Shovels at SJC, scissors at Plevna

 On Friday there were two events heralding the start of something new. At SJC there was a groundbreaking ceremony signaling the start of the new Building & Trades program. This program, which will train students to build houses, has previously been discussed here.  This sign at the site, (which is not where the first house will be built) lists partnerships and sponsors.

On the left is Ernest Watson, fourth from the left is the chair of the Board of Trustees for SJC Mike Van Eekeren, and on the right is Mayor Phillips. 

A short video showing dirt flying.

I talked to a number of the people attending.  I asked about the prospect of training EMTs and was told that the program needs a medical doctor to be very involved in the program and they have not found one willing to devote the time and effort. The various medical certificate programs will be scheduled a year in advance so prospective students will know when they are coming. The new CDL Academy has started and has had its graduates get their CDL licenses. I met the new CEO and I think we will see a more responsive SJC going forward.

The new signs along the highway have three of the four tracks that the College is offering: Building & Trades, the CDL Academy, and Health Sciences. The fourth is for-credit college courses offered with a cooperating and accredited college.

There is no prospect of the old SJC coming back, but there is a good chance that SJC will become a better neighbor to Rensselaer in the years ahead.

Plevna ribbon cutting and grand opening

The former McAllister dealership is no more. The building is now an outlet for the Plevna Implement Company.

MacAllister was primarily a dealer in Caterpillar equipment and Caterpillar has been focusing more on construction equipment and less on agricultural equipment. MacAllister followed that direction and there is a limited market for construction equipment in Rensselaer. In contrast, Plevna is focused on the agriculture markets, so when they saw a chance to buy the MacAllister building and move to this part of Indiana., they took it. They originally had considered a grand opening in June but decided that was not a good time because planting went late this year. A grand opening during County Fair weeks seemed like a better bet.

There was some miscommunication between the City and Plevna about the timing. The City thought the ribbon cutting would take place at 10:00 but Plevna thought it would take place at noon, when they would start serving lunch to guests. Because the Chamber of Commerce had the ribbon and the Mayor had another commitment at noon, the ribbon cutting did take place at 10:00. At first there was an attempt to line people under the big Plevna sign.

But more people decided to line up by a row of equipment and that is where the ribbon was cut.

Below is a very short video showing the ribbon being cut.

Plevna offers a variety of brands of farm equipment, most brands that are under the AGCO umbrella. In addition to selling new equipment, they service old equipment. Currently they have seven employees and hope to increase that to about 15 in a year. Below is the front of the building, where customers would most likely enter.

Behind the front are storage spaces for parts and a large area for working on equipment. On Thursday it was set up for a lunch. I was surprised at how many place settings there were, but was told that they had sent out 1400 invites to area farmers.

In the back was an enormous combine.

In the supply room I did see one piece of equipment that I could afford.

From the building they have a fine view of airplanes taking off and landing at the airport, which has been very busy this week with crop dusters.

A closing

While the events above celebrate beginnings, another institution announced a closing. The Jasper County Recovery House issued a press release stating that it will be closing because they "could not find adequate employees to keep the center open." The Jasper County center opened in 2018.

Another SRO Commissioners meeting

Fire Department open house

The Rensselaer Fire Department held an open house as part of Fire Prevention Week. It attracted a lot of people, most with children. On display was a boat that can be used in rescues.

The bounce house was popular with the kids.

There were snacks available. These cookies as well as hot chocolate and popcorn were provided by the Fire Department.

I had to ask what this was. It was carmel for apple slices and was provided by McDonalds. Alliance Bank also gave out food, their usual ice cream bars.

A helicopter from Lutheran Air attracted a lot of attention.

When I first saw this vehicle I thought it was from the National Guard. It is the Sheriff Departments Tactical Response Truck. The Department has had it for about ten years.

More pictures can be found on the Fire Departments Facebook page.

Continued Commissioners Meeting

At their regular October meeting the Commissioners heard many public comments opposing BP's proposed carbon capture and sequestering project that may be partially located in Jasper County. They delayed signing a road-use agreement, moving the item to a continued meeting on October 16. On Monday that continued meeting also had a standing-room-only audience, and it may have had more people attending than were at the initial meeting.

Before the road-use agreement was discussed, the Commissioners had several other items on their agenda. The County switched health insurance brokers this year and the new brokers had promised they could find savings for the County. The new brokers shopped the various policies and said they had found $672K in savings with no reduction in benefits. The Commissioners approved the changes.

Two bids for a new roof on the prosecutor's annex building were reviewed but no decision was made because there may be a third party who will make a bid. The Commissioners approved a change in the holiday schedule for the Highway Department. A jail correctional officer has resigned and the Sheriff was given approval to replace her.

Then it was time for the big item, the road-use-agreement. BP had agreed to end the testing on October 30 and will allow the County to hire an expert to review the data. There were a number of public comments. The first person wondered why the public had not been allowed to vote on this issue. Another person recognized that the County can do little to stop this project if the State gives it a green light and is organizing to change the legislation. The legislation that takes the permitting of this type of project away from the counties is House Bill 1209 that was passed in 2022. A person from Porter County who is running for Congress urged the County to look for opportunities to disrupt the process. It is federal tax credits that make this project viable; without federal support none of these sequestering projects would be profitable. A retired 3M person said that contaminates in the fluid that will be pumped into the ground might react chemically with the rocks and that no one knows what the long-term risks of this project would be. In the end the Commissioners signed the agreement even though I am pretty sure that they agree with the audience that the County does not want the County to be used for carbon dioxide sequestering.

They passed a resolution to gather information to be used for a future ordinance governing seismic testing on County roadways.

County Council meeting

The County Council met Tuesday evening in a long meeting, lasting about two hours. Rensselaer Fire Chief Kenny Haun told them about the addition to the Rensselaer training center that will be built with State funding and is expected to be finished in the Spring of 2024. However, the Department needs to provide some infrastructure and Haun would like to have the County contribute for this. No action was taken and the request for funds will be discussed at the joint Council-Commissioners meeting in November.

The Council approved an ordinance that allows the Drainage Board to secure a line of credit to help finance the cleaning of the R. E. Davis ditch. It also approved an ordinance that allows money from the Recorder's Perpetuation fund to be used for supplies and salaries. This ordinance was recommended by the State Board of Accounts and does not represent a change in what the County has been doing.

Next was a long discussion about a resolution establishing an Economic Revitalization Area in Walker Township that will allow a tax abatement for a proposed solar park. This project has been mentioned at various County meetings over the past few years. It will use 470 acres and have a 60 megawatt capacity. The abatement will be decided next month. Offsetting the abatement will be an economic development payment that the company will make. Unlike the tax revenue that is divided into various funds, this money can be spent in whatever way the County wants. After reading the resolution, a vote was taken and it was approved by a 3 to 2 vote. However, one of the Council members was attending via Zoom and his delayed vote as a no, so the vote was tied 3 to 3. Council president Jordan then broke the tie and the final vote was 4 to 3. I am not sure if the negative votes were cast because the members do not like abatements or if it was a protest against solar power. (Voting for were Jordan, Fritts, Norwine, and Risner. Voting against were Armold, Kidwell, and Moore.)

The Council then approved a number of transfers of funds, none very large, and moved on to additional appropriations. Most were for the Sheriff's Department. All of the additions were approved except one for Community Corrections, which was tabled because the Council wanted more information.

The Council President then read and the Council approved five budgets, those of the County, the Rensselaer Central School Corporation, the Airport Authority, the Northwest Indiana Solid Waste District, and the Iroquois Conservancy. Discussion of these budgets had been held at the previous meeting. The budget of the Northwest Indiana Solid Waste District is approved by Jasper County because Jasper County has the largest assessed valuation of any of the counties that the District serves.

The Prosecutor had some salary adjustments that should be made and they will be taken up in January. For reasons that I did not understand, Walker Township could not approve its budget with the normal process and the Council finished the meeting by approving its budget.

Notes

There was a partial solar eclipse on Saturday. It was unnoticeable here because of the heavy clouds, but some people in the west got to observe it as an annular eclipse. However, next year there will be a total eclipse that will be visible in Indianapolis. It will be in April, a month that has a lot of cloudy days. More info here and a map here. The view of the annular eclipse from Nevada is here.

Mount Ayr now has a mural. It was painted by Rensselaer native Trenton Musch.

Early voting for Rensselaer offices can be done at the Court House on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 until noon and 1:00 to 6:00. The voting is on the second floor, and it you have questions you can ask the security guards for information.

The railroad crossing on McKinley (US 231) is getting new pavement and the road will be closed for a few days.

The video about the Domestic Arts building at the Newton County Fairgrounds can be viewed on youtube.

What keeps the lights on? Graphs showing how much electricity is generated with various sources can be found here. I was surprised at how dominant natural gas is and how variable over the day coal is. The good thing about solar power is that it is generated during the times when electrical use is highest.

Some more electric news

Chamber luncheon and tour of Solar Park II

On Wednesday the Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce had a luncheon at Rensselaer's solar park #2 with a presentation by officials from IMPA and a tour of the solar field. IMPA is the Indiana Municipal Power Agency. It was formed in 1983 with 26 member communities and Rensselaer was one of those founding communities. It currently serves 51 cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio. Rensselaer buys all of its electricity from IMPA.

Solar Park II is west of the primary school on Matteson. It has the capacity to generate 3.8 megawatts of electricity. The panels in the smaller Solar Park I are fixed in place. Those in Solar Park II are single axis trackers; they move to follow the sun. Many other IMPA communities have solar parks; IMPA is approaching 200 megawatts of solar capacity on 1100 acres. It likes locating within city or town limits so its property taxes are paid to a member community.  Some asked about residental solar panels and the answer was that only three people have rooftop solar panels connected to the grid. There are only about 100 in the entire IMPA network.

Below is a picture of the group in the solar park, with an official from IMPA explaining an inverter, which takes the DC output from the panels and converts it to AC current.

Not visible in the picture, there was a row of panels on the south end of the park that were damaged in Saturday's storm. The storm also did some damage to panels at Solar Park I.

IMPA uses drones with infrared cameras to search for malfunctions in the park. It is cheaper and much quicker than the previous ways of trying to find problems.

Below is a picture of one of the motors that turn the panels. Because it was midday and the sun was almost directly overhead, the panels were almost parallel to the ground. Some asked why they did not plant the park with plants for pollinator insects. The answer was that many people considered pollinator fields to be fields of weeds and IMPA wanted to be seen as a good neighbor.

Since the installation of this park, solar panels have gotten more efficient. The panels in our parks can only generate electricity from one side. Now most panels have a transparent back so that if there is reflected light from snow or sand on the ground, that light can also generate electricity.

The ribbon cutting for this park took place in October, 2018.

The big chimney leaves

On Wednesday I noticed a truck that parked near the power plant. The driver got out, pressed some buttons on the trailer, and the back of the trailer slid back, extending the length of the trailer. I knew something was about to happen, so I waited. 

It took a while as the workers prepared to move the chimney. They had to get straps around it, which they were able to do because it was resting on boards to give it some clearance from the ground., Eventually I caught the video below.

The workers settled the chimney on the trailer, but it was not quite right, so they lifted it again and resettled it. Below is the final result.

The driver then tied down the load and I assume he drove off after I left.

As I left, another truck was getting into position to receive another part of the exhaust assembly. It and the other part were gone Thursday morning. There was still one bit of the assembly left on Thursday, but it must not have been important because it was still on the lot Thursday evening and the Barnhart people seem to have left Rensselaer.

Rensselaer BZA meeting

The Rensselaer BZA met on Thursday evening with two main items on the agenda. The first was a variance of use application to allow the construction of an office and shop in an A-1 zone. The property is a six-acre lot south of Rensselaer in the buffer zone and is currently being used for construction storage. The business that wants to move to and purchase this lot fabricates and installs quartz, marble, and granite countertops in DeMotte. They plan to erect a 4500 square foot shop for the fabrication. A neighbor had concerns about materials blowing into her fields, something that happens with the current use. The applicant was agreeable to installing a fence. The application was approved.

The second item was a conditional use application for a park in a B-3 (business) zone. The park is Filson Park, land that the City Council accepted from the Filson family with the condition that it remain a park for at least 15 years. The discussion seemed to focus on the plans for developing the park, which is being funded by the Filson family. When the City Council made the decision to accept the land, the argument against accepting the land was that the land would be better used for retail or commercial uses. That argument resurfaced again at this meeting. Other concerns were vandalism and maintenance costs. Several people voiced support for continuing development, arguing that the City should respect the wishes of the donors, that it would promote tourism as an extension of the RENARTWLK, and that community members wanted more and better parks. The vote was unanimous to approve the conditional use application.

Looking back on the issue, the whole thing seems rather strange. If the Board had voted against the conditional use, would that have invalidated the action of the City Council in accepting the land with the conditions that were attached to it? Would the land have reverted back to the Filsons? The applicant listed was the Park Board, but should not the applicant have been the City Council? Can the BZA, a board appointed by the City Council and Mayor, override the decisions of the City Council?

Notes

Signs are up at the former Walgreens store announcing that it will soon be a Dollar Tree store.

On the way to the BZA meeting, I noticed something new in the alley behind Fenwicks. It is one of the panels painted at the Art Battle at the Art in the Alley event on July 29. Three other panels are on the wall of Fenwicks under the roof of the outdoor seating area.

The bollards promised for the north end of this alley are now installed.

There is a new art exhibit in the Fendig Gallery, works of Lillian Fendig. It is an impressive exhibit and I will try to write about it next week. The reception for the exhibit is Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00.

The Rensselaer Republican is reporting that the Pleasant Ridge grain elevator will close in October.

Finally, there is a pretty display of flowers blooming outside of the Rensselaer Library.

A ribbon cutting and some meetings

 Ribbon cutting for EV1

On Monday afternoon the Rensselaer Central School Corporation had a ribboncutting for its new bus. This bus is special because it is an electric bus, the first in the fleet. It was purchased with much of the funding (over $200,000)  coming from the Volkwagen Environmental Mitigation Trust. There were three groups that posed for a photograph. The first included all those who were part of the Corporation's transportation department.

The second group were people from companies that manufactured, sold, or in some way contributed to making the acquisition possible. The lady to the left of Mr Odle represented Collins Bus Company of Hutchinson, Kansas, the manufacturer of the bus. On the other side of Mr. Odle is S. Jordan representing REMC, which supplied the charging station in the bus barn.

The final group were school employees and members of the community and this is when the ribbon was cut. Mr Odle was the person who pushed to get this bus purchased.

I did not get a good picture of the bus. Below is the best I have, taken when the Superintendent Craig was addressing the crowd.

The bus has seven seats and appears to be able to comfortably seat 14. It has a wheel chair lift and is the only orange bus in the fleet that has a wheel chair lift. It will be used primarily to pick up special needs students, including any with wheel chairs.

The range is abou 100 miles per charge. A bit more is here.

Classes start at the local school this Thursday.

August Commissioners meeting

The Jasper County Commissioners met Monday for their August meeting with lots of little items on the agenda. There was a proposal to provide CPR training for County employees and it was approved.

 Apparently Community Corrections was not recognized by Reliable Exterminators as being on the contract and there was a discussion about what was included on the contract. The Health Department received approval for a contract hiring translators when needed and the Recorder's Office had a supplier contract approved. There was a discussion of a proposal to register all County contractors. No action was taken at this meeting; the commissioners want a sample form before they approve it. The recommendations from the July plan commission meeting were approved. One parcel was changed from A1 to A3 for a fertilizer plant and another parcel was changed for A1 to A2 for a future subdivision. There were two amendments to ordinances, one allowing rebuilding of a residence in the business district and the other updating the county flood ordinance to conform to the model State ordinance.

A citizen living in the buffer zone of DeMotte wanted to strip the buffer zone from Demotte. She said that the town does not want growth. The DeMotte plan commission had ruled that she could not operate her food truck at her residence. Later in the meeting a citizen said that he wanted no change in the buffer zone and he wanted to keep businesses out of the buffer zone.

The sheriff was on the agenda to discuss resealing the jail parking lot but was told that he needs to go to the County Council to release the funds. He mentioned an issue with an irrigation rig that is shooting water onto the road. The Commissioners will have their attorney write a letter to the landowner.

The EMS building is on schedule and should open before the end of the year.

The question of whether the County should hire a grant writer continues as is the discussion concerning some spacing issues in the courthouse involving the Clerk's office. Perhaps there will be a plan by the next meeting. The flagpole in front of the Health department has had a new concrete base poured and the bricks are being refinished and will be replaced soon. 

REMC wanted a letter to support a grant they are writing to provide for fiber optic throughout the county. The head of the Jasper County Economic Development Organization will write the letter. Little Cousin Jasper wanted permission to put a sign in the Courthouse gazebo directing people to Potawatomi Park for Little Cousin Jasper. The request was granted. Josh Davis from the Rensselaer Planning Department asked about lights for the courthouse. He was told that the County does not want cables reaching to the top of the courthouse. The County Surveyor wants stipends for public use of private phones. The matter was not resolved. Two buried cable permits were approved. The meeting was continued until Monday, August 14 at 8:30 when there will be a public hearing for Health Department ordinances.

Drainage Board meeting

The Drainage Board meeting followed. The Board quickly approved the drainage plan for an expansion of a parking lot that involved some dairies. The discussion of a citizen's complaint about a dam in a ditch in the north of the County took more time. Apparently the farmers have many dams to retain water and keep the water table high and without them, farming would not be possible. However, now houses are being built near some of them and because the northern part of the County is mostly flood plain, the dams can cause problems if they are not lowered when there are heavy rains. The Board decided to tell the dam owner to maintain it properly or it will be removed.

Another citizen had a complaint that a neighbor was not cleaning his part of a mutual drain. The Board will have its attorney write a letter. The drainage plan for a proposed fertilizer plant near the SR 14/I-65 interchange was approved with little discussion. The building will be 844 feet long but will have no close neighbors because the dairy owns a large parcel of land and no neighbors will be affected by runoff.

A citizen has a fence that is in the easement of a ditch, but if he gets it off the easement, he will have no back yard. He was told to keep the fence at least 30 feet from the bank of the ditch to allow equipment access to the ditch. There were three ditches that needed reconstruction and the Board offered the landowners the opportunity to do the work themselves. For two of the ditches the landowners organized and proposed cleaning parts of the ditch that needed cleaning and leaving untouched the upper parts of the ditch where landowners wanted no change. The Board accepted those proposals. No one stepped up on the third ditch so the Surveyor's office will plan reconstruction.

Park Board meeting.

The Rensselaer Park Board met Monday evening with a quorum for the Park Board but not for the Park Corporation Board. The meeting heard from the Rensselaer Building Commissioner about what to expect at the BZA meeting on Thursday that will consider a variance that will allow construction in Filson Park. There will be a ribbon cutting for the Blacker Fields on September 15 at 4:00. The last day for public access for the LaRue pool is Sunday, August 13.

Jasper County Tourism Board meeting.

The Jasper County Tourism Board met on Tuesday morning and managed a bare minimum quorum. After discussion they approved, pending legal review, hiring Yodel for two years to provide a community calendar. This matter had been discussed at the previous meeting. This year's Jasper Jaunt bike ride on September 16 will head south to visit at least three farms. There was a discussion of untapped opportunities that mural week provides. A funding request from Little Cousin Jasper to help build a fence in Potawatomi Park was denied because it is not something that will drive tourism. The next meeting will be on September 12.

Jasper County Airport Authority Commission meeting

I managed to attend the August meeting of the Airport Authority Commission in person. As I entered the building I took a picture of one of the crop dusters. Their season can extend into September.

Inside the lobby of the terminal building was the light that once was atop the beacon. The tower was removed in 2017.

At the meeting I met Isaac, the newly-hired assistant manager. He will finish his course work at Purdue in December and for now is part-time. When the meeting started, the two engineers for the airport gave an update on the master plan that has been submitted to the FAA for approval. The Airport needs to update its forecast and resubmit and perhaps this third resubmittal will be accepted by the FAA.

The Board approved a quote to re-mark the runway. There were 15 participants in the Airport summer camp. There are five students enrolled in three airport classes that will be taught at the airport. There was a discussion of a possible memorandum of understanding with a school called Indiana Ag and Tech. I had never heard of this school. It is a charter school headquartered in Carmel and its northern branch meets at the Jasper County Fairgrounds. 

The Board discussed and approved a budget for 2024. It will now be submitted to Gateway. The total expenditures are unchanged from the current year. As the meeting ended, someone mentioned that Brad Cozza, the airport manager from a few years ago, was now in Oregon and had a baby daughter.

Notes

The City of Rensselaer will have an auction of unneeded equipment on August 18 at 11:00 at the Police Station.

The Rensselaer Republican had a nice article about the Wheatfield murals in last week's paper. (See here.) The mural on the town hall of a snake and mouse offended at least one town official. It is by the same artist who painted the birds that grace the header of this blog.

We got rain, and lots of it over the weekend. The river gauge station at Laird's Landing says we got over five inches. Remarkably, it did not cause flooding. The ground was dry and soaked up the moisture. The river only rose a couple of feet.

The rain did reestablish what I call Weston Pond next to Weston Cemetery.

Highway 114 is closed just to the east of Rensselaer. I thought there might be work on the bridge over the Iroquois, but the reason for the closure is the replacement of the culvert that takes the School House ditch under the highway.

I was surprised on Tuesday to see that the carnival rides that were at the County Fair still had not left. I guess they must not have had other engagements.

Some videos

A mural that moves

On Saturday the motors were turned on for the new mural on the Horton/Yallaly building. Here is a video of it. (View on Youtube here.)

Here is the mural from a different angle.

Off to Canada

Tuesday's post showed the last of the generating engines removed from the power plant. On Wednesday jacks were set up alongside it and it was lifted into the air.

In the late afternoon the truck trailer slid under it. Below is a video showing that.

I believe the initial plan was to move it on Wednesday but by the time the crew was ready, it was too late. The move came Thursday morning. The State Police told them that the earliest they could move it was at 8:30.

I arrived and talked to the lady in the guide car. She said that she had never guided a load so tall. I believe her job was to drive ahead and find where the bucket trucks that were part of the parade had to raise wires.

Below is a video of the truck starting its journey.

About half an hour later it maneuvered around the stop lights on Grace and College.

The truck had a lot of wheels--I counted 62--but that was less than the 74 on this truck.

The truck was headed for Monon where the engine will be loaded onto a train car and shipped to Canada.

Left behind were the jacks and an empty space in the power plant building.

Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission meeting

On Monday afternoon the Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission held a meeting. It swore in a new member, Kevin Smith, and elected a secretary, Jeff Webb, who is needed to sign documents. After a long discussion, they approved the payment of $10,700 to a company for assistance in rebidding the brick-street project. They approved a spending plan for 2024, something new that they must do to comply with State regulations. They discussed having a consultant or lawyer research their TIF areas. JCEDO had suggested that the Commission support a facade grant program to encourage downtown business owners to improve the attractiveness of the downtown. At this meeting they gave details of what they wanted. The program would give grants between $5,000 and $25,000 to business owners for exterior improvements. The owner would have to match the grant 50-50 and would only receive the funds when the project was completed. Grants would be given out four times a year and the total for any quarter would be $25,000 or less. The Commission took the matter under advisement.

Finally, the Commission decided that the normal times for future meetings would be the first Monday of the month at 5:00 pm.

A big move and lots of pictures

 Moving the engine

On Monday the workers from Barnhart began the process of pulling the last of the generating engines from the power plant. They began by closing the street and installing two rails.

I did not wait around to see what happened next, but an hour and a half later most of the engine was out and the workers were done for the day.

One reason they did not finish getting the engine out is that they needed to widen the hole a little. They did that with a sledge hammer on Tuesday morning.

I left and when I came back an hour later the engine was out of the building and a large crane had arrived to turn it. The rails were on a turntable, and after the section of the rails that went into the building was removed, the engine was rotated.

I missed the actual rotation. When I next stopped by, the engine had been rotated, but not by 90 degrees.

By Tuesday evening the rotation was complete and a trailer had arrived for the engine. the trailer looks like two flatbeds hooked together, each with six axles. There were two jacks on each side of the engine and my guess is that they will raise the engine so the trailer can be rolled under it.

The engine is scheduled to leave town Wednesday.

Art battle

An Art Battle was among the activities at the Art in the Alley event on Saturday. There were six artists who participated, all from Indiana. The artists painted on sheets of plywood, beginning in the morning and finishing before judging in the afternoon. Two awards were given, a people's choice award and a judges' award.

Below is the entry for local resident Ryan Preston. Ryan plays an important role behind the scenes for the murals. He prepares the walls for the muralists.

Rein Bontreger painted a tied-dyed dinosaur. This may have been what he intended to paint when he asked to paint something in Iroquois Park.

I am not sure what Trent Musch painted.

Nick Abstract, who participated in mural week, painted this colorful abstract design.

The artist now going by the name suredidit painted murals in Rensselaer in the past but not this year. Then he was going by the tag metabyte. I was told that he changed his tag because Facebook changed its corporate name to meta.

Local artist Addy Cain did these sunflowers.

Who were the winners? The people's choice award and $800 went to Addy Cain and the $1000 judges prize went to Nick Abstract. Rein Bontreger came in second in both votes.

I had hoped that more of the artists who did murals for mural week would have participated, but they were exhausted from their week of painting in hot, humid weather. Several were still finishing up on Saturday.

I met the artists who did murals in Wheatfield. There will be a celebration of the murals on Saturday. There were a few Wheatfiel residents who were unhappy with the results but I did not get a complete story as to why.

Parking lot pictures

Most of the senior parking spaces for this coming school year have been painted. I may have missed a few and may have included some that were left over from last year.