This holiday season, we encourage you to take some time to get creative and help decorate the Mirth Tree!

In an effort to reduce waste, the City of Goshen’s Department of Environment Resilience (GDER) wants to encourage you to see what you can create with only the things you can find or recycle. We invite residents to decorate Goshen’s Mirth Tree with these ornaments.

The tree, located outside the Goshen Utilities Business Office, 203 S. Fifth St., is lit up and ready for your ornaments, which you can create out of natural or recycled materials you find in or around your house.

This year you can make your own ornaments at City Hall! It’s across the street at 202 S. Fifth St. Come between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday, December 16. We’ll provide the crafting supplies and workstation for you to use.

Hang your ornaments on the lit tree anytime between now and December 23. The ornaments you put on the tree will then be up for grabs! Starting on December 24, you will be able to come back and take home an ornament that you like. You don’t need to share an ornament to take one, and vice versa; we want to encourage the act of giving without expectation!

As you are making your ornament, please keep these things in mind:

• Please refrain from using glass; we want to keep everyone safe and avoid broken glass.
• Paper and cardboard are great materials to use, but because the tree is outside, the weather may ruin such ornaments.
• Please do not use glitter; while glitter is appealing to the eye, the negative effects it has on the environment outweigh the visual appeal.  Some materials you may use are: Buttons, ribbons, popsicle sticks, wooden beads, sticks, acorns, pine cones and other natural materials.

While this is not a contest, we encourage you to take photos of your ornament or of yourself placing your ornament on the tree and submit them for the City to share on social media. Photos can be submitted via Facebook Messenger to the City of Goshen, Indiana, or via email to communications@goshencity.com. You also may tag the City on your Facebook post.

To learn more about the City’s efforts in reducing waste, call the Goshen Department of Environmental Resilience at 574.534.0076 or go to their website at goshenindiana.org/environmental-resilience.

The St. Joseph River Basin Commission has published a report analyzing over a decade of water quality data collected by the Elkhart County Health Department as part of the Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Partnership’s long-term surface water monitoring program. The report focuses on long-term trends in water quality in major waterways throughout Elkhart County as well as comparisons of trends across testing sites.

The report is now available for public review. The report can be found online at https://sjrbc.com/resources/monitoring/index.html.

The Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Partnership is tasked with working to reduce pollutants carried by stormwater to Elkhart County’s waterways and uses surface monitoring each year during the growing season to identify areas of concern. With its urban and agricultural areas, the County has the potential to have a large impact on the health of waterways flowing to the Elkhart and St. Joseph Rivers and ultimately to the Great Lakes. E. coli and nutrient pollution (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus) are known issues.

The report found that the percentage of samples exceeding the water quality standards for E. coli and Phosphorus is trending upwards over time. Turkey and Yellow Creek had E. coli levels 13,000 times the State standard for full-body contact recreation. These sites also had the highest Phosphorus levels of all sites sampled, exceeding the standard in 89% of 2021 samples. Yellow Creek and Turkey Creek, along with the streams that drain to them, emerged as areas of concern with regard to E. coli contamination and Phosphorus levels. Larger waterbodies like the Elkhart River and St. Joseph River had much lower instances of exceedance.

Sources of these contaminants in waterways include municipal, residential, commercial, and industrial areas. E. coli is an indicator of fecal contamination and is a public health concern as it can cause serious illness in humans. Phosphorus is an important nutrient for crops, but too much in streams can lead to excess plant growth, oxygen depletion, and fish kills. Continued monitoring of these sites will aid in identifying specific sources and eventual mitigation of the sources. Efforts are ongoing by the County government, municipal Stormwater Departments, and the Soil & Water Conservation District to address these water quality impairments in the short and long term.

“The work by the St. Joseph River Basin Commission to compile and analyze 12 years worth of water quality data is something the Stormwater Partnership has been working towards over the past five years” Jason Kauffman, City of Goshen Stormwater Coordinator, said. “This Report has helped the Stormwater Partnership better understand the water quality trends in our local waterways and will help guide future decisions. The work by Dr. Kate Barrett is greatly valued by the Stormwater Partnership and we are very thankful for all she has done.”

For questions on the Report please contact Dr. Kate Barrett at 574-287-1829 or kbarrett@macog.com and for questions on the Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Partnership visit www.elkcoswcd.org/stormwater-partnership/ to find contact information for the staff person in your area.

WHEN: Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Prairie View Elementary School Gym, 1730 Regent Street, Goshen

Please plan to attend to learn more about the mixed-use development being proposed for this 170-acres of land on the south side of Goshen including:

• Types and quantities of housing being planned;
• Types of commercial being considered to serve this area of town; and
• Types of amenities desired in the development.

In addition, learn more about the proposed Residential Housing TIF being considered by the City for this area. Representatives from both the City of Goshen and the development team will be present to briefly explain the project and to seek community input on the plan.

The City of Goshen appoints boards, commissions and committees, comprised of residents and City staff, to help advise on various policy issues. Some of the boards are designated by Indiana statute, while others are created in the interest of bettering our community.

Members of these boards and commissions are appointed by the mayor and City Council.

For 2023, the Council must make the following appointments:

• Redevelopment Commission: 2 positions—1-year term
• Community Relations Commission: 1 position—3-year term
• Shade Tree Board: 1 position—3-year term
• Board of Building Appeals: 2 positions—2-year term
• Library Board: 1 position—3-year term

To read about these Boards and Commissions, go to: goshenindiana.org/boards-&-commissions

To apply for any one of these boards and commissions, go to https://goshenindiana.org/boardapplication and fill out the application.

NOTE: The City Council will make the appointments in January of 2023.

Click here for an interactive map of showing the hydrant flushing schedule.

Goshen Utilities will start the fall hydrant flushing program beginning Monday October 11th, 2021, through Friday October 15th, weather permitting.

From Monday, October 10 through Friday October 14, the Goshen Water & Sewer Department will be flushing during daylight hours from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the upper pressure zone, which is everything northeast of U.S. 33 and the Norfolk Southern tracks.

Also on Monday, October 10, they will start their nighttime flushing from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. between North Greene Road heading west to the city limits and between the Norfolk Southern tracks to the city limits south.

On Tuesday, October 11, they will start flushing from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. between Cottage Avenue and 10th Street between the Norfolk Southern tracks south to the city limits, and between Lincolnway East and the Norfolk Southern tracks heading east to the city limits.

On Wednesday October the 12, the Water & Sewer Department will start flushing from 9 p.m.to 6 a.m. between Pike Street and the city limits south and between North Greene Road and Cottage Avenue.

On Thursday October 13, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. they will be flushing between Norfolk Southern and the city limits to the south, between North Greene Road to the city limits to the west.

The Water & Sewer Department asks that you avoid doing laundry on the day the flushing is close to your home, due to the rust that is being removed from the water mains. If you do have a problem with your laundry, please call the Water & Sewer Department and they will have some special soap for you.

If you have any questions or concerns contact their office at 574-534-5306.

Norfolk Southern will close the railroad crossing at Main Street, north of downtown, to make repairs on the tracks.

The closure will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 4 and will extend through Friday, Oct. 7.

Goshen and its surrounding region has rich history as land of the Potawatomi and Miami nations. To honor Indigenous Peoples Day, the City of Goshen Community Relations Commission will provide an opportunity for residents of all ages to learn this history. 

The CRC will host an Indigenous Peoples Day event at the Goshen Theater Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 6–8 p.m.

Doors at the Theater open at 6 p.m. with activity and information tables and an informative program starting in the theater auditorium at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the community.

In the lobby, tables for the Goshen Public Library and the Goshen Historical Society will have reading materials and resources to learn about our local history.

A table led by members of the Miami Tribal Historic Preservation Office will teach the art of ribbon work to people of all ages. Rooting through Corn, a local organization, will have a table with information about adapting corn to our region amid a changing climate.

In the auditorium, presenters and tribal historic preservation officers Matthew Bussler and Diane Hunter will share some history of the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi and the Miami tribe in Indiana respectively.

Luke Gascho, former executive director of Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center and author of the book “Tilling Soil on Stolen Land,” will present on indigenous land use.

Zuleyja Prieto, co-founder of Rooting through Corn, will speak on the connection to heritage and community formed by observing indigenous principles while gardening. Finally, local musician Nayo Ulloa will close the evening with live music, playing a sampling of native Andean music.

“The speakers and tables we are showcasing are inspiring,” AJ Delgadillo, Community Relations Director, said of the presenters. “Each comes from a broad range of backgrounds and in their own way they’ll offer us an opportunity to learn, be in awe, and get a better idea of where we fit into history, geography, and hopefully even where we fit into our Goshen community.”

The City of Goshen’s 2022 suggested trick-or-treat hours are Saturday, October 29, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Trick-or-treaters:

• Please be respectful of the set trick-or-treat hours.

• Stop only at homes where the porch lights are on, and never go into a stranger’s home.

Treat givers and adults:

• If you do not wish to participate in the event, please turn off your porch lights.

• Motorists should drive slowly and be alert for pedestrians.

• Keep your driveway and porch lit whenever possible and clear your walkways of any tripping hazards if handing out treats.