Editorial

Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp. school board members voted unanimously to change the hours cut for part-time employees at a special meeting on April 26. “It became apparent that there were going to be significant impacts on student instruction,” said Dana Kerr, school board president. The new resolution will allow student-assigned instructional assistants to work … Read more

Officials approved $272,926 for the Stinesville Road bridge replacement project during the May 3 meeting of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. The money will go to Bean, Longest and Neff and South Central Regional Sewage District as the county prepares for bridge construction. Bean, Longest and Neff will get $270,000 for a construction engineering … Read more

Ellettsville Christian Church hosted more than 70 cyclists overnight on May 9. The cyclists were five days and 315 miles into the Cover Indiana Bicycle Tour, a seven-day, 360-mile Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. The tour has raised as much as $60,000 in the past, according to Doug Taylor, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of … Read more

Construction crews will begin work on a Stinesville bridge in August. The Stinesville Road bridge over Jack’s Defeat Creek has been classified as “structurally obsolete” since 2008. The 53-year-old bridge is used by 90% of Stinesville residents and is the access for emergency personnel. An inspection by Indianapolis consulting firm Bean, Longest and Neff in … Read more

The Monroe County Council considered a 1% food and beverage tax levy during its April 23 work session. The tax would fund the Bloomington-Monroe County Convention Center’s expansion. “It’s certainly not an ‘if you build it, they will come’ situation,” said Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington. The convention center was built in 1977 … Read more

YMCA of Monroe County officials and supporters introduced the nonprofit to Ellettsville business leaders over breakfast last week. Speakers included Roberta Kelzer, executive director of YMCA of Monroe County; Kit Klingelhoffer, chair of the YMCA Chairman’s Round Table Committee; Darby McCarty, chair of the Smithville Charitable Foundation; and Angie Raake, human resources director and marketing … Read more

Ellettsville resident Weiwei Zhao’s daughter may not see her Head Start home visitor again after April 26. The South Central Community Action Program provides Head Start services in Monroe County. The organization’s board of directors and Head Start Parent Council voted to eliminate the home-based program, which serves parents of children up to three years … Read more

The Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp. school board unanimously voted to reduce the hours that part-time employees, substitute teachers, and lay coaches work per week by May 1. All board members were present. The decision will impact 57 RBBCSC employees. “It’s going to cost them two and a half hours of pay a week and … Read more

More discouraged workers re-entered Indiana’s workforce in January and February than at any time in the last 20 years, an Indiana Department of Workforce Development report said. Almost 22,000 people were added to the labor force. Of those, 13,800 were discouraged workers. The higher number of job seekers increased the unemployment rate. By February, it … Read more

Representatives from the YMCA of Monroe County and the Town of Ellettsville will present information about the Northwest YMCA facility at an informal breakfast April 24. Featured speakers at the event include Ellettsville resident Darby McCarty, chairman of the Smithville Charitable Foundation; Kit Klingelhoffer, of the YMCA board of directors; Roberta Kelzer, executive director of … Read more