Grant County ’ s own space shuttle inspector
Personality , page 3
‘ Oklahoma ’ coming to the boards at Taylor — page 2
Panthers take Round 2 of Sectionals , advance to face Elwood — page 8
The SEGway News
Serving South East Grant County
Volume 1 , Number 5 A Good News Ventures publication November 3-9 , 2016
Greenways Association working for community
The Upland Area Greenways Association is a group of individuals committed to improving the Upland community . Although the group has been officially meeting for five years , many residents have not heard of the Upland Area Greenways or are only aware that walking and riding trails are being discussed . However , this non-profit organization has been actively planning and developing an improved walking and riding community .
Ron Sutherland , the nonprofit ’ s president , admits that their group dreams big , stating , “ Our hope is not simply to build trails , but to enhance the quality of life in Upland . Yes , we want to close the gap in the Cardinal Greenway and provide exceptional local walking and bike-riding trails , but we also know that a walkable community will promote healthy living , provide better safety for the public , and attract the next generation to Upland .”
The Upland Area Greenways Association ’ s first step in fulfilling this dream is to make membership in the organization free . They would like to encourage all Upland residents to get involved and want to make the process as simple as possible . The only requirement to join is to send your name , email address , and home address to Cindy Wright , rcwright72 @ att . net . The organization ’ s goal is to have 1000 Upland community members receiving regular updates about the greenways . These updates will include information about project planning , invitations to Greenway events , and requests for work teams to assist with trail building . An active membership will also help attract additional funding for future projects .
Upland Area Greenways has been actively preparing trails on behalf of the Upland community in the following ways :
• Lions Club Path Clearing – The organization is working with the Lions Club to establish a walkable trail around the Lions Club Lake . The path is approximately 50 % cleared . Once complete , work will begin on marking the trail .
• Taylor University Partnership - The organization has partnered with Taylor University to begin construction of a sidewalk on the west side of Eighth Street from Hodson Drive to Berry Street . Look for progress to begin shortly .
• Upland Trail Head – The Greenways has begun working on a trail head to be located on the southeast corner of Main Street and the railroad crossing . This land was designated by the Department of Natural Resources for this purpose .
• RTP Grant – Upland Area Greenways has begun working on plans to apply for a significant grant that would result in their first longer stretch of trails if successful . The application is due April 2017 , and grants will be awarded Fall 2017 .
• Sidewalk Improvement - The organization is working with the Town of Upland on planning for additional sidewalks in town .
• Cardinal Greenways -The Upland Area Greenways will continue to work with the Cardinal Greenways to dream about ways to connect the Cardinal Greenways through Upland . The organization would like to acknowledge their Board of Directors for their passion , wisdom , and support . Members include Steve Bailey , Mike Guebert , Penny McQueen , Joe Pearson , Warren Ross , Geoff Schwartz , Kerry Shanebrook , Jim Slater , LaRea Slater , Ron Sutherland , Matt Thornburg , Cindy Wright , and Dawn Ritchie . ( Dawn Ritchie is from Fort Wayne , serving our Board of Directors as a trails expert .)
It is an exciting time to be part of the Upland Area Greenways . Please join them in their effort to improve the community .
Beauty shop gets makeover
“ many beautification funds have been cut due to government restraints , and so [ they ] appreciate the Chamber getting involved and generating ways to help the community ”.
You ’ ve perhaps seen a bit of dust settling after a recent project completed in front of Personal Touch Beauty Shop .
After an effort spearheaded by the Matthews Chamber , approximately $ 40,000 was raised to support local businesses by improving the appearance and convenience of the sidewalks along Massachusetts Avenue from the salon over to 8thstreet . This is part one to a twopart sidewalk project , with the second installation to begin in the spring .
LaRea Slater , President of the Matthews Chamber of Commerce explained that this effort began back in 2008 . The Chamber received help from Indiana Main Street , which helps to revitalize downtown areas in small towns . Slater shared that “ Indiana Main Street helped in preparing a 100 page document with ideas for revitalizing Matthews . While the grant was unable to be secured for this ,” Slater explained , “ funds had been raised through a Bluegrass Festival put on 4 years in a row by Doug Spence , Jay Buffington , and Mike Warner .” Together with a $ 24,000 donation from an anonymous organization , the funds were compiled to begin the projects with the help of the Town Board .
David Loer , the Town Board ’ s President , shared his thoughts . “ We want businesses to do well , and we want to help the ones that are already here . We want to retain them , not lose them .” Loer explained that “ many beautification funds have been cut due to government restraints , and so [ they ] appreciate the Chamber getting involved and generating ways to help the community ”.
Slater shares that “[ she ] would love to see even more community beautification projects .” With the approval of the Town Board , there may be potential for family donations resulting in lamp posts and benches to grace the downtown streets . She hopes this will build a sense of pride and ownership in the community . “ The ultimate goal ,” Slater says , “ is that we are energizing downtown , because the downtown is the historical center of these communities . We want the town to stay vibrant — to keep people around and attract more people too ”.
Look for the next sidewalk work to come in the spring in front of the Sonic Lodge and old gym .
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