Mark your calendars! Goshen’s 2019 trick-or-treat hours will be 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31.

These are the same hours as the last three years.

It is that time again! If you would enjoy seeing your favorite photo on the Greater Elkhart County Stormwater Partnership’s bi-annual calendar, please send us a copy by August 15th. Limit 10 photos per photographer and each photograph must be in a 300 dpi JPEG digital format and 11” x 8 ½”. We are looking for photos that show conservation practices along Elkhart County’s waterways; stormwater control practices on construction sites or in agricultural settings; all four seasons; and scenic shots of our local rivers, streams, and lakes. We also include some shots of pollution, so send those too if you have a “good” bad example.

For more complete details and forms, contact us at the SWCD office: jlee@elkhartcounty.com or (574) 533-4383, ext. 3, or by clicking here bit.ly/SWCal2021.

It’s been about a year since the City sought public input on what Main Street should look like. Thanks to everyone’s comments, the City has developed plans and is ready to move forward with the project.

On Friday, July 19, the Goshen Redevelopment Commission approved a contract to rebuild Main Street. A bid for $989,657.60 was awarded to Niblock Excavating to work on the road.

Work will consist of repaving Main Street between Monroe and Pike streets and adding angled parking between Madison and Pike Streets to increase the number of parking spaces. The road also will be reduced to two lanes.

Four-way stops will be placed on the intersections of Clinton, Washington and Jefferson streets. The plan also adds a mid-block crossing between Jefferson and Washington streets. The reconfiguration will allow the road to slow vehicular traffic and to be more pedestrian-friendly.

To determine this reconfiguration, the Engineering Department sought public input beginning in May of 2018. Further communication was had with downtown business owners to gauge their needs. Public comments from businesses and residents included the need for more parking spaces, more handicapped parking, sidewalk ramps, reducing the speed limit and adding four-way stops.

A survey conducted with participation from 83 downtown business owners and workers found that 39 percent of the participants were in favor of angled parking, and 18 percent were against it.

Public comments were taken into account during the planning process; preliminary plans were presented at the redevelopment commission meeting in June.

The contractor will begin work in August, rebuilding portions of the sidewalks and adding sidewalk ramps.

You can see the preliminary plan presentation here. To see the final plan, click here.

The July brush pickup will begin on Monday, July 29.

During scheduled brush collections, the Street Department will make only one pass through the city to pick up brush. Please have your brush by the front curb, but not in the street, by that first day in the morning at 7 a.m. Brush will not be picked up in alleys. The piles of brush should be trash-free. Crews cannot access the piles if blocked by vehicles.

For information regarding Dial-A-Trailer and the Brush Trailer, go to goshenindiana.org/street-department.

The next summer brush pick up weeks will begin on the following days:

August 26, 2019
September 23, 2019

Lincoln Avenue will be closed Monday, July 29, from Main Street to 8th Street for milling and paving. Milling and paving on that stretch of the road may last longer than a week.

Norfolk Southern will also close down the railroad crossing at Lincoln Avenue (east of 8th Street) for repairs on the crossing on Monday. The closure will last for a week.

On Monday, July 29, the contractor will be moving to the north half of the 9th Street project between Purl and Jackson streets, and will be working on the west side of the road installing the new path.

Access will be limited to northbound traffic only.

City of Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman ordered all flags at City offices to be lowered at half-staff Thursday and Friday, July 25 and 26, in honor of Goshen Police Officer Kevin Koontz, who passed away Monday, following a courageous battle with cancer.

Mayor Stutsman also invites all Goshen residents and businesses to lower their flags on Thursday and Friday as well.

“Kevin proudly served and protected our community for 29 years and came back to serve as our Special Police Officer for another three years,” Mayor Stutsman said in a statement Monday. “He has no doubt made Goshen a better and safer place for all of us.”

The viewing will be held on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at Grace Community Church, 20076 CR 36. The funeral service will begin at 1 p.m. There will be full honors for Koontz rendered at the church. Immediate family and friends close to Koontz will then follow him to his final resting place in Violett Cemetery.

The Goshen Police Department’s office will be closed Friday, July 26, to allow all staff the opportunity to attend the viewing and funeral. Officers from the Indiana State Police will be actively patrolling during the ceremony so all Goshen patrol officers have the opportunity to attend if they choose to do so.

The City of Goshen, in partnership with the Salvation Army, Maple City Chapel and Goshen Public Library, is working to provide resources for residents during the upcoming days with extreme heat.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for Elkhart County from Thursday, July 18, through Saturday evening, July 20. Temperatures will rise to the 90s with heats indices from around 105 to 110 degrees. Temperatures will only drop into the 70’s at night with continued high humidity.

Three cooling centers have been set up for the community. Anyone in need of an air-conditioned room during the day may go to any of the following locations to escape the heat:

• The Salvation Army, 1013 N. Main St., entering through the south entrance. The building will be open to the public Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Maple City Chapel, 2015 Lincolnway East. The center will be open to the public from Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Goshen Public Library, 601 S. 5^th St. The building will be open Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In addition, entrance into the City’s Shanklin Park Pool (411 W. Plymouth Ave.) will be free Thursday through Saturday. Pool hours will be as follows and patrons must be in appropriate swim attire to be admitted into the facility.

• Thursday and Friday – 12 noon to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.
• Saturday – 12 noon 7 p.m.

“I appreciate the support from our partnering organizations in providing shelter during the extreme heat. I strongly encourage anyone in need to take advantage of these community resources,” he said. “I would also urge the community to look out for one another. Please check on your loved ones, neighbors and friends, especially the elderly, and take them to a shelter if they need it.”

The combination of extremely hot temperatures and high humidity will lead to an increased risk of heat related stress and illness. The public is advised to drink plenty of water, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check on relatives and neighbors.