Who was Gideon C Moody?

 Odds and ends

Last Thursday trucks left with two shipping containers from the Rensselaer power plant.

Below is the other container leaving.

After the crane was used to load the containers onto the trucks, it was loaded on a truck and was gone on Friday.

Fountain Stone Theaters is again showing free movies for children this summer.

The Airport has announced a couple of programs for young people this summer (here and here).

The Park Department has a variety of programs for mostly children this summer.

Two Rensselaerians have recently published books, one on bar keeping and the other about the closing of SJC.

I took in some aluminum cans last week and was surprised that the price the scrap yard was paying was 70¢ a pound. I have never seen it that high. It takes 30 to 35 cans to equal a pound, so the scrap value of an empty can is about 2¢. That takes me back to my boyhood when an empty pop or beer bottle could be returned for 2¢. (Back then most pop and beer came in bottles that were returned and reused.) We did not find many because back then a postage stamp for a letter was 3¢ and a candy bar was 5¢; most people kept their empties. 

I have heard of a couple of local people who were scammed by buying gift cards supposedly for a friend or relative who was in desperate need of money. Scams involving gift cards are quite common; do not fall for them.

Some corn is sprouting.

Walgreens will be moving this week. The shelves in the new store are being stocked.

History: Gideon C Moody

The Library is digitizing old newspapers and has a number of volunteers helping by reviewing old microfilm, finding problems such damaged or duplicate pages. I am one of the volunteers contributing a couple of hours a week. I cannot resist taking a look at the main stories as I scan through the reel and I found this article from 1904 about Gideon C Moody.

I did a quick search on the Internet to see if I could find more about him and found an alternative account of the duel. He has a Wikipedia entry and most items I found have the same information. His name is on the back of the base of the Milroy statue in Milroy Park. If anyone can find more about his Jasper County life, I would like to hear it.

City Council meeting

On Monday evening the Rensselaer City Council met. They approved a request for the Eagles to close part of Harrison Street in front of the Eagles building on Saturday, June 18. The Eagles are having a fundraiser for a girl with Aplastic Anemia. Her body does not produce enough red blood cells and she may need a bone-marrow transplant. They will have a variety of activities during the day and into the evening, starting with a motorcycle ride.

There was a public hearing for additional appropriations and no one from the public spoke. The Council then approved the additional appropriations. Park Superintendent Joe Effinger was recognized for 30 years of service in the Park Department (26 as Park superintendent) and given a watch. The Council ratified two polls, one that approved the purchase of a trencher and trailer for the Gas Department and the other that hired Baker Tilley to revise utility rates. The current trencher is nine years old and is leaking oil. The City needs to eliminate a utility tax and Baker Tilley will figure out how to restructure rates without the tax. 

The roof is leaking on the Street Department building (north of the recycling building) and has other problems. The Mayor appointed a committee to decide what should be done. Money from the public relations fund was approved to begin a beautification campaign starting with flowers in front of City Hall and in Potawatomi Park.  There will be a Memorial Day ceremony in Weston Cemetery on May 30 at 11:00.

The Police Department has taken delivery of a new squad car. On Monday ground was broken for the sewer project. The first step will be to extend Elza Street so equipment can get south of the high rate treatment plant. 

The roof repairs have been completed at the Gas Department. A new backhoe was delivered to the City in the past week or two. Rain canceled games on Saturday at last weekend's baseball tournament at Blacker Fields. The tournament scheduled for next weekend may not happen because not enough teams have signed up.