Kosciusko County seeks input on parks master plan

The Kosciusko County Parks & Recreation Board has been working on developing its first five-year park master plan to help establish a vision and priorities to guide the establishment of a county parks and recreation system.

The plan seeks to address the needs of residents and visitors by providing access to quality parks and recreational amenities. The draft Kosciusko County Parks Master Plan is now ready for public review.

Now through April 6, the Kosciusko County Parks & Recreation Board needs to hear your input on the action strategies you would like to see started in the next five years. There are multiple opportunities for you to share your input that includes filling out the public review form at tiny.cc/ ReviewKosciuskoParksPlan (the link address is case sensitive) and visiting one of the three public open houses. The Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board and Steering Committee will host three public open houses from 5-7 p.m. on: year parks master plan to ensure that Kosciusko County residents’ priorities are being heard and incorporated,” said parks and recreation board member Mike Cusick.

“We encourage everyone to attend one of the upcoming public open houses or share your input by filling out the public review form to make sure the plan is representative of the interests and needs of the community.”

The draft plan is available for electronic review at kcgov.com/department/board. php?structureid=235. Hard copies of the draft plan and the public review form are available at any of the local public libraries and municipal clerk offices in the county.

The Kosciusko County Parks & Recreation Board kicked off the planning process in September 2022 and was built upon community engagement efforts to guide the establishment of a vision and mission for the board, the major challenges and gaps and priorities to guide implementation efforts over the next five years.

Engagement efforts so far have included holding monthly project meetings that were open for public attendance, conducting stakeholder interviews and issuing a public input survey that was available as an online and paper survey from Nov. 30, 2022, to Jan. 11, 2023, and received responses from 500 county residents.

If you need assistance filling out the public review form or other questions related to the county’s parks master plan, please contact Donny Ritsema with MACOG at dritsema@macog.com or (574) 287-1829, ext. 503.

Area student performed with Trine wind ensemble

forming Arts.

eral projects, trips, and other life skills such as creative writing, shooting sports and fire education, etc. All these opportunities are open to the students.

Continued from page 1 “We’re trying to get organizations that serve the population to come set up booths and celebrate Poss-ABILITIES. We have not confirmed any organizations yet, but we are looking at getting counseling agencies, as well as case management and social services organizations involved.”

“It started as a small idea. I presented it and everyone embraced it. It became this program with a committee and a committee with a culture.

Bixler issued a call for involvement by outside organizations and agencies.

Yakym sets office hours for March

U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, RDistrict 2, has set office hours for March in the 11 counties of Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District.

Following are some of the times and places in the area Yakym’s staff will be available to the public:

Kosciusko County: 10 a.m. to noon Friday, March 31, KEDCO, 207 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw.

Fulton County: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays in March, Rochester District Office, 709 Main St., Rochester.

Marshall County: 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, March 15, Plymouth City Hall, mayor’s office, second floor, 124 N. Michigan St., Plymouth

For more information, contact one of Yakym’s offices: Rochester, (574) 223-4373; Mishawaka, (574) 204-2645; and Washington, D.C., (202) 225-3915.

• Tuesday, March 14, at the North Webster Community Center, North Webster.

• Thursday, March 16, at the Bell Memorial Public Library, Mentone.

• Tuesday, March 28, at the Warsaw Community Public Library, Warsaw.

“It’s critical for the county parks and recreation board to gain public input on our five-

The Trine University Wind Ensemble celebrated 20 years of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” with its “Sailing the High Seas” concert, beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in the T. Furth Center for the Per-

The following area student performed with the wind ensemble: • Ryan Hoak of Warsaw, performing on trumpet. Hoak is majoring in civil engineering.

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