Making progress

PENNVILLE — Efforts to make the town better are showing progress.

That was the message Shalee Myron brought this morning during the Pennville Town Update hosted by Jay County Chamber of Commerce at the Pennville Legion/Lions Building.

Myron, who has worked with various community groups on projects in Pennville, noted the town revitalization plan, efforts to raise money to repair downtown buildings and improvements to the community garden as positive steps Pennville is taking.

The revitalization plan that town council adopted in February sets forward a variety of goals, including activities for senior citizens, entertainment and road paving.

Among the features of the plan is a goal of making use of the Salamonie River for recreational purposes, such as a pull-out site for canoeing between Portland and Pennville. It also suggests expansion of the library to offer more services and upgrades for downtown streets, sidewalks and buildings.

Pennville community groups are already taking the initiative to try to improve buildings, having secured a $2-for-$1 matching grant of up to $50,000 from The Portland Foundation for that purpose. Fundraising efforts are just getting underway, with a target completion date of July 1.

“Just being in these buildings more, it’s pretty easy to see that they definitely need some updates and repairs,” said Myron. “Hopefully next year when we host this you will get to see all of our new updates.”

Myron also touted the expansion of the community garden at the library, adding that there are plans to add more benches and flower beds to make it more welcoming to the community. 

She also noted the return of the town’s pumpkin festival last year and expansion of its youth soccer program.

“There’s no one person who does this,” said Myron. “It takes all of the community together. …

“I’m very proud of the progress that our town has made over the last few years. … There’s a lot of good things going on here.”