INDIANAPOLIS - Due to computer programming requiring less time than anticipated, some Hoosiers eligible to resume collecting the federally funded unemployment extensions can begin applying immediately. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has begun posting vouchers for eligible Hoosiers. DWD estimates that one-third of the vouchers are available as of Thursday. Additional vouchers will be posted daily. All vouchers will be posted by Tuesday, August 3.

The unemployment computer system updates overnight, so Hoosiers need only check their homepage once daily to see if their vouchers are available.

D-W-D anticipates restoring eligibility to approximately 80,000 Hoosiers covering nearly 250,000 weeks of payment

LOGANSPORT - Students, and parents of students who took some of the end of course assessment at the end of the last academic year, and are still wondering if they passed or not. Now the wait will be much longer than expected. Michele Starkey, the Curriculum Director in the Logansport Community School Corporation, has received that word from the state...

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Starkey was asked what will happen with some of the incoming freshmen, who took that E-C-A, as an eighth grader...

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Michele Starkey notes that schools throughout Indiana are in this situation, not just Logansport.

LOGANSPORT - The Logansport Fire Department, with assistance from Georgetown, and Royal Center, responded to a Mobile Home fire on West Delaware Road. Logansport Assistant Fire Chief Mike Woolington describes what they found at 3388 West Delaware Road around 9:00 Wednesday morning...

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Georgetown and Royal Center were called for tanker support. Fire Department Investigator Ted Franklin was also called to the scene...

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Ted Franklin estimates the damage between 5-10,000 dollars. Crews were on the scene for about an hour and a half.

CARROLL COUNTY - Sunday's tragic accident where a 13 year old Lafayette teen was found unconscious while swimming with friends near a boat dock at the Angel Shores Resort on Lake Freeman, has officials are urging people to take some precautions. That includes Conservation Officer Matt Tholen...

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Tholen was asked how often these connections should be checked...

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Matt Tholen

CASS COUNTY - The Cass County community is invited to meet and welcome Indiana University Kokomo Chancellor Michael Harris at a reception on Monday, August 16, at Amelio's & Ike's, in Logansport, from 4:30 to 6:30. The event is free and open to the public and hosted by local community members, IU alumni, and the IU Kokomo Alumni Association.

The reception will end a day-long tour for Harris in Cass County, including an appearance on Talk of the Town, and will give the new chancellor an opportunity to visit with alums and community members. Chancellor Harris arrived as IU Kokomo's 8th chief administrator on July 1st, after a broad, national search.

LOGANSPORT - At the invitation of Peak Community Services local leaders and area citizens gathered Monday afternoon at the Little Turtle Waterway, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Don Weikle, the Executive Director at Peak, reflects on the significance of the day...

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A similar recognition ceremony took place earlier in the day in Winamac.

CASS COUNTY - One of the buildings that was without power Saturday evening, as a result of the storms was the Cass County Jail. Sheriff Gene Isaacs explains what happened...

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Cass County Sheriff Gene Isaacs says says the jail staff was prepared to handle this situation.

CASS COUNTY - The amount of rain that fell in Logansport, and portions of Cass County Saturday night is unusual, and it created some problems. In some areas, three plus inches of rain fell in less than an hour. One of the areas that had issues with the water, was the Cass County Government Building, according to Commissioner Dave Arnold...

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Fans were blowing in several offices Monday in an attempt to help dry the carpet.

INDIANAPOLIS - State health officials have reported this year's first signs of West Nile virus activity in Indiana. To date, Allen, Hamilton, Marion and Montgomery counties have had mosquitoes test positive for West Nile. Rob McLaughlin is an Environmental Health Specialist with the Cass County Health Department...

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A person bitten by an infected mosquito may show symptoms three to 15 days after the bite. For more information, visit the Indiana State Department of Health Web site at: www.statehealth.IN.gov.

State officials indicate that West Nile virus is commonly found throughout the state each summer, so it is expected to see activity in more counties as the season progresses. In 2009, West Nile virus was found in mosquitoes in 24 Indiana counties.

INDIANAPOLIS - Hoosiers eligible to resume collecting the federally funded unemployment extensions will be able to begin filing online for those benefits on Tuesday, August 3, 2010. The Department of Workforce Development anticipates the recently passed law will restore eligibility to approximately 80,000 Hoosiers covering nearly 250,000 weeks of payments.

In order to qualify for these retroactive benefits, Hoosiers will need to complete their weekly vouchers through Indiana's online filing system. Each Hoosier will need to verify they were unemployed through no fault of their own, report where they looked for work each week and list any outside income earned each week in question. Hoosiers will need to complete a voucher for each week of benefits they want to collect.

Hoosiers moving into the Extended Benefits program, the final tier of benefits, will not have vouchers available on August 3. It is a requirement of the Extended Benefits program that each person applies in person at their local WorkOne Center and brings their eligibility letter from DWD. The department will resume sending those letters this week. Hoosiers previously enrolled in Extended Benefits will have vouchers available beginning August 3 to collect the benefits they had remaining when the program ended on June 12.

Due to the anticipated increase of claims, Indiana's 27 full-service WorkOne Centers will be open from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 3 through Friday, August 6. WorkOne Express Offices will maintain normal business hours. In addition, payments on eligible vouchers will be made within 48 hours during that week.