This morning at approximately 12:00 a.m., an 18-year-old passenger on a boat entered the water at Hamilton Lake and was not seen again. 

At 8:14 a.m., Steuben County Communications was contacted and advised that the 18-year-old passenger was missing.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating the incident and other emergency personnel has responded to assist with the search.

Responders have been searching the lake in the area the boater was last seen utilizing SONAR, aircraft, divers, and search and rescue dogs.

Indiana Conservation Officers have been assisted by the Hamilton Police Department, Hamilton Fire Department, Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, Angola Fire Department, Fremont Fire Department, Orland Fire Department, Steuben County EMS, and Indiana Search and Response.

Washington County topped 184 total Covid-19 cases on Sunday and 40 percent of those have come since August 1, according to information released from the Indiana State Department of Health. 

In the last week, there have been 20 new cases and 12 since Friday.

As all three county schools are now shuttered and turning to online classes while buildings are disinfected and students and staff are quarantined, health officials struggle for answers. 

Around Indiana, there were 618 new cases with 2 new deaths with 8,354 new tests.  The number of deaths in Indiana since March is 3,002. 

During a recent appearance on WSLM’s Coffee Club, Washington County Health Nurse Alicia Thompson said she felt the numbers were increasing due to people trying to get back to normal. 

“[The numbers have been up a lot) have a lot lately. I think that’s everybody getting out, going to entertainment venues, getting together for different kinds of parties…and they started going up very quickly,” she said. 

Thompson said the vast majority of new positives are adults. 

“Businesses are open and most people are still not taking this seriously or believe that it won’t affect them much,” she said. “The problem with that thinking is that it may not affect you much but you may then inadvertently pass it along to someone who can not tolerate it well and it could potentially kill.”

Face masks are required in most retail stores, schools and sporting events, along with social distancing and increased detail to handwashing. 

Although many businesses are now allowed to be open, Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb was on track to completely open Indiana to its last stage but halted at Stage 4.5 until August 27. 

There have been about a dozen days of 1,000 plus new cases (with many more days over 500).

The governor address the state in his next press conference on WSLM 97.9 FM and WSLM 1220 AM on Wednesday, August 26 at 2:30p. 

In Washington County, there has been only one death and according to the Regenstrief Institute, there is a recovery rate in Indiana of 78 percent. 

The daily death rate hit a high of 50 on April 22 and has dipped as low as one or two per day. 

In Washington County there have been 9 total Covid-19 hospitalizations, 41 emergency room visits, 6 ICU admits and one the one death in a hospital. 

In relation, Clark County has had 125 hospitalizations, 219 ER visits, 56 ICU admits and 17 deaths. 

East Washington and West Washington Schools both started back on August 5. 

East Washington closed its middle and high school earlier this week due to cases of Covid among staff. They are expected to return to in-person classes after two weeks. 

Salem closed its schools on Friday for two weeks and West Washington announced earlier today that it would go to online education for at least five days, although that could change by Monday after contact tracing is performed. 

WSLM will continue to provide daily reports on the statewide and local totals as well as up to date information from our local schools. 

For more from the Washington County Health Department – read this – https://wslmradio.com/2020/08/14/21-questions-with-washington-county-health-nurse/

AUGUST BY THE NUMBERS

• August 1 – 3 cases
• August 2 – 8 cases
• August 3  – 1 case
• August 4 – 1 case
• August 5 – 0 cases
• August 6 – 0 cases
• August 7 – 4 cases
• August 8 – 18 cases
• August 9 – 1 case
• August 10 – 2 cases
• August 11 – 0 cases
• August 12 – 2 cases
• August 13 – 4 cases
• August 14 – 5 cases
• August 15 – 6 cases
• August 16 – 0 cases
• August 17 – 3 cases
• August 18 – 0 cases
• August 19 – 1 case
• August 20 – 4 cases
• August 21 – 3 cases
• August 22 – 9 cases

The West Washington School Corporation has been notified of a single positive Covid-19 result at the Jr/Sr High School and will close for one week. 

According to Superintendent Keith Nance, the decision has been made to move to a virtual schedule for a minimum of five days.

He said a family notified him of a positive test result early Sunday morning and moved to take action. 

“Our administration was notified by the family at 10:30 am on Sunday 8/23/20 as soon as they received their results,” he said. “This communication was timely and exactly what we needed to make the best decision for the safety of our students and staff. If we would have had to wait to hear from the ISDH we may not have known until Monday after everyone had already arrived at school. I commend our families for being vigilant and effectively communicating with us.”

“This could be longer after consultation with the health department,” he said in a statement Sunday morning. “This is for the entire corporation K-12. Due to the nature of our corporation set up, we feel it is necessary to take these precautions for all grades.”

Nance said tomorrow (Monday, August 24) school administration and the health department will be conducting contact tracing and notifying anyone that may have been in “close contact” as defined by the CDC.

Virtual instruction will begin Monday.

“Monday’s virtual schedule may look a little different because it will be our first virtual day of the year,” noted Nance. “Teachers will be contacting students, holding Google Meets, and posting important information on their Google Classroom.”

Until contact tracing is complete, Nance said he is not sure of the impact on extracurricular activities.

The school completed its first varsity football game this past Friday night and their second game is set for next Friday at Crawford County High School.

The Senators Girls Volleyball team has already completed three games and the Washington County Tourney was set for this weekend but was canceled after Salem’s team is under quarantine due to a case of Covid-19.

“This could impact a small number of students and staff or it could impact a larger group,” Nance said. “We will not know the full impact until the contact tracing process is complete. Teams and players will be contacted about Monday’s events sometime on Monday. Prepare as if practices and events will go on as planned. We will notify you if there is a change.”

According to the Senators sports schedule, the following sports are set for Monday:

• Scott Hiles Invitational Co-Ed Cross Country Meet at Bedford
• Eastern High School JV Football at Pekin
• Crothersville Volleyball with JV/Varsity Girls – at Crothersville

Students should check into their Google Classrooms on their normal daily schedule.

“If you are a parent of a younger child and they cannot access the content until you are home from work, please contact your teacher and your building administrator so we can add you to the list of students that will be completing their work after school hours,” said Nance. 

Virtual Closure Expectations

Short Term Closure (3-10 days)-

• All staff is expected to report to work at normal times unless communicated otherwise.
• We will maintain a regular schedule, as close to normal as possible.

• Students that are unable to do the work during the normal hours of school must contact the school and be added to the “2nd shift” list.

• Building level administrators will determine if their reason to be on “2nd shift” is legitimate.

• Teachers will be expected to:

• Have live lessons during the normal school schedule. (Recorded lessons could be utilized. However, live interaction is expected during each period, subject, etc, in order to check for understanding and answer questions)

• EX-

• 3rd Grade Reading during the normal 3rd grade reading time.
• 2nd-period Geometry during the time frame of 2nd-period Geometry.

• Have recorded direct instruction for all subjects and periods for students doing their schooling during “2nd shift”.
• Provide feedback during the hours of 8 am – 3 pm.

• You do NOT have to answer emails or hangout calls after hours.
• You do have to get back to those emails and calls the next day between 8 am – 3 pm.
• You do NOT have to answer a question of a student from period 1, while you are working with kids from period 5.
• You do have to get back with that student another time during the day.

• Students will be expected to:

• Join live lessons or watch recorded lessons during the normal school schedule.

• Unless they are assigned to the “2nd shift”.

• Complete “classwork” during the normal class time.
• Complete “homework” before the next day’s class.
• Communicate with the teacher during live lessons.
• Check email daily.
• Keep a disciplined schedule of reporting to each virtual class on time.

• “2nd” shift students are expected to:

• Watch recorded lessons nightly.
• Complete “classwork” nightly before the next day.

• Exception- you have a question and you have to wait for a response from your teacher.

• Communicate with the teacher through email and Google Hangouts.
• Check email daily.
• Keep a disciplined schedule of completing lessons and assigned work daily.

East Washington Middle School will continue the fall sports programs as planned, despite cases of Covid-19 that shut both the middle and high schools down for two weeks. 

Below is the updated information:

PRACTICES – practices can be found on the following link: https://ewms.ewsc.k12.in.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=18144671&pageId=25273909

Practice dates and times August 24th – August 28th

7th & 8th Grade Girls Volleyball:        August 24-28    5:00-6:30 pm (MS Gym)

7th grade Coach: Kylie Anderson – 502-645-6766

8th grade Coach: Laura Purlee – 812-620-7204

5th-8th Boys Tennis:        August 24-28    5:00-7:00pm    (Tennis Courts)

Coach:  Matt Pickerill – mpickerill1@ewsc.k12.in.us

5th-8th Boys and Girls Cross Country:        August 24-28    5:00-6:30                          (Entrance Gate @ Football Field)

Coach:  Cameron Smith – 812-968-0830

7th & 8th Grade Football:        August 24-27    2:30-4:30pm.  (Football Practice Field)

8th grade Coach:  Jeff Pennington

7th grade Coach:  Chad Fleetwood

5th & 6th Grade Girls Basketball:  Start date – Wednesday, Sept. 2  2:30-4:30pm  (Aux. Gym)

All athletes should follow the instructions listed below:

1.        Report to the designated practice area  

2.        Athletes should come dressed in practice gear

3.        Water bottle

4.         Face mask

5.        Be on time for drop off and pick up times

Any student who was contacted by the school administration to self-quarantine is not allowed to participate in practices until their quarantine is over.  

If a student plans on playing, please contact the coach and let them know that they will be at practice when the self-quarantine is over.

Rural Indiana is not immune to the disruptions of COVID-19, and it is impacting our families, farms, and local businesses. Our communities are key to the state’s economic success, and through the Rural Road to Recovery initiative, universities and state agencies are joining forces to offer solutions and aid rural areas in our comeback.

From rental assistance to dealing with the impacts of COVID-19 on Indiana’s agriculture and food systems, and implementing the Broadband Ready Community Program, this initiative works to help keep people in their homes, food on our tables and internet access in remote areas.

For Hoosiers impacted financially by COVID-19, the state made $30 million available for mortgage payment assistance, $40 million to the Low Income Housing Emergency Assistance program, and created a $25 million program to provide rental assistance to most Indiana counties, including our area. To learn more about housing assistance, visit IndianaHousingNow.org.

This initiative also helps with our food supply chain, which was impacted by the pandemic. More than 94,000 people work in Indiana agriculture, contributing a combined $31 billion to the state’s economy. These are vital jobs and dollars Indiana can’t afford to lose. It’s key for farmers, agribusinesses owners, and the Indiana Farm Bureau to collaborate with the state and universities during Indiana’s recovery. Already, agribusinesses and producers are receiving assistance while applying for small-businesses loans and other financial resources. Indiana Grown is connecting farmers with different food banks and pantries to sell and distribute their Hoosier-made products, and assisting restaurants with social distancing guidelines to adjust their businesses reopening to dining customers.

With more Hoosiers and students working and learning from home, staying connected through the internet is becoming more important than ever. The Broadband Ready Community Program supports broadband development in our state. Through the Rural Road to Recovery, Indiana will improve broadband accessibility. Expanding affordable broadband coverage is key to education and training, e-commerce, agriculture, and health care, with each aspect being able to take place safely from home.

This is just the start of rural Indiana’s recovery, and innovative solutions will continue to be found as state leaders hold summer study committee hearings and gather for the next legislative session.

So much media coverage focuses on how the country’s largest cities will bounce back from economic damages, but rural Indiana and agriculture cannot be forgotten. With much of our state consisting of small towns, rural Indiana must be a priority if we are going to gain economic momentum and remain an agricultural leader. To learn more about the Rural Road to Recovery initiative, visit in.gov/isda.

Schools in Senate District 47 will receive nearly $900,000 in grants through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund, said State Sen. Erin Houchin (R-Salem).

The $61 million GEER grant program is funded through the federal CARES Act and focuses on ensuring device availability for at-risk student populations, providing educator training and improving the quality of remote and virtual education.

In Senate District 47, the following schools and school corporations received grants:

• Cannelton City Schools in Perry County received $30,000;
• Crawford County Community School Corporation in Crawford County received $11,943.75;
• East Washington School Corporation and Salem Community Schools in Washington County received a total of $162,588.54;
• Lanesville Community School Corporation, North Harrison Community School Corporation, South Harrison Community School Corporation, St. Joseph Catholic School, and St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran School in Harrison County received a total of $404,700.
• Paoli Community School Corporation, Springs Valley Community School Corporation, and Shady Oak Amish School in Orange County received a total of $196,850;
• Southeast Dubois County School Corporation in Dubois County received $55,000; and
• West Washington School Corporation in Washington County received $30,000.

“I’m very pleased to see so many local schools applied for and received these grants,” Houchin said. “Transitioning to remote learning is especially challenging in rural areas of the state like ours, and I look forward to seeing the teachers and students at these schools benefit from increased connectivity made possible by this funding.” 

Traditional public school corporations, public charter schools, accredited non-public schools, higher education institutions and other education-related entities were eligible to apply.

Eligible education entities were able to apply together or separately. A team from the Indiana Department of Education, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and the Indiana State Board of Education evaluated the applications.

For more information about the GEER program, click here. For a detailed breakdown of all grant recipients, click here.

Today, at approximately 1:27 p.m., Kosciusko County Dispatch received a call of CPR in progress on an unresponsive juvenile male that was pulled from a pond near the 11000 Block of N 1000 W, near Nappanee, Indiana.

The juvenile was transported to Memorial Hospital in critical condition. 

This incident is still under investigation by Indiana Conservation Officers and updates will be released as they become available.

Assisting agencies included: Indiana State Police, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and Nappanee Fire & EMS.