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In an exciting move to make local journalism more accessible to everyone in our community, The Washington County Times  is officially going paywall-free!

After several months of not holding meetings due in part to the proposed zoning ordinance fiasco that occurred earlier in the year, the Washington County Planning Commission finally reconvened once again on Tuesday, May 6. The meeting, however, took an immediate and unexpected turn.

Washington County was added to the State of Indiana Emergency Declaration. Some Washington County residents qualify for SDRF for the Tornado and Flooding events of early April. IF YOU HAD DAMAGE CLICK THE LINKS IN THE STATEMENT FROM IDHS BELOW TO SEE IF YOU QUALIFY.

Everyone, at some point, wonders how their life will end. Many imagine a quiet passing, perhaps in old age, surrounded by family. Some even dream of slipping away at the same time as a beloved spouse — a romantic idea, but one that almost never happens. And yet, one quiet day in Salem in 1906, Samuel and Priscilla Trueblood did exactly that.

On May 6, the Washington County Commissioners held a normal meeting at their normal location at the Salem Courthouse, but the attendance was anything but normal. What is usually a sparsely populated gallery was instead filled to the brim with employees from Temple & Temple, owned by Ken Temple. Temple and his employees were present in hopes that they would receive a bid in regard to a paving project funded partially by grant money provided by Community Crossings.

On the morning of Tuesday, May 6, the Washington County Board of Commissioners met to discuss and vote on several issues, one of which has been a topic of interest for nearly two months: Whether or not to declare the Plan Commission vacant due to members not taking an oath of office as stated in Indiana Code 5-4-1-1.2 (c) and (d).

Lorinda Darlene "Dardar" Niece, age 54, of Paoli, Indiana passed away Sunday, May 4, 2025 at Paoli Health and Living. Born May 21, 1970 in Salem, she was the daughter of the late Andrew Niece and Alice (Dotson) Niece.

Deanna Rose Lanham, age 65, of Salem passed away Sunday May 4, 2025 at Kindred Hospital in Louisville. Born October 21, 1959 in Salem, she was the daughter of the late Osborne Haley, Jr. and Freda (Robinette) Haley.

Vickie L. Kniesly, 63, of Pekin, passed away on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Jewish Hospital in Louisville. Born July 30, 1961, she was the daughter of the late Rod and Penny (Foster) Houston.

Christine Schmidt, 89, of Salem, passed away at her residence on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Born March 28, 1936, she was the daughter of the late Noah D. Wickey and Mattie (Schwartz) Wickey.

On May 2, 2025, Salem emergency responders received a call at 2:58 PM in regard to a single-vehicle wreck on North Main Street, just north of Ernstberger Orthodontics.

Former Assistant Fire Chief Mark Day has stepped up to take the reins as Fire Chief after his brother and former Fire Chief Tom Day officially retired. Beginning his firefighting career in 2007, Mark Day has been part of the Salem and Washington Township Fire Department family for nearly two decades, and he describes it as one of the most important things for the community that he is part of.