By Diane Daily

The Indiana Department of Education has just released the results of the latest I READ-3 tests and it shows there is still need for improvement. According to the results, 20% of the state’s third graders have trouble reading. Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner says the trend could have a long-term effect on Indiana’s economy. She feels improving reading skills should be a top priority with both current and future educators given the knowledge and tools that are needed to teach Hoosier students to read. According to the Department, the literacy rates in Indiana have been dropping for a decade.
A Bloomington woman was killed in a one-car accident in Greene County earlier this week. Authorities say 49-year-old Tonya Allgood was southbound on I-69 near mile marker 98 when her car left the road and went into the median. The car then swerved back onto the road, flipped over and finally came to rest in a ditch. Allgood was ejected from the car and died at the scene. A passenger was taken to IU Health Bloomington for evaluation.
A hunting accident in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest resulted in minor injuries for a Monrovia man. 72-year-old William Long told Indiana Conservation Officers he was shot by another hunter in the area while he was squirrel hunting. The incident is currently under investigation. Long was taken to the Morgan County Hospital and has been released.
In other news, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is getting ready for its 11th annual Garden Gala. The event is coming up tomorrow night from 6:30 to 9:00 at the Hub Garden. The evening will include dinner and dessert, live music and tours of the Hub Garden. Money from the gala will help support the Cupboard’s food pantry and popular workshops and children’s programs. You will be able to get tickets at the door.
Finally, Talking Heads have agreed to get back together for the first time since their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But they aren’t booking a reunion tour or making a new album. Instead, they will appear together at a 40th-anniversary screening of Stop Making Sense at the Toronto International Film Festival. Next month’s festival will take place September 7-17.