October odds and ends

The first annual Fall Family Fun Night held on Thursday at Brookside Park had a large attendance. The hay rides were very popular.

 There were pumpkins to carve.

And a large fire to enjoy. I missed the Riley Read part of the event.

 Other things happening: The north end of Elza Street is being widened by four feet. After the new strip of street and the parking lot for the apartments are paved, the apartments will be ready to rent. The City wanted the developer to widen the street and also to put in drainage along it.

 There is new sidewalk along College next to the Monnett Park property. The old sidewalk was in very bad shape. Several locust trees have also been planted along the sidewalk, the work of the Rensselaer Urban Forest Council.

The ends of the walkway through Milroy Park have also been finished, though some asphalt needs to be added to the streets to complete the work.

The SJC sale is in its final days. The last day is supposed to be next Tuesday. Currently most of the items are 50% off.

I drove US 24 though Remington on Thursday and noticed that construction of  the Pilot Travel Center at the I-65 interchange is underway.  The weather seems ideal for field work but most crops are still not harvested. The elevators are open late.

In Wednesday's Rensselaer Republican Caitlin Sievers announced that she would be leaving the paper and wrote about what she learned in her two years here. Her article is on the editorial page.

The Rensselaer Police Department announced that the group that has been working with Teen Challenge to develop some kind of facility to deal with the opioid epidemic has leased a property. The group that is doing the lease has a name, the Jasper County Recovery House Board.

Finally, the RCHS History Club is presenting a Haunted Rensselaer Ghost Tour on October 27. Tours will be at 7:00 and 10:00 pm and tickets are available at the RCHS front office, adults $9 and students $7.