RICHMOND, Ind. - The Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County, with United Way of Whitewater Valley, received a matching grant of up to $200,000 for renovations at the Ronald L. McDaniel Boys & Girls Club in Richmond.
The upgrades include a new gym floor, fresh paint, HVAC improvements, and additional storage.
Renovations begin in June 2026, creating a high-quality space for sports, education, and teen programs.
WINCHESTER, Ind. – The Community Foundation of Randolph County (CFRC), a non-political private organization headquartered in Winchester, is now accepting grant applications for its Spring Grant Cycle.
The application is available at www.randolphcountyfoundation.org/grants.
Applications are due by March 31 at 4 p.m. and grant recipients will be announced May 7 during the Spring Grants Reception at Vision Corner Learning Center in Union City, IN.
WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. – FFA students in Wayne County are celebrating National FFA Week by bringing generations of the agricultural community together for a shared meal and conversation.
The fifth annual Farmer’s Breakfast takes place at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. The event is hosted by FFA chapters from Northeastern, Western Wayne and Hagerstown and welcomes businesses, supporters, producers and school administrators from across the area.
“The goal is to provide an opportunity for our FFA members to meet and talk with the local ag community, to say thank you to that community with a free breakfast,” said Christy Herr, FFA Advisor with Nettle Creek School Corporation.
The breakfast includes a panel of FFA alumni sharing their experiences and knowledge.
“The speakers all bring something different to the panel,” Herr said.
Panel Members:
Roughly 100 students from all three schools are involved in the event, interacting with guests while serving drinks and meals.
Food options include biscuits and gravy, sausage, egg bites, donuts, and mixed fruit. Drink options include coffee, juice, milk and water. Aside from the donuts, everything is prepared by Thalia Messer. FFA chapters share the expense of the meal, with the help of Farm Credit, who provides cutlery, cups and plates.
Each school chapter creates an invitation list of people and businesses within the community that support FFA, along with any producers of livestock or grain that are known. Typically, 200-250 people attend, and this year the event is expecting around 215 attendees.
“It is a list that needs to keep growing,” Herr said.
While invitations are sent out, Herr encourages anyone interested to attend by reaching out to one of the advisors. Advisors include Herr, Jonathan Ferris, and Allison McCumons. All three FFA chapters are also looking for community members to help in preparing for contests, including judges for mock contests, preparing speeches or demonstrations, and helping with welding.
Herr added that the Farmer’s Breakfast provides fellowship between many different generations learning from and focusing on agriculture.
“One of my students, Ben Hokey, commented that he is more comfortable speaking with and in front of others because of this breakfast,” she said.
Herr said events like Farmer’s Breakfast reflect the broader mission of FFA programs in Wayne County.
“FFA builds leaders. It uses the foundation of agriculture to build future leaders,” Herr said, also including a response from some of her students. “FFA impacts students’ lives whether they have lived in agriculture their entire lives or if this is just a new beginning. FFA informs the community about agriculture while positively encouraging members and their community to do whatever they can to give back to agriculture.”
RICHMOND, Ind. – Jiffy Lube of Richmond is partnering with The Salvation Army to support local families in the area.
As part of the partnership, Jiffy Lube is donating $24,000 worth of oil change vouchers. According to The Salvation Army, the vouchers can be used for fundraising efforts or distributed directly to residents to help maintain their vehicles.
The program aims to provide reliable transportation for daily life, ensuring that individuals and families have access to essential vehicle maintenance.
RICHMOND, IN — The Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) at Indiana University East is once again calling for donations of idle ceramic coffee mugs to support a local business owner. What began several years ago as a focused initiative within the School of Business and Economics has officially evolved into a city-wide effort.
After successfully scaling from a departmental project to a campus-wide staple, the program is now inviting all Richmond residents to participate alongside IU East students, faculty, and staff. This initiative gives used kitchenware a "second life" while providing a sustainable resource for the local economy.
How to Participate
If you have ceramic mugs in good shape that you no longer use, please bring them to the following campus location by Monday, April 6, 2026:
· Location: IU East School of Business and Economics, second floor of Hayes Hall (HY 255).
Important for Richmond Residents
While a collection box is available on-site, Richmond residents interested in donating are expected to contact Karla Stevenson to make specific arrangements for their drop-off.
Contact Information
For more information or to coordinate a donation, please contact:
· Karla Stevenson: (765) 973-8343 | karlstev@iu.edu
· Dr. Oi Lin (Irene) Cheung: (765) 973-8497 | ocheung@iu.edu
RICHMOND, Ind. – Special Olympics Indiana’s 2026 Polar Plunge season continues Saturday, Feb. 21, at Middlefork Reservoir in Richmond.
The event is inviting residents to “Be Bold and Get Cold” by participating for a great cause. In its 27th year, the Polar Plunge is supporting more than 20,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities across Indiana.
Registration for the event starts at 10 a.m., followed by a costume contest and Opening Ceremony. The main plunge event begins at noon.
Participants must raise a minimum of $125 to plunge. Those who meet the minimum earn a commemorative Polar Plunge T-shirt, including additional incentive prizes at higher fundraising levels. The top fundraiser will be awarded.
The season also features the Super Plunger program. Individuals who raise $4,000 or more receive VIP treatment at the season-ending plunge at Eagle Creek in Indianapolis.
The Polar Plunge season runs through March 7.
RICHMOND, Ind. – West Main Family Dental has a new dentist leading the practice.
Dr. Allison Mopps bought the practice in December 2025. Previously owned by Dr. Jill Burns, she decided it was time to take a step back after more than 20 years of serving the community.
That decision opened the door for Mopps to take on a stronger role.
“She still wants to work a little bit, but she wanted to be able to back up and not have to deal with the business aspect,” Mopps said.
Dr. Burns continues international dental service work.
For Dr. Mopps, the vision of having a practice came a little quicker than expected. Right now, she is still getting into the groove of learning the ins and outs of the business, especially in terms of insurance and pay.
A Richmond native, Mopps originally thought she’d go to school to become a veterinarian because of her love for animals. Mopps attended Purdue University for her undergrad, where she worked at a vet clinic. After working the emergency hours, she soon decided it wasn’t the right fit due to its emotional impact.
“My mom is actually a hygienist who works here with me. And she said, ‘well I think you should look into dentistry,’ and she was right,” Mopps said. “I like the creative aspect of it.”
She also enjoys the process of designing crowns and veneers on a computer and then using milling technology to produce them, within the same day.
After completing her undergrad at Purdue, she went on to A.T. Still University in Missouri for dental school. The small class size, with only 42 students, made it feel personalized.
"It was easy to get the help you needed," she said.
Mopps said she was drawn to dentistry because of the creative aspect and the ability to work with her hands.
“It’s an instant gratification thing. So, you walk in and you walk out with your new smile,” Mopps said.
After dental school, she spent two years working in St. Louis, gaining hands-on experience at a community health center serving Medicaid and Medicare patients. That experience reinforced her passion for dentistry, especially helping educate people on oral health and why dental hygiene is vital to overall well-being.
“It’s hard to do something when you don’t know what to do and you don’t think about how much your oral health affects everything,” she said. “It affects how you eat, how you talk, how you feel confidence-wise about yourself, it really plays into your whole life.”
Mopps graduated in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and briefly worked at Aspen Dental before joining West Main Family Dentistry in 2022. She started working a couple days a week and has since transitioned into being at the practice full time.
Now, as the practice continues under her name, Mopps’ main goal is to make the experience more comfortable for patients.
“We’re kind of brainstorming different ideas to try to get people more excited about coming to the dentist, because I know it’s no one’s favorite place to be,” she said.
Mopps said she and her team are looking into expanding services like Invisalign and making the office more homey and welcoming. Small improvements, such as creating a break room and making the space feel more open, are part of the plan.
When asked if she ever saw herself buying a practice, Mopps said the idea used to feel intimidating. But after six years of experience and growing confidence, she said she felt ready.
"I wasn't nearly as scared of it as I was six years ago," she said. "Luckily, I have a great staff who've made it really easy.
Her main message to the community is that oral health matters. She wants people to know that dental care can prevent larger health issues and improve life.
"I really want to try to keep that from happening," she said. "Whether it's through educating people when they come in or making it more open so we can get people the help they need."
At Hometown Headlines, we believe local news is the heartbeat of a community. Our mission is simple: to keep Wayne, Fayette, Randolph, Henry, Union, Preble and Darke Counties connected, informed, and celebrated. We cover the stories that matter most close to home, reminding us why this region is such a special place to live. The focus is on quality of life, economic development, health, and education.
Hometown Headlines is a Brewer Broadcasting publication.
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