Growing ... cont. from prev. pg
From the beginning, Friends of
the Pumpkinvine worked with the
park departments of Goshen, Elkhart
County, and Middlebury to make sure
that their plan to donate the land to
them, once legal issues were resolved,
met with their approval. Yoder added,
“Because the LaGrange County Park
Department felt that they could not
support the project, we approached the
Shipshewana town council to be the
“sponsoring” agency for the LaGrange
County portion, and with the assistance of Norm Kauffmann, town
manager, they agreed to accept the
donation of the corridor in LaGrange
County.”
As legal challenges were resolved
and funds became available to the park
departments, Friends of the Pumpkinvine donated the land to the appropriate local public agency. Funding came
from federal transportation enhancement funds through the Indiana
Department of Transportation or the
Department of Natural Resources.
The first section to open was State
Road 4 to County Road 28 northeast
of Goshen in 2000. In 2005, .6 miles
of the corridor opened in Middlebury.
Then in the fall of 2008, the half-mile
section between County Road 28 and
County Road 128 opened, and in 2009
the section between County Road 128
and County Road 33 opened. In 2010,
Elkhart County Parks received stimulus money to build a tunnel under US
20 south of Middlebury. In 2011, the
5.7 miles between Middlebury and
Shipshewana opened. Work has now
begun on the section between CR 35
and CR 37. Both the 1.2 miles between
US 20 and Wayne St. and the short
section between York Dr. and the Dairy
Queen in Middlebury will be completed
in 2013. That will complete the sections
of the Pumpkinvine where the Friends
of the Pumpkinvine have clear title.
A 1.5 mile section between County
Road 33 and County Road 35 will be on
county roads for the time being.
In 2000, Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail began a bike ride to
raise funds for the trail and it has become one of the best ways to showcase
the trail and raise money. The future of
the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature
Trail, Inc. will be to help the various
public agencies with the cost of maintaining the trail.
Spring Sale
15% off Accessories • 10% off Carts
10% off 2012 Bikes • 15% off 2011 & Older Bikes
April 20 & 21 • Fri. 1 - 5pm, Sat. 8am - 4pm
Check out our Road Bikes
Refreshments • Prizes
Redline • Raleigh • Sun Recumbents
No
repairs
during
sale hours,
please!
Come in for a chance to win a bike!
Special dra
wing for the children!
Enter in person, need not be present to win.
—W
ana Ride Bike sHOP —
1½ mile South of US 20 on SR 5 • 0350S SR 5 • Shipshewana, IN 46565 • 260-768-7064
pg 14 · The Hometown Treasure · Apr. ‘12