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Richmond man dies after weekend shooting

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A Richmond man died Sunday after a Saturday night shooting on the city’s north side. Second-shift patrol officers for Richmond Police Department responded to the 200 block of North 13th Street after a shooting was reported at 10:12 p.m.

Police found Chad Mullins, 26, with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, according to a news release from Capt. Curt Leverton of RPD’s Investigative Services. Mullins was treated at Reid Health in Richmond and was flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. In a news release sent to local media shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday, Leverton said Mullins had been taken into surgery, but Leverton sent an update about 13 hours later, noting that Mullins had been pronounced dead at Miami Valley, and that an autopsy was scheduled for Monday. A short man wearing a dark face mask was seen leaving the area in a dark car, the release noted.

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Families can receive free bags, food boxes March 31 at parks, school

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At four Wayne County parks and a school, families can drive through on Wednesday, March 31, to pick up free bags containing kids’ activities and parenting information. A limited number of free Gleaners family food boxes and a few door prizes will be at each site as well. The Kids First events, which are planned at Creitz Park in Cambridge City, Maplewood Park in Centerville, Northeastern School in Fountain City, Hagerstown Park and Glen Miller Park in Richmond, are designed to bring awareness and resources to help relieve stress for families and prevent child abuse. Bags will be given away at each site at 4 p.m. and the event will end at 6 p.m. or sooner if supplies run out. Six hundred bags are prepared for Glen Miller and other sites each will have 100.

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1-shot vaccine clinic open afternoon, evening of Wednesday, March 31

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Wayne Country Heath Department  has announced another Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic this week, this time with 200 shots. The next clinic will be from 3-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 31 at the former Elder-Beerman store, 601 E. Main St., Richmond. This clinic will be open only to those with appointments. Walk-ins will not be accepted. About 640 vaccines were distributed Saturday at the health department’s special event offering the Johnson & Johnson shots.

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Ages 40-44 can schedule vaccine appointments starting Monday

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Indiana is making COVID-19 vaccinations available to those 40-44 starting Monday, March 22, by appointment. Appointments can be scheduled at ourshot.in.gov for sites in Wayne and surrounding counties. Ages 45-49 were added to the list of eligible recipients in recent days. The list of high-risk medical conditions also has been expanded in recent days, and now includes pregnancy. Pregnant women are encouraged to speak with their medical provider and find out when a shot is recommended.

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Those 45+ can now get COVID vaccinations as soon as today

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Free COVID-19 vaccines are now available for those 45 and older. Indiana Department of Health announced the expansion of eligibility on March 16. That addition makes the vaccine available to an additional 415,640 Hoosiers. Vaccine appointments for this newly eligible population will be available over the next several weeks to align with expected vaccine deliveries to the state. Recently, vaccine supplies have been plentiful in Wayne County, with same-day appointments often available.

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Commissioners urge participation in broadband survey

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Only a few days remain to complete the Wayne County broadband survey and the Wayne County Commissioners are urging residents to participate. Commissioner Jeff Plasterer said that as of March 8, about 1,000 people had completed the broadband survey and more are needed to do so by the final survey date, March 19. The survey is designed to study the usage, actual speeds, opportunities, and lack of access around the county to provide framework for filling future needs. The Wayne County Broadband Taskforce, in partnership with Purdue University Center for Regional Development, launched the survey online on March 1. Residents are asked to complete the survey from home if they have broadband access, and from another location if they do not.

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Wayne County parents asked to complete survey about needs by March 12

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Wayne County parents and caregivers are asked to complete a short survey by Friday, March 12, to help state officials better understand the support and resources their families need. Organizers are hoping to gather at least 262 parent surveys in the county for a representative sample and want to hear from a broad group of families, especially those with low incomes. The survey can be found at https://www.research.net/r/FamilyWayne

Indiana Minority Health Coalition is leading this effort to explore how the state can better support all families. They want to increase the effectiveness, alignment and coordination of existing resources that help Hoosiers take care of their children. The survey asks parents if they’re aware of various types of organizations that support families in their community, such as childcare, libraries and recreational programs, and if they have used their services.

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Indiana opens COVID-19 shots to those 60-64

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Hoosiers 60 and older are now eligible to receive the #COVID19 vaccine. The announcement was made shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23. Those eligible can register at ourshot.in.gov or call a local phone number. State health officials urge vaccination seekers to be patient as wait times might be longer than usual.

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Majority of Indiana counties at orange COVID level this week, Wayne better at yellow

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In a week when Hoosiers are still digging out from a significant winter storm, Governor Holcomb’s news conference brought welcome news regarding Indiana’s COVID-19 positivity rates.  The color-coded maps “look the best they have in months” according to Dr. Kristina Box, Indiana’s State Health Commissioner Wednesday, February 17. No counties were at the red level this week, down from 4 last week.  Wayne County remains at the yellow level first achieved last week; however, the infection level decreased from 1.5 to level 1.  While this is a reason to be optimistic, County residents must continue to be diligent about measures to keep the spread contained until the majority are vaccinated. Other highlights:

Because of the unpredictability of when vaccine shipments will arrive in the state, Indiana will keep the threshold of those eligible at 65 and older.  Dr. Lindsay Weaver, Indiana’s Chief Medical Officer suggests that anyone receiving the first vaccine dose should take a picture of their vaccination card to help ensure the second dose is from the same manufacturer. Many organizations are helping with registration, transportation, and other barriers to getting vaccines into the arms of those who are eligible, including Area Agencies on Aging, AARP, library staff across the state and managed care partners.  Success stories were shared as these contacts have reached people who said they had not previously planned to get vaccinated. Dr. Box responded to a question about whether individuals who test positive with a variant strain of COVID are notified.  She responded that they are as ISDH wants to do additional contact tracing.  The other strains have been found to be more contagious than the dominant strain the US has fought since the pandemic first began.