I would like to make a few comments about the community center that everyone is talking about. I believe it is my job as a council member to listen to our citizens and support or not support things after giving thought to the matter.
Sometimes that is hard to do because people have a variety of ideas and opinions about things.
When talking about the community center it has not been hard to decide whether to support it or not. The only people who have talked to me that are positive are people on the committee.
I have had people talk to me in the grocery stores, restaurants, on the streets, on the phone, at Maplecrest County Club and at church.
Not one of those people were in favor of the center. Many pointed out that there are wants and needs and this is a want. By some people, it is not a need. We have empty houses all over town. At this time in Goshen, why would we want to build a center that is not needed, that will raise everyone’s property taxes?
A couple of weeks ago I decided to talk to business owners in town about the center.
Out of the dozen I talked to, only one said she thought it would be good for Goshen, but she understood why people are concerned about the cost. The others were all against the center and some said they were barely keeping their heads above water now and could not handle any more unnecessary expenses.
Several people pointed out that the city has been giving tax breaks to encourage business to invest here and employ our citizens. We need to be concerned about getting our citizens back to work, making a living wage so they can stay in their homes and take care of their families. We are paying more for everything while many people are earning less than they earned five or 10 years ago, if they have a job.
Many are talking about the two fitness centers that just recently opened in town. Those people invested their own money, not someone else’s. Now the center, if built, would be built with tax money and would be in competition with all the other fitness centers in town. People that have invested their own money in our city.
Another thing people have been in complete agreement about on that have been talking to me is support for the schools’ needs. But those needs don’t need to be tied to a community center to fix.
Citizens have been quick to point out that they have a great deal of respect for the people on the community center commission.
People are more frequently telling me they don’t understand why this committee is continuing to push for the center when we don’t need it and the citizens of Goshen can’t afford it.
We don’t have a choice about buying goods we have to have but we do have a choice about building a community center.
— Dixie Robinson is the District 3 representative on the Goshen City Council.
Letters to the Editor
Few favor community center
- Letters to the Editor
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Why do immigrants come to the U.S. illegally?
With the current increased interest in fixing our broken immigration system both political parties are putting forth legislation.
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Safety along C.R. 35 is a concern
This letter is meant to bring awareness and hopefully corrections in regard to C.R. 35 in Elkhart County. Something needs to be done immediately to enforce the laws pertaining to the use of C.R. 35.
- Emphasis on gun control makes you wonder
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Goshen should stick with ‘Redskins’
I must respond to the letter to the editor from Mr. Ron Chupp (The Goshen News, May 9). What’s in a name, Mr. Chupp? I too have a Native American heritage, and for some reason, I am not offended by the term Redskins, or brown skins or any other color of skins.
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More important issues than a nickname
I would like to, in the most respectful way possible, respond to Mr. Chupp’s letter (The Goshen News, May 9) regarding the ongoing debate over the term “Redskins” being used as the nickname and mascot for the Goshen school system.
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There is hope through God
May I share what happened to me after praying about the issue of whether to have guns carried by school authorities at Goshen High School. While calling out to God, my question was: Why have we as a nation come to trusting in government agencies, such as Homeland Security, rather than obeying the Constitution in what you have declared through our forefathers?
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Sheriff has this reader's support
This letter is in defense of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and in response to Shari Mellin’s letter (The Goshen News, May 8) about Sheriff Brad Rogers not obeying the laws related to anti-gun legislation
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‘Redskins’ nickname is offensive
The question posed (in the May 5 edition) was, “What’s in a Name?” In the case of the GHS (Redskins) mascot, it is insult, degradation, racism, and an ongoing slap-in-the face reminder of the disgusting manner in which my Native American ancestors were treated by Europeans.
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Millrace projects threaten a Goshen gem
The city of Goshen is in the 11th hour for the five Redevelopment Commission members to hear the voices of its residents concerning the millrace redevelopment proposals at its next meeting at 4 p.m. on May 14.
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We don’t need a community center
We want to keep this short and to the point. We keep reading articles and letters in the papers about the proposed community center in Goshen. Our question is why?
- More Letters to the Editor Headlines
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