Closed til May 1

Jay County students already knew they’d come back from spring break to an e-learning format through Easter.

Now that’s been extended for three more weeks.

Gov. Eric Holcomb made that move for the entire state when he announced Thursday afternoon that all Indiana schools will be closed until May 1 in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. He also announced that all testing, including ILEARN, IREAD-3 and ISTEP10, would be canceled for this year.

As of midnight Thursday, Indiana reported 79 positive cases of COVID-19 with almost a third of those in Marion County. State officials have said that number is likely much higher because of limited testing. Thus far, 554 individuals in Indiana have been tested.

Jay School Corporation, which had previously announced it would be closed through Easter, released its extended e-learning schedule shortly after the governor’s announcement. It already had a plan in place if the closure needed to be extended and will continue its every-other-day format of e-learning and waiver days.



Gulley will discuss the extended e-learning during a live stream at 2 p.m. today at bit.ly/GulleyLive. (If there are technical issues, he has already pre-recorded a presentation that will be made available on the Jay Schools page on Facebook as wells as WPGW radio and thecr.com. A frequently asked questions document will also be posted.) As of Thursday evening, Gulley has he had received about 65 questions via a Google form that was made available Wednesday.

In addition to e-learning, he also plans to address grading procedures, graduation, food services and the need for the corporation, its families and the community to continue to be resilient, adaptive and patient.

On the topic of the graduation ceremony, he said, “We are going to have it. It may look different. It may be later. … We are going to have it.”

The corporation has also developed an initial system for e-learning assignments, which will be designated “red” and “blue.” Red assignments are those that need to be completed before the next e-learning session for lessons to move forward while students will have until Sunday to complete the blue assignments.

“So there’s a framework for teachers … and that’s enough to get us started,” said Gulley, adding the corporation may expand on that format as e-learning continues.

The corporation distributed approximately the same amount of meals Thursday as it did Wednesday — 551 — and will continue its current food service pattern Monday and Tuesday. (Meals are available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jay County High School, East Jay Middle School, Westlawn, Redkey and Bloomfield elementary schools and the former Pennville Elementary School, as well as 5 to 6 p.m. at JCHS.)

Plans are being explored to add a bulk option after that to allow students to pick up five breakfasts and five lunches at a time.



Fort Recovery schools

Fort Recovery Local Schools held its first day of “emergency remote learning” Thursday, the bulk of which is being done via Google Classroom.

The district also announced it will offer online tutoring for sixth graders and group study halls for middle school students during emergency remote learning, which is currently scheduled through April 3 but is expected to last longer.

For individual tutoring, students can email [email protected] or [email protected]. Daily online study halls, invitations to which will be included in daily emails to students, will be at noon for sixth graders, 1 p.m. for seventh graders and 2 p.m. for eighth graders.

Fort Recovery Local Schools preschool registration that was scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled and will now be handled online. The registration form will be available beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday at fortrecoveryschools.org by hovering over “schools” and clicking on “preschool.” On April 8, the enrollment, physical and other forms will be mailed to newly enrolled students.

For more information, contact Mary Diller at [email protected] or (419) 375-4131.



Scams

Jay County Sheriff’s Office and Jay Superior Court warn of a scam that has popped up this week.

Residents are receiving calls saying a warrant has been put out of their arrest for failure to appear for jury duty. The caller demands payment in order to avoid being arrested.

This is a scam.

“We don’t do things that way,” said Jay Superior Court Judge Max Ludy.

If you receive a suspicious call, report it to Jay County Sheriff’s Office at (260) 726-8103.

Mercer County Sheriff’s Office also warns of in-person scams, including those claiming to be going door-to-door testing for COVID-19. No such testing for the disease is being done.

If a suspicious individual comes to the door, such activity should be reported to the sheriff’s office at (419) 586-7724.



Courts

Portland City Court has postponed all initial hearings for infractions and ordinance violations.

Judge Donald Gillespie asks that those who have an initial hearing scheduled call the court at (260) 726-3358 and speak to the clerk.

The Courts of Adams County announced Thursday that they would be closed until May 4 after Indiana Supreme Court granted their request to do so. The courts will remain closed until May 4 or until ordered to reopen by Indiana Supreme Court.



Arts Place

Arts Place, which had already canceled all events and classes until further notice, this morning announced that its facilities in Portland, Hartford City and St. Mary’s, Ohio, are closed to the public through the end of March.

The organization is working on plans for online programming via its website and social media accounts.

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