UPDATED 1:42 p.m.: Jay Schools to close

Jay Schools will be closed for the next four weeks.

Jay School Corporation, following a recommendation from Jay County Health Department, announced just after 1 p.m. Friday that in-person classes will be canceled through April 10. A modified e-learning schedule will be implemented.

Portland City Hall and Redkey Town Hall will both be closed to the public beginning Monday.

Fort Recovery Local Schools had announced Thursday that it would close school following classes Monday. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine mandated Thursday that all Ohio schools be closed from the conclusion of the day Monday through April 3.



Jay Schools administrators and staff spent the week planning for a potential long-term closure. Teachers were asked to have three days of e-learning prepared. Those will be implemented Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

After that, a modified e-learning schedule will be implemented, incorporating some of the 20 waiver days Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb made available Thursday.

Waiver days will be used Thursday and March 20. There will also be no classes March 23 through 27, which was already scheduled as spring break.

E-learning will be implemented on an every other day basis following spring break. E-learning dates will be March 30 and April 1, 3, 7 and 9. Waiver days will be used for March 31 and April 2, 6 and 8. April 10 was already scheduled as a day off of school.

Jay School Corporation has worked with food service provider Chartwells to put together a modified lunch program while schools are closed. “Grab and go” lunches will be available to all students from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays beginning Wednesday at Jay County High School, East Jay Middle School and Westlawn, Redkey, Pennville and Bloomfield elementary schools. Because of federal guidelines, the student must be present in order to receive a meal.

The corporation is working on a plan to have meals available during spring break as well.

Jay Schools had already announced on Thursday that it was suspending all after-school activities, field trips and extracurriculars have also been suspended for 30 days.



Portland City Hall is closed, with visits by appointment only, until further notice. Water payments can be made via the drop box on the south side of the building, by calling (260) 726-9395 or online at paygov.us.

Redkey Town Hall will be closed beginning Monday and running through April 10. Staff will still work regular hours. Utility bills can be paid via the drop box at the rear of town hall, mail, phone or online at paygov.us. Those with questions should call (765) 369-2711.

LifeStream Services announced Friday afternoon that meals will not be served at the cafe site at Jay Community Center through March 27. Those who have meals delivered to their home will continue to receive them.

Fort Recovery schools were not in session Friday, which was already scheduled as a day off. Schools will be open Monday and then closed until April 3 as mandated by DeWine.

Thus far, there are 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indiana, including one in Adams County. There are no confirmed cases in Jay County.

Ohio currently has five confirmed cases, three of which are in Cuyahoga County. Mercer County Health District had been investigating a possible case, but announced Friday that the test came back negative.

“While we are pleased that the results are negative, we continue to encourage everyone to take precautions to protect against illness,” said MCHD health administrator Jason Menchhofer.

Holcomb on Thursday mandated that all “non-essential gatherings” in Indiana be limited to 250 attendees or fewer. DeWine banned gatherings of 100 more in Ohio, with some exceptions.

Schools in the Indianapolis area were among the first to announce closures Thursday, with Marion County public schools closed Friday and all schools in the county to follow Monday. Most of Indiana’s K-12 schools had remained open through Friday.

The IHSAA postponed the remainder of its boys basketball tournament, which had been set to continue with regionals Saturday. The gymnastics state finals will go on as scheduled Saturday at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena with no spectators.

Asbury United Methodist Church in Portland announced Friday that it will cancel all activities at the church for two weeks, including services and its euchre night scheduled for Saturday. A pre-recorded service will be offered at 11 a.m. Sunday and March 22 via YouTube and Facebook. The church is working on plans to modify its Monday community meal for parking lot pick-up.

Portland Rotary Club meetings for the next two weeks have been canceled.

Other local events that have been postponed or canceled include Jay Community Center’s AAU spring basketball league games set for Sunday as well as senior programming March 26, Ag Week activities that were set for next week, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s visit Tuesday to John Jay Center for Learning, Jay County Historical Museum’s monthly program Tuesday and the Jay County Community Awards banquet Thursday.