First Fridays will host its first-ever online experience! Join the community online this Friday, watch a live concert and consider supporting your local businesses and nonprofits.

We ask you stay home and join the virtual celebration; please continue to practice good health measures and distancing to help us slow the spread of COVID-19.

Go to https://business.facebook.com/events/3278359162180887/ for details and to join.

The following is a message from the Elkhart County Health Department.

The LIVE Elkhart County COVID-19 Information Line is fully up and running. This is an INFORMATION ONLY line. We will not be providing the paperwork needed for testing. The phone number is 574-523-2106. Due to the limited number of calls, we are changing the hours and days. We will now handle calls Monday – Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

During this time of self-quarantining, we know that you are cleaning out your homes. Please do not hold a garage/estate sales at this time. There are several reasons, but first and foremost, this does not allow for social distancing, which can increase the spread of COVID-19.

We will continue to say, the best way to protect yourself from any respiratory illness, including COVID-19, is to:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with 60% or higher alcohol.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Practice social distancing of six feet or greater (no group functions such as book clubs, meetings, and or congregations of 10 or more)
• Stay home unless you need to go somewhere.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and then wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

We will continue to provide updates as changes occur. Please follow our Facebook page at Elkhart County Health Department Health Education Division www.facebook.com/healtheducation.echd, www.elkhartcountyhealth.org, or go to the Indiana State Department of Health’s website at www.isdh.in.gov/coronavirus for up-to-date information on COVID-19.

Census day is April 1, 2020, and it marks the beginning of the national count. Every person residing in the US must be counted—it’s required by the constitution!—please consider filling out the Census today and help shape our community for the next 10 years.

Census results help determine:

• How billions of dollars in federal funding are distributed into states and communities each year. Funding allows Cities and States to continue upgrading our infrastructure and proving essential services to the community.
• How many seats in Congress each state gets.

Here is how you can respond:

• Online: Most households received their invitation to respond to the 2020 Census between March 12 – 20. These official Census Bureau mailings will include detailed information and a Census ID for completing the Census online.
• Phone: You have the option of completing the questionnaire by phone. To begin, call 844-330-2020, or see a list of numbers to answer with your preferred language here: 2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html
• Mail: Homes in areas that are less likely to respond online will receive a paper questionnaire (sometimes known as the census form). All homes will receive a paper questionnaire if they do not first respond online or by phone. More information on the mail option here: 2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-mail.html

The Census Bureau traditionally has field operations, in which staff goes door to door to households that have not responded to the Census. Some of those operations have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about the Census Bureau’s operations, click here: 2020census.gov/en/news-events/press-kits/covid-19.html

The following message is from the Elkhart County Health Department. Para leer el comunicado en español, haga clic aquí.

The Elkhart County Health Department shared the following message about the importance of staying home when possible:

Now is a critical time in our ability to control the spread of COVID-19. What YOU do now will affect the success of these efforts to control the virus and prevent severe illness and death. What YOU do now will determine the severity of the economic impact this disease will have on Elkhart County. What YOU do now will determine how long we must use social distancing and other personal restrictions. The more completely people follow the restrictions and stay home, the quicker the disease will be brought under control.

To reiterate, COVID-19 is spread by person-to-person transmission through respiratory droplets. You send respiratory droplets into the environment via saliva and mucus through your breathing, talking, singing, sweating, sneezing, coughing, etc. This is why physical distancing is so important. We all must stay 6 feet away from others. This is also why we have so much emphasis on hygiene—washing hands, covering coughs, staying home when ill, etc. It’s all to prevent the spread of the virus.

We have had complaints about pick-up games of basketball, church services, and non-essential workers being required to work. To explain why others find this concerning; at basketball games, you sweat and spread the virus, at church services you sing and spread the virus, when non-essential workers touch surfaces that others have touched and they spread the virus. This means you must stay at home! You can control your environment at home. You can ensure you are not spreading the virus or allowing those who potentially have it, come into your home. You can clean and disinfect your environment.

As we have said many times and will continue to say, the best way to protect yourself from any respiratory illness, including COVID-19 is to:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with 60% or higher alcohol.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Practice social distancing (no group functions such as book clubs, meetings, and or congregations of 10 or more)
• Stay home unless you need to go somewhere.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

We will continue to provide updates as changes occur. Please follow our Facebook page at Elkhart County Health Department Health Education Division www.facebook.com/healtheducation.echd, www.elkhartcountyhealth.org, or go to the Indiana State Department of Health’s website at www.isdh.in.gov/coronavirus for up-to-date information on COVID-19.

Two major events scheduled to be held this summer at the Goshen Municipal Airport have been canceled in response to recent public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Randy Sharkey, Manager of the Goshen Municipal Airport, announced that he has received confirmation that America’s Freedom Fest, Goshen’s annual air show and fireworks celebration originally scheduled for Saturday, July 11, has been canceled for 2020.

Dr. Gregg Lanzen, President of the Board of Directors for America’s Freedom Fest, said, “this has been a very difficult decision for us to make. As much as we wanted to hold this event for the enjoyment of our community, the healthcare needs of our families, friends and neighbors is of utmost importance right now. So, under the guidance of our Federal, State and Local health officials we have decided to close this year’s event.”

Lanzen added that the Board of Directors will immediately begin to plan for America’s Freedom Fest in July of 2021.

“We had secured what we believed to be one of the best air show lineups our event has ever seen,” Lanzen stated, “and we will work hard to hopefully secure the same acts along with possibly some exciting new additions for 2021.”

The other event that has been affected is “Air Supremacy Airshows”, the Remote Control model show that was scheduled for July 16 – 18th at the airport. RJ Monroe, Air Supremacy’s co-founder, stated that he fully supports this decision and looks forward to hosting the event in July of 2021. All pre-paid entries will be refunded 100 percent with payments going out within the next few days, Monroe added.

The annual air show and fireworks draws an estimated 25,000 spectators to the airport each year. Sharkey said the safety and health of our volunteers, performers, vendors and spectators is our top priority during this unprecedented time.

“I know many people in Goshen look forward to these great community events; I understand this was not an easy decision for the event organizers to make,” Mayor Jeremy Stutsman said. “However, I do applaud their foresight and care, above all else, for the wellbeing of our community. I would like to use this opportunity to remind residents and businesses to continue taking precautions and staying home as much as possible to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Maple City.”

Beginning Saturday, March 28, 2020, the Interurban Trolley will waive all fares on both its fixed route and Interurban Trolley Access service in an effort to maintain social distancing until further notice. In addition, we will also implement rear door boarding measures on all of our fixed route vehicles and ask that all riders board and exit using the rear doors.

During this time, we will continue to provide essential service to the public, and take the necessary measures to ensure that we do our part in helping prevent community spread of COVID-19.

On Thursday at 4:49 p.m. Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman was notified that Councilman Jim McKee tested positive for COVID-19.

As soon as the City was notified, the Mayor and staff began personally contacting every council and board member, as well as staff who would have recently attended public meetings with Councilman McKee and may have been at risk of exposure.

The City followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and contacted all those who have been within the “CDC contact zone” from the council member. Those individuals who were within the contact zone were advised that they should be diligent about keeping track of their symptoms and stay home through March 31.

The last public meetings Councilman McKee was in were on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. He attended both Plan Commission and City Council that afternoon and evening.

None of the individuals contacted have presented symptoms over the last 10 days. The CDC advises that persons exposed to the virus will typically develop symptoms within five days since exposure.

Mayor Stutsman consulted with Dr. Dan Nafziger, Chief Medical Officer at Goshen Health, about the situation and the CDC standards for who needs to be contacted and what next steps should be for those individuals. If members of the public were at either of these meetings and have concerns about possible exposure, please feel free to call Goshen City Hall at 533.8621.

If you think you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19:

1. Isolate yourself for a two-week period. This time starts from the moment the interaction ended.
2. Check your temperature 3 times a day. People with body temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit are considered to have a fever.
3. If you experience any COVID-19 symptoms, call the Elkhart County Health Department or your doctor for next steps.

Mayor Stutsman said the recent case reminded him of how a single point of exposure can affect many people in a community if precautions are not taken. Councilman McKee’s case affected the City Council and Plan Commission members and staff.

“We are acutely aware the virus is in our community but up until this point we did not have a public face to connect it to,” Mayor Stutsman said. “My friend and colleague Jim McKee wanted to step forward and be that face. I appreciate his willingness to show once again how much he cares about Goshen.”

Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered Indiana residents to stay at home for a two-week period in an effort to mitigate the viral spread.

“I have tested positive for the virus, and I am staying home with my wife Angie and monitoring my symptoms,” Councilman Jim McKee said. “I would like to remind everyone to follow the governor’s Executive Order directing all Hoosiers to stay at home. It is critical that we all do our part to stop the spread of the coronavirus.”

Beginning with the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting March 24, the City began streaming all public meetings. The City is working to make sure contact between members of boards and commissions, as well as contact with the public, is as limited as possible. The City also would like to encourage as many members to participate remotely and the public to stream the meetings whenever possible.

For more information about CDC guidelines and the latest information about our community’s response to COVID-19, go to goshenindiana.org/covid19.

The following is a letter from Mayors and Commissioners of Elkhart County to the community. It was published March 26, 2020.

Dear Community of Elkhart County,

The last two weeks, since the World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, Elkhart County and the rest of the State of Indiana has had to move quickly to learn as much as we could about the impact to our community and prepare for a possible local outbreak.

We have worked hard together to keep each other informed and make adjustments to protect our communities. Many other organizations that work closely with local government have greatly stepped in this time of uncertainty. Your health and wellbeing is of greatest importance to us.

Of note was the response of all the schools in Elkhart County, which made the difficult decision to close down even before the statewide school closure order was given. The schools acted out of informed precaution and should be commended for not only leading the way in preventing exposure, but also for their remarkable efforts to make sure students continue to receive education and meals in this time of crisis.

We would like to continue offering our support to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and his staff as we all continue to learn about what we are dealing with. We also would like to thank the businesses, organizations, churches and individuals throughout Elkhart County for complying with the governor’s executive order to temporarily close down and stay home.

The governor’s executive order went into effect March 25, and requires of all Indiana residents to practice social distancing by staying home, except for matters of health and safety, until 11:59 p.m. April 6. These measures are in place to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our state.

The pace in our community has slowed significantly, showing that many had complied with the Governor’s order to stay home. This is what we need to be doing if we want to stay ahead of the virus.

Closing down businesses will not come without an economic cost, but we need to look at the health and safety of the people on our community as top priority. The sooner we adhere to the order, the more effectively we mitigate the spread of the infection and the faster our economy will recover.

Just like those businesses that have voluntarily complied with the governor’s order by opting to close to mitigate the viral spread, we recognize how important it is for those providing essential services to our community continue to do so: hospitals and healthcare facilities, doctors’ offices, mail services, gas stations, grocery stores and local government staff, among others. Those businesses must remember to continue making necessary adjustments at their workplaces to have social distancing, cleaned and disinfected work surfaces and allowing employees to wash their hands with soap and water and to stay home if sick.

Of our residents, we ask they stay as healthy as possible so if they encounter a virus, their body’s immune system is primed to defend them from illness. Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, exercise regularly, get 7 to 9 hours of sleep and try to manage stress as best you can.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has additional information of what an essential service in the context of this health crisis is through their list of frequently asked questions, which can be found here: in.gov/dhs/4434.htm. Businesses in need of further guidance can call the Critical Industries Hotline at 877.820.0890 or email covidresponse@iedc.in.gov.

Together,

Commissioner Frank Lucchese
Commissioner Suzanne Weirick
Commissioner Mike Yoder
Mayor Phil Jenkins
Mayor Rod Roberson
Mayor Jeremy Stutsman

The City and utilities have adopted further measures to help mitigate the public’s exposure to COVID-19. Beginning March 23 and through the end of April, all City buildings will be closed to the public. All offices are conducting business and are available through phone and email during regular business hours. These measures will be reviewed and may be modified by April 30.

The City will continue having meetings for the following groups: City Council, Board of Works, Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Parks & Recreation Board, and Redevelopment Commission. The Parks Board, which is usually held at Rieth Interpretive Center, 410 W. Plymouth Ave., will be moved to the Council Chambers, 111 E. Jefferson St. in April. The date and time of the meeting will remain the same.

To view a schedule of all City meetings, go to goshenindiana.org/calendar.

Meetings also will be streamed on Zoom for the public to view. Links to the videos will be shared on the City website and Facebook accounts for viewers to access. More information will be available later.

On Monday, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order asking residents to stay at home or their place of residence and listing permitted activities and travel. Because of this executive order, all City of Goshen playgrounds will be closed to the public. For more information, please call the Parks & Recreation Department at 534.2901.

To reach any City office during regular business hours, please call the City of Goshen’s switchboard at 533.8621.

The following is a message from the Goshen City Court staff:

Goshen City Court has suspended all non-essential hearings until May 4, 2020. Any essential hearings being held will be posted on the front door of the Police and Courts building.

Do not bring anybody with you to court—they will not be allowed inside the building. If you have a fever, cough, shortness of breath, or are caring for someone who is ill, contact the the staff and do not come to court.

Please continue reading for important information you need to know regarding your case or ticket at Goshen City Court:

1. You may view the status of your case online at mycase.in.gov
2. You may continue to make required payments on your court fees at paygov.us or by phone to paygov at 1.866.480.8552.
3. Traffic and City Ordinance tickets may be paid online at mycase.in.govor via paygov (see #2 above). At this time, if you intend to dispute your ticket, the next traffic court date will be May 20, 2020, at 4 p.m. You will receive a notice.
4. Payments may also be made by money order or cashier’s check and ailed to Goshen City Court, 111 E. Jefferson St., Goshen, IN 46528. No personal checks will be accepted. Do not mail cash.
5. If you were appointed an attorney to represent you and have an appointment scheduled to meet the attorney during the COVID-19 period of closure/social distancing, you will be contacted by legal aid either by mail or telephone. Make sure your contact information is available and correct by contacting the court clerk’s office.
6. Everyone should contact the court clerk’s office to update their contact information to avoid having “failure to appear
   or “failure to pay” consequences. the court will be notifying each scheduled case by email, text, or regular mail. If your information is not up-to-date, and you miss your rescheduled hearing, you will have a warrant or body attachment issued for your arrest for criminal cases, or your driver’s license suspended and your ticket turned in to collections for traffic and ordinance violations.
   • Telephone: 533.9365
   • Email: citycourt@goshencity.com
7. Due to rapid increase of positive COVID-19 cases being diagnosed in our area, we are no longer open to the public for face-to-face transactions. We will remain open to take your calls and emails and continue to update all cases.

Please stay safe, follow the guidelines and precautions for the COVID-19 pandemic for your sake, your loved ones’ and your neighbors’.