Governor Eric J. Holcomb today announced the state will modify the Back On Track Indiana plan through at least July 17 and extended the public health emergency through Aug. 3.

While a few restrictions will lift on July 4 in version 4.5 of the plan, most will stay in place.

Elkhart County will remain fully in Stage 4 until at least July 17.

Local governments may impose more restrictive guidelines.

It is not known at this time if this affects the Pekin Fourth of July Parade and activities planned right afterward or the Firecracker 150 to be held on Saturday afternoon at Salem Speedway. 

Over the past couple of weeks, 22 US states reported record increases in new cases, often multiple times, including Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon and Utah.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN the public’s flouting of guidelines such as social distancing, mask-wearing and avoiding large crowds was responsible for the uptick in cases. 

“There are crowds. They are not physically distancing, and they are not wearing masks. That’s a recipe for disaster,” Fauci said in the interview broadcast on Monday.

“While most of our health indicators remain positive, our data indicate a need to be extra cautious, which is why we will pause much of our Back on Track roadmap,” Gov. Holcomb said. “I urge Hoosiers to maintain vigilance in social distancing and wearing masks so we can continue to reopen our state for business.”

Gov. Holcomb has used data to drive decisions since the state’s first case of the novel coronavirus in early March and he continues to do so as the state continues a sector-by-sector reset.

The state will move to reopen while continuing to monitor and respond to these four guiding principles:

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide has decreased for 14 days
• The state retains its surge capacity for critical care beds and ventilators
• The state retains its ability to test all Hoosiers who are COVID-19 symptomatic as well as health care workers, first responders, and frontline employees
• Health officials have systems in place to contact all individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and expand contact tracing

Through at least July 17, the following restrictions will continue:

• Social gatherings following the CDC’s social distancing guidelines will be limited to up to 250 people. This limit applies to wedding receptions, parties, and other events where people are in close physical contact for extended periods of time, particularly indoors.
• Dining room food service may continue operations at up to 75 percent capacity as long as social distancing is observed. Bar seating in restaurants may continue operations at 50 percent capacity. Bars and nightclubs may continue operations open at 50 percent capacity as long as they adhere to social distancing guidelines.
• Cultural, entertainment and tourism sites may continue operations open at 50 percent capacity.
• Movie theaters, bowling alleys and similar facilities may continue operations open at 50 percent capacity.
• Amusement parks, water parks and similar facilities may continue operations open at 50 percent capacity. Reservations are encouraged to limit the number of customers at any one time.
• Raceways may continue operations open at 50 percent grandstand capacity.

Beginning July 4, fairs, festivals and other similar outdoor events may open.

Pari-mutuel horse racing and county and state fair racing may begin with 50 percent spectator capacity.

Youth overnight camps may open.

K-12 school operations may begin the 2020-21 academic year on July 1. Extra-curricular, co-curricular activities may resume July 6.

Outdoor visitation is required at assisted living facilities and nursing homes beginning July 4 and indoor visitation may begin. Hospital visitations with precautions are encouraged.

Hoosiers 65 and over and those with high-risk health conditions – who are the most vulnerable to the coronavirus – should adhere to social distancing guidelines and remain cautious. Face coverings in public places are highly recommended.

Gov. Holcomb and Indiana State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box, M.D., FACOG, today announced a statewide initiative to encourage Hoosiers to wear masks to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The #MaskUpHoosiers initiative is launching with videos and photos of state government leaders, celebrities, and Hoosiers from all walks of life sharing their heartfelt reasons for wearing a mask in public, which is one of the strongest steps possible to limit the spread of COVID-19, saving lives and allowing the state to continue its phased re-opening. Additional photos and videos will be featured as the educational campaign progresses. Visit www.coronavirus.in.gov/maskuphoosiers to learn more.

To learn more about the different stages and the associated dates to get a better understanding about where we’re going as a state, click here to see the full plan: BackOnTrack.in.gov

The Governor signed an executive order implementing these changes to the Back on Track Indiana roadmap.

The executive orders can be found here: https://www.in.gov/gov/2384.htm

The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs has awarded the City of Salem $250,000 for Covid-19 relief to small businesses.   

This award is to fund a local small business grant program to help retain jobs within local businesses, according to Salem Mayor Justin Green.

“Businesses will be able to apply for $5,000 grants to sustain expenses such as rent, working capital, and utilities,” he said. 

The City of Salem would like to announce the application process has been approved by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. 

Applicants may access this link — https://www.cityofsalemin.com/ to fill out forms for consideration of up to $5,000 worth of federal grant dollars from a program underwritten by Housing and Urban Development. 

These grant applications are available to existing businesses located within the city limits of Salem. 

Non-profits do not qualify per HUD guidelines.

Now is the time to start thinking about your fall vegetable garden.

Do you have questions about the vegetables to grow in the fall garden, fall vegetable growing requirements as well as pest control and fertilization?

If so, you should plan to join the Planning Your Fall Vegetable Garden Webinar presented by Richard Beckort, Purdue Extension Ag.; Natural
Resources Educator in Jackson County on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 beginning at 11:30 am.

Richard will also be available to answer your fall vegetable gardening questions.

To join the webinar and/or to receive the webinar recording, pre-registration is required by Monday, July 27, 2020 by visiting https://bit.ly/PlanningFallVegetableGardening.

For questions about the webinar, contact Purdue Extension – Jackson Co. at rbeckort@purdue.edu or 812-358-6101,
Purdue Extension – Lawrence Co. at odavis@purdue.edu or 812-275-4623, or Purdue Extension Washington County at dhowellw@purdue.edu or 812-883-4601.

Beginning July 6, hunters can apply for reserved hunts online by visiting on.IN.gov/reservedhunt.

The online method is the only way to apply. No late entries will be accepted. Applicants must possess a hunting license that is valid for the hunt for which they are applying.

Hunters will be selected through a random computerized drawing. Applicants will be able to view drawing results online within two weeks after application deadlines. An email will be sent to all applicants when the drawing is completed.

Applications for the following hunting opportunities open July 6 and must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 17:

• Dove Hunt Draw: Applicants may select the desired date and property. Due to inclement spring weather, other crops may have been planted in place of or along with sunflowers. Participating properties include Atterbury, Goose Pond, Jasper-Pulaski, Kankakee, Kingsbury, Pigeon River, Glendale, J.E. Roush Lake, Willow Slough and Winamac fish & wildlife areas (FWAs).

• Waterfowl Hunt Draw: Participating FWAs include Goose Pond, Hovey Lake, Kankakee, Kingsbury, LaSalle and Willow Slough. Province Pond Wetland Conservation Area and Monroe Lake will also be participating.

• Deer Hunt Draw: Participating properties include Deer Creek Fish & Wildlife Area, Fairbanks Landing Fish & Wildlife Area, Tern Bar Slough Wildlife Diversity Conservation Area and Shrader-Weaver Nature Preserve in Fayette County.

• Military/Refuge Firearm, Primitive and Archery Deer Hunt Draw: Properties participating include Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge and Mascatatuck National Wildlife Refuge. Please note that hunts on military/refuge properties may be canceled at any time.

• Youth Firearm Deer Hunt: Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge will host one reserved youth firearm deer hunt.

• Pheasant Hunt Draws: The Nov. 7 hunt is reserved for youth (ages 17 and younger) only.

Please note that only one application per hunt is allowed. No changes can be made once the application is submitted.

The application process is now consolidated into the online services website along with licenses, CheckIN Game, and HIP registration. An online account is not required to apply, but a Customer ID number is needed.

In this new system, hunts without a registration fee will follow the same process as those with a fee. For hunts with no fee required in order to register, applicants will be asked to “Add to Cart,” “Proceed to Checkout,” and “Place Order.” If the transaction total is $0, the applicant will not be asked to enter credit card information. Applicants must place an order to submit their application.

To view draw hunt results, applicants can log into their online services account or click “View hunt draw results” at the same site they used to apply for the hunt. From that site, they should select “Click here” under Reserved Hunts to see the status of registered hunts. The link will only show upcoming hunts that an individual has registered for. Logging into an account online is required to see the full history of past hunt registrations, including previous years.

More information is available at on.IN.gov/reservedhunt.

In February of 2020, a victim reported the harassment to the Indiana State Police Jasper Post. Starting in late January of 2020, the victim began receiving numerous spam text messages a day to their phone.

The victim had been targeted by people on social media who were against a referendum for raising taxes to fund projects for Washington Community Schools.

Due to this, the victim believed that the suspect may have been one of these people.

An investigation by ISP Detective Jarrod Lents revealed that one of the suspects, Rikki Lyford age 38, of Washington, had allegedly created a Google email in the name of the victim, and then used this email account to sign the victim up for numerous spam text messages.

Approximately 70-100 messages a day were received by the victim for approximately three months.

Two other victims also received messages similar to these, as well as false complaints directed to their employers.

It is unknown if Lyford is responsible for the actions against the other two victims.

A warrant was issued for Lyford’s arrest and she was taken into custody by Detective Lents on Monday, 6/29/2020.

Lyford was charged with

1) Identity Deception- level 6 felony

2) Counterfeiting- level 6 felony

3) Harassment- class B misdemeanor

Lyford was incarcerated without incident at the Daviess County Security Center.

According to Washington County Clerk Stephanie Rockey, the deadline to file to run for the general election in November is today at noon. 

Those filing to seek positions on the ballot are: 

Max Greene, Libertarian, Surveyor

Rhonda Greene, Libertarian, Washington County Commissioner, District 3

David L. Brown- Campbellsburg Town Council (this is a non-party office)

Donnie Williams has filed and is certified to be placed on the ballot for Campbellsburg Town Council.

Darlene A. Hall has filed and is certified to run on the ballot for New Pekin Town Council, as of the hour.

School Board filings for all three schools will start July 22^nd and will end at noon on August 21^st.

Openings for school board:

Salem At-Large (Gibson, Jefferson, Monroe, & Washington Townships)- 4 positions

East Washington- 2 positions- Polk township and Town of Pekin

West Washington- 3 positions- Madison, Posey, and Vernon townships.