A 74 wheeler!

Even more power plant pictures

The previous post had pictures showing that the large engine had been removed from the power plant by the end of the day on Sunday and that the generator and its casing were on trucks. When I stopped by on Monday just before 1:00 the truck with the casing was leaving. It drove to US 231 and then headed north.

The second old motor had been moved inside the building so it could be extracted. I was told that this unit and its twin were installed in 1972.

The big motor was on the street and wrapped in a tarp. It had been raised on blocks using a small hydrolic lift that would raise a corner about three inches, allow blocks to be inserted. Then the lift was reset and would lift another three inches. That took most of the day on Sunday.

In the evening I stopped by and was surprised to see the longest truck I have ever seen. I took some pictures but could not get a good angle. I counted the wheels and came up with 74. The truck trailer had three sections that allowed it to make turns. The back section could be turned by an operator on the back. 

On Tuesday morning the truck was positioned so the engine could be slid onto the trailer. 

I did not see the workers move the motor onto the truck. 

Later on Tuesday the truck had moved and I was able to get a better picture of it. Below is the front half of the truck.

And here is the back half. The truck seems to be owned by a company from Carleton, Michigan. Moving loads like this requires special permits that specify the exact route and times that the truck can travel.

Also on Tuesday evening, the second motor had been removed and was on the street. You can see both of the older engines in this picture.

In addition to these big items, small items like control panels are also being hauled away.

Commissioners' meeting

On April 4 the Jasper County Commissioners met for their monthly meeting. Among the buried cable permits was one that will extend the gas pipeline that connects the Hidden Valley farm and the de Jong farm to the Oak Basin Farm (which until recently was the New Berry farm). The purpose of the pipeline is to take the methane produced by the manure digester to the natural gas trunk line that crosses the County. The Commissions wanted the pipeline to stay on the property of the dairies whenever possible rather than be in the County road right-of-way, so the proposal must be revised.

The Commissioners agreed to pay for a study to examine what it would take to extend Remington sewer and water to the 205 interchange on I-65. On Monday they got the results of the study. An eight-inch water main would provide enough water to support commercial businesses and light industry. A sewage line would require two lift stations. The consultant broke the plan into two phases. To reach the Interstate would cost an estimated $5.4 million including all the planning costs. Extending it to the north of the Interstate would add another $3.6 million. Crossing the Interstate is expensive (which is why Rensselaer utilities have not crossed west of I-65). The comment was that there will be no development at the 205 interchange without water and sewage.

I learned a new word on Monday: catio. It is a patio for cats. A pet-food company donated a 12' by 5' catio to the animal shelter and the director asked the Commissioners for permission to use money in the donation fund to provide a concrete pad and sidewalks for the new structure. He also requested permission to purchase a metal container to store animal food. Mice have invaded the current building and are damaging the stored food. His request was approved but it also needs Council approval. Community Correction's request to replace two positions, one currently vacant and another soon to be vacant, was approved. The Commissioners also approved a request from Community Services to replace carpet at the Rensselaer and DeMotte centers. The Commissioners heard an update of what was happening with the Dunn's Bridge solar project. Most of it was via a PowerPoint presentation that I had a hard time viewing from where I was seated. A few hundred people are currently working on Phase I and Phase II will be larger. 

Via Zoom the Commissioners heard a report of the air testing that has been done at the Court House. Most results were good, but there was mold in the basement and in one room on the third floor. The mold problem cannot be solved until the water problem is solved. That will require digging around the Court House and replacing the current drainage tiles. There was concern about cutting sidewalks. Some are very thick because they were designed to handle large construction equipment such as cranes. The project will cost an estimated $175,000 to $250,000 and needs Council approval. The sewer line that the tiles will connect to goes under the Ritz Theater.

In other business, the Sheriff suggested that the County should have an ATV ordinance and the Commissioners asked him and the County Attorney to prepare one. ATVs are used by farmers for spraying and the Dunn's Bridge people want to use them to do maintenance, so they are more than recreational vehicles. The County may be getting an opioid settlement of about a million dollars. What restrictions will be on those funds is not known. The Commissioners approved purchase of software and hardware for siren testing and they also approved a contract to rate roads and bridges, something needed to qualify for CCMG (Community Crossing) grants.

Drainage Board meeting

In the afternoon the Drainage Board met. They approved a contract for ditch spraying and a request to abandon a regulated public drain that was no longer needed. At its March meeting it had asked for more information about the drainage plan for Flatland Pig LLC. They got the updates on Monday and approved the plan. Love's Travel Stop presented a drainage plan for its proposed 65-space RV park and it was approved. The Board wanted changes made in the gas pipeline plan that they had seen in the morning meeting (in the morning use of County right-of-way was the question and in the afternoon the crossing of regulated drains was the question). They had a very long discussion with the contractors of the Dunn's Bridge Solar project and I did not understand parts of it. Eventually they agreed that BF&S Engineering (Butler Fairman & Seufert) would oversee the project for the County and that was acceptable to the contractors. The next meeting will be June 6.

Park Board meeting

The Park Board did not have a quorum for its Monday meeting so no votes could be taken. However, Heather Hall gave an overview of the many programs that will be offered in the parks this summer. Some of the programs that were dropped because of Covid are returning and there are new ones, such as a garden club and a variety of programs in the evenings in June. When the new building next to the soccer field gets electricity and is finished, there will be programs into the fall. 

Odds and Ends

Cullen Street is blocked off beforethe railroad. I expected the closing of the street would have something to do with the railroad but as of Tuesday all that is there is a big hole in the street with a big pipe, perhaps a water main, in it.

Just to the north of the railroad the building on the west side of the street is being renovated. It will soon be a dog grooming store with retail.

We keep getting spam calls from someone with a deep Indian accent who claims to be from Medicare. Today I let him go on a while and he said that Medicare wanted to send me a new card. I said, ok, send it. He said that before it could be sent he had to check the information on my current card. I told him that was unnecessary because if he really was from Medicare he would have that information. He just kept insisting that I needed to get my card. After I hung up I checked to Internet to see if this was a common scam and it is. I suspect the information people give them is used for Medicare fraud.