County Fair, murals, and a lot of pictures

At the Fair

For the 100th anniversary the Jasper County Fair sought out some new activities. One of them was called Foam Play. A foam cannon shot foam into the parking lot and the kids waded in, getting soaked. I had several grandkids visiting and they enjoyed it. I do not know if four of them enjoyed their wet ride back to Indianapolis.

Also on Sunday there were tethered balloon rides. 

The balloon did not go very high, but there was a long line of people waiting for a ride.

I noticed an antique steam engine west of the Retired Iron barn. My interest in steam engines is explained here.

As I was leaving the balloon area, the fair queen and her court drove up in their queen-mobile. I did not wait to see if they took a balloon ride.

The Health Department had its mobile health clinic on display. I do not know if anyone ever was in it.

The carnival area seemed to be bigger this year than in recent years.

The Shake Barn is always popular.

I have not visited most of the animal barns yet. I stopped by the sheep barn to take a picture.

On Tuesday afternoon bingo was a popular event in the Community Building.

Below are a few of the many food booths at the fair.

Sunset at the Fair.

Murals

On Wednesday morning the City held a dedication ceremony for the water tower mural. First there were short talks by Cameron Mobery and Mayor Jeff Phillips talking about how the project came to be, the obstacles that had to be overcome, and the people who helped make the mural possible. In the picture below are Rein Bontrager, Mayor Phillips, Cameron Moberg, and Ryan Preston.

Behind them is a banner that lists the artists and sponsors. The name of the mural is "Autumn Caught 'Em". The leaves represented to Mr Moberg memories of his times in Rensselaer.

There was no ribbon to cut, but there were confetti guns to shoot.

Here is a short video of the confetti.

After the confetti had fallen, everyone went inside the fence for a picture by the base of the tower. There was a rather large crowd of people who attended this event.

Then to my delight the door at the base of the tower was opened and people could go inside and look up. This is what they saw.

The large gray pipe contains the water main that fills the tank and also releases water from the tank. It is insulated. There is a white pipe to its left and that is an overflow pipe. A ladder goes up to the very top of the tower; there is a passage through the water at the top. A wire alongside is for a safety harness. There are several platforms on the way up so a climber can rest.

I looked at the back of the base to see where the overflow pipe outletted. 

It took Cameron and Ryan seven days to paint this mural and one more day to clear coat it. Here is the finished result. (The best time to take a picture probably is at sunset in the summer.)

Cameron Moberg is now working on a mural in Remington.

I thought downtown Rensselaer was not getting a mural this summer, but I was wrong. Rein Bontreger is painting the back wall of the building owned by Unwind Massage, located next to the City Parking lot. It is best viewed from the bowstring-arch bridge.

City Council meeting

The Rensselaer City Council had a very short meeting on Monday evening. It approved two transfers of funds and a burial rights request for four lots. There were two quotes for a new recycling truck and the Council approved the low bid of $62,640 from Gutwein Motors. The purchase will be funded from monies from the Solid Waste District.

The City employee picnic will be this Friday. The audit of the City has been completed. The Redevelopment Commission will meet on August 5. Two employees have passed their CDL tests and two more will be starting the process. 99 lead sewer lines have been identified. Perhaps by the end of the week blacktopping at the ends of the brick streets will start. The gas department has been moving the gas meter at the high school to the outside of the building.

Brick Streets

This week the work on the Brick Streets has been preparing a foundation for the bricks.

Underneath the gravel is a mesh layer that is meant to keep layers separate and to keep the top layer smooth.

Also this week landscaping was underway.

On Tuesday City Hall got a new flagpole, replacing one on the roof.

Some people may not realize it, but there are bricks under the pavement of Washington Street.

On Wednesday a sand layer was added to a bit of Van Rensselaer and the first bricks were laid down.

Filson Park

The last bit of sidewalk along Kellner Street was finished on Wednesday. There is still sidewalk along Van Rensselaer that needs to be removed.

On Saturday the Art-in-The-Alley event is scheduled for Filson Park. It will be interesting to see how the event turns out in a not-yet-finished park.  Here is the schedule of events:

12:00PM Art in the Alley Opens w/Carnegie Players Improv

2:00PM Free Downtown Mural Tour

3:00PM World Music Special ♫

5:00PM Greg James & the Peaches ♫

7:00PM Art in the Alley Closes!