Winter weather moves into Elkhart County
Dec. 23—GOSHEN — Sally Evans, Goshen, arrived at Martin's Supermarket on College Avenue shortly after noon Thursday to buy a few items.
"I like snow, but I'm going to be hunkered down and watch it from inside, and pray we don't lose power," she said.
Throughout the course of the day, Goshen and Elkhart County business and municipal agencies continued to prepare for what the Weather Channel is calling Winter Storm Elliot, which is expected to bring snow, sleet and potential blizzard conditions to the area as late as 7 a.m. Saturday.
The city of Nappanee issued the following statement Thursday morning.
"If conditions warrant and we have power outages, we plan to open a warming shelter," the statement reads. "Details on location and hours of operation of the warming center will be shared with the local media and on www.nappanee.org and on social media. If you have an emergency, please call 911. If you have non-emergency questions, you can call 574-773-4111. The city of Nappanee is taking this storm seriously and is closely monitoring the situation and collaborating with our staff and the Elkhart County Emergency Management on steps to take to keep everyone safe."
Jennifer Tobey, executive director of Elkhart County Emergency Management Agency, said that the Indiana National Guard will be deploying Highway Assistance Teams to assist with efforts to ensure safety along the Indiana Toll Road, including Elkhart County.
"They will be literally driving the toll road from Illinois to the Ohio State Line," Tobey said by telephone Thursday. "If they see slide offs, disabled vehicles or minor accidents with no injuries, they will mark the vehicles with green tape and take any occupants to safe locations."
An Indiana National Guard news release added that approximately 150 Indiana National Guardsmen, making up nearly 30 teams, responded to the governor's call to assist state and local civil authorities during the system. The guard members will be based in their armories in Gary, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, Muncie and Lafayette.
Indiana State Police is asking motorists and other travelers to carefully consider the necessity for travel this holiday weekend.
"Keep a close eye on current weather conditions in your specific area, and if you must travel — travel with due regard for your personal safety as well as the safety of other motorists," an ISP news release stated.
Northern Indiana Public Service Company issued the following statement on its website.
"We're preparing crews to respond to forecasted weather," the statement read. "Report an outage through our website, mobile app or 1-800-4-NIPSCO. Our text system is currently unavailable."
For anyone in need of a warm shelter, Faith Mission in Elkhart and First Light Mission of Goshen will be the city's primary sheltering options, as well as the Goshen Public Library during normal business hours on Friday. The library will be closed Saturday and Sunday this week due to the holiday.
If those facilities become full, the secondary location will be the Salvation Army of Goshen, according to city officials.
Call the Goshen Police Department at 574-533-4151 for assistance with transportation to a warm place of shelter, at any time of day.
Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman also suggests that people who have elderly neighbors should check in on them now and then to see if they need help. Those in need should call the city of Goshen at 574-533-8621. For an emergency, call 911.
For more updates, check the National Weather Service and the City of Goshen at goshenindiana.org/blog or on Facebook at facebook.com/CityOfGoshen.
Steve Wilson is news editor for The Goshen News. You can reach him at steve.wilson@goshennews.com.
