant.

(Wayne County, IN and Preble County, OH)--Public schools in Wayne and Preble County have had very differing masking policies with differing results.  And those results may surprise you.  According to numbers from both the Indiana and Ohio Departments of Education, Preble County schools, which do not have a mask mandate, have generally had less or equal per capita Covid-19 infection for the 2021-22 school year than their Wayne County counterparts, which do require masking.  It’s most notable in the comparison between Richmond and Eaton schools, which are each county's largest districts.  A masking Richmond school system has reported that six percent of its students have tested positive this school year.  A non-masking Eaton school system has reported that one percent of students have tested positive for Covid-19.  The results in each county's smaller outlying districts show similar rates of infection on a per-capita basis regardless of masking policy.

(Sidney, OH)--A man is in custody after allegedly stealing a Richmond police cruiser from the Richmond Mall on Monday and driving it 70 miles to Sidney.  The RPD cruiser had parked at the mall for an unrelated call.  When officers returned, they found the cruiser missing.  A tracking system inside the cruiser traced it to Sidney.  Officers there tried to stop it, but the driver, who has now been identified as 32-year-old Mitchell Gard of Richmond, fled.  He crashed and was eventually taken into custody after a foot chase.  All RPD equipment was recovered.

(Centerville, IN)--Centerville’s Town Council met Monday night to lay the groundwork for a special meeting Tuesday night that’s expected to result in a packed house.  Tuesday night is the night public comment will be taken about land development and usage with some serious allegations of council improprieties that center on that development.  When council met two weeks ago, it quickly evolved into a nasty exchange between Council President Dan Wandersee and Councilman James Bullen.  Tuesday night’s meeting is set for 7 o’clock at Fire Station #1.

(Preble County, OH)--One person was killed in a Preble County crash Monday night.  It happened in the area of East Lexington and Quinn Road between Eaton and West Alexandria.  The vehicle left the roadway, hit a tree, and went over an embankment into a creek.  The cause of the accident remains under investigation, including if weather played a factor.  The name of the victim has not been released.

(Wayne County, IN)--Wayne County’s weekly Monday-to-Monday Covid-19 case count continues to drop.  Listen to how the number of weekly cases has dropped in the last three weeks, beginning three weeks ago…286, 201, and, this past week, 146.  That’s the lowest weekly total of confirmed cases in Wayne County since the week ending August 16.  Reid Health had 31 Covid-19 patients Monday morning.  That’s the lowest Monday total of patients since August 23.

(Cambridge City, IN)--There was a large number of first responders at an apartment on North Lee Street in Cambridge City Sunday night.  According to scanner traffic and county officials, a woman had locked herself and several children inside a bathroom and refused to open the door.  She then took to Facebook Live to make various types of accusations involving abuse.  Officers were able to make entry.  At least one person was taken to Reid Health to be checked out.

(Richmond, IN)--Richmond’s Bradford Apartments building is coming down soon, with buildings around it also being removed.  The Bradford building and six others are all between North 12^th and 13^th and East Main and North A.  That block remains under consideration as a potential location for a new police and fire headquarters.  Earlier this year, a private company was hired to conduct a feasibility study for that potential development.  For now, though, the area will be green space once all the structures are removed.

(Wayne County, IN)--All of Wayne County will now have ambulance coverage from Reid Health.  For the last few years, Reid has provided coverage only to southwestern Wayne County while other companies covered the rest.  This week, though, Wayne County commissioners accepted a bid of close to $1.5 million from Reid for coverage for the entire county over the next five years.  Reid also is currently providing ambulance coverage for Union County.  Also this week, Wayne County’s 2022 budget was set.  The budget for next year comes in at $54 million and includes a three percent pay raise for all employees.

(Richmond, IN)--A group of local physicians gathered for a special edition of In Focus Thursday night on WCTV to discuss the Covid-19 situation.  Dr. David Jetmore gave the general consensus.  "We're low compared to where we were, and things are trending downward," Jetmore said.  Wayne County added only 20 new cases Thursday.  It’s also looking a lot better at Reid Health.  "Things are getting better at the hospital in terms of volume.  We have fewer in hospital beds and fewer on ventilators," said Dr. Thomas Huth.  There were 28 Covid-19 patients at Reid Friday morning.  Three weeks ago, that number was 76.

(Wayne County, IN)--There was a big drop this week in the number of Wayne County residents who became fully vaccinated against Covid-19.  265 residents have become fully vaccinated since last Friday.  It represents a drop of well over a hundred people from the 395 people who were vaccinated the week before and the 468 the week before that.  There are now 28,381 Wayne County residents who can now claim full vaccination status.  That’s 43% of the total population.

(Centerville, IN)--Early Thursday morning in Centerville, a detached garage with between 5000 and 8000 rounds of ammunition caught fire.  It happened in the 600 block of East Main Street at around 1:30 Thursday morning.  According to scanner traffic, multiple explosions were heard as the garage became fully involved.  Main Street was shut down through Centerville and some nearby residents were evacuated.  There was no report of injury.  There’s no word yet on what started the fire.  The garage was a total loss.

(Richmond, IN)--Earlham College Wednesday announced plans to offer free tuition to Indiana students whose families are Pell and State of Indiana grant-eligible and earn at or below the state’s median household income, which stands now at $56,000.  President Anne Houtman said in a prepared statement that the college is doubling down on its commitment to making higher education affordable.  She added that Indiana has experienced an alarming drop in the number of students seeking post-secondary education in recent years.

(Brookville, IN)--The visitation and funeral for Franklin County School Board member and Union County Highway Department worker Justin Moore has been set for midday Friday at Cook-Rosenberger Funeral Home in Brookville.   He died when he was struck by a car driven by Gina Price of Richmond.  The other worker who was struck, Donald Skaggs, remained in serious condition Thursday morning.

(Union County, IN)--The Indiana State Police has taken over the investigation in incident on Monday that claimed the life of Union County Highway Department worker Justin Moore, who was also a member of the Franklin County School Board.  Investigators say that 37-year-old Gina Price of Richmond struck Moore and 62-year-old Douglas Skaggs as they stood outside their work vehicle on Clifton Road.  Moore was dead at the scene.  Skaggs was flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton where he was in serious condition Wednesday morning.  Toxicology results are pending.  The case will be turned over to the Union County Prosecutor.  Price was not hurt.

(Richmond, IN)--A man was found with a gunshot wound in Richmond Tuesday morning.  Police responded to the 600 block of South 5^th and found 43-year-old Jeremy Butler lying near the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the shoulder.  Butler had an altered level of consciousness and could not provide police with any information.  He was taken to a distant Level One trauma center and was last listed in stable condition.  Investigators would like to hear from anyone who may have seen Butler walking on South 5^th between 8 and 8:15 Tuesday morning.

(Wayne County, IN)--Wayne County reported two more Covid-19 deaths Tuesday.  It brings the total to 252.  The county, though, continues to trend in the right direction with all other indicators.  The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases continues to drop and is down to 27.  There were 26 cases reported Tuesday.  The county’s positivity rate also continues to come down.  It stood at 6.8% Wednesday morning.

(Union County, IN)--A tragic accident Monday in Union County claimed the life of a highway department worker who was also a member of the Franklin County School Board.  It happened on Clifton Road just north of Liberty when a vehicle went off the road and drove into four workers.  42-year-old Justin Moore was killed.  Moore was heavily involved in the Brookville area and had served as a chaplain in addition to a school board member.  One other Union County Highway Department employee, who has not been identified, was taken to a hospital.  There’s no word yet on what caused the driver to lose control, who that driver was, or whether or not he or she is facing any criminal charges.

(Richmond, IN)--The number of Covid-19 patients at Reid Health is dropping.  Reid had less than 40 patients Tuesday morning – 38 to be exact.  Reid had not been below 40 patients on any Monday since back on August 30, when it had 35 patients.  Eight patients were in the ICU and on ventilators Tuesday morning.  Seven of those patients are unvaccinated.  Wayne County reported 13 new cases Monday.

(Richmond, IN)--Police are looking for a driver who led them on a chase through Richmond streets Tuesday morning.  It happened at around 2:30 Tuesday morning when officers tried to stop a driver on North E Street.  According to scanner traffic, speeds hit 70 miles per hour as the driver turned south on 18^th Street.  The driver crashed in a yard in the Reeveston area and fled on foot, but could not be located.  The truck was taken to impound.

(Wayne County, IN)--Wayne County has just had its lowest Monday-to-Monday Covid-19 case count in two months.  Since last Monday, Wayne County has had 201 cases.  That’s a 42% drop in cases from the week before and the lowest weekly count since it had 124 on the week ending August 16.  Most other area counties have also had their lowest counts in two months.  Reid Health had 43 patients Monday morning.  That number has held fairly steady for the last three weeks.  72% of those patients are unvaccinated.

(Richmond, IN)--There were several reports of shots from numerous locations in Richmond early Monday morning.  But, as of 6 a.m., all of those reports were unfounded.  It began at around midnight with a call of shots fired at in the 200 block of North West E.  Then, multiple callers to 911 reported hearing shots on South 52^nd.  That was quickly followed by another report of shots from South 5^th and E at around 12:30 Monday morning.  Police could not find any evidence of any shots at any of those locations and there were no reports of any injury.

(Richmond, IN)--When Richmond Common Council meets Monday night, they’ll deal with an ordinance regarding Covid-19 and city employees.  That ordinance was sent to the Safety Committee two weeks ago.  It would extend Covid-19 paid sick leave for vaccinated employees through the end of the year.  Vaccinated employees would get up to two weeks of paid time if forced to quarantine or get treatment after being diagnosed with Covid-19.  Monday night’s meeting begins at 7 and can be seen live on WCTV.

(Richmond, IN)--The Wayne County Health Department on Thursday made some announcements about Covid-19 testing.  First, the testing site at the former Elder-Beerman building in Richmond is reopening.  Also, the department expanding testing into outlying communities.  Covid-19 testing will be done each Wednesday at Ace Hardware in Hagerstown, each Thursday at Northeastern schools just outside Fountain City, and each Friday at the Golay Center in Cambridge City.  The number of Wayne County residents to become fully vaccinated against Covid-19 remained fairly high this week.  Another 395 residents have become fully vaccinated since last Friday.  That comes on the heels of 468 people the week before.  There have now been 28,116 people become fully vaccinated.  43% of Wayne County residents are now vaccinated.  But, 60% of residents should now have some level of immunity because they’ve either had the virus or been vaccinated.

(Wayne County, IN)--Wayne County reported two new Covid-19 deaths Thursday.  It brings the total to 247 residents.  Randolph County also had a death, bringing their total to 99.  The number of patients at Reid Health has held relatively steady this week and stood at 44 Friday morning.  Nine of the ten patients in the ICU and five of the six people on ventilators at Reid Friday were unvaccinated.