This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, October 7th, 2020.

Later in the program, you will hear from a town hall hosted by Hoosier Action for Indiana House District 62. That’s coming up in today’s feature report.

Also coming up, there was an attempted suicide at the Monroe County Jail. WFHB Correspondent Aaron Comforty will have more later in the program.

Your local headlines:

Monroe County Budget Hearing 

Monroe County Councilwoman Kate Wiltz proposed a permanent part time worker raise during the October sixth budget hearing. She made the argument for permanent part time workers to be paid a living wage.

Wiltz mentioned the importance of a range flexibility to accommodate multiple job positions. She proposed a permanent part time minimum wage of 14 dollars an hour. Wilts included a proposed addition of a temporary account line with a different pay range, to accommodate any acceptance.

Wiltz mentioned the proposed raise would cause an about fifty thousand dollars raise to the budget. She said that was less than a 5 percent increase in part time lines. Council member Eric Spoonmore recommended including temporary and seasonal workers.

County Auditor Catherine Smith said the budget was proposed and advertised high enough to allow for the raise. Council members unanimously approved a part time pay raise consideration to be heard during their October 13th meeting.

BPD Staff Member Tests Positive for COVID-19

Bloomington Police Department reported its first positive COVID-19 test result. The test came back positive Tuesday after the individual began to experience symptoms on Saturday, October 3rd.

According to a city press release, “The employee, who is not a patrol officer, had minimal contact with the public during the 72 hours prior to the onset of symptoms.” Following Centers for Disease Control guidelines, BPD is working to identify any co-workers with whom the employee may have been in contact with to prevent further transmission.

The individual is on sick leave until fully recovered. This results in 11 reported positive test results from Bloomington city staff.

MCCSC Begins In-Person Classes on Monday

Monroe County Community Schools are opening to five day in-person learning on Monday. All grade levels will participate in in person classes Monday through Friday, however a virtual option is still available. This learning status falls into phase green of the MCCSC re-entry metrics.

The reentry phase is determined by positivity rates, new cases per day, local test turnaround and contract tracing. According to a Hoosier Times article during the week of September 27th there was one case identified at Bloomington High School North; two at Bloomington High School South; and one at Grandview Elementary. Since then 3 more cases have been reported at South High School.

The MCCSC metric Committee is scheduled to meet on October 27th to determine which phase schools will implement on November 2nd.

Hoosier Action Hosts Town Hall for Indiana House District 62 Candidates

Hoosier Action hosted a virtual town hall on Tuesday for the candidates running for Indiana House District 62.

The town hall covered issues in rural communities and small towns. Topics at the event included healthcare, rural transportation, the opioid crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and housing insecurity.

Democratic candidate Alyssa Bailey runs against Republican incumbent Jeff Ellington in the upcoming election.

Bailey was not present at the town hall meeting, but in a written opening statement, she said her campaign focuses on education, accessible and affordable healthcare, and developing the economy.

In his introduction, incumbent Jeff Ellington talked about his experience as a former Monroe County councilman that helped guide his platform as a state legislator.

Listen to the full story in today’s feature reports.

Feature Reports:

WFHB Correspondent Jake Jacobson reports on the third public forum for the redevelopment of the current Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital site, which took place last night on Zoom. We turn to Jake Jacobson for more.

There was an attempted suicide at the Monroe County Jail yesterday. Aaron Comforty spoke to Tina Montgomery, the mother of Allen Montgomery who attempted to take his own life. According to source Marc Haggerty, Montgomery was released by court order at 10:40 a.m. this morning.

We want to warn you, the following interview may not be suitable for all listeners.

If you or a loved one needs support, call the toll-free, 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
You can also text HOME to 741741 for free, which offers 24/7 support from the Crisis Text Line.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Aaron Comforty, Jake Jacobson and Sydney Foreman, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.

Our features were produced by Aaron Comforty and Kade Young.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Executive producer is Kade Young.