Some interesting things from the paper

The week between Christmas and New Years is usually a bit slow, and this year was no exception. However, I did notice several things that were interesting in the Rensselaer Republican.

The first was that the downtown area is a step closer to being designated a historical area. I guess that is a good thing, though our commercial buildings are not exceptional compared to what is in downtowns of other cities our size. We do, however, have an exceptional court house.

The second was a discussion at the city council meeting of the fate of Pump House number 1 in Iroquois Park. The building no longer seems to be used and renovation of the water treatment plant that is behind it for some reason requires that it go. The plan seems to be to move it across College Avenue to where the old Strip Joint building is now. It looks like there is a potential for some 2012 posts.

The city council meeting last week was the last for the mayor and three council members. As the new mayor takes office, I have some unsolicited advice for him: improve communication with the community. It is good for this blog that there is lousy communication because when I see things happening, I can report them and people have a reason to look at this blog. But it is not good for the citizens to be so in the dark as to what is going on. I suggest a mayor's blog. It is easy to do and much easier to access than the way current information is given at the city website. Minutes of all the meetings could be included. Too much of what is on the city website is in pdf format, which is an unfriendly format for casual readers.

The final item that caught my interest was from the Tuesday paper, a response given by Jasper County Council member Gerrit DeVries to the reporting of the county income tax increase. I thought this answer in the middle of the piece was interesting:

Large corporations such as [NIPSCO, Wal-Mart, ConAgra and Monsanto] do not pay any income tax. Yet, when these new LOITs [Local Option Income Tax] were implemented in 2007, the decision was made to grant the property tax relief from LOIT B as 100 percent distributed to all property owners. So, in spite of corporations paying no income tax, they share in that relief. Their property tax responsibility is being subsidized by Jasper County wage-earners.

It is worthwhile to read the whole thing. And next time we elect members to the County Council, ask the candidates about taxes and whether it really is good that we have so much of the tax burden on income and so little on property. (See previous posts here and here.)

(I would provide links to the paper, but have you ever tried to access the paper online?)

New stop, new shop

I noticed a new stop sign at the corner of Sparling and Kannal. Last time I was there it was a two-way stop, with no stop on Sparling. Now it is a four-way stop. It may take some getting used to.

On Monday people were moving stuff into the back half of the Horton Building. Today I stopped in the SPAW and asked who their new neighbors would be. The owner said that it would be a consignment shop.

I probably should use a consignment shop to get rid of an old six-inch reflector telescope that I have. I have not used it for years and it takes up a lot of room. I think the mirror is still good, but I have not checked it. Anyone want some adventures with the stars?

I noticed that the third floor of the Oddfellow Building now is home to Performance Nation, a dance studio. They seem to have been there for about a year, but I had not noticed them.

Update: I see on the city's website that the status of the Blacker Park Complex Project, a 60-acre sports complex, is "ongoing." I have never heard of this project. What and where is it?

Is it gone already?

On Monday afternoon I noticed a Christmas tree on the side of the street. Some people are now finished with Christmas and ready to move on to the next holiday. I prefer to savor the season a while. I find January and February bleak, so extending the Christmas season into January is a good thing. The weather has cooperated--we have our Christmas snow this morning, a couple days late--a white post-Christmas. (The kids may enjoy it, but I hope we will be back to boring brown by the end of the day.)

Traditionally the twelve days of Christmas are the days between Christmas and Epiphany, which is January 6th. The stores, though, are eager to push out the Christmas merchandise so they can get ready for the next holiday, Valentine's Day.

Merry Christmas

Have a wonderful Christmas.

Still renovating

Construction, or rather renovation continues at the Jasper County Hospital. There is nothing happening on the outside, but the inside continues to be a mess. A few weeks ago the reception room was blocked off. Now when you enter the hospital, you can get to the reception desk and the reception room, but a few feet down the hallway there is a wall of plastic.

The south entrance, the entrance that was originally the main entrance, is also blocked off. The sign says that starting Monday, August 1, the south entrance will be closed for several weeks. Many weeks might have been more informative, though perhaps it has been open in the time since. MOW Drivers have nothing to do with Maintenance of Way. They are Meals on Wheels drivers.

The hospital web site gives an update on the current phase of renovation.

On a happy note, yesterday was the winter solstice. That means days are going to start getting longer!!!