Troopers with the Indiana State Police Bloomington Post will be increasing seat belt enforcement patrols now through the end of November as part of the national Click It or Ticket mobilization. The department will be joined by more than 250 law enforcement agencies around the state that will be working overtime to reduce motor vehicle deaths and injuries in Indiana.

The patrols are supported with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Last year, out of the total number of motorists involved in passenger vehicle crashes, 90 percent were wearing a seat belt. Despite this, unrestrained motorists accounted for over half of all vehicle fatalities in 2019 (308 out of 565), according to data from the criminal justice institute.

Drivers under the age 34, particularly young male drivers, were more likely to be found not wearing a seat belt. Additionally, individuals not buckled up in crashes were three times more likely to get injured when the driver was speeding and seven times more likely when the driver was impaired.

Indiana has a primary seat belt law, which allows law enforcement officers to stop and cite drivers and passengers for failing to wear a seat belt. Drivers can also be cited for each unbuckled passenger under the age of 16.

“Every time you go somewhere in a vehicle, whether you’re a driver or passenger, you should always wear a seat belt,” said Devon McDonald, ICJI Executive Director. “Not only is it the law, but it’s the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself on the road.”

When it comes to seat belt safety, the department recommends making sure the lap belt is properly secured across the hip and pelvis, below the stomach. The shoulder belt should be positioned across the middle of the chest and away from the neck – never behind the back or under an arm.

If the seat belt doesn’t fit, or the car is older and only has lap belts, ask the car dealer or vehicle manufacturer about seat belt adjusters, extenders, or retrofits.

Additionally, children under eight must be properly restrained in a federally approved child or booster seat. Parents and caregivers can choose the safest car seat for their child by visiting TheRightSeat.com, or to find a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, who can inspect and assist with the installation of a car seat, visit www.childseat.in.gov.

Select Indiana state park properties will temporarily close in the coming weeks so controlled deer management hunts can take place.

Each hunt runs two days. The first is on Monday, Nov. 16, and Tuesday, Nov. 17.  The second is on Monday, Nov. 30, and Tuesday, Dec. 1. Participating state park properties will close to the general public on the evening before each of the two hunts.

Participating state park properties are: Brown County, Chain O’Lakes, Charlestown, Fort Harrison, Harmonie, Lincoln, McCormick’s Creek, Ouabache, Pokagon, Potato Creek, Prophetstown, Shades, Spring Mill, Turkey Run, Versailles, and Whitewater Memorial state parks, as well as Trine State Recreation Area.

These state park properties will re-open the morning after each two-day hunt. All Indiana state park properties not mentioned will be operating under normal hours.

Indiana DNR biologists evaluate which state park properties require a deer management hunt each year based on habitat recovery and previous harvest rates at each park property. The state park properties are home to numerous natural communities that serve as significant habitat. The deer management hunts help control browsing by deer to a level that ensures habitat for native plants and animals.

Only individuals selected from the draw may participate at any site.

A full report on the 2019 deer management hunts is at stateparks.IN.gov/files/sp-DeerRMRR.pdf. The 2020 report will be available in March 2021.

Information regarding 2021 state park deer management hunts, including online applications, will be available next summer at on.IN.gov/reservedhunt. The application deadline is usually in mid-August of the year in which the hunts are to take place.

The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to close the ramp from U.S. 31 NB to I-65 NB, north of the 2nd Street Bridge near 10th Street in Jeffersonville, on Thursday (Nov. 12) to perform pavement repairs.

The ramp is expected to close from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Work will be completed Friday (Nov. 13) if needed due to inclement weather.

Motorists may access I-65 NB via Court Ave. or the ramp approximately 1.5 miles north near Eastern Blvd. in Clarksville.

Motorists are reminded to slow down, use extra caution and drive distraction-free in and near work zones.

With deer firearms season opening this weekend, the Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife reminds hunters of the following.

• Purchase your license in advance. Signing in to buy hunting licenses looks different now. Access Indiana, an online portal that allows citizens to interact with multiple Indiana state agencies through a single login, launched several months ago. Unless you are exempt from needing a license, purchase a deer hunting license at a licensed vendor as listed at IN.gov/5334.htm or buy online at on.IN.gov/INhuntfish. 

• Know the regulations. Review the 2020-2021 Indiana Hunting & Trapping Guide for up-to-date hunting regulations. The current guide is found at hunting.IN.gov.
  

• Prepare your equipment. Visit a shooting range to sight in hunting equipment. A list of DNR shooting ranges can be found at on.IN.gov/dnrshootingranges.
  

• Remember to CheckIN your harvest. Register harvested deer within 48 hours using the CheckIN Game system at CheckINGame.dnr.IN.gov. After doing that, take the After-Hunt Survey. For information on the After-Hunt Survey, visit wildlife.IN.gov/9813.htm.
  

• Safely field dress your deer. Field dress and cool deer carcasses as soon as possible. While field dressing deer, wear disposable gloves, use clean cutting equipment, refrain from smoking or eating, and minimize contact with the deer’s brain or spinal tissues. Once finished, clean and disinfect all equipment and wash hands. See deer.dnr.IN.gov for videos on processing deer from the field to freezer. 
• Confirm with your processor. This fall, some Indiana deer processors may have adjusted hours, may not be taking full carcasses, or may not be taking deer at all. Plan ahead by contacting your processor before taking a deer to them: https://bit.ly/3p2GXpp.
  

• Have deer tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Although CWD has not been detected in Indiana to date, the DNR is actively conducting surveillance to monitor for the disease. Visit on.IN.gov/cwd for information on 2020 CWD surveillance and to search for a sampling location near you.

For any additional information, visit hunting.IN.gov.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a fall from elevated hunting equipment that occurred this afternoon.

At approximately 1:45 p.m., responders were dispatched to the 11000 block of North Hogan Road near Aurora, regarding a hunter who fell approximately 23 feet while either attempting to hang or remove his elevated tree stand.

Louis Gehring, 60, of Aurora, Ind., was airlifted from the scene to the University of Cincinnati Hospital. Gehring sustained severe injuries to both legs along with possible internal injuries.

The exact cause of the fall is still under investigation. Gehring was not wearing a full-body harness at the time of the fall.  

Responding agencies included Indiana Conservation Officers, Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department, and Manchester Fire Department.

Indiana Conservation Officers encourage all hunters to practice safe hunting and safely secure yourself when hunting from an elevated position. This marks the third hunting accident from an elevated stand inside Operational District 9 within a week.

The public is invited to cut up and removed certain downed trees at Patoka Lake for firewood. Firewood permits will be available depending on weather and staff time.

Property employees are removing trees that threaten to fall or lose limbs, primarily in high traffic areas such as the modern campground, fishermen’s campground, and beach area. 

The cost of one pickup-truck load is $10. All proceeds will be used for resource management and restoration efforts, including the replacement of trees in campgrounds and other public areas.

A permit can be obtained at the property office between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays beginning Nov. 11. Days, hours and access to specific areas for cutting will be determined by weather conditions and availability of downed trees. Call the park office at 812-685-2464 for more information.

Firewood cut at Patoka is for personal use only and cannot be sold.

Patoka Lake (on.IN.gov/patokalake) is located at 3084 N. Dillard Road, Birdseye, IN 47513.

Indiana’s daily Covid-19 numbers have increased from a high of 1,000 per day in late July to over 5,000 as reported on Saturday – less than four months later.

In fast, Indiana’s Covid-19 cases have doubled in about three weeks.

The 5,007 new infections reported by the Indiana State Department of Health on Saturday were the state’s highest single-day level of the pandemic, eclipsing the previous record of 4,714 new cases officials reported Friday.

Sunday’s numbers dipped a bit to 4,689. 

The virus appears to be spreading more rapidly than ever before. 

At the end of July, Indiana first hit 1,000 new cases. Two months later, the state doubled that number in mid-October, topping 2,000 cases in one day.

After seeing the needle tick up past 3,000 last week, Indiana went to over 4,000 four days last week with new cases doubled in about three weeks.

Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb said following his re-election on Tuesday that he’s not making any changes to state policy on handling COVID-19 and staying at Stage 5. 

The department’s daily update of its coronavirus dashboard showed 2,036 Hoosiers are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 – the largest number Indiana has seen since officials began releasing those counts last spring, early in the pandemic.

Of those hospitalized, 559 are in intensive care.

More than 71% of Indiana’s intensive care unit beds are also in use, according to the Health Department, leaving 621 beds available as of Thursday.

Indiana’s 43 new COVID-19 deaths reported Saturday raised the state’s pandemic death toll to 4,592, including confirmed and presumed coronavirus infections.

Today’s results stem from a record of 50,610 tests submitted in the last 24 hours.

To date, 1,794,398 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 1,777,105 on Friday.

A total of 3,167,518 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since Feb. 26.

Holcomb, who won a second term as governor on Tuesday by defeating Democrat Woody Myers said Wednesday he’s not making any changes to the state’s COVID-19 policy, including no statewide closure of schools.

Myers, a former state health commissioner, had called for tougher anti-virus actions as Indiana’s COVID-19 hospitalizations, deaths and new infections climbed steeply since nearly all state restrictions were lifted in September.