Gov. Holcomb Quarantines After COVID-19 Exposure

November 17, 2020

Several members of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s security detail have tested positive for COVID-19.

As a result, Indiana State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box has advised Governor Holcomb and First Lady Janet Holcomb to quarantine beginning today.

Governor and First Lady Holcomb are considered close contacts and will be tested later this week.

The Indiana State Department of Health will perform the contact tracing for the Governor, First Lady and the security detail.

Dr. Box and Dr. Lindsay Weaver will lead Wednesday afternoon’s weekly COVID briefing and the Governor will join by phone.

You can watch the weekly address on WSLM’s Facebook page.

Health Department Allows Senators Semi-State Game Friday

November 17, 2020

0

According to an announcement on the West Washington Senators page this afternoon, the Washington County Health Department has approved a plan to allow the county’s first-ever semi-state football championship game.

The West Washington Senators Varsity Football team advanced past the regional round last Friday night and will play Covenant Christian for the Class A Semi-State championship Friday night at Art Sanders Field at 7p.

Earlier this week, first-year West Washington High School Athletic Director Darrin Russel said he was confident the school would get to play their football game Friday night.

“As far as semi-state we have been in communication this weekend with the IHSAA and State health department and are confident that we will be able to host,” he said. “It isn’t what you want if you’re playing for a chance to go to state [finals] but just thankful that we are playing and the kids will get the opportunity to play on Art Sanders Field.”

In a social media post this afternoon, the school noted:

“[West Washington School Corporation] wants to thank the Washington County Health Department and Dr. [Jeff] Morgan for working so closely with us in order to allow us to host our Semi-State Championship Game with limited spectators.”

Here is a copy of the Senators’ play they submitted to the health department – FB Game Day Guidelines

This is the first semi-state football tournament held in the county.

The Senators play in a semi-state game last year at Indianapolis Lutheran and were defeated 49-0.

The Senators last played in a Semi-State game in 1994 when they lost 27-6 to Sheridan.

The year before, in 1993, the Senators capped off a winning season by playing in the RCA Dome for the Class A State Finals against North Miami. The Senators lost 37-16.

Last week, Morgan issued restrictions for education and extra-curricular activities after Washington County turned to “Orange” on the state health department’s Covid-19 map.

At that time, Morgan said he would only allow less than 50 people to attend sporting (or extracurricular) events during the time the county was in the “Orange” status.

The Senators Facebook page didn’t mention how many tickets would be made available to either team.

Morgan indicated a “strong recommendation to have no in-person attendees.”

“If in the situation that our county moves into the red category, all three schools will be closed to in-person learning,” Morgan wrote in a letter on Nov. 12 to all school administrators. “All extracurricular activities would be canceled.”

Morgan said this was a stricter mandate than what the ISDH has put out but “it is in the best health interest of our community.”

County coaches said they would be disappointed but would comply with the order.

“If the county goes Red- then yes- we will have to shut down all sports,” said Eastern High School Athletic Director Scott Newcomb. “At the high school level, we will try to make up all postponed games here at Eastern. If we continue to play with no fans (Orange level) or very limited fans, this will really impact our ability to host games.”

Newcomb said it would have an economic impact on the school as well.

“Without any income coming in with the gate and concessions, and still paying officials and a few workers, it will make it difficult to operate very long,” he said. “The money that is generated throughout the basketball season also helps to fund the spring sports. With all that being said, we do realize the health and safety of our student-athletes, our workers and the community that comes to watch them is the most important piece to this whole puzzle.”

West Washington’s girl’s basketball team has three games set for this week and the boy’s basketball team is practicing for their annual debut matchup with the Salem Lions on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

“We are taking everything [one] day at a time,” said first-year Senator Athletic Director Darren Russell. “Obviously, if we go red and have to shut down there is nothing we can do.”

He said the school was working on plans to continue to play and operate under the “Orange” status guidelines.

“We have plans in the work on how we can have parents close just in case their kid gets hurt which is the biggest fear any of have is that someone gets hurt and a parent isn’t there,” said Russell.

The Indiana State Health Department updates its county map each Wednesday.

Currently, Washington County is at a 14.9 percent 7-Day All Positivity Rate.

The “Red” status would kick in if the county goes above 15 percent.

Should Washington County turn to red, which is the highest rate of Covid-19 spread, Morgan said he would cancel all athletic events.

It is not known at this time if the Semi-State game would be allowed to continue or if it would be canceled along with other athletics.

The ISDH updates that on Wednesday and new information would be released at Noon on Nov. 18.

West Washington says there will be a limited number of tickets available for each team and all tickets must be pre-purchased, but there was no indication what the number was.

The cost per ticket is $10.

WW Football players need to purchase their tickets from Coach Keith Nance as soon as possible.

A limited number of tickets will be available in the West Washington High School office beginning Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8:30 am for those not getting them through a player.

WSLM 97.9 FM will carry the game live on the air and it will be streamed on WSLM’s Facebook page.

The kickoff is set for 7p with the pregame show starting at approximately 7:45p.

Floyd County Issues Restrictions for Bars and Restaurants until Dec. 21

November 17, 2020

0

Dr. Thomas Harrison, Floyd County’s Health Officer, issued restrictions for local bars and restaurants to help curb the rising infection rate of Covid-19.

Harris said bars in Floyd County would close at 10 pm local time each evening, pursuant to Indiana Code 16-20-1 and 16-41-9.

Additionally, Harris has ordered restaurants to decrease seating to 75% of capacity.

His order will remain in effect until midnight, December 21.

Harris and the Floyd County Health Department extended the county’s mask mandate to the end of the year in mid-October.

“The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to plague our community,” he noted in a press release. “Moreover, we are seeing community-wide disease-causing increasing rates of illness. This week, the state has hit the highest 7-day rolling average of cases for the entire Pandemic.”

Harris said measures such as hand hygiene, facial coverings, social distancing, staying home when sick, and avoiding large crowds are the most effective strategies to reduce the spread from infected persons to non-infected persons.

“Therefore, to protect public health and simply save lives, restrictions must be extended to assist in the reduction of COVID-19 transmission, and avoid an increase in new cases,” he wrote.

“The order may be extended or curtailed depending on Pandemic conditions,” Harris noted. “The intent of this order is to continue to provide a safe environment for all people in Floyd County and avoid the spread of COVID-19.”

Harris said the move will protect public health in Floyd County.

“Nothing in this order reduces or eliminates the requirements imposed by the executive orders by Governor Holcomb or orders from other regulating governmental agencies. This order is intended to be used to educate, encourage, and persuade people to avoid large indoor gatherings and maintain social distancing. Additionally, we encourage other business and governmental sectors to allow employees to work from home when feasible.”

Citizens should continue to use frequent hand washing or sanitizing; maintain a minimum social distance of six
(6) feet; avoid touching the eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands; and stay home and isolate yourself if
you are sick.

“We recommend all those in symptomatic and close contact status be tested,” said Harris.

So far 21,605 people have been tested for Covid-19 in Floyd County with 2,673 positive results.

There have been 76 Covid-19 related deaths since March.

Senate Democrats hold press conference on redistricting efforts

November 17, 2020

0

On Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) was joined by State Senator Tim Lanane (D-Anderson), State Senator J.D. Ford (D-Indianapolis) and other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to discuss their plans to reform the state’s redistricting process. With Census data being collected this year, 2021 marks the final opportunity to pass redistricting legislation before voting maps are redrawn for the next decade.

“My caucus has been fighting to get redistricting reform on the books for over a decade now,” Sen. Taylor said. “While we have been persistent in our efforts to put an end to partisan gerrymandering, we have been roadblocked each year by the Republican supermajority. As a result, we are now heading into the critical year of 2021 when voting maps will be redrawn, and we do not have an independent commission or any necessary procedures in place.

“Fortunately, there are still things we can do to make sure our redistricting process is fair and unbiased. Last year, I introduced a proposal to put guidelines in place on how districts can be drawn. My bill would ensure that partisan influence is cut out of the redistricting process, and I plan to reintroduce that bill again in 2021.”

Sen. Taylor’s legislation would do several things, including:

Require districts to be as compact as possible
Discourage the division of cities and counties between districts
Discourage the separation of school corporation boundaries and communities into separate districts
Prohibit the drawing of district lines to favor a particular party or person
Require that new voting maps do not violate the Voting Rights Act
Put procedures in place to provide public with redistricting data and computer software to draw maps, and creates a process for the public to submit their maps

“After a year of record voter turnout, I’m hopeful that the Republican supermajority will be inclined to meet the desires of Hoosiers and promote fairness and trust in our elections,” Sen. Taylor said. “The standards that I am proposing are common-sense guidelines that would remove much of the hyper-partisan influence from the process of drawing our voting maps.

“I truly believe that all legislators should want to ensure that Hoosiers have more faith in the integrity of our elections. Therefore, I ask both chambers to give my bill a hearing immediately and approve it within the first two weeks of the legislative session.”

Ball State Students must provide a COVID-19 test before they return in January

November 17, 2020

0

Ball State University announced it will require all students to provide a COVID-19 test result before returning to campus for the Spring semester in January.

The information was distributed to students Monday afternoon via an email from Vice President of Student Affairs, Ro-Anne Royer Engle.

In the message, she said, “As our Fall Semester draws to a close, we are actively planning for the Spring Semester when students return in January. Together, we learned a lot about COVID-19 this semester and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control has evolved to reflect clearer public health recommendations about COVID-19 testing.

“With the revised guidance in mind, and to further protect our campus community, we will require all students to be tested for COVID-19 before returning to campus in January.”

Students are required to submit a test result within seven days before arriving on campus and they are being asked to self-quarantine between the date the test is administered and the date they return to campus.

A full description of the student pre-arrival testing protocol can be read here, and more information, including answers to some Frequently Asked Questions, can be found here.

Body located Floating in Ohio River

November 17, 2020

0

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating after a body was located floating in the Ohio River.

Conservation Officers were notified of the body at approximately 2:00 p.m. on Friday November 13, 2020, just downstream of Diamond Island in Posey County. A recovery was made at 2:52 p.m.

The victim has been identified as Ronnie D. Felton, 62, of Evansville, IN.

An autopsy was performed, and foul play is not suspected.

Responding agencies included the Posey County Sheriff’s Department, Marrs Township Fire Department, Posey County EMS, Posey County Coroner’s Office and Indiana Conservation Officers.

Houchin named Legislator of the Year by The Arc of Indiana

November 17, 2020

0

State Sen. Erin Houchin (R-Salem) has been named the 2020 Legislator of the Year by The Arc of Indiana, an organization that assists Hoosiers with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Sen. Houchin earned the award for her work on Senate Enrolled Act 346 during the 2020 Legislative Session.

SEA 346 requires the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to provide certain accommodations to students in grades 6-12 on every section of Indiana’s standardized annual assessments, to the extent permitted under federal law, if such accommodations are included in the student’s individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan.

This includes text-to-speech, screen reader or human reader accommodations, and calculators.

Previously, certain accommodations for students with disabilities were prohibited on portions of Indiana’s standardized tests.

“After learning students with certain disabilities were not being allowed to use all of the accommodations listed in their IEP or 504 plans during state testing, I immediately began working with parents, educators, administrators, and groups such as the Arc to solve the problem,” said Houchin.

“It is our responsibility to ensure every student has access to the tools they need to be successful and to give all students an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge. I am grateful to all who contributed to our efforts, and I am honored to be named Legislator of the Year by The Arc of Indiana.”

“Sen. Houchin led the charge for this milestone legislation to ensure students with disabilities have a fighting chance at a level playing field on Indiana’s statewide assessments, like ILEARN,” said Hannah Carlock, director of public policy for The Arc of Indiana.

“We have been advocating for years for this issue, and Sen. Houchin finally got the ball rolling and the conversation started. We have a long way to go, but Sen. Houchin has paved the way for progress for assessments and accommodations for students with disabilities.”

SEA 346 also requires the Indiana State Board of Education (SBOE), in consultation with the Arc of Indiana and the Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education, to consult with individuals who specialize in special education as part of the SBOE’s oversight of the development and implementation of the ILEARN test.

Additionally, SEA 346 established the Indiana Standards and Assessment Accommodation Task Force to further review the accommodations provided during the ILEARN exam and whether they are appropriate for accurately measuring a student’s learning.

The Arc of Indiana’s Legislator of the Year award goes to a legislator who has been a true champion for Hoosiers with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout the previous legislative session.

The Arc of Indiana is an organization committed to all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities realizing their goals of living, learning, working and fully participating in the community.