Through the years March seemed to offer much fire department news.
In 1949 residents in southern Clay Township needed to sign up for fire protection because the township had no contract with the Brookville Fire Department. But Brookville had a new fire truck, and county firefighters planned for mutual aid. (Without the program, firefighters hurt in other jurisdictions had no insurance coverage.)
In 1999, firefighters suspected arson at the Brookville Community United Methodist Church, and linked the suspect to more church fires in Indiana and one in Ansonia.
In March 2023, the Preble County Board of Commissioners announced a meeting to discuss the potential merger of county-wide fire and EMS services.
The public wanted improvements. In 1934, the county planning commission asked for Public Works Administration funds to improve the intersection of U.S. Route 40 and State Route 49, citing 52 deaths in seven years. (At that time, 49 was a two-lane highway running through Old Clayton intersecting 40 at an angle.)
That same year, the federal government announced a program to return control of building and loans to the people if the institutions were sound.
In 1949. Brookville and Englewood asked for better phone service, complaining dial service had been promised and applicants were not receiving phones due to a shortage of material.
Also in 1949, after complaints that “minors were wasting their money” playing mechanical amusements devices, Brookville adopted a $75 a year license on the devices and banned anyone under 18 from using them.
In 1923, local cities and townships discussed adopting such energy aggregation packages to lower utility rates.
In 1949, the Brookville Star reminded motorists that new auto tags (yellow letters on black) had to be put on cars and driver’s licenses renewed by April 1.
In 1999, the Bogan family of Brookville saw efforts pay off when the Bogan Baby Bill became law, requiring insurance companies to pay for special formulas. Their daughter’s health problem, when the insurance company said the prescription-only special formula was not a medical matter, was the impetus behind the bill.
In 1999, village officials feared the loss of “most of the major industries” if the rail lines were abandoned, and Vindale Corporation complained that the study by the railroads was haphazard and the zone maps were not complete.
In 1949, World War II still affected the area. The Star announced the federal government would furnish free Gold Star lapel buttons to parents and widows of those who had been killed in action, and the body of Roy Chester Siler, killed on Okinawa, came home to Brookville for burial.
Conservative churches arranged for every radio station in the country to simultaneously carry “One Great Hour,” a live appeal for aid for Europe.
In March of 2023, Brookville council voted not to sponsor fireworks or any other activity for the community picnic.
That same year, Brookville lost a 133-year-old institution when the Brookville Star was absorbed by the Eaton Register-Herald, which now would cover the entire area.
