Parks and utilities and other things

The Rensselaer Park Board and Corporation met Monday night. Most of the discussion was about the dog park construction, fundraising, and soccer.

Coming later this week will be Scarecrow Trail in Milroy and Potawatomie Parks. Twenty or 21 scarecrows decorated by local businesses or citizens will be on display. There will be winners and they will be announced at the Fall Fest on Oct 18. Fall Fest will be at the south end of Brookside Park (last year it was at the north end) and will run from 5 to 8 pm. It includes a Riley Read, hayrides, crafts, pumpkin carving, a bounce house, and concessions. Last year it was a very popular event.

The parking lot at the dog park is finished. Its construction required about 400 tons of stone. And there is a water line to the park. The water main is on the south side of Bunkum and the City used a directional drilling machine to bore under the road. I was also told that the City owns that machine.

The worker digging the hole to the water main had to avoid a cable that was only a foot or two away.  The subsoil is clay in this area.

Next on the list of things to do is a concrete pour for sidewalks and a small shelter. The final step, if it all goes according to plan, will be the fencings. The dog park even has an address--either 815 or 851 W Bunkum Road.

The Board discussed the need for a director for the dog park and approved the position.

Recent fundraising has been slow but the people in charge of the Parks for People campaign have been busy trying to get in-kind donations and have been quite successful. Some of the materials and labor for the dog park will be donated and the dirt that will be hauled into the old Monnett property in a couple weeks will be donated by Morocco Sand and Gravel. Some of the truck transport will also be donated.

There was more discussion about soccer. The people running the soccer program do not communicate well with the Park people.

Someone noted that there were about 240 dead or dying ash trees in City right-of-ways.

I stopped by City Hall to see what was happening with the Customer Service Week, I learned that it is a good idea to unplug electronic devices when they are not in use if their transformers draw power when sleeping or off. While I was there a deliveryman brought a package for next week's event.

Public Power Week will run from Oct 7 to the 13th and there are two interesting events associated with that week. First, there is a ribbon cutting for the Rensselaer 2 Solar Park on October 9 at 1:15. The entrance to the solar park is from Wood Road south on Franklin. (Franklin has a gap, much if it filled by the solar park.) IMPA, the owners of the solar park, would like an RSVP if you are planning to attend.

 The other event is an open house at the City power plant on October 10 from 10 till 2. It will be a chance to see the big engines that generate electricity on hot summer days.

Workers were busy on Tuesday installing new windows in the Court House. It seems a lot of them need to be replaced.

Tuesday was the last of this Fall's Walk with a Doc. The short talks before people hiked through Weston Cemetery were always interesting. Last week a doctor talked about how people want antibiotics for any ailment even if the ailment is caused by a virus rather than a bacteria. There are bad side effects from unnecessary antibiotics, such as encouraging resistant bacteria and the killing of beneficial bacteria. When you kill off the good bacteria in your intestines, nasty things can happen. This last talk before the walk was about skin cancer. People should avoid tanning beds and too much sun and use sunscreen. A SPF of 15 is adequate; higher numbers provide minimal extra protection.

There will be another series of walks in the Spring.

On Tuesday a crew was milling the parking lot at St. Augustine's.

I saw on the Facebook page of Bomber Beatz that the Rensselaer Primary and Elementary Schools will be having a winter program at the SJC field house. The dates are December 4 and 6. This is the first outside event that I know of to be held on the campus since the College closed.  I do not know more.