This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, August 5th, 2020.

In today’s show, you will hear from Trudy Weddle, Vice President of Enrollment at Ivy Tech Bloomington. She talked about reopening Ivy Tech for the fall semester.

Also coming up, a federal appeals court overturns John Myers’ appeal in the murder of Jill Behrman. You will hear a portion of a revisited feature where WFHB Assistant Sydney Foreman speaks with Behrman’s mother which aired on June 15th and more on the federal appeals court’s ruling to keep Myers in prison.

But first, your local headlines.

Here are three headlines you need to know today. WFHB Correspondent Aaron Comforty filed today’s local news brief.

740 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Indiana on Tuesday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health, which also reported twelve new deaths over the past few weeks.

Locally, Monroe County saw 5 new confirmed cases yesterday, while Lawrence County saw three. Brown and Green Counties both reported no new cases.

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A City of Bloomington housing study, released yesterday, described the local housing market asm “relatively expensive.”

The study showed that home-sale prices rose by forty-two percent since 2012, to an average of two-hundred-seventeen-thousand dollars. That rise is sixteen percent higher than the rise in Bloomington residents’ median household income over a similar period.

According to USA Today, Bloomington is the most expensive city in the state of Indiana. The study did not address or even mention homelessness in Bloomington.

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The mom of an Indiana University football player said that her son tested positive for coronavirus and went through, “14 days of hell.”

She said that her son may have heart and blood complications resulting from the virus. In a viral and widely reported-on Facebook post, Debbie Rucker wrote that her son, Brady Feeney, had to go to the ER because of breathing difficulties.

She noted that Feeney, an incoming freshmen, was in “perfect health and great physical condition.” Rucker wrote that her son tested negative before the season’s workouts began but that after three weeks, he and three other teammates tested positive. As has been widely reported, the positive test results forced I-U to suspend voluntary workouts for two weeks.

Bloomington Parks and Recreation Director Paula McDevitt and Director of Innovation Devta Kidd presented a staff report on the Lower Cascades Pedestrian road Closure during the Board of Public works August 4th meeting. McDevitt said the project converted old state road 37, which extends through Lower Cascades Park, into a pedestrian only trail. She said the project was funded by bicentennial bonds. She presented the project goals.

Devitt said the project began on March 15th. She said due to COVID-19 impacts the pilot project could be extended through June of 2021. Kidd presented data points collected from the project survey taken by park users. She said the majority of park users said they would return to the park and wanted the road to remain closed.

Resident Paul Kurn said the survey does not provide a question about wanting the road closed.
Kidd said the survey provides questions with a spectrum answer on how much residents want to see the street continue as a multi use path. Resident Linda Kurn discussed with Kidd about confusion concerning the word multipurpose.

Community member Greg Alexander expressed his support saying closure creates a safer park for children.

With the November General Election coming soon, it is important to learn about your voting options.

For the primaries, Indiana allowed for no-excuse absentee voting, which meant anyone could request their ballot by mail for any reason. It’s possible to request a mail-in ballot for the general election as well; However, as of right now, you must have an acceptable excuse why you cannot be at the ballots on election day.

The deadline to request an absentee vote-by-mail ballot in Indiana for the general election is October 22nd. You can find more information on voting in Monroe County, including the application for a mail-in ballot, at monroecountyvoters.us.

Lake Monroe Watershed Coordinator Maggie Sullivan presented a watershed plan update to the Bloomington Utilities Service Board during their August 3rd meeting. She said a water sampling program tests water coming into the lake.

Sullivan said City of Bloomington Utilities performed storm team sampling to gather sediment movement information. She said in January a gaging station was installed on the south fork of Salt Creek where CBU is sampling. Sullivan said the Brown County Regional Sewer District is testing waters for E.coli.

Sullivan said court cases are still in play about the Houston South proposed logging on Hoosier National Forest land. She said anyone interested in volunteer help with water sampling can visit friendsoflakemonroe.org.

Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton will be joining City leaders for a conference on Wednesday to answer questions about Mayor Hamilton’s Recover Forward initiative.

The conference will include Assistant Director of Small Business Development Jane Kupersmith, Executive Director of The Mill Pat East, and Director of Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development Doris Sims.

The discussion will be live-streamed on the City of Bloomington’s facebook page starting at 1 PM.

The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission approved an Economic Development Administration grant form and project during their August 3rd meeting.

President of Bloomington Economic Development Corporation Jennifer Pearl said the grant is to provide economic recovery. She said the grant would build a technology center in the Trades District and create new employment opportunities.

Pearl said the technology center would provide jobs for recent local graduates and promote growth and talent.

Director of Economic and Sustainable Development Alex Crowley said 80 percent of the project would be covered by the EDA grant.

He said the city would be responsible for approximately 2 million dollars. He said the grant application is due in late September or early October and requires a detailed building plan.

Crowley said within 90 days of submission the city would hear a response form the grant application.

Feature Reports:

Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington reopened on Monday after being closed for five months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, News Director Kade Young spoke on the phone with Trudy Weddle, Vice Chancellor of Enrollment at Ivy Tech Bloomington. Weddle talked about reopening for the fall semester. Here is that interview.

Jill Behrman went missing on Wednesday, May 31st, 2000 at the age of 19. After a long 6 years of investigation, Monroe County local John Myers was convicted for Jill Behrman’s murder.

Since then, Myers has filed multiple appeals to his case, his latest being filled in late 2019. Yesterday, the court of appeals made its final decision on the appeal.

Today, we will revisit a portion of a feature published in June, describing the 2019 appeal as Assistant News Director Sydney Foreman speaks with Jill Behrman’s mother, Marilyn Behrman. After, you will hear the current ruling along with Marilyn’s response. Here is the portion of that feature.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Aaron Comforty, Jake Jacobson and Sarah Vaughan, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our features were produced by Sydney Foreman and myself.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Executive producer is Kade Young.