Out for a month

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 as part of nationwide efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. A modified e-learning schedule will be implemented.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 1,629 U.S. cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. There have been 41 deaths.

“We, like everyone, can see how dynamic and fluid this spread of the coronavirus is,” said Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley. “We spoke — we speak frequently — and it was determined that the school closure made sense given the environment.”

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 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 Friday with the intention of allowing teachers time to prepare extended e-learning plans. There will also be no classes March 23 through 27, which was already scheduled as spring break. Part of the reasoning for the length of the closure was to give families two weeks before returning to school after spring break trips.

The corporation plans to provide guidance on what precautions families should take as they go on spring break and return from those vacations.

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.

“Our intent behind that was to break it up; don’t stack all of e-learning side by side,” said Gulley. “It’s intended to relieve some stress and strain on our parents, teachers and students.”



Jay School Corporation has worked with food service provider Chartwells to put together a modified lunch program that will be used 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 in the parking lots 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 Thursday that it was suspending all after-school activities, field trips and extracurriculars for 30 days.

Portland City Hall is closed to the public, 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 is closed to the public through April 10. Staff will still work regular hours. Utility bills can be paid via the drop box at the rear of town hall, by mail or phone, or online at paygov.us. Those with questions should call (765) 369-2711.

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. The Ohio Department of Education tasked schools with continuing the educational process via an alternate method, which led to Mercer County’s school districts developing a unified plan.

Fort Recovery will have regular e-days Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by “emergency remote learning” beginning Thursday.

All Fort Recovery school facilities, including the student activity center, will be closed following classes Monday through April 3. Plans are being developed to provide lunch to students while schools are closed.

Students will receive additional information about the plans during school Monday.

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 13 confirmed cases. 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 health district 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 or 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, but without spectators.

Both Jay and Mercer county sheriff’s offices have stopped on-site inmate visits indefinitely. Off-site visitation is available electronically for both facilities.

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.

Asbury United Methodist Church and The Rock Church in Portland announced Friday they will cancel services for two weeks. Asbury will offer pre-recorded services at 11 a.m. on Sundays via YouTube and Facebook. The Rock plans to provide prayer prompts on its Facebook page this weekend followed by a livestreamed service March 22.

Bishops in Ohio have exempted Catholics from the obligation of attending Mass through the end of March. Services will still be held on the regular schedule in the Fort Recovery Cluster for those who want to attend.

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

Other local events that have been postponed or canceled include Ag Week activities next week, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s visit Tuesday to John Jay Center for Learning and the Jay County Community Awards banquet Thursday.

For our full list of cancelations, go to bit.ly/2w4VRoB.