Odds and end to begin November

As far as I know, there is nothing big and exciting happening this week but there are a lot of little things happening. I ventured out to see if the Watt substation on Bunkum was finished yet. It is not but is much further along than the last time I was there (which seems to have been two months ago).

 On the way out I stopped by the old water well field on Bunkum. The well houses were demolished in July but only recently have the pipes above ground been removed and the wells capped. Or maybe one has not been capped yet. There seemed to be water seeping out of the pipe where the westernmost of the three wells was located. Early history of Rensselaer reports that there was at least one artesian well in the area so maybe this should not be so surprising.

 The curb for the widening of North Elza Street is in place. The street will be a bit wider when the project is finished.

 The asphalt to smooth the transition of the Milroy walking path and the street has been put in place, though the last time I looked at it, barricades were still up.

This week workers finished the little sidewalk that leads to the soccer field in Brookside Park.

I visited Monon this week and noticed a new marquee on the old theater. The theater has been closed for quite a few years but is being restored. A post on the Facebook page of the Monon Civic Preservation Society indicates it was installed on September 1.

Meanwhile the restored theater in Fowler seems to be having trouble attracting enough people (and volunteers).

I noticed that gas prices have jumped to their highest level in quite a while.  Most of the prices in Rensselaer are just shy of $2.90.

Work on the bridge seems to have slowed this week. There is still a bit of concrete to pour for the end railings and some asphalt needed to connect the concrete of the bridge with the existing road. The bridge is scheduled to be open in a couple of weeks.

I could not resist including this article published a century ago in the Jasper County Democrat. I wonder what the current figures would be. Also, note that DeMotte is not mentioned. It must have been very small if Keener township has so few cars.

And while on the subject of livestock, congratulations to the Rensselaer Central High School FFA Livestock Judging team that won the national competition last week. The Rensselaer Republican had an article about the team and their accomplishment in Saturday's (10/28/2017) edition. The press release from the national FFA is here.