Going to the dogs

The Tuesday night Farmers Markets are underway, and yesterday it was pet parade night. A lot of dogs and one chicken and one pig participated. There was an entry fee for the pets with proceeds going to the establishment of a dog park. (More on the dog park below.)

Next week the retired iron folks will drive their tractors in from the fairgrounds and circle around the court house square.

After the commissioners meeting on Monday, I attended two other meetings. The Drainage Board met at 1:00 for a routine meeting. IBEC (the ethanol people at Pleasant Ridge) want to put in a second storage tank and replace and expand their containment area. Their plan was approved with no discussion.

NIPSCO is replacing all the poles for its transmission line between Goodland and Monticello. They were told to go before the drainage board even though they did not need any approval. The Drainage Board wanted them to be aware of any tiles along the route.

There was an item on the agenda about a culvert replacement in DeMotte, but apparently that has been settled locally.

A second NIPSCO item, the fly-ash landfill, was approved, though the commissioners still want to know what they can do with fly-ash coming in from other counties.

A citizen wanted to convert an open swell to a buried drain because the neighbor had done the same. Another citizen wanted to let the proper people know that the drainage ditch by her house was not draining. The surveyor said he would look into it.

Then there was some discussion about a public hearing for a couple of ditch projects. The hearing will be before the Drainage Board meeting on September 2.

In the evening the Rensselaer Park Board met. They talked to a person who wants do a trial PiYo lesson this Saturday to see if there is interest for further instruction. If you are interested, it should be from 9:00 am till 11:00 am somewhere in Brookside Park. Another person was interested in getting a program of tennis for kids started. That may begin on August 2.

Then there was discussion of a dog park, with a proposal that most of Iroquois Park be fenced in for dogs. One area would be for dogs without a leash and another would be for dogs on a leash (at least that is how I heard it). One reason for the dog park is that now people are using the ball fields for dog exercise, and that creates some conflict when they do not clean up after their dogs properly. What do you think--should Iroquois Park go to the dogs?

The diving board at the LaRue Pool had to be removed because it had cracks and it probably will not be replaced this year because of the early start of school (and thus the early closure of the pool) and the time needed for a new board to be manufactured and shipped.

Finally, at the August meeting (Aug 4) some plans for future development may be presented and discussed.

(I do not know if the Park Department still sponsors the Rensselaer Summer Swim Team--I know that they did when my kids were involved. The team finished its season over a week ago, winning all its regular meets as well as the conference meet. I have not seen the results in the Rensselaer Republican yet. Some of the ball leagues are either finished are finishing. This weekend the Children's Summer Theater will perform Willy Wonka. There are lots of activities for kids early in the summer, but then they all finish up mid summer. Is that to allow family vacations?)