Mostly odds and ends, May 2022

Odd and ends

The Tourism Commission did not meet on Friday because not enough members could attend to have a quorum. There was little on the agenda and no funding requests.

The winner in the only interesting contested race in last week's primary election was Kendell Culp, who is the Republican nominee for state representative. I was disappointed to see that one of the other candidates resorted to misleading attack ads.

There has been no noticeable activity at the power plant for the past week.

The windows of the old bakery downtown are covered in paper. I heard from people who usually know that an eatery of some kind is planned for the space.

I traveled to Kentucky over the weekend. You can find gas for less than $4.00 a gallon there and the trees seem to be fully leafed out. We stopped at a new Buc-ee's south of Richmond. I had never heard of the chain until a few weeks ago and was amazed at what I saw. Buc-ee's started in Texas and now is expanding. The Kentucky Buc-ee's features 100-200 fuel pumps and a huge convenience store that was packed with people. Search for it on the Internet to find more.

On the way home we wanted to stop at the KFC outlet on US 24 at Remington and were surprised that it is no longer open.

Morocco was featured in a film broadcast on WTTW. You can view it online here.

Over the weekend the Blacker Fields hosted another tournament. I think the Friday night games were canceled due to the rain.

The roof over the outdoor seating at Fenwicks is finished and the area is open for dining. The new Walgreens seems ready to have its drive-through and parking areas paved.

As I type this, I can see a tree frog on my window. It is the first frog I have seen this year.

City meetings

The Board of Public Works met Monday evening and approved paying three invoices. In the City Council meeting that followed, the Council approved use of Filson Park on July 23 for an Art in the Alley event. It also approved the Cylinder and Snacks Car event on Front Street for Thursdays starting May 26. (Last year the event was scheduled for Tuesday evenings.) The car events will run from about 5:00 to 7:30. The Council also approved street closings for the Little Cousin Jasper festival in September.

The meeting had a short agenda. There was an additional appropriation and a couple of transfers. The gas tracker for May will reflect a 14¢ increase per hundred cubic feet. The Council approved the Mayor's holiday of September 2, which will add a day to the Labor Day weekend. 

Councilman Cover suggested that the Park Superintendent get some estimates for a new park headquarters. It will likely be located in Brookside Park where the tennis courts are now. 

The Chief of Police announced that a new car ordered in November will be delivered this week. One of the Department's dispatchers received the Indiana EMS Association (IEMSA) award for 2021 dispatcher of the year. She will soon leave the Department and take a job for Courthouse security.  The City has begun work on a new comprehensive plan. The work is funded by a grant obtained through KIRPC. The existing plan dates from 2007. 125 people attended the Gas Department open house and enjoyed the lunch provided. For cleanup week, the Police tagged 37 vehicles but only had to tow 4. The Street Department collected 83 tires, 194 tons of garbage, 16 tons of brush, 38 of yard waste, 12 gaylord boxes of electronics, and 11 truckloads of scrap metal.