Our future leaders have something to say—and the Goshen Community Relations Commission wants to hear it.

The CRC has organized an essay contest for all Goshen students in junior high through high school in which they are asked to discuss one of the eight Goshen CRC principles. The winners will receive up to $150 in cash.

Students who choose to participate will be 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 five community members will read the essays and determine the winners. The first place winner in each category will be awarded $150; second place, $100; and third place, $50.

The deadline to submit an essay is March 21 at 5 p.m. A community celebration and award ceremony will be held Tuesday, April 12 at the Goshen City Council Chambers. More information about the event will be available on the City’s social media pages and website, www.goshenindiana.org. To view the essay contest prompt and form, go to goshenindiana.org/crc.

The following is a message from Vibrant Communities of Elkhart County:

Elkhart County is hosting “Vibrant Vibes”, a series of public events where you get to share your ideas about how we can make Elkhart County an even more vibrant place in the future.

This is the first round of public input gathering for the Next Chapter Process (a process that builds on our collective success to develop a new Action Plan for the County).

The events include in-person and virtual meetings and online activities.

Show your love for the County by joining your neighbors in this exciting moment.

Check out the schedule above or go to https://vibrantelkhartcounty.org/next-chapter/ to find a workshop time and location.

A virtual meeting will be held Thursday, February 24 at noon. Go to https://vibrantelkhartcounty.org/next-chapter/ to RSVP.

Mayor Jeremy Stutsman is inviting local nonprofits to apply for the City of Goshen’s American Rescue Plan Nonprofit Fund Grant. Applications are due March 15, 2022.

The federal government established a Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund for local governments as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of 2021. As a result, the City is receiving $6.6 million in ARP funds to respond to the public health emergency and impact to communities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to make investments in infrastructure.

A plan was developed and approved by the City of Goshen on November 2, 2021. Of the total amount to be received, the majority of the funds ($5.1 million) was dedicated to infrastructure improvements; $700,000 have been allocated to work on homeless intervention services and substance abuse and behavioral health treatment—a collaboration with Oaklawn. The rest was pledged to a variety of programs to address community needs.

Of the total sum it received, the City has allocated $300,000 of ARP funds to nonprofit organizations serving the City. A copy of the grant application is available on the City website at www.goshenindiana.org/arp.

Mayor Stutsman has formed a review committee comprised of two City Council members, staff, and community representatives to award the grants.

“We are excited to give our local nonprofits a boost in funding to help further respond to addressing childcare for low-income residents, food insecurity, homelessness or health-related needs in our community,” he said.

Priority funding will be given to organizations who work in the areas outlined by mayor Stutsman. Submitted proposals must demonstrate one of the following:

• Their proposed use of funds relates to ARP public health services, negative economic impacts and services to impacted communities.

• It meets an urgent community need, especially food insecurity, homelessness or health-related needs

Awardees will receive the grant after July 2022, and will have until Dec. 31, 2024 to use the funds. For more information about the ARP Fund Plan or the grant program, go to www.goshenindiana.org/arp

Mayor Stutsman and City staff put together the following message for our community as we prepare for a winter storm:

To the Community of Goshen,

Please be prepared for a heavy snow event. We need all the help we can get to reach out to those who may need help. If you are aware of anyone who is without shelter we can connect and help get them to a safe place anytime of the day—call the Police Department at 533-4151 for a check-in or to help with transportation to a warm shelter. If you have elderly neighbors please be sure to check in on them from time to time to see if they need any help.

If you have children please do not let them play in the snow piles left by the Street Department crews, we never know when they will return to push the snow further or start on removal.

The City crews are committed to working as quickly as possible to keep our community safe and functioning. I am proud of the employees we have to help get us through times like these. Just remember it is a big job to clear snow for an entire community and patience will be needed. If you need anything don’t hesitate to call the City of Goshen at 574-533-8621. If you have an emergency call 911.

Thank you all for working to make Goshen a better place,

Mayor Jeremy Stutsman

———————

Things that will help the Street Department:

1. Whenever possible do not park on the road. This will allow the Street Department to more fully clear the streets and parking areas. This will also help ensure your car is not blocked in with a berm of snow.
2. When shoveling or snow blowing your driveway and sidewalks. Please do not throw the snow into the street.
3. During a long snow event like this is forecasted to be, it will take our entire Street Department Crew several passes to clear our streets. Please be courteous and give extra room to our plow drivers as visibility can be low during a snow storm.
4. The Street Department will focus first on the Main Arterial Roads, while attempting to open secondary roads (neighborhoods), alleys are after roads are open and parking areas (mainly downtown) are last to be plowed. If you cannot get out because your road hasn’t been plowed and you or someone in your household has an emergency, call 911. The appropriate Public Safety and plows will be dispatched.
5. Please do not allow kids to play in the piles of snow left by the street department. We never know when a plow will be back to further push the snow or loaders will arrive to remove the snow. Please share this information with neighbors if you see others playing in these piles.

This is the latest timeline of what to expect from the National Weather Service:

• Tuesday February 1, 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.: expect to see rain which will turn to ice and then snow.
• Wednesday February 2, 12 a.m. to Thursday February 3, 12 a.m.: 1st round of snow with up to 14” heavy wet snow fall forecasted.
• Thursday February 3, 12 a.m.: Increased winds of 25 mph to 35 mph, with an additional 1 or 2″ snow, drifting, whiteout conditions, and below zero wind chills.

If this event happens as forecasted it may take our entire Street Department, Parks Department and some utility crews 2 days to get everything opened and cleared. Final clean up would be expected to happen on Friday, February 4. Piles of snow would not be removed until starting of the following week.

Please make sure to clear your sidewalks, (consider helping your neighbors if necessary), so that our youth who walk to school do not have to walk in the street. The City will be handling safe routes to school and other identified paths.

If you live near a fire hydrant, please help the Fire Department out by clearing the snow from around the hydrant. We will post updates tonight and tomorrow as needed. Please continue checking our page at facebook.com/CityOfGoshen or our website at www.goshenindiana.org for the latest.

Goshen’s Storm drain art project seeks to raise awareness about the connection between storm drains, urban stormwater runoff and pollution in our waterways.

Over the years, the Stormwater Department recruits local artists to paint murals to bring awareness to our local storm drains. This year, the City once again invites artists to participate in this community project.

In 2022, the City Stormwater Department is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act by making the theme of this spring’s art project “Dreaming of Clean Water.” Interested in participating?

1. Check out the full submission rules on the City of Goshen’s Stormwater Management page: https://goshenindiana.org/storm-drain-art
2. Attend the optional information session at 7 p.m., February 17 in the Reith Interpretive Center to find out more about the goals of the project and hear what the selection committees will be looking for.
3. Submit your design ideas and biographical information to the Goshen Stormwater Department— stormwater@goshencity.com —by March 18, 2022.
4. Look for a note that you have been selected as one of our 10 artists. Paint materials will be provided by the Stormwater Department.
5. Receive your sponsored artists thank you gift of $200 and celebrate with us at the June unveiling.

For additional questions or other inquiries, please send a note to stormwater@goshencity.com or give us a call at 574-537-3818.

The Stormwater Department has created its first-ever public-facing Annual Report! Find out what the staff has been up to over the last year, check-in on the state of our waterways, learn about the role of partnerships in improving water quality, and more! Check out the report here (en español).

The City of Goshen, Elkhart County Emergency Management, Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network, Faith Mission, and Goshen Public Library have teamed up to provide a place of warmth for our residents this winter at the Goshen Public Library during normal business hours.

Please check on your friends, family, neighbors, homeless, and the elderly during the winter months. Contact the Goshen Police Department at 533-8661—or 533-4151 outside business hours—if you need assistance checking on someone.

LIBRARY HOURS

• Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• Tuesday 1 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Anyone in need of shelter outside of normal library business hours or if the library is closed please contact the Goshen Police Department for assistance.

It has come to the attention of Goshen Utilities the U.S. Postal Service is having issues with mail delivery. This delay in mail service is affecting some utility customers by causing their utility payment to be late.

For customers concerned about the timely delivery of their utility payment, Goshen Utilities offers payment options that include in-person payment at the Utility Business Office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays; a delivery payment box located in the alley north of the police department is available 24/7; customers also can pay through the online payment portal. An additional option is to set up automatic payment withdrawal from your bank account, which would make monthly withdrawals in a timely fashion.

Customers who have not received their anticipated bill in a timely manner are encouraged to call the Utilities Business Office at 574-533-9399 so you may be assisted with other payment options.

For those customers that have received a late fee due to the current postal service delay, Goshen Utilities will offer a late fee waiver for the months of January and February if they contact the Utility Business Office at 574-533-9399. To qualify for a late fee waiver, staff will need to verify the money order or check are dated before the due date.

For customers that have fallen behind in their utility payment, please contact the Utility Business Office to inquire about assistance programs.

Goshen is seeing the first cold snap of the season, with strong winds and subzero temperatures sweeping through today and tomorrow. The National Weather Service predicts wind gusts to increase up to 45 mph, with wind chill values of 0 to -15 degrees tonight and Thursday night. Please dress warmly and be careful if going outside.

Winds will cause traveling to become difficult, especially on North-South roadways. The NWS suggests taking in holiday decorations or other loose items outside today if possible.

A daytime warming shelter has been opened up at Maple City Chapel for the remainder of this week. This shelter will remain open today until 4 p.m. and daily through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Those needing a warm shelter after hours may request transportation to Faith Mission, which operates a low-barrier overnight warming shelter.

If you or someone you know is in need of shelter after hours, call 574-534-2300 to request transportation.

Due to rising costs to maintain recycling drop-off sites, Elkhart County Government has reduced the number of sites in the County to five. Only two now remain in Goshen: the site at Goshen College (located in the far south parking lot east side of SR 15) and the Martin’s Supermarket site on Bashor Road (located behind the store). The Martin’s site on Bashor Road will be replaced later this spring when a new site on Indiana Avenue just north of the railroad tracks is constructed.