News and Events from Franklin County, Indiana
In This Issue
Hospital
“At A Breaking Point”

“Franklin County will never forget”

Indiana National Guard Assists
With Testing & Vaccinations

COVID-19 Surge in Franklin Cty

COVID Cases in
Franklin County Schools

Possible Progress for Ambulance Service in Franklin County

2022 School Budget & Tax Levy

Wirtz Honored As JAG Specialist

New Rules for Homecoming Parade

BCEF Seeks Mentors

“Pink Out” Supports FC CAN

Whitewater Canal Trail
Great Outdoor Weekend

Around The County
Southeast Indiana Hospital
“At A Breaking Point”
 
In a video released last week, Reid Health Regional Hospital emergency medicine physician Emily Kraft, M.D. says, “We are seeing our sickest patients in a year and a half…We are running out of resources…We are at a breaking point…We need your help to turn this around…Wear a mask, social distance and get a vaccine.”
 
Reid Health is issuing daily status reports on their website. They have moved patients into an auditorium and other space as they balance treating people suffering from COVID, heart attacks, stroke and car accidents. They set up “containment areas” to isolate COVID patients from other patients. On Thursday, September 9, Reid Health stopped elective inpatient surgeries as they try to manage the latest surge in COVID-19 cases.
 
Reid Health serves “an eight-county area, including Wayne, Randolph, Henry, Union, Fayette, and Franklin counties in Indiana and Darke and Preble counties in Ohio.” Click this link to see the video of Dr. Kraft.

Reported by Sara Duffy
“Franklin County will never forget.”
 
On September 10 at 12 noon, two-dozen people attended a brief 9/11 ceremony at the Purple Heart Memorial outside the Franklin County Government Center. Commissioner Tom Wilson led the ceremony by saying Hollie Maxie wanted to commemorate the day to remember the the attack on our country 20 years ago on September 11 and the 13 personnel killed two weeks ago. He began by reading the names, ages and hometowns of the 13 fallen heroes, who were killed in a suicide bomb at the Kabul Airport during operations to evacuate American and Afghanistan personnel, as part of the last United States operations in Afghanistan. One of the killed was from Indiana, Marine Corps Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana. Pastor Steve Rundel led the group in a prayer for those who lost their lives, followed by a moment of silence. County Commissioner Wilson said, “Franklin County will never forget.” Afterwards, someone began singing Amazing Grace and many others joined in.
 
Reported by Bridget Hayes
Indiana National Guard Assists with
COVID-19 Testing & Vaccines
 
Photo: A woman brought pizza and hoagies for the Indiana National Guard at Franklin County fairgrounds. Guard personnel were assisting with the high demand for COVID-19 testing and also with vaccinations.
 
In previous months, Reid Health staffed vaccination clinics at the American Legion, White’s Sale Barn and other locations in Franklin County. Reid Health is Indiana’s regional hospital that serves Franklin County. Now the Reid Health is in the middle of the surge of COVID-19 cases and is having to delay elective surgeries that require a hospital stay. Therefore, the Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana National Guard are now assisting the region with COVID-19 testing and vaccination.
 
On September 10 and 11, the Indiana National Guard was at the Franklin County fairgrounds as part of the State Health Department Region 9 Vaccine Strike Team. They offered free rapid tests and vaccines of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Rapid tests are in demand, because local stores have been running out of the tests. Some music concerts and event centers are now requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative test for entrance.
 
In the first four hours on September 10, the team administered approximately 40 tests and 25 vaccinations. The Observer will provide more data whenever it is available from the state.
 
The Indiana National Guard will be back at the Franklin County fairgrounds on Monday, September 13, through Wednesday, September 15, from 12 noon to 8:00 pm.
 
To find other vaccination sites and dates, or to register for a shot, go to ourshot.in.gov.
 
To find a testing location, go to scheduling.
 
Reported by Sara Duffy

COVID-19 Surge in Franklin County
The two charts show the increase in local COVID-19 tests and the spike in cases. The numbers are still climbing and are not leveling off.
 
Last week, Franklin County residents were getting tested for COVID-19 in record numbers with a total of 865 tests of people of all ages. So far, 113 people of those tested in the last seven days were positive for the virus. Of those recently testing positive were two children less than one year old and six children between the ages of one to four years.  There were no updates of the state website over the weekend. Some results may arrive this week.
 
According to Indiana’s COVID-19 website, Franklin County has a very high positivity rate (28%) for tests given. Franklin County is near the bottom in Indiana for vaccination rates with 36% of total population and 42% of those age 12+ years.
 
Since the start of the pandemic, 2,205 people in Franklin County have tested positive for COVID-19, which is approximately 1 in 10 residents. A total of 36 people have died.

Reported by Sara Duffy
COVID Cases This Week in
Franklin County Schools
 
During the week of September 7 - 10, parents were notified about 24 additional students and three more staff who tested positive for COVID-19 at Franklin County Community Schools. This brings the totals for this school year to 134 students and six staff.
 
As Franklin County experienced the latest surge in local COVID-19 cases and quarantines, Franklin County High School has had to cope with staff absences. When there are not enough substitute teachers to cover every absence, students are sent to the auditorium to work on a computer assignment. In this manner, one person can monitor multiple classes. This arrangement is not new and not unique to Franklin County High School.
 
A check of 17 nearby public and private schools on Indiana’s website showed that all had students who tested positive for COVID-19 and 11 out of 17 also had staff who had COVID-19. Of area schools, those with the most student cases as of September 3, 2021 are listed below.
 
  • Franklin County High School - 57 students
  • East Central High School - 33 students
  • Franklin County Middle School - 18 students
  • Batesville Middle School - 17 students
 
Reported by Sara Duffy
County Commissioners September 7, 2021
 
POSSIBLE PROGRESS FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE IN FRANKLIN COUNTY
Commissioner Tom Wilson reported that the Franklin County Emergency Medical Services had unofficially entered into a mutual aid agreement with Reid Hospital in Richmond, IN for ambulance services. They were awaiting Reid to sign the agreement and will provide details at the next meeting. Commissioner Wilson said they have pre-positioned sites for ambulances in Liberty and Connersville that could be dispatched to Franklin County if the 2 ambulances dedicated to Franklin County are in service and a third one is needed at the same time.
 
County resident Mildred I. Simmermeyer asked if Reid would take her to Reid or the Batesville hospital? Commissioner Wilson said, “According to EMS protocols, they have to take you to the nearest facility. It depends on your condition. If it’s a life-threatening condition, they will take you to the nearest facility, appropriate facility.” 
 
In August, 911 Supervisor Jon Hundley, informed the county they could no longer rely on Fayette County for ambulance service mutual aid. Other counties had also recently stopped providing mutual aid to Franklin County. He asked the commissioners for their guidance by saying “What do we do if we don’t have an ambulance in service and someone in the community needs one?”  The commissioners decided to create a policy for dispatchers by asking other counties what they do, but did not provide a short-term or long-term solution to the issue.
 
The contract the county has with Franklin County EMS is for 2 ambulances to be in service at all times for $300,000 per year. Commissioner Tom Wilson said, "It's the commissioners’ job to provide ambulance services to citizens.” At the meeting in August, the commissioners just kept saying, “I don’t know” in their discussions, but at this meeting, they seemed to have a solution.
 
The contract for Franklin County EMS ends December 31, 2021. According to Auditor Karla Bauman, the budget for the EMS contract for 2022 is the same as last year, $300,000.
 
FIRST COVID-19 RELATED DEATH SINCE FEBRUARY
Deb Tibbetts, newly promoted supervising nurse at the health department, announced a COVID-19 update. She said the county’s total cases have risen to 2,136. She also said she has a couple new hospitalizations and one new death, a gentleman in his 50’s. Later, when asked, she clarified that the person did not die of COVID-19 but COVID-19 was a factor. She said the county has an advisory code of red, which means there is a very high positivity and community spread according to the Indiana Coronavirus website: https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/. She announced a mobile clinic on September 10 and 11 from 12:00pm – 8:00pm at the Fairgrounds that will be hosted by the state that will provide the Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson vaccination and COVID-19 testing.
 
Nurse Tibbetts did say that the Franklin County COVID-19 Taskforce would begin to hold weekly meetings, but they would not be open to the public, they will not include any members of the county health board, nor would they release any sort of public announcement after the meeting. Meetings will take place on Mondays at 3:15pm. Previous Communications Officer, Deputy Jason Lovins, will not be involved in the meetings. If interested in the taskforce meetings, the public can call the health department and speak to Nurse Tibbetts. Other participants include County Emergency Management Director Amy Lindsey, Nurse Tibbetts, Commissioner Tom Linkel and Jennifer Strohmier, who will represent the school district. Ms. Tibbetts later said Dr. David Welsh, the newly appointed county health officer may also be at the meeting. 
 
The county health board is still set to maintain their normally scheduled quarterly meeting on 19 October.
 
Nurse Tibbetts did not mention anything about the new mask policy at the county schools or about the new surge of cases across the state and in Franklin County. There were no recommendations about breakthrough cases of vaccinated people, hospitalizations of unvaccinated individuals, or masking indoors. 
 
In a response to a question, Commissioner Linkel said he decided to close the government center and courthouse on Friday, September 3, due to “a couple of contacts within the government center, out of safety we closed the government center on Friday just to get everybody out of here so we could sanitize everything.” When asked if Dr. Welsh, the new county health officer, recommended it, he said, “No, he did not, I done that on my own.” In another interview, Dr. Welsh said he was not aware the building had been closed due to COVID-19 concerns. See the next issue for his first interview.
 
LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN COUNTY AND COMMUNITY
The county and the health department do not use routine procedures where they regularly initiate communication with the public, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic for the past year and half. 
 
Although the health department had a Facebook page at the beginning of the pandemic, they removed it due to safety reasons. Deputy Lovins provided COVID-19 updates in 2020 through the Sheriff Facebook page, but he is not part of the current taskforce team. The county commissioners have never had a Facebook page and neither entity uses the county website to inform the public. The health board only meets once every three months and the commissioners only meet once every two weeks. 
 
When asked if the county intends to better communicate with the public in this age of information, the commissioners decided to just do media releases. They were against establishing a Facebook page and various county employees discussed conflicting facts about the county’s old website versus the new one and who could update what. Commissioner Gerald Wendel did not comment during the conversation.
 
COUNTY EMPLOYEE POLICY TO DONATE SICK DAYS CONTINUED
The commissioners approved a policy on Sick Day Transfer. In the past they described it as allowing any county employee to donate their sick days to another employee that is completely out of sick, vacation days and compensatory days, but final details will be released at the next meeting.  
 
In the past, County Auditor Karla Bauman said the county has no way to track the hours with the current county’s payroll software, but now she may have a solution. When county resident Mildred I. Simmermeyer asked from on Zoom about accommodations for differences in salaries, Commissioner Linkel said there would be no accommodations for salary differences, that “for the purposes of this program, a sick hour is a sick hour” and that council would not have to make adjustments on the budget. Commissioner Wilson said, “It would make it easier to compute.” Commissioner Wendel made no comment. The highest paid county employee makes $95,000 and the lowest paid makes $26,000, which equates to vastly different amounts of salary for one day of work. 
 
APPROVALS
The commissioners signed and approved the claims, payroll and payroll deductions. They also approved the August treasurer’s report.
 
The next meeting is September 21, 2021 at 10:00am in the Government Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room.
 
Reported by Bridget Hayes
Public Hearing on 2022 School Budget & Tax Levy
 
The Franklin County school board is proposing a $1.8 million increase in the 2022 tax levy from the current $6.6 million to $8.4 million. The increase for 2022 is mainly for debt repayment. In July, the school board unanimously passed a $5 million bond that would pay for past renovations and would improve cash flow. Click to read more from the July meeting about the bond and the impact on tax rates.
 
There will be two public hearings on Monday, September 13, starting at 6:45 pm about the proposed 2022 budget and about additional appropriations for 2021. Following will be the regular school board meeting at 7:00 pm. The public can participate remotely or in person for the hearings and meeting. The public may also submit written comments in advance via email. Click for access information and an agenda. 
 
To see the 2022 proposed budget, capital projects plan and bus replacement plan, go to Indiana’s Gateway system.

Reported by Sara Duffy
Wirtz Honored As JAG Specialist
 
Tanya Wirtz, Franklin County High School JAG Specialist, was honored at the Virtual National Training Seminar July 12, 2021, as one of the National Outstanding Specialists. It is based on the success in fully implementing the Jobs for America’s Graduates model and achieving extraordinary outcomes for the JAG Program Participants. She took over the program in 2016 and continues to grow the program each year. She works with juniors and seniors on resume building, mock interviews, budgeting, taxes, and many more other life skills. She also does a monthly follow up for one year after graduation with each of her students to make sure they are achieving their goals. Congratulations to Ms. Wirtz.
 
From Franklin County High School
Photo: Franklin County High School Band in 2019 Homecoming Parade

New Rules for Homecoming Parade
 
Franklin County High School will hold its Homecoming Parade on Friday, September 24 beginning at 5:00 pm. The parade will begin at St. Michael School, proceed down Main Street and is expected to close Main Street (US Highway 52) through Brookville for approximately thirty to forty-five minutes. The organizers issued new rules for parade participants.
 
  • “The purpose of the 2021 Homecoming parade is to strictly celebrate the spirit of Franklin County that is exemplified within our high school. With this in mind, the following organizations / decorations will not be permitted into the 2021 Homecoming Parade: 
  • Political parties and groups of any kind 
  • Political signs of any sort - ex: reelect, elect, “vote for,” banners, signs, stickers, flags, etc.
  • Signs supporting/discouraging a political policy - ex. Renewable Energy, Abortion, Gun Rights, etc.”
 
 
Submitted by Tanya Wirtz
Photo by The Observer

BCEF Seeks Volunteer Mentors
 
The Batesville Community Education Foundation (BCEF) is seeking additional volunteer mentors for its career networking platform for Batesville High School (BHS) students. BHS alumni or other community members who are willing to provide students with information about their career experiences are invited to join.
 
“We currently have just over 600 BHS students with active profiles on our Bulldogs Connect career networking platform,” Wilson explained. Our mentor total is at 384 right now, so we need volunteers from all sorts of careers to step up to make this work for our students.” Click to read more.
 
Submitted by BCEF Executive Director Anne Wilson
“Pink Out” Supports FC CAN
 
Franklin County High School is participating in the "Pink Out" with Margaret Mary Health in October and is selling shirts with all profits going towards our local FC CAN (Franklin County Cancer Assistance NOW). FCHS will still have the traditional Beat Cancer in 4 Quarters during boys basketball season with those profits going to the American Cancer Society. Shirt order deadline is Monday, September 27th and prices are $12 for short sleeve, $15 for long sleeve, and $25 for hoodies. Other schools and anyone interested can use the following link to order: https://fightlikeawildcat.itemorder.com/sale
 
From Franklin County High School
Whitewater Canal Trail
Great Outdoor Weekend September 26
 
Walk or bike a brand new section of the Whitewater Canal Trail. The folks at the WCT have been busy building trail this summer and the Great Outdoor Weekend is a “soft opening” for the nearly completed 11 mile section of trail. Join us on Sunday September 26th from 10 am to 4 pm at the Yellowbank Trailhead parking lot (15040 US 52) at Yellowbank Road -west of Brookville. Guided walks will be at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm or you can walk or bike on your own. This is a “must see” trail.
 
Submitted by Shirley Lamb
Two Types of COVID-19 Tests
Available in Brookville
 
Franklin County EMS will continue to offer COVID-19 testing through December 31, 2021. The hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday 4-9pm and the first Saturday of the month 9am - 4pm. They offer both the BINAX NOW (rapid test) and the nasal swab test (3 to 5 days for results). The test site is located in the alley behind the EMS building at the corner of 7th and Mill Streets, Brookville, Indiana 47012. Phone 765-647-0234. Go online to make an appointment for a COVID-19 test. Frankin County EMS does not distribute results. For assistance with results, call 877-826-0011- option 2.


Reported by Sara Duffy

Free Rides to Vaccine Clinics

Franklin County Public Transportation is offering free transportation to anyone in Franklin County who would like to get to one of the COVID-19 vaccination clinics that are being offered by the Health Department, CVS, etc.). Passengers would just need to call in advance at 765-647-3509 to schedule their ride. This will be ongoing as long as the vaccinations are being offered.
 
Submitted by Missy Ratz
Director, Franklin County Public Transportation

Around the County
Legion Drive-thru Dinner - Sept. 17
Do you want the convenience of picking up a delicious fried chicken or smoked pork chop dinner after a busy week at work? Drive-thru dinner is Friday, Sept. 17, from 4:00-7:00 PM. 10 piece chicken $11. 5 piece chicken $7. Two chops $9 One chop $5. French fries $2. Pint of Cole Slaw $2. “All proceeds will benefit Kelsee Lainhart.”
 
Submitted by Mike Biltz

200th Anniversary Celebration Old Brick Church
The Franklin County Historical Society cordially invites you to join the 200th anniversary celebration of the Old Brick Church in the cemetery on 10th street, Brookville, on Sunday, September 19, 2021 at 2pm. The public is invited to dress in period attire for fun and effect.

Submitted by Martha Shea

Dulcimer Society Concert - Sept. 19
The public is invited to see the Shawnee Valley Dulcimer Society perform at Springfield Community Church, located at 3101 Oxford Pike, Bath, Indiana on Sunday evening, September 19th. There will be a pitch-in dinner at 6pm, with the performance at 7pm. No charge. All are welcome. 
 
Submitted by Phil Harsh

Franklin County High School Food Pantry - Sept. 21
All distribution days are on Tuesdays from 4:00-5:30 pm. They will be the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. (*January 5th is the 1st Wednesday of the January. The students return to school that day, so that will be the only Wednesday that we will use.) Click to download the flyer.

Submitted by Tanya Wirtz, FCHS JAG Specialist

Springfield High School Alumni Dinner/Meeting Cancelled
After an unanimous vote of officers, the SHS alumni dinner/meeting on September 18, 2021 has been cancelled due to the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus spreading, and being widely detected in Indiana as well as Ohio and Kentucky. The event is rescheduled for June 11, 2022. Thank you for your understanding, stay safe and hope to see you in June of 2022.
 
Submitted by Ivan Bruns, President

Lowcost Spay & Neuter Clinic - Sept. 30
Phone for an appointment 317-675-0072
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The Franklin County Observer