The HOPE Initiative tri-fold recently worked its way around the New Castle-Henry County Public Library auditorium as the group checked “the pulse” of Henry County projects. Co-director Cathy Hamilton explained that the tri-fold was a blueprint and a checklist for community leaders. The project lists are the result of five community forums that HOPE hosted in 2013.
“Those forums said ‘What do you like about living here?’ We had seven pages,” Hamilton said. “We gave these little yellow post-it notes and we said, ‘Given that we love living here, what would make us even better?’ What you have here are all the things that people said.”
Hamilton said more than 260 people contributed to the lists of short-term and long-term goals for Henry County area. The list is fluid, Hamilton said. As new ideas and projects come up, HOPE will update their checklist.
At the meeting, visitors gathered around one of five tables set up around the library auditorium. The tables each had a placecard reading “Family and Youth” or “Aesthetics/Livability” and had a collection of recent newspaper stories that related to that topic. The “Government” table had articles about the recent local option income tax (LOIT) and the “Education” table had cut-outs about the early childhood initiative and preschool pilot programs.
Community members met with elected officials and charity board members to share their concerns and plans for New Castle.
New Castle Parks Board President Patty Broyles talked to the folks at the Family and Youth table about the recent parks survey that the city distributed. The parks board will use the survey results to help develop a five-year plan for the mayor. Broyles said a big obstacle that community planners need to address is promoting programs and entities that serve New Castle families.
Daniel Martin, president of CRADLES daycare, served as the spokesperson for the education table. Martin highlighted the commitment and progress that the city has made towards developing a comprehensive early childhood education plan. Recently, Head Start moved into the former Greenstreet Elementary building. CRADLES is pursuing 501(c)3 non-profit status so that it can co-locate with the preschool. The community has a lot of passion for educating young people, Martin said.
The education table discussed several topics, including the growing number of homeschooled children in Henry County. Indiana families can remove their children from the public school system if they feel the child is being under-served or if they feel the child is not safe at school. Several people at the table had questions about how homeschooling worked and what role the Indiana Department of Education plays in the teaching of home education.
According to the IDOE Homeschool Help Sheet, “there are no state-approved curriculum for home education at any grade level, nor are there state-approved or mandated textbooks. Indiana law gives home educators the flexibility to choose the curriculum and textbooks they feel will most benefit their children.”
The State of Indiana also does not provide books or curriculum for homeschoolers at any grade level. Families who choose to homeschool often use correspondence programs to supplement their children’s education. For more information on homeschooling in Indiana, visit www.doe.in.gov/student-services/home-school/homeschool-help-sheet.
HOPE Initiative member Sam Helm and Heart of Main Street member Gerri Williams discussed different ways to draw more people to downtown New Castle. Williams pointed out that the Farmers Market drew loads of people to the city every Saturday morning.
“The underlying sort of foundation of this whole thing is if we don’t have attractions that will bring customers from out of town, we can’t rebuild the downtown,” Helm said.
Helm said he is worried that the community does not have a whole plan for the big idea. The city has had many small projects over the past decades without a definitive endstate, Helm said.
Broyles commented that the collaboration between New Castle and Henry County governments showed a high level of professionalism concerning recent projects like the wind farm and the safety LOIT. City Council President Mark Koger took a few minutes to reaffirm that the LOIT is a way to generate tax revenue that will stay in Henry County.
Mayor Greg York also attended the HOPE meeting. York pointed out that businesses that look to move into New Castle aren’t excited about tourist attractions if the community doesn’t have an infrastructure that can support their business operations. Additionally, the mayor pointed out the importance of education and vocational training.
“If we don’t invest in diversified business and invest in the youth of our community, it’s going to be very, very tough,” York said.
The next HOPE Initiative meeting is 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in the New Castle-Henry County Public Library conference room, 376 South 15th St., New Castle.
