Tuesday, February 18, 2020 The Commercial Review Portland, Indiana 47371 www.thecr.com $1 Flip the Prepping for fall script Bond bank is seeking innovators for ‘sprint’ By RAY COONEY The Commercial Review Are you an entrepre - neur? A tech guru? A marketing specialist? If you fit any of those roles, or are anyone who is interested in making Indi - ana communities better places to live, Indiana Bond Bank wants you. The bond bank is seek - ing “innovators” for its sec - ond Flipping Finance Chal - lenge, an “18-hour design sprint” scheduled for Feb. 28 and 29 at VisionLoft and Market Tower Collaborato - ry in Indianapolis. It’s not limited to any specific sector or area of knowledge. “This is open to anyone who would be interested in The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney coming,” said Brian Car - man, the bond bank’s pro - Buses park this morning to let off students along the curb on the east side of Jay County High School. In gram development direc - preparation for the building becoming a junior-senior high school for the 2020-21 school year, work is underway to create tor. Those interested can new bus routes. Plans also call for extending the parking lot on the east side of the school to allow for dedicated bus sign up for the free event by parking. Plans call for junior high pick-up and drop-off on the south side of the school, with high school and general public visiting eventbrite.com parking in the main lot to the north. and searching for Flipping Finance Challenge. Jay County, led by Jay County Development Cor - School corporation is working on new bus routes, poration, is one of three Indiana communities par - ticipating in Flipping procedures for building consolidation in 2020-21 Finance along with Starke By JACK RONALD new app intended to Once the first draft is County and Bloomington. The Commercial Review improve communication received, Gulley said, Each has already been It’s February, but Jay Adjusting patterns with students and par - he’ll meet with bus through a brainstorming Schools is already ents. drivers to let them session to narrow down a intensely focused on next Traffic patterns will be revised for the 2020-21 school Gulley said he expects review it and offer feed - menu of challenges for the fall. year as Jay County High School shifts to become a junior- to present a first draft of back for any tweaks senior high building. Plans are as follows: innovators to work on dur - That’s when the latest new bus routes, reflect - that may be necessary. ing the event. round of consolidation •Create a bus parking lot on the east side of ing the changes neces - Meanwhile, Jay Those challenges, 19 of takes effect. the building, separating it from the current staff sary because of consoli - Schools is working with them, include how to Jay County High and visitor parking. dation, at the board’s Apptegy, Little Rock, revive downtown, provid - School becomes a junior- March meeting. A com - Arkansas, on improv - senior high facility, the ing opportunities for •Move parent drop-off and pick-up of students pany called Transfinder, ing its electronic com - youth, overcoming geo - East Jay Middle School to the south side of the building. Schenectady, New York, munication, updating graphic limitations, con - building becomes an ele - is currently at work on its website and provid - fronting the lack of gro - mentary school and that challenge. ing an app for mobile •Use the main north parking lot for high school cery stores and providing work will be underway to “I want to make sure devices. early childhood education. transform the West Jay students and the general public. we’re getting the most “I think it’s going to “We get to make a lot of Middle School building efficient routes possible,” be a big improvement contacts from across the into an elementary as said Gulley, noting that for us,” school technolo - state which will be really well. for decades the school gy specialist Katie helpful to giving us anoth - “My goal is that when School Board on Monday to help redesign its bus system has used pencil, Clark told the board. er vantage point for our kids leave for the sum - night. routes, is revising traffic paper, a large map, push The current system is challenges,” said Travis mer everyone knows the To that end, the school patterns at the junior- pins and colored string to workable but cumber - Richards, executive direc - deal,” superintendent corporation is working senior high school build - keep track of all the dif - some. tor of Jay County Develop - Jeremy Gulley told Jay with a software company ing and will launch a ferent routes. See Prepping page 5 ment Corporation. See Flip page 5 Bloomberg makes debate By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Buttigieg. Fellow billionaire stage and drawing the ire of Associated Press and philanthropist Tom Steyer some candidates who dropped Billionaire Mike Bloomberg is still hoping to qualify. out of the race for failing to has qualified for the upcoming Bloomberg’s campaign said make prior stages. The candi - Democratic presidential debate, that it was seeing “a dates were previously required marking the first time he’ll groundswell of support across to receive a certain number of stand alongside the rivals he has the country” and that qualifying campaign contributions to qual - so far avoided by bypassing the for Wednesday’s debate “is the ify, but Bloomberg, who is worth early voting states and using his latest sign that Mike’s plan and an estimated $60 billion, is not personal fortune to define him - ability to defeat Donald Trump taking donations. self through television ads. is resonating with more Ameri - The prime-time event will be a A new NPR/PBS News- cans.” stark departure from Hour/Marist poll published “Mike is looking forward to Bloomberg’s highly choreo - today shows Bloomberg with joining the other Democratic graphed campaign. He’s poured 19% support nationally in the candidates on stage and making more than $300 million into tele - Democratic nominating contest. the case for why he’s the best vision advertising, a way to The former New York City The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney candidate to defeat Donald define himself for voters with - mayor, who launched his presi - Trump and unite the country,” out facing criticism. While he’s dential campaign in November, Bloomberg campaign manager campaigned in more than two will appear in Wednesday’s Kevin Sheekey said in a state - dozen states, he does not take Flute interlude debate in Las Vegas alongside ment. questions from voters and deliv - Paulina Esquival of the Jay County High former Vice President Joe The Democratic National ers a standard stump speech School band performs as part of a flute tio during Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders, Committee recently changed its that lasts less than 15 minutes, Sunday’s Mid-Winter Pops Concert. Elizabeth Warren and Amy rules for how a candidate quali - often reading from a Klobuchar and former South fies for the debate, opening the teleprompter. Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete door for Bloomberg to be on See Debate page 5 Deaths Weather In review Coming up The high temperature Mon - day in Portland was 46 United Way of Jay County, Wednesday — Coverage of Patricia Stammen , 66, degrees. There was about a Community and Family Serv - tonight’s Portland City Coun - Fort Recovery half-inch of rain. The low was ices and Second Harvest Food cil meeting. Richard Collins , 61, Cold - 26. Bank will host a food tailgate water, Ohio The low tonight will be 24. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednes - Friday — Results from Scott Smith , 60, Berne Expect skies to be sunny day at Jay County Fair - Thursday’s boys swim section - Details on page 2. Wednesday with a high of 35. grounds. Income verification al preliminaries at JCHS. Se page 2 for an extended is not required. forecast. The Commercial Review Page 2 Local/World Tuesday, February 18, 2020 Virus claims life of hospital director BEIJING (AP) — As a myste - him. That raised the number of bringing the total to 542 among ing people travel to Beijing rious new virus enveloped cen - Liu is at least the seventh deaths in mainland China to the 3,700 initially on board. while the virus is still spread - tral China's Wuhan early this health worker to die of the 1,868 and the total number of The U.N. secretary general ing. year, Liu Zhiming mobilized all COVID-19 disease among the confirmed cases to 72,436. told The Associated Pres that One of the automotive indus - the resources of his hospital in more than 1,700 doctors and "Now the prevention and con - the virus outbreak "is not out of try's biggest events, China's the city's Wuchang district to nurses who have become sick. trol work is at a critical time," control but it is a very danger - biannual auto show, also is deal with the thousands of sick His death comes as authorities President Xi Jinping told ous situation." being postponed, and many people arriving daily, threaten - are cautiously cheering a reduc - British Prime Minister Boris Antonio Guterres said in an sports and entertainment ing to overwhelm the local tion in the number of new daily Johnson in a phone call today, interview in Lahore, Pakistan, events have been delayed or can - health care system. cases and deaths, along with the according to Chinese state that "the risks are enormous celed. That dedication appears to results of a study showing most broadcaster CCTV.