Skip to main content
search
Category

Countywide

May 11 2018
Love2

Love Where You Live: Lisa Guedea Carreño turned ‘Why not?’ into a new life, bigger family

By Countywide, Elkhart, Featured News, Goshen No Comments

By Marshall V. King

Lisa Guedea Carreño was working as a corporate librarian in Madison, Wisconsin. She’d been on the cover of “Inc.” magazine. She and her husband Sonny were happy. But her phone kept ringing.

In 1999 and 2000, Goshen College kept asking her to apply to be library director.

After the job offer came, they said, “Why not?” and committed to three to five years. In the summer of 2000, they moved and she found a new life to love.

They started a family and her family helped care for her daughter. They made friends who became “the family you find,” she said.

She found pieces of urban culture. “Had the Electric Brew not been in Goshen the first two or three years after I moved, I’m not sure I would have survived,” she said. Eventually the MapleHeart Trail gave her access to Goshen and Elkhart by foot or bike from her home.

Sonny started directing Lavender Jazz and has become not just a drummer, but a music mentor in a number of bands, including Lalo Cura. She got to lead three Study Service Terms in Nicaragua. Three days before she left for one of them in spring 2014, she hesitantly interviewed to be director of the Elkhart Public Library. The offer came that summer in Central America and she said yes.

“What I like about Elkhart is there is this sort of groundswell for making Elkhart appealing as a place to come and live and stay …” says Lisa Guedea Carreno.

She’s learned to know and love Elkhart the way she has Goshen. She loves being able to go to an organic restaurant one day for lunch and to a Mexican market the next day.

“What I like about Elkhart is there is this sort of groundswell for making Elkhart appealing as a place to come and live and stay, especially as young people,” she said, noting that Vibrant Communities (Lisa serves on the steering committee) and Regional Cities are helping the effort.

While people often think of a library as a place, Lisa and her staff are working to offer educational opportunities, family-friendly events, and ways to both build and engage the community.

That involves offering electronic services that allow access throughout the community and going out into the community. “We have live story times in the parks and at Wellfield Botanic Gardens during the summer. During the school year, our children’s librarians visit schools and lead classes in special activities that build literacy skills. Last summer we hosted an eclipse viewing party at Civic Plaza, working with local businesses to make it fun and memorable for the 600 or so people who came,” she said, adding that they’re working on quality of life and quality of place.

As a Latina community leader, Lisa is helping shape the story of this community.

Marshall V. King is a Goshen-based freelance journalist. He wrote this on behalf of Vibrant Communities.

More Love Where You Live:

Apr 27 2018
Love5

Love Where You Live: Zach Dubois rooted in Elkhart County even as music carries his career

By Countywide, Elkhart 3 Comments

By Marshall V. King

Zach Dubois lives in Nashville, but sends regular love letters home.

They’re songs and when he films the videos for some of them, he returns to Elkhart County.

“‘Back Home Again’ was filmed right here and the ‘Work Harder’ video was filmed on a family farm right outside of Goshen and Middlebury and that appeared on CMT,” he said, standing in his grandfather’s wood shop on the north side of Elkhart.

““I always tell people I grew up in the middle of a cornfield on a piece of land that’s been in my family for six generations. This land right here will be where I build my house someday, when I can afford a house,” said the 29-year-old singer-songwriter who was born and raised in Elkhart and has made a living as a musician the last seven years.

Elkhart County is an affordable place to live with idyllic countryside and a knack for making things, he said. He makes music, and though you can’t hold a song in your hand, he shares his love for this part of the world.

“You want to give people something to hold on and be proud of,” he said. “A lot of people have done that with the South and country music and I always thought well I like hearing about things in the Midwest.”

“This land right here will be where I build my house someday, when I can afford a house,,” says Zach Dubois of the Elkhart farmstead on which he grew up. (Photo by Grant Beachy)

He loves how downtowns are rejuvenating in Elkhart County and how it has become an incredible place that supports artists.

“I think it’s just going to continue to be a better and better place to live and raise a family,” he said.

“Elkhart County does a great job of making things. It’s what has built this place,” he said. Now he’s seeing it making itself into something more as a community and he wants to be part of the growth and revitalization.

Marshall V. King is a Goshen-based freelance journalist. He wrote this on behalf of Vibrant Communities.

More Love Where You Live:

Apr 26 2018
Love0

Art is everywhere this spring, thanks to Little BIG Idea Grants for flower sculptures, vases, fiber art and murals

By Countywide, Elkhart, Featured News, Goshen, Little Big Idea Grant, Nappanee & Wakarusa No Comments

There’s going to be so much art that you might not know where to look first.

The latest round of Little BIG Idea Grant winners features art in all sorts of mediums, and in at least a couple of cases, will require you to go out and find them.

In Nappanee, sculptors will be creating large flower-themed pieces to be displayed within garden planters in the city. While Flower Gardens Art in Bloom will be on display starting in May 2018, organizer Jeff Stillson said the pieces will eventually become part of a permanent exhibition in the Nappanee park system called the Art Path.

Meanwhile, in Goshen, Justin Rothshank will be using his grant to hide 40 handmade ceramic vases. People who find the vases may keep them to do as they wish, Rothshank said in his grant application. The Vase Giveaway will serve as a promotion for the Michiana Pottery Tour that Rothshank co-founded.

Public art is a great way to bring people together, and it’s wonderful that the Little BIG Idea Grant inspired so much creativity, inspiration and community spirit. Launched in August 2017 under the Vibrant Communities initiative, the Little BIG Idea Grant has to date awarded 30 projects ranging from student art exhibitions in Elkhart and Goshen, the Middlebury Pumpkin Races, and a countywide event centered around the children’s toy “slime.”

Here are the other winners of Little BIG Idea Grants and recipients of up to $1,000:

Sally Bawtinheimer — Little Library

A resident of Elkhart’s west side, Bawtinheimer says many school children pass by her home on their way to Daly Elementary School and West Side Middle School, so her idea is to create a free little lending library so that students (and adults too!) could “find a good book and dive in!”

Gregory Korte — Windmill in Goshen

A lifelong resident of Goshen, Korte proposes to celebrate the early Dutch settlers of the east Goshen area with a recreation of a Dutch windmill in Dykstra Park. Korte has worked with the East Goshen Neighborhood Association on the project and has also gotten the OK from the Goshen Parks Department.

Elisha Rauch — Sports Podcast

Elisha is a big sports fan, and the pre-teen from Goshen is starting a podcast to discuss sports with other fans. Elisha said he hoped to inspire other students to start their own podcasts, as there aren’t many in the area, he said in his application.

Carrie Beachey — Fiber Art in Art Alley

A Middlebury resident, Beachey and her husband will create a unique public art piece comprised of reclaimed wood and other natural materials from around Elkhart County. The work will be displayed in the Goshen Art Alley off the 100 block of South Main Street. Beachey said they will also create a do-it-yourself craft station during First Fridays so that people can make a piece inspired by their work.

Annika Miller — Student Mural

A sixth grade science teacher at Goshen Middle School, Miller organized students to paint a mural in the community. Working with seven community partners, the students designed each of the murals and then painted them. This year’s project will take a similar approach, perhaps with the same community partners or new ones, she said.

Amanda Wagner — Youth Arts on the Millrace

A Goshen resident, Wagner will be using her grant to expand opportunities for student artists to create and exhibit their works at Arts on the Millrace. Wagner organizes the kids art activities at the annual event, and the grant would also allow for a larger area for this creativity.

The Little BIG Idea Grants are intended to spread love, creativity and community through programs, events and projects that celebrate life in Elkhart County. The more people who can get involved or be affected positively by a project, the better!

Grant applications for up to $1,000 awards are still being accepted at www.LittleBigIdeaGrant.com. It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 years old or 88 years old. The Little BIG Idea Grant and the Vibrant Communities initiatives believe in the power of creative people being inspired to shine their light across the community.

Apr 17 2018
Love2

Popular Pumpkinvine Nature Trail expanding again between Goshen, Middlebury

By Countywide, Featured News, Goshen, Middlebury & Bristol No Comments

The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail has been around long enough that you couldn’t be blamed for thinking it was a finished product.

But anyone who has been on a particular section between Goshen and Middlebury will realize there is a gap. For a relatively short distance, walkers and bicyclists who wish to continue on the trail must traverse County Roads 20, 33 and 35.

A major portion of that gap is being closed, thanks to the work of the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. The group has been working with property owners to acquire the land necessary to build additional trail.

The news was recently announced in the March 2018 issue of Pumpkinvine Trail Talk, the Friends’ newsletter:

The long-anticipated construction of a one-mile extension to the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail between County Road 33 and County Road 20 is scheduled to begin this spring. The exact date is uncertain because trail consultants and Elkhart County Parks, the agency that will oversee construction of the trail, are waiting on a permit from the Army Corp of Engineers related to wetlands in the construction area.

The Friends of the Pumpkinvine received title to the trail route from five farm families in June 2017. “Because of wetlands near the proposed trail corridor, a number of agencies had to sign off on the construction plans,” said John Yoder, Friends of the Pumpkinvine president. “Those agencies include the county drainage board, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Army Corp of Engineers and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.”

 

Click here to read the full article.

Apr 05 2018
Love1

Elkhart aquatics center aims to build community with health, fitness, wellness offerings

By Countywide, Elkhart, Featured News, Goshen, Middlebury & Bristol, Nappanee & Wakarusa 6 Comments

By Marshall V. King

The Elkhart Health, Fitness, Aquatics and Community Center will be a new home for high school swim teams and community members wanting to socialize and get a workout.

It’s also designed to be a gathering spot for book clubs, card games, yoga classes, and people working on their health, whether it’s to maintain it or get it back.

The plan is for the programming to be crafted as the building itself is constructed, but Pete McCown, president of the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, can envision on any given day, the center will have volleyball league games, community open swimming, triathletes gathering to train, a healthy cooking class and a Medicare enrollment event.

Video tour of aquatics center

Elkhart Health Fitness & Aquatics Center from Insight SC on Vimeo.

 

The building is coming together quickly and will open next spring. A crane placed the diving platforms, weighing 76 tons, before the building took shape around them. Nearly half of the 170,000-square-foot building now has a roof. The pool has arrived from Italy and is waiting to be assembled, said McCown and Shelley Moore, president/founder of Insight Strategic Concepts Inc.

Just over a million dollars is still needed to complete the fundraising for the $69.5 million project. Elkhart Community Schools, Beacon Health System, Regional Cities, the Community Foundation and so far nearly 150 private donors have given to help create one of the premier aquatic centers in the Midwest. The city of Elkhart helped with grant funding and infrastructure, particularly as the 10-acre site becomes part of the proposed 105-acre River District. The aquatics center, as its been called initially, will get a new name in the coming months and is expected to be a hub for a range of activities.

A concept drawing of the exterior of the Elkhart Health, Fitness, Aquatics and Community Center. This view is from Jackson Boulevard looking north.

It will be the third health and fitness center for Beacon Health System. Memberships will likely go on sale this fall and cost $49 to $99 a month. Employers are already starting to talk about how to support the health and wellness of employees by helping pay those fees, said Moore.

“To be sustainable, this has to be a revenue-generating facility,” she added.

But it won’t only be a place where members jog on a treadmill or churn through laps in the pool. Physical therapy and sports medicine will happen in the new space. “For us what this represents is part of the evolution of health care where fitness is the new medicine,” said Alan Loyd, director of Beacon Health & Fitness.

In South Bend and Mishawaka, Beacon is offering health care that can be more convenient, faster and less expensive because it happens alongside fitness activities. Classes tailored for people suffering chronic conditions will be offered in Elkhart to help improve the quality of life for people in this community, he said.

A concept view of the fitness pools in the Elkhart Health, Fitness, Aquatics and Community Center.

The goal isn’t to take business from health clubs. “We are a health care organization,” said Loyd. “We want health clubs to do well and succeed.”

This won’t just be for members either. Non-profits and schools will use it. Open swims and gym time for the public will be offered. Gathering spaces and a library will be open. Parks around the center will likely get makeovers, with additional trails to pave the way for outside exercise, said Moore.

Eventually, the site will become a reputable destination for regional swimming and diving events. Planning for those happens well in advance and proposals will be submitted for potential 2019 meets, said Moore.

This large facility will offer so much, but just how much will be an ever-evolving process learned through local and regional community engagement.

Marshall V. King is a Goshen-based freelance journalist. He wrote this on behalf of Vibrant Communities.

 

Mar 27 2018
Love0

Slime, Guinea pigs and posters? Creativity abounds in next batch of Little BIG Idea Grants

By Countywide, Elkhart, Featured News, Goshen, Little Big Idea Grant, Middlebury & Bristol, Nappanee & Wakarusa No Comments

Elkhart County residents unleashed their imaginations for the next batch of Little BIG Idea Grants.

We love seeing that kind of inspiration, joy and community spirit that the Little BIG Idea Grant exists to support. Already, the grant program launched under the Vibrant Communities initiative has sparked projects ranging from a Latino arts festival, Christmas market, and school-wide positive messages through art.

Here are the newest winners of Little BIG Idea Grants and recipients of up to $1,000:

Delilah Bienz – Positive Posters

Delilah, a 7-year-old Girl Scout, and her mother will be creating posters with affirming and inspirational messages that will be displayed throughout the town of Bristol and perhaps throughout the Elkhart County region.

Lindsey Kroening – Goshen HS Guinea Pigs

The head of the guidance department at Goshen High School will be using $750 to obtain a guinea pig as a comfort pet. Students will be able to pet and interact with the guinea pig to help them in difficult circumstances.

Jalyn Stofleth – Shine Through Slime

The Benton Elementary School student will be unleashing “slime” – the non-toxic squishy toy – at a countywide event at the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds. Jalyn said she wants kids from all over Elkhart County to get together to share their love of slime and learn about how to make it.

Trot Thompson – No-Bullying Club

The Woodview Elementary School student will be creating a no-bullying club and creating an event involving a famous speaker to acknowledge those who stand against bullying.

Wendy Kovach – Elkhart Makerspace

The teacher and librarian at Pierre Moran Middle School sought a grant to supplement makers-space activities at her school. The club started in August 2017 and has grown as students spread the news through word-of-mouth.

The Little BIG Idea Grants are intended to spread love, creativity and community through programs, events and projects that celebrate life in Elkhart County. The more people who can get involved or be affected positively by a project, the better!

Grant applications for up to $1,000 awards are still being accepted at www.LittleBigIdeaGrant.com. It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 years old or 88 years old. The Little BIG Idea Grant and the Vibrant Communities initiatives believe in the power of creative people being inspired to shine their light across the community.

Mar 16 2018
Love0

Love Where You Live: Jess Koscher wowed by spirit and generosity of her hometown

By Countywide, Elkhart 2 Comments

Jess Koscher didn’t picture herself as a hometown girl when she was growing up.

She jumped at the chance to move to Chicago. There, she reasoned, in a bigger city there would be more people who looked like her compared with the mostly white faces she saw at her school.

Now, Jess wouldn’t call any place other than Elkhart County home.

Life brought her back to Elkhart County and now she has put down roots. Her work with the United Way of Elkhart County and now ADEC, and her involvement in the Goshen Clay Artists Guild, means Jess is a familiar and welcome face throughout Elkhart County.

“Today, when I look around our community, I see people who have stayed or have come back and are making significant changes. They are adding new depth to the richness that was always here,” Jess says.

“I love that in Elkhart County, we build things. We contribute to the world,” says Jess Koscher.

She has been awed by the generosity of Elkhart County residents, from the factory workers who would give generously in response to her appeals on behalf of the United Way. Now, she also sees that generosity of spirit at work through ADEC, which provides services and support for Elkhart County’s disabled.

“I know that this community is where I belong when I watch people build genuine relationships with individuals who have intellectual disabilities by taking the time to discover common ground and interests,” she says.

Jess takes pride in how Elkhart County contributes to the world. A few years ago, she was helping with disaster relief following a hurricane in Louisiana, and came to the realization that the the RVs being used as shelters came from her hometown.

“I love that in Elkhart County, we build things. We contribute to the world,” Jess says. “We are gritty and bold and unsinkable. We give back and we lend a hand.”

Thank you, Jess, for loving where you live. 

More #LoveWhereYouLive:

Mar 01 2018
Love0

We’re winners! Action Agenda process gets award from Indiana planning organization

By Countywide, Elkhart, Featured News, Goshen, Middlebury & Bristol, Nappanee & Wakarusa No Comments

The Vibrant Communities initiative’s efforts to transform Elkhart County is winning statewide recognition.

On Thursday, March 1, 2018, some of the key organizers of Vibrant Communities will accept an award at the Hoosier Planning Awards. The award for Outstanding Communication & Outreach is being presented by the Indiana chapter of the American Planning Association.

“Winning this award is a testament to the spirit and love of community in all Elkhart County residents,” said Suzie Weirick, a co-chair of Vibrant Communities’ steering committee along with Arvis Dawson. “People who care about quality of place have united around the idea that by working together, we can achieve great things for our communities.”

According to the Hoosier Planning Award guidelines, the award being presented to Vibrant Communities “honors an individual, project, or program that uses information and education about the value of planning to create greater awareness among citizens or specific segments of the public. The award celebrates how planning improves a community’s quality of life.”

Vibrant Communities launched in January 2016. In a series of public meetings drawing residents from all walks of life from every part of Elkhart County, more than 1,000 residents offered suggestions for what were top priority projects and ideas that support livability, aesthetics, and arts and culture.

The feedback was summarized in a 77-item Action Agenda that is in the process of being implemented. The steering committee consisting of leaders from the private, public and non-profit sectors continues to be active and has attracted even more residents into the process. To find out more, including how you can be involved, go to www.vibrantelkhartcounty.org.

The ideas championed by Vibrant Communities have inspired residents to develop arts and cultural programs such as arts councils in multiple communities, the Elkhart County Food Council and new community festivals and events. It has also helped build public support for additional bicycling/walking trails and major projects such as the aquatics center in Elkhart, parks development in Nappanee, and a multi-use pavilion in Goshen.

Among the biggest initial successes of Vibrant Communities has been the launch of the Little BIG Ideas Grant. The program supports fun, quirky and creative ideas that come from residents. So far, 21 people or groups have received grants, starting everything from the Middlebury Pumpkin Race to the Heroes of Hope positive messages campaign at Concord High School to Canvas & Kool-Aid in Elkhart.

Vibrant Communities is sponsored by the Community Foundation of Elkhart County and Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Feb 28 2018
Love0

Love Where You Live: Mark Mikel cherishes the warm embrace of a tight-knit community

By Countywide, Featured News, Nappanee & Wakarusa 3 Comments

Mark Mikel loves living in a small town that feels very big.

The familiarity of knowing and being friends with your neighbors is a powerful feeling for him.

“There’s a certain reassurance to know that I can bump into someone and we can have a conversation about each other’s family, work, or life without it being forced or intrusive,” Mark says.

He remembers a moment when his daughter Kelsey was young, no more than 6 or 7. Rounding the corner of his street after a long drive from his stressful job, Mark says he caught a glimpse of Kelsey.

She was in the yard, dancing in the sunshine without a care in the world. Her feeling of utter safety was complete.

“I knew at that moment that making Elkhart County my home had been the right decision for my family,” Mark says.

In recent years, Mark has worked as the director of the Family Christian Development Center and a high school track and cross country coach, drawing him into even more close-knit communities.

Mark felt the embrace of community even more keenly after Kelsey — who had once danced without inhibition in his yard — died in a tragic accident.

“I love being a part of a small community,” says Mark Mikel (Photo by Grant Beachy)

After an emotionally wrenching period that culminated with her funeral, Mark and his wife, Kathy, made plans to go running the day after with a pair of friends. The friends, it seemed, wanted to continue supporting them at a difficult time.

But when the Mikels showed up, they were shocked to find not just the friends who reached out to them, but dozens of others — the cross country team that Mark coached at NorthWood and also the cross country teams of four other neighboring schools.

“The emotion of that support was overwhelming,” Mark says.

That gathering has had a ripple effect, leading to an annual fundraising run, I’m Thankful 4, which supports a foundation in Kelsey’s name that provides scholarships to NorthWood graduates.

“I love being a part of a small community. Some might think that the stereotype of ‘everyone knowing everyone else’s business’ has too many drawbacks. Not me,” Mark says.

Amen to that, Mark.

More #LoveWhereYouLive:

Feb 20 2018
Love0

‘You look great!’ Concord students spread good cheer with grant

By Countywide, Elkhart, Little Big Idea Grant No Comments

Getting through the school day is a lot easier with some encouraging words.

So Concord High School students knew just the thing to do to give their classmates a lift. Riley Kronk, Sydni Moore, Cameron Kincaid and Caitlyn Payne and their teacher, Laury Allen, won a Little BIG Idea Grant and used it to decorate the entire school with affirming messages such as “Be the best version of you!” and “You are fabulous.” It was topped off by huge displays on bulletin boards in the student center that included an angel spreading love like confetti and a wall of positive words such as “enjoy,” “hope,” and “soar.”

Here’s a look at the awesome job they did:

Thank you for bringing your Little BIG Idea to life!

 

Educate. Advocate. Celebrate.

Close Menu