Wednesday, April 29, 2020 Woof Boom Morning Briefs

Muncie Sanitary District recently posted on their website, their Billing Department will remain closed to the public, even after sanctions are lifted.  District officials also announced that they will not be moving their offices to a new downtown location as planned but instead will relocate some operations to their new Sanitation Operations Plant located at 2121 N. MLK Boulevard.

Another small step towards normalcy:  Muncie City Hall will partially reopen this Friday, May 1.  Mayor Dan Ridenour said on Facebook yesterday, that it will be by appointment only, and that a visitor will be met at the locked door, asked some health questions, temperature will be taken, and you will be requested to wear a facemask.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration this week launched a new website, BeWellIndiana.org, that will provide Hoosiers with free mental health resources that have been vetted by experts. The site is designed to address the increase in anxiety, depression and other mental health issues caused by the pandemic, including both first-time issues as well as preexisting mental health concerns.

As we told you first earlier this month,  Muncie Community Schools has online enrollment for new and returning students in grades PreK-12 for the 2020-21 school year.  Any child who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1, 2020, will be accepted for kindergarten. Parents who believe their kindergarten-eligible child is high-ability should email jenny.smithson@muncieschools.org to receive the application for virtual screening.  Pre-kindergarten students who are 3 or 4 years old by Aug. 1 also may register. Each school will offer a Pre-K class, but spots will be limited.

Groceries could see meat shortages by end of week. But there’s no need to panic.  One analyst  said, that supply is not an issue.  “There is a lot of frozen pork and beef sitting in freezers, so people shouldn’t panic,” he said.

Buy a certificate, save a local business.  Plans continue to come together quickly for this Thursday’s Radio-a-thon on one of our Woof Boom Radio stations, as we help promote and sell gift certificates to stimulate the Madison county economy, and help local businesses survive.  All purchases will happen at the Madison County Chamber of Commerce website.  More info coming on Radio, and in the Herald Bulletin.

Jud Fisher writes in yesterday’s MuncieJournal.com, Ball Brothers Foundation has awarded a $75,000 grant to the IU Health Foundation. The grant will support the needs of hospital employees in Delaware, Jay and Blackford Counties with some of the funding to be used to provide team members with meals, including during night shifts when cafeterias and many restaurants are closed.

The Indiana Department of Transportation’s virtual career fair scheduled for Thursday, April 30, has been canceled due to the recent hiring freeze implemented by the State of Indiana. The event will be rescheduled for a later date, once hiring resumes.

An explosion of cases linked to Logansport’s pork-processing plant has given Indiana one of the worst coronavirus hotspots in the nation. Cass County now has the seventh-highest infection rate in the country. One of every 37 residents in that county has now tested positive.

More from a recent MuncieJournal.com article with community leader Scott McKee, from First Merchants, on how to remain positive:  “There are two common definitions of the word hope. One is likened to a confident expectation of good outcomes.  I can assure you that we will come out of this pandemic much stronger because we have a community comprised of people who care very deeply for one another.  The sun will rise, and the fear will subside. I have great hope for you because good will prevail.”

Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour released yesterday that additional security at City Hall was planned, and approved by City Council.  Key-fob entry devices were added to some doors, stairwells, and elevator.  He mentioned the “powder situation” as an example of how freely people had been allowed to move around the building, which remains locked – though appointment-only entry returns Friday, May 1.

You might be eligible for food stamps during the pandemic, even if you weren’t eligible before.  The income limit for free and reduced school lunches is higher than the cutoff for food stamps — 13-thousand dollars a year higher for a family of four. But since kids can’t go to school right now, they’re not getting those meals. U-S-D-A has granted Indiana permission to expand food-stamp eligibility to those families.  You don’t have to do anything to apply — you’ll get an electronic benefit card in the mail automatically.

Thanks to a grant from George and Frances Ball Foundation, gifts made to the United Way of Delaware, Henry & Randolph Counties COVID-19 Economic Recovery Fund, will be matched dollar-for-dollar.  United Way has received emails and calls from struggling families who are suffering a loss of income due to the pandemic.  We’ve just placed a donation link HERE:  (https://www.invitedtoliveunited.org/covid19?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=)

All law enforcement agencies are seeing the same trend – the Madison County Sheriff posted yesterday: Take Time to Chill.   We have previously reported of the increase in the number of domestic dispute calls over the last six weeks – and the Department wrote it is double the same number of domestic dispute calls from 2019.  Professional mental health services are available for those who feel overwhelmed by our situation. Please reach out.

As we told you first earlier this month,  Muncie Community Schools has online enrollment for new and returning students in grades PreK-12 for the 2020-21 school year.  Any child who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1, 2020, will be accepted for kindergarten. Parents who believe their kindergarten-eligible child is high-ability should email jenny.smithson@muncieschools.org to receive the application for virtual screening.  Pre-kindergarten students who are 3 or 4 years old by Aug. 1 also may register. Each school will offer a Pre-K class, but spots will be limited.

After he served more than 15 years of a 110-year prison sentence on charges of murder and eight years after the charges were dropped, Walter Goudy has settled his federal lawsuit against the city of Anderson and the state of Indiana and will collect $1.4 million, city officials said Monday.

The Indiana Department of Transportation’s virtual career fair scheduled for Thursday, April 30, has been canceled due to the recent hiring freeze implemented by the State of Indiana. The event will be rescheduled for a later date, once hiring resumes.

Buy a certificate, save a local business.  Plans continue to come together quickly for this Thursday’s Radio-a-thon here on WHBU, as we help promote and sell gift certificates to stimulate the Madison county economy, and help local businesses survive.  The day will run from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., and all purchases will happen at the Madison County Chamber of Commerce website.  More info coming soon on Radio, and in the Herald Bulletin.

An Indianapolis man faces time in federal prison for harassing his ex-wife in Florida and even mailing her a dead animal.  Romney Ellis, 55, of Indianapolis, pleaded guilty Thursday in Tampa federal court to making interstate threats and mailing injurious articles.  Court papers say Ellis harassed his ex-wife for four years, once even mailing her a dead rat and a black rose.

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