The City Street Department’s spring brush and leaf collection will begin April 24, and it will run through May 5, 2023. Please have any yard brush and leaves out before the start date to ensure pick up.

Because of the large amount of brush and leaves usually placed out for this first pick up, it tends to take longer for the crews to make their rounds. Residents are to have their leaves and brush placed at the curb, but not in the street so as to not cause a road hazard or hinder water drainage.

Do not place brush or trash on or in leaf piles. Leaf and brush piles placed in alleyways will not be picked up. Do not place piles around fire hydrants, mail boxes or telephone poles.

When placing brush, please keep the following in mind:

• Brush and leaves will be collected during an announced 2-week period in April/May. “Brush only” collection begins on the last Monday of the months of May through September. Special collections to be announced as needed.
• Leaves to be collected in the fall as piles accrue and continue until an announced end date.
• Brush and leaves may not be mixed, and must be free of obstacles.
• Brush pile size can be no more than 5’ high, 5’ deep, and 10’ long. Branches must be 6” diameter or less.
• Brush shall not be placed out for pickup during the months of October – March.
• The city does not pickup brush generated by landscaping and tree tree trimming contractors.  Contractors will be required to remove all brush generated by their work.
• The city has extended the brush trailer program to year-round (weather permitting) for residents without the ability to comply with the new ordinance.
• Residents/property owners may be cited and fined for non-compliance of this ordinance.

Please call the Street Department at 574-534-9711 if you have any questions.

Our future leaders are talking. The Community Relations Commission thinks we should tune in.

The CRC is pleased to invite the public to the awards ceremony for their second annual essay contest Tuesday, April 18, at Schrock Pavilion, Shanklin Park. The event starts with a meet and greet at 6 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

The essay contest calls on all Goshen students in junior high through senior high school to discuss one of the eight CRC principles. The winners will receive up to $150 in cash.

Students who choose to participate are entered in one of two categories: grades 7-8—who will be required to submit an essay of 300-600 words; and grades 9-12, who will be asked to submit an essay of 500-800 words.

The CRC principles are:

• Honor the dignity of each person and each person’s rights
• Listen to the diverse voices of the community
• Cultivate constructive communication and engagement
• Value honesty, truthfulness, and integrity
• Promote a community that is safe for all
• Acknowledge and accept the challenge of change—that it may have both positive and negative consequences
• Promote the acceptance of differences
• Promote equality and freedom from discrimination

A committee of three judges has determined 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for each category: Jr. High and Sr. High.

The event is open and free to all. Light refreshments will be provided. Copies of the submitted essays will be available for reading prior to the awards ceremony.

To view this year’s essays, go to goshenindiana.org/crcessays.

The following is a message from the Indiana Department of Transportation:

The Indiana Department of Transportation announces intersection improvements on State Road 15 south of Goshen.

Starting on or after April 10, crews will begin working at the intersection of S.R. 15 and C.R. 42. Crews will add a deceleration lane on southbound S.R. 15. Motorists should watch for potential flagging operations during this project.

Work will then begin at the intersection of S.R. 15 and C.R. 142. Crews will be adding a left turn lane in both directions. Work at S.R. 15 and C.R. 142 will require closing access to C.R. 142. The contractor plans to close the east side on April 24 for 30 days followed by the west side closure for 40 days.

Construction on the intersection improvements is expected to be complete by mid-July. All work is weather-dependent and schedules are subject to change.

INDOT encourages drivers to consider worker safety by slowing down, using extra caution and driving distraction-free when travelling in and around all work zones.

College Avenue will be closed at the Horn Ditch bridge, between Lincolnway East (US 33) and Century Drive, starting Monday, April 10, through Friday, July 14, 2023. The detour route follows US 33, to Eisenhower Drive North, to Century Drive. The construction project will involve rebuilding and relocating City utilities in preparation for Elkhart County to replace the bridge over Horn Ditch (Bridge No. 410).

An overall road closure and detour shows the interaction between all current City road closures and detours in southeast Goshen.

Wilden Avenue will be closed to thru traffic between Rock Run Creek and Main Street / State Road 15 starting this Monday, March 20, until September for road construction. Traffic will be detoured on Indiana Avenue/CR 21 to CR 26 to Main Street/State Road 15.

The project involves rebuilding and improving the roadway, including replacing underground utilities. For more information, see the Wilden Avenue project page: https://goshenindiana.org/wilden-avenue

The City of Goshen will close South 8th Street between East Plymouth Avenue and East Jackson Street from Tuesday morning, March 14, to Thursday afternoon, March 16, to allow the Water & Sewer Department to replace a sewer lateral.

The City of Goshen Fire Department will test the city’s tornado sirens Tuesday, March 14 between 10 and 10:30 a.m. as part of an annual statewide test of communications systems.

While the drill will be sent using live TOR EAS coding (Tornado Warning), it is only a test, and will be postponed to Wednesday, March 15 if weather conditions warrant.

March 12-18, 2023 is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Indiana.

As part of NWS efforts to build a Weather Ready Nation, the goal of Severe Weather Preparedness Week is to better educate people about the hazards of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, and to help everyone be prepared when severe weather occurs.

The City of Goshen will host an open-house Public Flood Awareness meeting on Thursday, March 16, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at Schrock Pavilion, Shanklin Park.

This will be a drop-in event to talk with representatives from various City departments, as well as with other county and regional organizations. The conversation will cover flood issues and information about the Lower Elkhart River Project. Food will be provided.

Minor flooding in and around Goshen over the past weeks has reminded us of the historic flooding of 2018. Since late February of this year, floodwater has spilled into the lowest portions of Goshen’s floodplains – spaces occupied primarily by public park land, such as Rogers Park, Abshire Park, Shanklin Park, and Mullet Park.

The major difference between 2018 and 2023 is that five years ago the temperatures were quite cold before a warm-up, with frost in the ground, and several inches of snow above; rain on top of melting snow, on top of the frozen ground meant that waterways were quickly inundated. This year, the ground hasn’t been frozen, and more precipitation has been able to infiltrate, resulting in lower flood levels.

In Goshen, natural floodplains have performed very well.  For hundreds, and even thousands of years, the constant flow of water have formed the floodplains along our waterways, and are the natural overflow when volume exceeds river- and streambeds. Floodplains allow water to “slow down, spread out, and soak in”, essential actions for dealing with flood events.

The Indiana Climate Change Impact Assessment from Purdue University projects increasing precipitation in Northern Indiana over the coming decades (https://ag.purdue.edu/indianaclimate/indiana-climate-report).

The projections show this increase to be most dramatic during the late-winter and early-spring months – as currently – which indicates a potential for more flood events to occur. The Public Flood Awareness meeting will be an opportunity to hear what actions the City has been taking to mitigate and adapt to flood issues, to revisit the City’s Flood Resilience Plan, and to give input.

The City of Goshen Fire Department will test the city’s tornado sirens Tuesday, March 14 between 10 and 10:30 a.m. as part of an annual statewide test of communications systems.

March 12-18, 2023 is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Indiana.

The City of Goshen Tree Board is preparing for a 2024 calendar promoting our tree canopy benefits, and is soliciting works from local artists and photographers, both students and adults. The published calendar will contain selected images combined with text provided by the City forester. Selection of images to be published will be by the City forester with input from the tree board.

Application deadline is June 1, 2023.

Read the full submission information at https://goshenindiana.org/events-&-activities