By Angel Perkins News-Mirror Editor    
Seven students from Bethel College’s Grace College campus  conducted a thorough examination of the community of Bourbon for a senior class assignment. While they are all scheduled to graduate as registered nurses in May, the ladies were also trained to observe communities and what they had to offer from a sociological standpoint.
Over a period of seven weeks they looked at several variables including a “windshield” survey (based on what they saw driving around the community). They talked to random people in the community, representatives from the schools, library, local businesses and local health providers; searched the Marshall County Historical Museum and Bourbon Public Library’s resources and perused information from the state, the county and Internet information portholes to determine the strengths and weaknesses that Bourbon had to offer.

“We chose Bourbon because it was a central location (for all the students to gather),” said RN Brandi Richard as to why they picked Bourbon for their study.  RN Rachel Woods explained that the students looked at the community as how it is as a partner to its inhabitants and “what feeds in to and out of the town.” “We were amazed with what the town had to offer as far as accessibility to resources,” she said. “We broke it down into subsystems: the core, physical environment, health and social services, safety and transportation, government structures, education, communications and telecommunications access. We looked at your economic systems to see how you worked and your recreation opportunities to see how you played.”
RN Mike Biddle said. “The population reported from the 2000 (U.S.) census at 1,691 and there’s not much racial diversity.” “Bourbon is evidently a very strong Christian community,” he said. “The display of the 10 Commandments right downtown was very impressive to us.”
Woods said that all of the students agreed they were impressed with the Triton School Corporation not only because of the schools’ state records in student accomplishments but their success in sports and the wide variety of extra curricular options outside of sports for local students to become active in. The close proximity between the two schools was also viewed as a strength as was the community support to the school and it’s teams displayed by the various signs throughout town.
Said Biddle, “I come from Akron so I like the small town feel; you have good access to resources and with your small school system, everybody knows your name.” The Grace team was also impressed with the housing and health systems Bourbon has to offer.
“Your (lack of) pollution rate is excellent,” said Woods.
“Another benefit the town has is the strong police presence and low crime rate,” said Richard. “The signage was impressive; lots of ‘slow children’ signs and speed limits plainly marked and they all seemed well maintained.”
Grace College Communities Professor Celine Boisvert said she was impressed with how few potholes the town had, how well-maintained the streets were during the winter months and how Bourbon had its own access to medical, dental care and veterinary care, and emergency medical services (with Multi-Township’s paramedics offering immediate treatment). She also noted the group being impressed with the number of dedicated, local volunteers the fire department had on its force.
“You have senior living with pets allowed, playgrounds for the children; you offer a general ‘opening of arms’ to invite people of all ages in to your neighborhood,” Boisvert remarked.
Students likewise noted Bourbon’s housing availability of not only apartments, but senior living and family dwellings available for rent or purchase.. Some noted the number of active clubs in the area such as Lions, the American Legion and Kiwanis, and the wide variety of denominations and close proximity for churchgoers, which proved open opportunities for new people to connect with the community.                Others noted the Halloween, Easter and Summerfest activities that invite the general public to gather and be entertained or compete in various contests which again allowed for people of all ages to become one with their neighborhood. While the fact that Bourbon didn’t have a local bus or taxi service was considered a downfall in relation to access to outside resources, the Marshall County Council on Aging van which offers free rides to local seniors to medical and social appointments (as well as to the grocery store or REAL Services site in town) was considered a plus.
In fact the nurses’ thorough study only showed a few weaknesses, ones which involved safety. The several residences not having nets connected to their trampolines for protecting the jumpers was an issue and the lack of fences around several pools.
“This left room for children to get hurt or to have access to places that could be risky for them,” explained Woods. “With safety the main concern or focus was the open access to the local dump.”
Students told how, even though the area is limited to the town employee’s usage, that anyone could gain access to the area which offered the opportunity for unsafe debris to be left there or for children to be harmed in playing in the area. One of the four residents that attended the local, public presentation stated that the dump is always fenced off and signs are posted that warn trespassers to stay away.
The students didn’t agree, stating they had gained full access on  seven or eight occasions and for unlimited time periods. They also noted that the gates were never closed and that even if they were, access was easy enough. “The signs were small and with the gate open you couldn’t read the one that was large enough to be considered visible,” Woods said. “These issues could be addresses through enforcement of your local policies and ordinances and are merely observations. We hope you can see them as opportunities to improve.”
Another area that the students agreed could use improvement was the time it would take to arrive to a critical care hospital (South Bend) and one area on south Main Street where old tractors and equipment were left unfenced, once again offering an attraction for children and an opportunity for them to become hurt. Appearance-wise the property was also noted as an issue as were several in the area—the students leaving no rocks unturned or alleys untraveled, giving the full view of all the neighborhoods unattractive flaws.
They did note to Bourbon’s advantage that there were few trailers and that while unusual to see animals within an area of town, the fact that they appeared to be well-maintained made all the difference. The group’s entire study results were compiled into a large notebook and an accompanying CD of the PowerPoint presentation (which includes many photos of the area, both good and bad) are available at the Bourbon Public Library for residents to peruse.
“All we could really suggest as far as medical opportunities is  that you incorporate more health services within the community—offering blood pressure, diabetes and other screenings,” said Woods. “The ‘Healthy People 2010’ plan is a priority list for not necessarily Bourbon, but the entire area, for people to learn more about health issues.”