(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.

(Fayette County, IN)--Details of a fatal crash that occurred on Wednesday on State Road 1 just south of Connersville were released Thursday.  Investigators say 35-year-old Bobbi Lamb of Metamora died was a passenger in a car driven by Kevin Hicks.  Hicks lost control, went off the road, and struck a tree.  Lamb was pronounced dead at the scene.  Two other passengers – Michael Lamb and Michaele Schmid were flown to Miami Valley Hospital.  Lamb was last listed in critical condition.

(Richmond, IN)--Part of the historic Crain Sanitarium is coming down.  The home at the corner of 22^nd and East Main in Richmond, which has fallen into disrepair in recent years, has had it porch declared a safety hazard.  This week, the Historic Preservation Commission issued two certificates approving the removal of the porches of that building and on a couple of houses to the west.  The president of Indiana Landmarks said that group is working to find a legal solution to what he called the property’s “clouded ownership” and is committed to find a solution to preserve what will be left of the property.  The city of Richmond said it will continue to monitor the condition of the house.  Private contractors have said it would cost far more to repair the house than it would be worth upon completion.  There’s no word on when work to remove the porch will begin.

(Wayne County, IN)--There was no change from the week before when Indiana’s updated Covid-19 map was released Wednesday.  It means that Wayne County remains orange along with every other Whitewater Valley county except for Franklin, which stays in the red.  Franklin County has the third highest positivity rate in all of Indiana.  Wayne County added 52 new cases Wednesday, which is above the rolling seven-day average.

(Richmond, IN)--Drivers in Richmond will see construction on some heavily traveled streets for the next week.  According to a release Wednesday, milling work will be done Thursday and Friday on both East and West Main Streets, Fort Wayne Avenue, and North and South 5^th Streets.  Then, next week, those streets will be repaved.  The release was not specific about what sections of those streets would be affected.

(Centerville, IN)--The dispute between Centerville’s Town Council President and a member continued Tuesday night.  At issue, in part, is a $26,000 bill for legal fees regarding a Main Street business.  It didn’t take long Tuesday night for things to turn nasty.

Member:  I think it was very inappropriate for you to accuse me of costing this city $26,000.

President:  Well, I could say the same thing about you right here.

The dispute continued.

Member:  So therefore, you have the right to embarrass and humiliate me in front of Centerville?

President:  Do you want all the Facebook stuff where you bashed me?

And, it ended with this threat.

Member:  I'll bring it up here in a little bit.

President:  No, we're not.

Member:  Okay, thank you, sir.

President:  You're welcome.

Member:  Indianapolis will be called.

President:  Fine.

 Other members of council did not comment on the issue Tuesday night.

(Richmond, IN)--An entry ramp onto I-70 has closed and will remain closed for the next month and a half.  The ramp from State Road 227 onto westbound I-70 closed Wednesday morning for what is the third section of construction on or close to I-70 in just a few miles.  There is still construction on westbound 70 at the state line and on the approach to westbound 70 at U.S. 35 in Preble County.  No significant visible progress has been made on either of those projects in several weeks.

(Richmond, IN)--The city of Richmond on Tuesday released details on leaf collection.  Five crews will be out collecting leaves across the city beginning this coming Monday.  As they do every year, the Street Department wants to make sure residents don’t include grass clippings, limbs, or any other yard waste in leaf piles.  Crews will try to pick up on each street once every two weeks.  Leaf collection will continue until a week before Christmas.

(Wayne County, IN)--Wayne County on Monday reported its lowest single-day total of new Covid-19 cases in nearly two months.  Wayne County added just 16 new cases Monday.  The last time the single-day total was lower was back on August 15 when it reported nine cases.  The day after that, the daily case count ballooned to 57.  The number of patients at Reid Health also dropped Monday and stands at 41 Tuesday morning.

(Richmond, IN)--Zachary Vansickle’s massive arrest record got a little longer Monday.  The 26-year-old Richmond man was jailed Monday afternoon after being found in the first block of South 16^th – allegedly carrying a handgun without a license.  It was just last week that Vansickle reported being shot but refused to cooperate with police.   It becomes Vansickle’s 12th criminal case in his adult life.  There’s no word yet on what led to Vansickle’s arrest Monday.

(Wayne County, IN)--A new food ordinance has gone into effect in Wayne County.  There are some new regulations involving mobile food trucks.  There’s another element of the ordinance that will be a little more visible to people who visit local restaurants.  Inspection reports of restaurants will be posted adjacent to the front door of the business.  The first round of new inspections will involve educating managers and owners about new posting requirements.

(Richmond, IN)--Reid Health has issued a statement saying that resources remain strained and it remains on critical bed status despite the recent downward trend in Covid-19 cases.  Back on 22^nd of last month, Reid had a pandemic-high 87 confirmed cases.  That had dropped to 45 by Monday morning.  Since September 1, there have been 60 deaths across Reid’s eight-county service area with the vast majority of the deaths being unvaccinated people.  Temporary overflow areas were still in use at Reid Monday.

(Richmond, IN)--An overnight police chase and crash took out a stoplight at North 12^th and A in Richmond.  It happened at just past midnight Monday morning.  Police tried to stop a wanted Ohio woman in a stolen SUV.  She crashed as she began to flee at about 65 miles per hour and took out a light pole, which also brought down the actual stoplight at the intersection.  She was taken to Reid Health to be checked out.  Her name has not yet been released.

(Richmond, IN)--The threat of violence at a Richmond school on Friday has ended with the arrest of juvenile.  Earlier this week, a school resource officer became aware of a post on Instagram that said violence would take place today at Dennis Intermediate School.  The juvenile who made the post was located and said that the post was intended to be a prank among friends.  That boy or girl has now been charged with felony communication intimidation and has been released to guardians.  Dennis was the site of an intended school shooting in which the would-be juvenile assailant died nearly three years ago.

(Wayne County, IN)--There’s been a big increase in the number of Wayne County residents who have become fully vaccinated in the last week.  Two weeks ago, 289 people became fully vaccinated for the week.  But, this week, the number has jumped to 468.  It means that 27,721 local residents are now fully vaccinated.  That’s 42% of the population.  Combining those that have been vaccinated with those that have knowingly already had the virus means that at least 58% of residents should have some level of immunity.

(Wayne County, IN)--The number of weekly jobless claims in Wayne County continues to drop.  When the extra $300 in federal benefits ended early last month, the number of Wayne County jobless claims was immediately cut in half.  Now, it’s dropping even further.  Only 27 claims were filed last week.  By comparison, there were 473 claims in just one week in Wayne County in July.  That’s when an announcement was made that the $300 benefit would be extended into September.