Dozens of people attended the re-dedication of the "Phyllis Neff Homicide Victim Memorial Garden" located in front of Crime Victim Services. Neff was a long-time advocate in the courts for victims of violent crime and their families for more than three decades. She passed away in December of 2021 from COVID. Her legacy lives on in all of the people whose lives she touched. Not only in her career but also in her day-to-day life.

Major Angel Cortes is sworn in by Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith as the city’s new top cop. It was standing room only as Cortes took the oath of office. He started with the Lima Police Department in 1991 as a patrol officer and as he saw he could make a difference he worked his way up the ranks which led to this day. He says the bottom line is that we must have a safe community where people feel comfortable coming into, living here, and spending time here.

Wednesday, she announced current City Engineer Kirk Niemeyer will become the City of Lima’s Public Works Director. Niemeyer has been with the city for 20 years with responsibilities including direct engineering, construction, personnel, and budgeting. He has worked closely with department heads and the city council on many projects. He says he is ready to step into the position and the mayor says she has all the confidence in him to head the department.

Coordinator Betsy Winget adds, “There’s probably 18 to 20 different services that we can assist you with and the operators are live right here in Lima. So, they know the community, they know where to refer people. Social service agencies in the community have signed up their services on the web. Folks that need help can text 2-1-1, they can call, they can also jump on the website and get the help that need in a very fast manner.”

Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith, along with local health officials, announced a heart month awareness luncheon to bring women together to learn about this silent killer. The American Heart Association reports that heart disease kills one woman every 80 seconds making it the number one killer of women. This “Lima Women have Heart” luncheon is designed to bring women, health professionals, and heart disease survivors together to educate, learn and support one another.

“Smart City” is a project that is taking a serious look at the city’s software programs in all their departments. Wednesday was a look into the courts and law enforcement. The goal is to get a system that can talk between all the departments.