Ella Abbott

Lincoln Elementary School received a donation of over a thousand masks from high-end local retailer Jophiel today for students and staff.

The masks were made by volunteers and staff at Jophiel, which has donated more than 7,000 masks to area schools. 

Lincoln principal Claire Paul says she was worried over the summer about how students would handle having to wear masks, but that they’ve done a great job with them.

The Indiana Department of Health is partnering with Parkview Health to work to shorten the turnaround time on COVID-19 testing.

 Fort Wayne is encouraging residents to give feedback on its drafted Southeast Strategy Update. The strategy is an update to a 2007 plan that focused on residential strategies.

The Allen County Circuit and Superior courts are working with community organizations to offer Implicit Bias training to court employees.

Advancing Voices of Women (AVOW) announced their inaugural Profiles of Public Service Tuesday with 48 profiles of women in positions of leadership in Allen County.

The women represent more than 150 local, state and national boards with a focus on organizations that offer public services -- from local government to faith leaders.

Rachel Tobin-Smith is one of the founders of AVOW. She says the announcement comes on the heels of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave millions of women the right to vote.

The 13th annual Fort4Fitness Fall Festival will be entirely virtual this year due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The organization announced the change on their website last week.

Anyone who was already signed up for the event will be automatically switched over to virtual and receive a credit for the 2021 Fall Festival.

Executive Director Satin Lemon says the decision was a tough one to make, but they’re working to make the virtual run a fulfilling experience.

Fort Wayne Community Schools announced more information to make reopening schools safer for students at Monday’s board meeting, including moving the first day of school from Aug. 10 to Aug. 13.

Schools around Indiana are beginning to outline their tentative plans to reopen this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Leaders from Faith in Allen County joined community members today outside of the Allen County Courthouse to celebrate the release of Jorge Oliva from an ICE detainment center in Chicago.

Oliva was detained for three weeks before being granted a stay of deportation. Oliva’s friends and family, as well as Fort Wayne community members, called the office in Chicago submitting statements on Oliva’s character.

Oliva says he’s happy to be back in Fort Wayne, but that the fight for racial justice continues.