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Elkhart County Leaders Join Together To Encourage COVID-19 Vaccination

Elkhart County

The Elkhart County Health Department kicked off a drive to persuade more county residents to get vaccinated Wednesday. 

 

“The better we do as a community and as a state in keeping COVID numbers down, the better we can do getting back into our businesses and supporting those people – the workers and the business owners – and really starting to get back to life as we know it,” Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman said.

 

The campaign features public service messages from local political and community leaders encouraging residents to get vaccinated, including members of the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners. 

 

“It is not the numbers who are getting the virus, it’s the number of people who need to be vaccinated to help stop the virus,” Commissioner Frank Lucchese said. 

 

The public service announcements also included messages from Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson, Commissioner Suzie Weirick and Elkhart County Health Officer Dr. Bethany Wait. 

 

“We want life to get back to normal. We want to go back to the good old days of just worrying about the day-to-day activities of our county. That’s why we want everybody to get vaccinated,” Wait said. “We have educational material out there for you to answer every question that you have, and we’re here at the health department to help you. We have a call center where you can call and ask those questions.”

 

Elkhart County remains in the “orange” category on the state’s COVID-19 map, indicating high spread of the virus. Local hospitalizations are also back at levels near where they were in mid-January.

Gemma DiCarlo came to Indiana by way of Athens, Georgia. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and certificates in New Media and Sustainability. She has radio experience from her time as associate producer of Athens News Matters, the flagship public affairs program at WUGA-FM.
Kent Fulmer joined WVPE in August of 2020 to take on one of the station's most high profile roles as the local host of Morning Edition. Kent comes to WVPE with more than 20 years experience in radio in the Michiana area. During his career, Kent has had a variety of roles including DJ, reporter and newscaster, as well as several behind-the-scenes positions. Kent and his wife, Donna, are celebrating their 32nd wedding anniversary in 2020 and have lived in Elkhart County for almost 20 years. They have two adult daughters, Sarah and Rebecca. When not working, Kent is active as a musician, playing trumpet and flugelhorn. He has performed with a number of area bands. Currently he performs with the Phat Tuesday Dixieland Band and Jazz Assemblage, as well as his church's praise band. As a member of Jazz Assemblage, Kent has appeared at the Elkhart Jazz Festival several times. He also volunteers with Bugles Across America.
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