The Madison Railroad plans to close S.R. 7 at the railroad crossing near Allen Street on Thursday, Oct. 15, for crossing repair. Motorists should use S.R. 62 and U.S. 421 as alternate routes.

The road is expected to reopen by the end of the day Thursday, weather permitting.

Indiana Department of Transportation traffic crews plan to hang and activate new signal heads at the intersection of S.R. 62 and River Ridge Parkway in Clark County on Friday (Oct. 16), weather permitting.

Single-lane closures will take place throughout the day during overhead work.

The signals are expected to be operational by 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.

Portable message boards will be placed near the intersection to warn motorists of the new signals, which will improve safety and traffic flow.

This location has seen increased traffic volumes due to a number of new businesses in the area.

Motorists are reminded to slow down, watch for stopped traffic and use extra caution as drivers adjust to the new signal. All work is weather dependent.

Last night at the regular meeting of the Salem Community School Board, several awards were given out – the first since school has returned due to Covid-19 restrictions and social distancing guidelines. 

In fact, it was the first night a new award was presented – The Sagamore of Salem Award, which is patterned after the Sagamore of the Wabash award given to Hoosiers. 

Superintendent Jon Acton handed out the Sagamore of Salem awards to several classified retirees, including – Cathy McKnight, Cheryl Baker, Sonny Jones, Geri Eldridge, Marsha Strange, Bonnie Floyd, Johna Voyles, Freeda Hawn and Freda Walton. 

An award was also presented to Rick and Rita Lincks for their work in the community selling sports apparel from their business and donating a portion back to the school. 

Aiden Minton received a ROAR Award for his receiving the prestigious rank of National Merit Semi-Finalist. 

This is a testament to his dedication, work ethic, and skill set, said Acton. 

Aiden will continue in the process to compete to be a National Merit Finalist. 

“This is a tremendous honor and well-deserved recognition for Aiden,” said Acton. 

West Washington School Corporation is moving to three days of in-person education over the next two weeks after a custodian has tested positive for Covid-19 and the rest of the custodial staff has been quarantined due to contact tracing. 

The positive test was identified on Sunday, Oct. 11 and by Monday, Oct. 12 it was identified that the remaining custodial staff “cannot appropriately sanitize our school each night in time for everyone to safely return the next morning,” according to a social media release.

“More than half of our custodial staff was affected by the contact tracing and will be quarantined and not able to return to work until 10/23/20. Therefore WWSC will be making an adjustment to our schedule for the next two weeks to ensure that our building and classrooms are properly sanitized.”

The school will be held in person on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays with virtual only on Tuesdays and Thursdays through October. The schedule is as follows:

Week of 10/12/20-10/16/20:

• Monday 10/12/20- Physical Day of Instruction
• Tuesday 10/13/20- Virtual Day (ALL STUDENTS CORPORATION WIDE)
• Wednesday 10/14/20- Physical Day of Instruction (ALL STUDENTS K-12)
• Thursday 10/15/20- Virtual Day (ALL STUDENTS CORPORATION WIDE)
• Friday 10/16/20- Physical Day of Instruction

Week of 10/19/20-10/23/20:

• Monday 10/19/20- Physical Day of Instruction
• Tuesday 10/20/20- Parent-Teacher Conference Day (NO INSTRUCTION PROVIDED)
• Wednesday 10/21/20- Physical Day of Instruction (ALL STUDENTS K-12)
• Thursday 10/22/20- Virtual Day (ALL STUDENTS CORPORATION WIDE)
• Friday 10/23/20- Physical Day of Instruction

According to the original social media post, the school says this does not impact any teaching staff, support staff or office staff. 

“With last week being Fall Break, we had limited staff in the building and no students,” the post noted. “We still have the ability to sanitize daily and nightly, but it is going to stretch our staff thin. I cannot express how thankful and proud I am of our custodial staff and the job they have done and will continue to do during these unprecedented times.”