Lawmaker missing legislative session after recent surgery

GREENFIELD, Ind. (AP) – A lawmaker from central Indiana is missing the opening weeks of the state legislative session after undergoing surgery.

Republican Rep. Bob Cherry of Greenfield says he recently had surgery following a health emergency.

Cherry didn’t provide details about the surgery to the (Greenfield) Daily Reporter and asked for privacy and prayers as he recovers at home. He has been absent from the Statehouse and expects to miss the next few weeks of the legislative session that’s expected to end in mid-March.

Cherry is vice chairman of the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee. He was first elected to the Legislature in 1998 and represents District 53, which includes parts of Hancock and Madison counties.