(Eaton, OH)--The man accused of murdering a woman at a state-line truck stop remains behind bars without bond this morning in the Preble County Jail.  He’s 36-year-old LaDavid Shaw.  Online records indicate Shaw is a Mississippi resident.  So far, the victim’s identity has not been released.  An autopsy on her was conducted Thursday.  "Detectives did attend that autopsy as normal protocol.  We'll be waiting on those results back...wrapping up what we can wrap up and then do any further investigation we can do as this case moves forward," said Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson.  Also not disclosed yet is the relationship between the victim and the suspect…if there was any at all.  Preble County investigators are working with Wayne County as part of a joint investigation.

(Richmond, IN)--An arrest has been made in connection with the vandalism that occurred recently in the Starr-Gennett area of the Whitewater Gorge in Richmond.  20 of 29 medallions that pay tribute to the most iconic artists who recorded in Richmond nearly a hundred years ago were ripped apart, causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage.  Thursday night, officers arrested 45-year-old Kevin Hodge in the 800 block of South 6^th.  Hodge faces a felony charge of criminal mischief.  Hodge has a previous conviction for drug possession.

(Richmond, IN)--The Richmond Community School Board has now set a special meeting to deal with proposed RIFs.  That meeting will take place Monday afternoon at 5 o’clock.  The RIF issue was removed from the Board’s regular meeting agenda last week.  RCS said that some Board members did not feel they had enough time to weigh the issue.  The initial RIF proposal called for the elimination of 19 positions.  By law, teachers who will have their jobs eliminated must be notified by this coming Wednesday.

(Indianapolis, IN)--After having dropped for three consecutive months, unemployment rates have ticked back up across the Whitewater Valley.  New figures from the state indicate that Wayne County’s unemployment rate has jumped from 2.7% to 3.3% in the last month.  The increase is due mostly to 188 more people counted as unemployed than were in the last month.  Other counties across the Whitewater Valley saw similar increases.

(New Paris, OH)--A death investigation that began Wednesday night at a state-line truck stop was continuing Thursday morning.  Deputies responded to the Petro Travel Center on U.S. 40 at around 8:20 Wednesday night.  The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office initially believed it was a fatal crash on the ramp onto westbound I-70.  But, Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson said they learned that was not what happened.  "The semi driver made some statements that he's responsible for the death of the female in the truck and it wasn't because of the crash," Simpson said.  He then ran across U.S. 40 but was quickly caught.  He was taken to the hospital to be checked out.  A Petro employee indicated that the killing occurred in the truck stop’s parking lot and that the man came in to take a shower after it occurred.  The identities of both the victim and the suspect have not been released.

(Richmond, IN)--Wayne County Commissioners met Wednesday and discussed finding a solution to an ongoing problem with Elks Road.  An area just north of the railroad tracks is sliding down toward the river.  The slide is breaking up the road, and it’s a problem that’s been going on for years.  The problem area has now been blocked off.  "There's one lane open.  I put concrete barricades along it because it's dropped far enough.  I don't want to keep putting gravel on it.  We're just wasting gravel," said Mike Sharp with the Wayne County Highway Department.  An account was created Wednesday to hold funding for more extensive work.

(Connersville, IN)--Investigators are saying it was likely a medical emergency that caused a man to crash at the Speedway station at 30^th Street and Park Road in Connersville.  It happened at around 1:45 Wednesday afternoon.  Bystanders worked to get the man out of his vehicle.  He was taken to Reid Health Connersville and was pronounced dead.  The initial finding was that the man was traveling north on Park Road at a high rate of speed before impacting a wall that runs adjacent to Speedway’s parking lot.  The man’s identity was not released.

(Winchester, IN)--A long-time Randolph County judge will be stepping down in a couple of weeks.  Randolph Circuit Judge Jay Toney has informed the Indiana Supreme Court that his final day on the bench will be July 6.  Toney was first elected in 2004 and was reelected three times after that.  Kimberly Dowling has been appointed as Judge Pro Tem.  She previously served in that role for Dale Arnett, who was forced to resign last fall for judicial misconduct.

(Camden, OH)--A Preble County man was taken into custody Wednesday night following an investigation.  50-year-old Stephen Cook was arrested by Camden police and is now charged with public indecency to lure a minor under the age of 13 into sexual activity and importuning.  Importuning where the victim is under the age of 13 is a relatively high-level felony.  Cook is being held without bond.  Other details have not been released.

(Richmond, IN)--The Uranus Fudge Factory issued another reaction Tuesday night in the ongoing dispute over water at nearby Camp Mahanaim.  Uranus, which now faces a federal lawsuit, reiterated their opinion that they are prevented by law from supplying water to the camp.  They also urged online critics they called "yahoos" to confirm their position by going to ChatGPT.  Meanwhile, Uranus also Tuesday night posted images of a vandal who spraypainted the words “open the water” with an expletive near their storefront.

(Connersville, IN)--Connersville police served a warrant on one man and found an accused child molester in the process.  Details of the Monday search were released Tuesday.  Dana Erlewein was wanted in Wayne County for failing to appear in his most recent of numerous drug cases.  Investigators went to the 100 block of East 2^nd in Connersville and found Erlewein hiding inside.  Because he was hiding, they did a more thorough search inside the home.  That’s when they found Roy Marsh of Knightstown, who is wanted in Henry County for child molestation.  Both were initially being held without bond.

(Richmond, IN)--A pre-trial hearing is set for Thursday in the case of a former Richmond Sanitation Department worker accused of stealing more than $800,000.  It’s now been more than a year and a half since Jennifer Wilson was formally charged in the case.  Since then, online court documents indicate her trial date has been pushed back six times.  Wilson is a former accounts payable clerk with the Sanitary District.  She allegedly took customers’ monthly payments and deposited the money into her own account over a period that extended more than six years.  Wilson is currently set to go on trial in early August.

(Richmond, IN)--Vandals have done major damage at a spot aimed to pay tribute to a significant part of Richmond’s legacy.  It happened in the Starr-Gennett area of the gorge.  There, 29 medallions pay tribute to some of the most iconic artists who recorded in Richmond decades ago – artists like Louis Armstrong and Guy Lombardo.  Last week, vandals took the bronze from those medallions, causing estimated tens of thousands of dollars in damage.  The Starr-Gennett Foundation indicated that reports have been filed with both the police and their insurance company.

(Richmond, IN)--Richmond Community Schools on Monday provided an explanation about why RIFs were removed from the agenda of last week’s Board meeting.  In a written response, RCS indicated that some members of the Board determined that they did not feel comfortable having such a brief period of time in advance of the meeting to fully consider the issue.  Teachers who will have their jobs eliminated must be notified by July 1 according to state law.  The Board meets in executive session Wednesday night and will set another public meeting before that deadline.  19 positions are set to be eliminated.

(Richmond, IN)--A Richmond drug dealer has received a stiff prison sentence.  Part of the reason that 55-year-old Kenneth Gipson received a 17-year prison sentence is that he had been convicted of dealing drugs twice before.  Last summer, investigators found more than one hundred grams of cocaine and items used for distribution in Gibson’s home in the 1400 block of South 4^th.  They also located handguns and $24,000 in cash.

(Richmond, IN)--A man arrested for dealing the drugs that caused the overdose death of a Cambridge City resident has been sentenced to 15 years.  Jamen Riggs died three years ago.  Investigators said that Kain Grose sold Riggs the drugs that killed him.  As part of a plea deal, Grose pled guilty to a drug-dealing charge in exchange for the causing death element being dropped.  Solomon Williams was also charged in the case.  Williams is due to go on trial in September.

(Richmond, IN)--The Uranus Fudge Factory issued a statement over the weekend after a dispute over water access between Uranus and Camp Mahanaim prompted the camp to file a lawsuit.  The camp claims Uranus parked a fire truck on top of a valve which prevented water from being turned on at the camp, forcing it to truck in water from Greenville.  The new statement from Uranus claims that they are prohibited by law from acting as a mid-stream water utility and that they are in full compliance with state utility laws.  Camp Mahanaim has filed a lawsuit over the issue.

(Richmond, IN)--A missing Richmond teen has been located and is home safe.  Last Tuesday, the Richmond Police Department asked for the help of the public in locating 14-year-old Dredyn Williams, who had been missing from South West 2^nd Street for several days.  Over the weekend, RPD issued an update that indicated the boy had been found.  Details of where he had been and how he was located were not released.

(Liberty, IN)--There were numerous drug arrests over the weekend.  In Union County, deputies found an unresponsive person in a car on Scratch Gravel Road.  42-year-old Brandy Baker of Liberty was revived and ultimately charged with possession.  The substance was identified as fentanyl.  In Wayne County, five people have been jailed on various drug charges since Friday.  That includes Travis Davis, who is charged with dealing cocaine.

(Richmond, IN)--A Richmond habitual offender and convicted drug dealer Sunday earned the dubious distinction of being taken to jail twice in the same day.  44-year-old John Lubresky was first taken to jail Sunday morning for driving with a suspended license.  He was released.  Then, a few hours later, he was taken back to jail for battery against a juvenile.  That charge has a mandatory 24-hour hold.

(Richmond, IN)--Here’s more on the makeup of the Smith Hill development, which appears to be fully moving forward.  The proposed development now includes up to 277 individual living units, which is more than was originally proposed in the development’s initial stages.  "We are anticipating that up to one hundred of those may be town homes.  Those town homes may be owner-occupied; they may be for rent.  We don't know.  We have the flexibility to do both," said developer Chris Hamm.  Those potential rentals would be located closer to South 37^th in the northwest part of the development.  As for the individual homes, some will be very pricey.  "There will be a section of custom homes that will be created which are anticipated to be sold from $800,000 to $850,000 a piece," Hamm explained.  Hamm said homes on the low end will sell for about $300,000.

(Franklin County, IN)--Storm damage was assessed across southern parts of the Whitewater Valley Thursday, which took the brunt of storms that moved through the area Wednesday night into Thursday morning.  The National Weather Service determined Thursday that an EF-2 tornado touched down in southeastern Franklin County  In the Drewersburg area, one home was destroyed with another receiving extensive damage.  One woman had to be rescued from her basement.  The tornado had an estimated wind speed of 125 miles per hour.

(Richmond, IN)--On Wednesday, the Richmond Community School Board removed proposed RIF’s from the agenda for the Wednesday night meeting.  But that does not mean the issue is over.  Here’s RCS Board President Austin Brann:  "They were removed for more discussion prior to the end of the month.  We will be having another meeting - probably executive session first and then a session to vote on that."  The proposal that was removed from the agenda called for 19 positions to be eliminated.

(Richmond, IN)--The Richmond Education Association, or teachers’ union, has issued a follow-up statement after announcing earlier this week that there was a near-unanimous vote of no confidence in the RCS Central Office leadership.  The new statement essentially addresses fears of retaliation against leaders of the REA.  It lays out a six-point prediction of actions they say RCS may take to ultimately terminate those leaders.  The REA said that the predictions are based on previous actions by the RCS administration that came to fruition.  RCS has not addressed the no-confidence vote.

(Connersville, IN)--A Connersville man is facing charges including child molesting and sexual misconduct with a minor.  52-year-old Forrest Crawley faces those charges following a lengthy investigation.  Details of what led to the charges have not been released.  Crawley is being held on a $150,000.  A judge in the case issued a no contact order on Thursday.