2022 IN REVIEW: Crash that killed Rep. Jackie Walorski, three others top story

Dec. 31—#1: THE DEATH OF JACKIE WALORSKI AND THREE OTHERS IN A CRASHThe Aug. 3 dea

th of U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, who represented the 2nd District of Indiana, along with two of her staff members, Zachery Potts and Emma Thomson, and Nappanee resident Edith Schmucker was not only a shock to the residents of Elkhart County, but nationally as well.

Walorski was a passenger in a Toyota RAV4 driven by Potts, her district director. The other passenger was Thomson, her communications director. They were traveling north on Ind. 19, north of Nappanee, south of C.R. 44, behind a flatbed truck. The final investigation by the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office concluded that Potts attempted to pass the truck. The black box in the RAV4 showed a speed of 82 mph 5 seconds prior to colliding with a southbound Buick LeSabre driven by Schmucker.

There was an outpouring of support for all four families.

Walorski's funeral was Aug. 11. It was attended by many dignitaries. Her casket, borne by a horse-drawn carriage, was part of a 16-mile motorcade from Granger Community Church to Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend.

Her death came at a time when she was running for re-election. A special election and general election led to Rudy Yakym stepping into her 2nd District seat.

#2: HOUSING

Anyone who has tried to move into Goshen or Elkhart County knows that can be a difficult task. Housing of any sort is hard to find. Apartments are full. Houses going up for sale are swiped up pretty quickly, and there isn't a lot of building going on.

A housing study was done by American Structurepoint and it found that the total market demand for new housing in Goshen through 2030 was 4,537 new units. Of those units, needed were 1,952 market-rate rental units and 2,076 new market-rate owner-occupied units.

Two new housing developments were greenlighted in 2022, but not without some controversy.

Ariel Cycleworks LLC is developing the former Western Rubber brownfield site at 620 E. Douglas St., and the city is proposing to create its first-ever residential housing TIF, or tax increment financing district, for the approximately 170 acres of land currently being targeted for the development in the area of Waterford Mills Parkway and Dierdorff Road. It's known as Cherry Creek. This process is still taking place.

#3: WORKER SHORTAGE In February, Elkhart County/Goshen had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at .9% — and there were still more jobs than employees.

Restaurants and other businesses could not operate as normal due to a lack of staff. It became a very noticeable problem.

Reasons? "The Great Resignation" began during COVID in 2021, people ready to retire did, and some thought continued COVID incentives kept people from rejoining the workforce.

By October, the unemployment rate had increased to 2.6%.

#4: SUPPLY SHORTAGES Parents trying to purchase infant formula this fall are well aware of the supply chain breakdown that occurred in 2022.

RV components, anything that required a computer chip, wine, butter — those are just a few of the products consumers had trouble finding this past year.

Supply chain disruptions caused by COVID and the war in Ukraine were part of the cause.

#5: GOSHEN SCHOOLS CUTS Goshen Schools started 2022 with an announcement of changes coming to help the district live within its means.

Superintendent Steve Hope said the cuts would involve staff, scheduling and travel.

An early retirement incentive was implemented allowing administrators and teachers to retire to help reduce staffing. Travel was reduced, including for field trips and professional development. Scheduling changes were also investigated.

#6: MURDERS & GANG VIOLENCE On May 23 during a press conference addressing the recent uptick in violence within the city of Goshen, Mayor Jeremy Stutsman acknowledged that some of the recent violence in the city has been associated with gang activity. A gang task force was expected to be formed.

But it wasn't just gangs, he said, and that violent crime is on the rise. The Goshen Police Department has hired an officer to be the department's first mental health and behavioral health coordinator. Also, 25 officers are certified in critical-incident training.

The press conference followed the murder of Goshen resident Santino Garcia at 7-Eleven, 2200 Elkhart Road, on April 23, and the murder of Richard Rios and shooting of three others at a home on Rosemare Court before the gunman killed himself May 21.

#7: ELECTIONS Goshen and Concord school board elections were objects of review by the Elkhart County Election Board following the General Election Nov. 8.

The election board called into question the financing of a mailer handled by school board member Allan Kauffman, who was the campaign manager for incumbent candidate Jose Elizalde.

Candidates were also questioned about their involvement in the possible campaign finance fraud as well.

Complaints filed listed the Goshen School Board election campaigns of Jose Elizalde, Mario Garber, Roger Nafziger, and Andrea Johnson, along with Kauffman. The complaints claim that the four candidates did not properly submit their CFA-11 campaign finance forms after a mailer was sent to Goshen residents Oct. 29.

The allegations spawn from the presumed cost of a mailer sent to residents in the city of Goshen, rejecting candidates endorsed by Purple for Parents — Rob Roeder, Linda Hartman and Ryan Glick, and supporting Elizalde, Garber, Nafziger, and Johnson. The mailer also indicated that the candidates paid for and authorized the mailer. Claims to the board indicate that they knowingly provided false information on their finance forms.

In the Concord matter, new winner was named following an election board review.

Originally, Jennifer Davis, Tara Towner and Stacy McDowell were named winners of the school board race. But the review determined that Mike Malooley would take the place of Stacy McDowell.

Three seats were available encompassing District 1 and District 2, with up to one of those candidates being from District 2. Thousands of ballots were cast incorrectly due to overvoting, resulting in major changes to the vote totals.

#8: COURTHOUSE PROJECT Elkhart County government embarked on building a consolidated courts building on the west side of Goshen, specifically 1905 Reliance Road, Goshen. It would encompass 32 acres and cost about $92 million. It combines both Goshen and Elkhart county courts.

Ground was broken in November of 2021, but the actual construction has been continuing throughout 2022. You can view that construction progress at https://elkhartcounty.com/en/news/new-courthouse-construction-webcams/.

#9: TRAINS Blocked crossings and a potential rail strike kept trains in the news in 2022.

A strike was averted in September, although negotiations continue.

The most noticeable problem in Goshen and New Paris has been stopped trains blocking crossings for extended periods of time.

Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman said in March, "What's become an issue in the last year and more so in the last two months is they're parking the trains in our town waiting to get them into the railyard in Elkhart."

The mayor managed to work with Norfolk Southern to keep the crossings open.

#10: ELKHART TOWNSHIP FIRE Goshen assumed control of Elkhart Township fire and ambulance services Jan. 1

The interlocal agreement included the transfer of the township's two fire stations, located at 308 Egbert Road and 201 S. 22nd St., and all related vehicles and equipment to the city. One of the township firefighters was hired full-time by Goshen.

Elkhart Township Trustee Chuck Cheek said there were not enough volunteers to service the township, so they requested Goshen take it over.