A tale of three meetings (5-4-2020)

Over the weekend I was surprised to see that geese now are swimming with goslings.

The third JCEDO weekly roundtable met on Friday morning without the head of JCEDO. Brienne Hooker of the Jasper-Newton Foundation served as host. There were three presentations on the agenda. First Cindy Urbano from the Rotary Club of DeMotte-Kankakee spoke, telling what they were doing to help their communities. The Rotary Ramble, a 5K held each August, is still on, though that may change. Next Jonathan Cripe reported that Remington Mainstreet was trying to get funding for more murals. Remington Mainstreet recently got a grant to finish the area around the restored depot. The Town of Remington is extending water lines and will be opening bids for a sewer extension. There is a new industrial park coming.

Next up was Ryan Musch for RenArtWlk. Much of the programming that had been planned for mural week (June 28-July 4) will not happen as originally planned but the murals will. RenArtWlk is close to hitting their funding goal and has received three large grants. Lots of local people are involved and anyone who is interested can join in. Focus will be on wall coverage and color. There will be seven major artists from out of state and  there is a goal of getting 10 Indiana artists to come in later in the week.

Then the other participants in the meeting were given a chance to say something. Many said they were waiting for the Governor's press conference later in the day where he would outline plans to reopen the State. (See here for a summary and links. I am not sure what it means for retail businesses to open at 50% capacity–how does one determine that?)

If you have ideas for good stories, the KV Post and Rensselaer Republican are interested in hearing them. A couple people suggested that the disruption may have benefits in that it has made people be creative and do things in ways they would never otherwise have done, and some of this will result in permanent changes and improvements. The high school is looking at options for graduation. It will not be indoors but it might be held in the football stadium, or the parking lot, or on-line, depending on what will be allowed. NITCO is keeping communications working but their office is closed though the staff is working. Doug Gutwein said that American Melt Blown and Filtration has had the equipment shipped that they will be installing at what was Greenes' Furniture, but it has not yet arrived. The Tyson meat processing plant in Logansport has had hundreds of its workers test positive for coronavirus (though I have not seen how many were seriously ill.)

The Airport has canceled many events but has a possible internship for a high-school student. The Carnegie Center is featured on the back cover of the Indiana Landmarks Magazine. The Chamber of Commerce's shred day has been moved to late June. May 5 will be Community Day with an emphasis on shopping locally. Rein Bontreger, President of the Jasper County Council, said there are some economic things bubbling but provided no further information. Ryan Musch said that a lot of eMbers Venue events had been rescheduled. Stephanie Johnson from REMC said they are working on scholarships. They have helped the Field of Dreams in DeMotte and another ball field in Roselawn get poles for lights. REMC made its largest grant ever to Tri-County schools for a summer feeding program.

Mayor Wood said that he would ask the Council for some funds to help the RenArtWlk. OCRA grants have been suspended but the City will re-apply in August to begin downtown revitalization. After work on SR 114 is finished, the State will be repaving US 231 from the bridge over the Iroquois to CR 400S.

On Monday morning the County Commissioners met in a Zoom meeting. They decided that starting on Tuesday the Highway Department and the Assessor's Office would go to regular hours and that starting on May 11 the rest of County offices would go to regular hours. County buildings would remain closed to the public. Employees would be asked to keep social distance and wear masks.

A primary election is coming in June, delayed from May. The Clerk's office is still encouraging people to vote absentee. To initiate the process, call 866-4929 and request a ballot. You will get an application for a ballot in the mail, which you then fill out and turn in. You then get a ballot, which must be mailed back using the stamped envelope.

Many of the normal election workers are elderly and want to sit out this election so there is a need for election workers. If you are interested, call the Clerk's office at the phone number above. There is a stipend of $100, $110, or $135 depending on the position filled. Because of the shutdown, election days will not be County holidays. The Commissioners approved a measure that will allow County workers to work the election and get their normal work pay plus the stipend.

The meeting heard updates from Trane about work at the jail. Control systems are installed but some training still must be done. The solar field that will be built next to the jail has been staked out. The Highway Department said that the replacement of Bridge 263 in the far north of the County may be finished by Friday. County and State highway construction will almost certainly be reduced because people are driving less and thus the taxes collected on the sale of gasoline are down. These taxes fund road improvements.

The County Clerk has an employee leaving and asked to hire a replacement. The Commissioners decided to stick with the no-hires policy that they adopted at the April meeting and decided to not allow the position to be filled at this time.

Judy Kanne, representing the Jasper County Historical Society, noted that the old Parr Post Office building at the Fairgrounds has had substantial rot and the people looking at how to fix it have suggested that it might not be repairable and the best course of action may be to make a replica of the exterior so the interior can be preserved. The Commissioners approved that step if necessary.

The meeting was continued until May 18th, when another session will be held if deemed necessary.

Using the same Zoom meeting, the Drainage Board met shortly after the Commissioners meeting ended. There one interesting item involved a new 117-acre industrial park that will be east of Advance Auto. The proposal had two parts and the whole discussion was hard to follow, not just by me but by all involved. One part of the proposal was for drainage of the industrial park, which is planned for four or five tenants. However, there is one tenant that wants to get started on construction as soon as possible and to do this will have a separate drainage solution. The tenant is Smith Transport and I know that they have a presence in Remington but do not know anything about the company. They will be using 19.42 acres of the 117 acres that will become the industrial park. Also, Remington is in the process of annexing this acreage. 

Colleges and universities are taking a major hit from the Corona Virus panic and lockdown. I have noticed that several former SJC alums have commented on Alumni Facebook pages their opinion that if SJC had managed to stay open, the fallout from the Corona Virus would have doomed them. Perhaps that realization will lessen the pain that remains about the shutdown.

I noted in a recent post that I thought grass had been planted where the Town Mall once stood. The grass is beginning to grow. Perhaps the lot will be a pleasant green come Mural Week.

A few pictures. The Saturday Farmers Markets have started for this year.

I was impressed with the size of this piece of farm equipment that I saw over the weekend. I think it is a 32-row planter. It is folded up so you see only half of how wide it will be when in operation.

Dirt is being moved behind Dollar General and east of the fire station. This land will become a fire-fighter training facility.

At the west end of town some of the sidewalk ramps have been completed.