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.

Salem Community Schools will be closed for two weeks due to the positive tests of several students and staff at Bradie M. Shrum Elementary, Salem Middle, and High School.

The schools will move to remote learning for two weeks through Sept. 4, which is the start of Labor Day weekend.

According to Superintendent Jon Acton, multiple students and staff have tested positive for Covid-19 in all three school buildings.  

The school released information yesterday that several on the school’s volleyball team were quarantined as well as one of its coaches. 

Those individuals who were in close contact with those who tested have been notified and school officials said that all impacted areas have been deep cleaned. 

Salem halted all volleyball activity until Sept. 3.

The county volleyball tournament was to have taken place this Saturday at West Washington High School. 

That has been rescheduled for October 3. 

Acton did not reveal the number of teachers and students who had tested positive or a number of those who had close contact and have been asked to quarantine. 

“Based upon our current quarantine numbers and the recommendation of the Washington County Health Department and the Chief Medical Officer [Dr. Jeff Morgan], ALL Salem Community Schools will move to remote learning for the next two weeks.”

Acton said due to extenuating circumstances, the Online Lions digital learning platform will be reopened for K-12 enrollment until Monday, August 24 at 3:30p. 

To join the program, please contact John Skomp at jskomp@salemschools.us or your building principals via email.

“At this time, all extra-curricular activities will continue as scheduled but will be closely monitored to maintain the safety of our student-athletes,” said Acton. 

Tonight’s football game has been limited to 250 in attendance per set of bleachers, or 500 total at Paul A. Graves Athletic Field. 

WSLM 97.9 FM will broadcast the game live for those who cannot attend. 

Acton and the school board had plans drafted up and ready before the start of school in case an outbreak took place. 

“We look at multiple factors to determine whether we remain “in-person” instruction or move to remote learning,” he said. “If only small numbers of individuals are impacted and they can be quickly isolated, we can continue traditional instruction.”

Acton said factors that could necessitate a move to remote learning may include: substantial numbers of positive or quarantined students, teaching staff, custodial staff, food services staff and/or bus drivers. 

Just before 1:30 am, a 2014 red Chevrolet 4-door truck was seen driving southbound on State Road 37, south of Bedford approaching Riverview Add Road.

The accident sent a Bedford man by helicopter ambulance to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. 

The driver was Kyle R. Ollis, 30 of Bedford, IN. 

An OWI Investigation is ongoing, causing serious bodily injury, endangering, and reckless driving.

Witnesses told troopers the vehicle passed them (at what was estimated to be over 100 mph), on the right shoulder, drifting off the roadway and sliding sideways through the grass for several hundred feet, before impacting the end of a guardrail near the Hubler Car Dealership.

The investigation revealed the vehicle was airborne for approximately 130 feet, knocking over a large highway road sign and breaking tree limbs over 20 feet off the ground, before landing in a ditch where it sheared off several 10-foot trees, coming to rest in a deep ravine.

Ollis was found inside the vehicle, on the floorboards, partially entrapped and barely conscious.

Marion Township Volunteer Firefighters utilized Jaws of Life to extract the driver.

Trooper Samuel Wagner is the investigating officer. Trooper Chance Humphrey and Officer Shaun Cabral of Mitchell PD assisted at the scene.

Indiana State Police detectives now have a “person of interest” regarding the roadside shooting of a husband and wife and their 16-year-old daughter, which occurred Wednesday evening near the O’Bannon Woods State Park. 

The Indiana State Police in Sellersburg would like to locate and speak with Timothy E. Sargent from Ohio. 

Timothy Sergeant is described as a white male, 41 years old, 5′-10″, 190lbs, with brown hair and hazel eyes, according to Sgt. Carey Huls.

Sargent is wanted out of Ohio for attempted murder and is a person of interest in a murder, both of which occurred earlier this week.  

Investigators would also like to speak with Savanna L. Emich, also from Ohio. 

Savanna Emich is described as a white female, 20 years old, 5’06”, 245lbs, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Emich is believed to be traveling with Sargent.

Both may still be in the silver 2000 Chevrolet Silverado listed in the news release below. 

A surveillance photo of the truck is also attached. The truck was last plated with Indiana registration TK667LJB.

If you see any of these individuals or observe the vehicle in question, please call 911 immediately and provide authorities with their location. 

These individuals are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. 

The vehicle the suspect was driving — a white Dodge Avenger — was later found in a cornfield near a church approximately 15 miles away, near Carefree, Indiana.

Huls said Sargent then stole a silver 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck from a nearby home with an Indiana truck license plate of TK667LJB. If you see that vehicle, call 911 immediately. 

ISP continues to investigate the shooting that happened at about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Huls said that’s when the family of three from Kentucky was driving away from O’Bannon Woods State Park in Harrison County after a hike.

He said the white Dodge sped up behind them on State Road 462, flashing its lights.

The father pulled over to let the car pass, and that’s when investigators believe the driver of the car fired several shots.

As the shooting started the father tried to speed away but crashed into a tree, and the suspect took off from the scene.

The father was shot several times and was flown to U of L Hospital.

He is now reported in stable condition.

His wife was also hit by gunfire and taken to the hospital.

She is in stable condition.

Their 16-year-old daughter was in the backseat. She was not shot but may have suffered minor injuries from the crash, according to Huls.