Highlights from the November commissioners meeting

The November Commissions meeting had a long agenda. Here are the highlights.

The Commissioners awarded the ambulance contract for Rensselaer and surrounding area to Prompt. Before they did this, they had questions for Elite, which does most of the ambulance transfers from Franciscan Hospital. The township ambulance services for the northern and southern parts of the county are subsidized based on the rates for the central contract and Prompt's low bid may cause them some problems. The Commissioners are unhappy with the way the current system is structured and will appoint a committee to look at the future of EMS in Jasper County.

EDP Renewables is expanding its Meadow Lake Wind Farm from White County into Benton and wants to use a bit of 1900 South (which is on the border between Jasper and Benton Counties) to move parts next year. They were seeking approval because the heavy loads may cause damage to the roads. As to whether they have plans to expand into Jasper County, they said that they will be looking to see how the zoning ordinances for wind farms are changed at the November 22 27 meeting of the Planning Commission.

KIRPSE and people from Wheatfield Township asked the Commissioners to sponsor their grant application for a new Wheatfield Township fire station. The grant is going to OCRA and only municipalities and counties can make applications. The grant application is for a supplemental round and if it does not get funded, it will be resubmitted for the regular round next year.

Those were the big three. I will try to write about all the minutia in the next post along with a few items from the Drainage Board meeting.

Meanwhile, the maples are very colorful, though perhaps already past their peak.

Work on the bridge is almost finished. More concrete was being poured on Tuesday.

 The pour was for the sidewalk on the east side of the bridge. There is still a bit more concrete needed to finish the sidewalks and one of the sections of the railing.

 Today's pour from the other side of the bridge.

The Yeoman plaque has been put back on and is more visible now with the red background and, more important, it is now on the side of the rail that faces the road.

Yeoman married a Nowels, and helping build his cabin were his wife's father and brother, John and David Nowels. Some have suggested that Rensselaer should actually be called Yeoman. Perhaps Nowels would be more fitting.

 One of the workers said that asphalt would be laid down tomorrow. Still needed are the iron railings that will decorate the top of the fake brickwork.

There are three auctions of interest coming up. The County is having an auction on November 18. Saint Joseph's College has a two day auction of what did not sell in the past two months on November 24-25. I noticed last week that the Max Prouty Auto Sales looked like it had closed and it has. Monday's Rensselaer Republican had an auction notice on its classified pages for his "Retirement Auction" on November 18 at 11:00.

And one more thing. Winter is coming late this year. A week into November and we have had only one frost. My tomato plants are still alive though no longer producing. Contrast that to what happened a century ago.

In 1917 the first killing frost was on September 10.