Tippecanoe Vote Centers and Sgt. Preston's

    The Tippecanoe County Court House in Lafayette Indiana is one of the most elegant, history-laden, courthouses I have seen. Being a fan of history, government, and courthouses, I have seen many such architectural pleasantries and I rank this one as beautiful... Approaching the beauty of even my own Elkhart County Courthouse in Goshen Indiana.
    But, I was not in Lafayette to visit historic buildings. As a member of the Elkhart County Vote Center Study Committee, I along with Sharon Harder, of same committee, visited Tippecanoe County today to observe voting in their Vote Centers.
    In Indiana, a Vote Center county allows voters to cast their votes at any polling place in the county, regardless of where the voter may live. This is in contrast to the traditional precinct vote system where one can vote only in their precinct.
    Part of what I did today was interview voters as they exited the polling place to get their opinions of the Vote Center concept.
    Without exception, all said that they liked the vote center system better than the precinct system.
One fellow explained that he had to leave for work today earlier than when the polls opened, and would return later than when the polls closed. Being able to vote anywhere in the county enabled him to stop by a Vote Center while at lunch and cast a vote. There! At least one otherwise discouraged voter was accommodated!
And I'm sure many, many more.
    Good job Christa Coffey, Tippecanoe County Clerk(and all of your helpers)!
 As we, Sharon and I, visited the Vote Centers and asked questions, it became obvious to us that this system works very well and insures the integrity of each vote cast and counted. Thank you, Sharon, for such relevant and defining questions.
    I encourage Elkhart County to move to become a Vote Center County. It will save money, and accommodate democracy.

    Also, if you happen to visit Lafayette, drop in and eat at Sgt. Preston's of the North. This is a fun restaurant with a Canadian Mounties theme. I had the Buffalo Burger.

Happy Anniversary, April 24th, Sherry Borglum!

To the most supportive, encouraging, and pretty person in my life...
Happy Anniversary!
Not only are you supportive of my personal endeavors and pursuits, you engage those undertakings as if they are your personal causes.
Not only do you encourage me to be diligent toward my goals, you make personal sacrifice toward those goals...they are your achievements every bit as much as mine.
Not only are you the prettiest girl on the runway, you are the prettiest girl in my life, both, visually and personally.
Happy Anniversary, love, Mike

Visit a Local Church

The following letter appeared in the Elkhart Truth about a year ago. I post it here again to encourage your consideration to visit a church.


Local Churches Have Much To Offer

As Easter approaches, I would like to take the opportunity to encourage those whose conscience will allow to attend the church of their choice, not only for Easter, but as a weekly experience.
Most churches spend much time each week in preparation for a church service. Choirs meet to rehearse musical selections that they may be precise and pleasant in their performance. Pastors research and compose sermons that they may be informative and inspirational. The attendee is the focus of this preparation and activity. Make a monetary contribution or not, you will receive much cultural, spiritual, and social reward.
Those comfortable with church and worship will have opportunity to renew their spiritual energies.
Those who are curious about faith, religion and the Bible will have a safe arena in which to explore those things. Most churches I have attended will be friendly, yet respect your need for some comfortable “social distance”.
Also, those who do not believe in divinity, God, or spiritual matters, may still gain in ethical insight as most sermons explore such concerns, not solely from a Biblical perspective, but are informed by science and historical experience.
Churches are also great places to be involved in sporting activities and social groups.
Elkhart has many fine churches of many different denominations. Most of them have websites that indicate their service times and activities.
Of course, you are invited to attend my home church ,St. Paul's United Methodist church in Elkhart, on Beardsley.
St. Paul's has two wonderful services. The 8:30 am service is a dynamically traditional service with full choir. The 10:45 service carries a contemporary feel. Both services are led by Dr. Bill Hemmig with excellent preaching.
Attend as your conscience will allow.
And for those who have gained reason not to attend church over the years, I offer my sincerest respect for your conscience.
Mike Settles
Chair, Evangelism Committee
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
Elkhart, on Beardsley.