Happy autumnal equinox 2022

 JC Plan Commission meeting

The September meeting of the Jasper County Plan Commission was very brief. There were two causes on the agenda, both seeking a rezone from A1 to A2. The first was in Milroy Township and also included a second request, approval of a 2-lot subdivision. The second was in Walker Township and was requested to allow a future building site. All three requests were approved, with the subdivision approval contingent on the Commissioners approving the zoning change. There was no BZA meeting

County Council meeting

The County Council met Tuesday evening. The first item on the agenda, an update about EMS did not happen. The Sheriff told the Council he would need an additional appropriation of $75,000 in his food budget to finish out the year. The jail census has rebounded from the low levels of 2020 and 2021 and is now averaging in the 80s. In 2020 it was in the 40s and in 2021 it was in the 60s. Also, food prices have risen. No action was taken on this request because it needs to be advertised and will be on the October agenda.

Three additional appropriations were approved. One was for Circuit Court Renovations, a second for the Sheriff's Department to allow a new hire to be paid with seven years experience credited, and a third for something called pictometry. The Council then held a public hearing on its budget, with the president of the Council reading the budget, which you can find here. There were no public comments. The Council approved the first reading of the budget. Next month it will have to approve it again to make it official.

The Council then reviewed and approved the budget of three taxing units. The Rensselaer Central School Corporation must have its budget approved by the Council because the Board is appointed, not elected. You can find its budget and the other three it approved here.

The budget of the Airport Authority was little changed from last year. If I heard correctly, the career day event that had hundreds of school kids visiting the airport will be resumed next year. The Northwest Indiana Solid Waste District has its budget approved by Jasper County because Jasper County has the highest assessed valuation of the Counties it serves. Its budget is completely funded with tip fees from Newton and White County landfills. The Iroquois Conservancy removes logjams  from the Iroquois River. One this year by a bridge near Brook filled 27 trucks.

Other things

Kentland Bank celebrated its 90th anniversary with a free lunch on Wednesday  for people who stopped by the Rensselaer branch. The bank was founded in 1932, in the pits of the Great Depression. The Newton State Bank failed in 1931 and two citizens of Kentland thought Kentland needed a bank, pooled their resources, and started the Kentland Bank. It could succeed where the previous bank failed because it did not have a portfolio of bad loans.

When the huge wave of bank consolidations took place in the 1980s, the Rensselaer banks looked attractive to the bigger banks and were bought out. The small banks of Kentland, Francesville, DeMotte, and Wolcott apparently did not look appetizing to the big banks, so continued with local ownership. Now they all have multiple branches and seem to be doing very well.

I got a notice from Verizon that the cell phone companies will abandon the 3g networks at the end of the year and that I needed to upgrade my service to 4g. Will that affect you?

Early this week the City was installing new lights at Pottawatomie Park. Some of the lights had broken and either the company that made them was no longer in business or else there were no parts available to repair them. 

Most of the restroom at Foundation Park has been painted red to match the color of other Staddon Field structures.

Work continues on the lift station. Last week an excavator was removed, leaving only one.

The bowling alley has new floors and new lanes. Progress may be very slow, but there is some.

The Rensselaer School Corporation will dedicate its new tennis courts on the 27th at 4:00.

Walk with A Doc heard from Dr Randy Lehman on Tuesday explaining surgery for skin cancer. There are three types and the challenge of the surgery can be figuring out how best to close the opening in the skin. 

Attendance is much lower than it was in previous walks. I wonder if the forced inactivity from Covid has changed habits and people are not getting back to doing things that they did in the past. In any case, Franciscan promised to bring some goodies for people who attend next week.

Attendance was very good for the morning program of the Memories Alive event on Saturday, but disappointing for the afternoon walk. The presenters were very good. Below is a picture of them. The program for this year's event (and also for previous years) can be found here.

The equinox is Thursday. The late summer flowers, such as the perennial sunflowers and goldenrod, are blooming. And daylight is getting shorter and shorter.