At Home in LaGrange County Indiana-Country Living at its Finest!

LaGrange County Habitat for Humanity is holding its 11th Annual Benefit Auction on August 1st and 2nd at the Shipshewana Auction Barn

The auction includes one of a kind handmade quilts, furniture, antiques, tools, gift certificates and more!

You will also find lots of fresh baked goodies, homemade ice cream, haystack breakfast and supper, sandwiches and more!

Stop in for a bit, or spend the day.

You'll find great deals and it's for a great cause.

What Does it Mean to "Be Green"?

 It's in the news, in the magazines, and even on HGTV-  green building or being more green in a remodel.  I understand the concept in general, but when our office recently listed the first new home in our county with a 5+ Energy Star rating, I wanted a better understanding of the significance.  I was familiar with the Energy Star rating I had seen on appliances.  But,  I didn't know Energy Star is a joint program through the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to help save money and protect the environment.  A 5+ rating is the highest a home can receive and the grade is based on items such as: insulation, windows, tightly sealed construction, efficient heating and cooling, appliances, lighting, and water heaters.  Although this house offers great savings on utility bills and less impact on our environment, my online search showed me it takes more than that to "Be Green".

What Does it Take to "Be Green"?

Apparently, that is not an easy question to find the answer to; the National Association of Home Builders appointed a Consensus Committee on the National Green Building Standard to develop a standard that they have submitted to ANSI to become the American National Standard.

There is also a non profit organization, the U.S. Green Building Council , with 11,000 members from every segment of the industry who have developed a rating system called LEED,  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which is a nationally accepted benchmark in transforming the industry.  They include additional requirements such as not building on environmentally sensitive sites, building within walking distance to public transportation, parks, schools, and stores.  Building design takes advantage of prevailing winds and natural light reaches 75% of the home's interior.  Landscaping utilizes shading properties and drought tolerant plants. And green building materials are used that are non-toxic, come from rapidly renewable sources, or from salvaged materials.

How Green Are You?

My search led me to several online tools that you can use to test how green you and your household are.  They also offer tips that can save you money and reduce the impact on our environment.

Energy Star's Home Energy Yardstick  See how your usage compares to other U.S. households and how you can improve your efficiency and save money.

Get With Green.com  offers a widget that gives homeowners eco friendly news and information on new products and ideas- you can easily add it to your blog, myspace, facebook, etc.

LaGrange County has three public school systems.  Some of the district lines overlap within a city or town, but these are the schools and the areas they serve.

Local  Schools:

Lakeland School Corporation  serves students in LaGrange, Howe, and Wolcottville.  The elementary schools include Lima-Brighton Elementarty School in Howe, Parkside Elementary School in LaGrange, and Wolcott Mills Elementary School in Wolcottville.  Lakeland Middle School and High School in LaGrange serve all students.  There were 2,285 students enrolled for the 2007-2008 school year.

Lakeland High School Office  (260) 499-499-2470

Lakeland Middle School Office (260) 499-248

0Lima-Brighton Elementary School Office (260) 499-2440

Parkside Elementary School Office (260) 499-2430

Wolcott Milles Elementary School Office  (260) 499-2450

Indiana Department of Education Data for Lakeland Schools

Prairie Heights School Corporation serves students in Hudson, Flint, Mongo, Orland, Helmer, Salem Center, South Milford, and rural LaGrange.  The elementary schools are Milford Elementary School in Wolcottville and Prairie Heights Elementary School in LaGrange.  Prairie Heights Middle School and High School in LaGrange serve all students.  There were 1,620 students enrolled for the 2007-2008 school year.

All of the Prairie Heights Schools can be accessed through  (260) 351-3214

Indiana Department of Education Data for Prairie Heights Schools

Westview School Corporation serves students in Topeka, Shipshewana, LaGrange and Wolcottville.  The elemenarty schools include Meadowview Elementary School in Shipshewana, Shipshewana-Scott Elementary School in Shipshewana, Topeka Elementary School in Topeka.  All students in the corporation attend Westview Elementary School in Topeka for fifth and six grade then move on to Westview JR.-SR. High School.  There were 2,173 students enrolled in 2007-2008.

Meadowview Elementary School (260) 768-7702

Shipshewana-Scott Elementary School (260) 768-4158

Topeka Elementary School (260) 593-2897

Westview Elementary School (260) 768-7717

Westview JR.-SR. High School (260) 768-4146

Indiana Department of Education Data for Westview Schools

Howe Military School is a private college prepatory boarding school and a co-educational military institute affiliated with the U.S. Army's Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

Howe Military School  (260) 562-2131

Indiana Department of Education Data for Howe Military School

June 2008

(Numbers in parentheses are average list prices). As of June 30th, 2008, there are 311 homes currently for sale (170,319). They have been on the market for an average of 186 days.  81 are lakefront (264,690).  35 homes are located channelfront (172,091), 96 are on ski lakes (261,625) or lakes with access to ski lakes (153,747). 55 are on non-ski lakes (149,614) 35 have association or deeded access (103,322). 160 homes have no lake access (136,369).

In June 2008, there were 10 homes sold with an average sold price of 132,310. They spent an average of 157 days on the market, and were originally listed at an average price of 137,930. There were 56 new homes listed for sale this month at an average list price of 168,182.

Based on information from the Northeastern Indiana Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service for the period June 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008.