My Great Basin Wildlife Safari
3 months ago
This blog reports events and interesting tidbits from Rensselaer, Indiana and the surrounding area.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Some church news
The First Christian Church is about to get a new roof.
A couple weeks ago the Trinity United Methodist church had some roof repairs. Water was getting in and damaging the brickwork.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
An announcement and other things to end the week
Embers had a special event to make a special announcement. The entertainment for the event was provided by Milton and Carsie Blanton, both shown here for the one song they did together.
Between sets those in attendance went outside for the special announcement. The light and clouds were awesome. The storm had passed and the trailing edges of the dark clouds were light with sunlight.
We gathered in the event tent that had been set up for a wedding reception last weekend and had a glass of champagne. The news was that the Musches, the owners of Embers, have purchased the property next to them, which was Jack's Uptown Service, and are making plans to repurpose the building. Exactly what the building will become is still a secret, but in response to my questions, I was told that it will be awesome.
Lots of other things are happening, too many to put in individual posts. The County Fair starts today. Yesterday I stopped by to check it out. The Pioneer Village area of the Historical Society has gotten fresh paint and some repairs.
The dog show is always held the day before the other animals arrive--the dogs do not mix well with other animals. Here members of the queens court serve as obstacles to see how well the dog follows its owner.
I was impressed at how well the kids followed orders. The dogs did well, too.
The campgrounds looked almost full of the trailers and campers that make the fairgrounds home for the week. Many of the 4H exhibits have already been judged, but the building was not open for a sneak preview. Lafayette Tent and Awning had set up the tents they rented and many of the other temporary structures were in place. John Deere was moving vehicles from their lot to the fairgrounds. There is a lot of work to putting on a county fair.
Dirt is being moved for the new fire station.
At SJC the faded signs on the Recreation Center were being repainted.
I noticed this sprayer as I was on Sparling Avenue and was amazed at how long the spray arms are.
Between sets those in attendance went outside for the special announcement. The light and clouds were awesome. The storm had passed and the trailing edges of the dark clouds were light with sunlight.
The campgrounds looked almost full of the trailers and campers that make the fairgrounds home for the week. Many of the 4H exhibits have already been judged, but the building was not open for a sneak preview. Lafayette Tent and Awning had set up the tents they rented and many of the other temporary structures were in place. John Deere was moving vehicles from their lot to the fairgrounds. There is a lot of work to putting on a county fair.
Dirt is being moved for the new fire station.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Ribbon Cutting at Royal Oak Family Restaurant
On Thursday the Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon cutting for the newly opened Royal Oak Family Restaurant in the building that was formerly Ricos.
The owner was once a partner in the Harvest Time Restaurant in Monticello but is not longer part of that business.
The floor plan is considerably different from what it had been as Rico's. The bar area, which you cannot see in this photo but is in the back and to the left, will be a room for special events. The kitchen area has been enlarged and occupies some of what had been seating when it was Rico's. My memories of Rico's are a bit vague because it I only ate there a few times and not in the last few years it was open, but it seems to me that this front area was divided and the part nearest the camera was a separate room.
Unlike many of the readers of this blog, I have not eaten there yet and am not sure when I will. However, even if I had tasted their food, I would not give a food review--food reviews are not something I feel comfortable doing.
The floor plan is considerably different from what it had been as Rico's. The bar area, which you cannot see in this photo but is in the back and to the left, will be a room for special events. The kitchen area has been enlarged and occupies some of what had been seating when it was Rico's. My memories of Rico's are a bit vague because it I only ate there a few times and not in the last few years it was open, but it seems to me that this front area was divided and the part nearest the camera was a separate room.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Alcohol Beverage Board and County Council
There was a notice in the window of the newly opened Royal Oak Family Restaurant last week that said that the restaurant was applying for a liquor license and that there would be a meeting on the matter on Tuesday. Since I had never been to a meeting of the Alcohol Beverage Board, I decided to go.
I was surprised that Royal Oak was not the only agenda item. Rather there were eight items on the agenda, six of them renewals. I learned at the meeting that the renewals were automatic if there were no violations or citizen complaints. That left two new license requests. The first was from Burrito Jalisco Mexican Restaurant in DeMotte and the second was from Royal Oak. The Board consisted of three local people, one appointed by the City of Rensselaer, another by the County Commissioners, and the third by the County Council, plus a lady who works for the state Tobacco and Alcohol Commission. They had the applicants for new licenses swear that what they had put on their applications was correct. The big concern seemed to be selling liquor to minors. They were told to card anyone who might be underage and that there would be compliance checks. Royal Oak did not have a current floor plan, so they will not get a final inspection until they fax one in.
Checking the Internet, I found that this Board meets monthly at 10:00 on the second Tuesday of the month. The meetings are in the city council chambers.
(Royal Oak will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday at 11:00 am.)
The main business of the County Council was reviewing and renewing tax abatements for six companies: Wilson Industrial Sales, Terborg Distributing, Remington Seeds, IBEC, Advanced Auto, and Monsanto. All were approved.
Wilson Sales purchased Ulyat Trucking of Remington last year and is keeping their facilities. They added two mechanics at the Ulyat location to service all their trucks. Advanced Auto continues to have trouble filling all their positions. They increased wages by about 17%. 27.5% of their employees live in Jasper County, but like the other companies located in Remington, they draw workers from White, Newton, and Tippecanoe Counties. Advanced Auto has acquired Car Quest and the Remington facility serves 475 stores. They have changed their work week to seven days and workers work four days per week.
Three of the companies will be affected by the awful corn harvest. Both Monsanto and Remington Seeds have fields in other locations that will offset the bad harvests locally. IBEC said that a greater problem than the poor local harvest is that there is an overproduction of ethanol nationwide and that keeps the price of the product low. The Remington Seed representative said that they have had to abandon some of the local fields because they were so badly affected. However, he said that they had met all the commitments they made when they were granted the abatement.
Sheriff Risner addressed the Council about the communications problems caused by the rebanding of emergency frequencies. The sheriffs department relies on a tower west of Monon for 800 megahertz service and it does not reach into the northern part of the state. He mentioned that in the last few days there was a shooting south of DeMotte and his deputies were conducting a search for an armed man with virtually no communications. He has been negotiating to use a tower a bit northeast of Aix and he now has a quote for a turnkey installation. He was giving the Council background information and perhaps in their August meetings they will act on it.
Finally, the president of the Council reported on a state meeting for council members that he had attended. He said that other county councils had similar frustrations as the Jasper County Council, especially regarding the way that the state resets county budgets in a seemingly arbitrary fashion.
The picture today is from Potawatomie Park showing the arbor vitae trees on the south end of the park. Note the line indicating how high the flood waters rose. Also, some of the trees recently planted in the park seem to have been killed by the water, in particular, several of the yellowood.
I was surprised that Royal Oak was not the only agenda item. Rather there were eight items on the agenda, six of them renewals. I learned at the meeting that the renewals were automatic if there were no violations or citizen complaints. That left two new license requests. The first was from Burrito Jalisco Mexican Restaurant in DeMotte and the second was from Royal Oak. The Board consisted of three local people, one appointed by the City of Rensselaer, another by the County Commissioners, and the third by the County Council, plus a lady who works for the state Tobacco and Alcohol Commission. They had the applicants for new licenses swear that what they had put on their applications was correct. The big concern seemed to be selling liquor to minors. They were told to card anyone who might be underage and that there would be compliance checks. Royal Oak did not have a current floor plan, so they will not get a final inspection until they fax one in.
Checking the Internet, I found that this Board meets monthly at 10:00 on the second Tuesday of the month. The meetings are in the city council chambers.
(Royal Oak will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday at 11:00 am.)
The main business of the County Council was reviewing and renewing tax abatements for six companies: Wilson Industrial Sales, Terborg Distributing, Remington Seeds, IBEC, Advanced Auto, and Monsanto. All were approved.
Wilson Sales purchased Ulyat Trucking of Remington last year and is keeping their facilities. They added two mechanics at the Ulyat location to service all their trucks. Advanced Auto continues to have trouble filling all their positions. They increased wages by about 17%. 27.5% of their employees live in Jasper County, but like the other companies located in Remington, they draw workers from White, Newton, and Tippecanoe Counties. Advanced Auto has acquired Car Quest and the Remington facility serves 475 stores. They have changed their work week to seven days and workers work four days per week.
Three of the companies will be affected by the awful corn harvest. Both Monsanto and Remington Seeds have fields in other locations that will offset the bad harvests locally. IBEC said that a greater problem than the poor local harvest is that there is an overproduction of ethanol nationwide and that keeps the price of the product low. The Remington Seed representative said that they have had to abandon some of the local fields because they were so badly affected. However, he said that they had met all the commitments they made when they were granted the abatement.
Sheriff Risner addressed the Council about the communications problems caused by the rebanding of emergency frequencies. The sheriffs department relies on a tower west of Monon for 800 megahertz service and it does not reach into the northern part of the state. He mentioned that in the last few days there was a shooting south of DeMotte and his deputies were conducting a search for an armed man with virtually no communications. He has been negotiating to use a tower a bit northeast of Aix and he now has a quote for a turnkey installation. He was giving the Council background information and perhaps in their August meetings they will act on it.
Finally, the president of the Council reported on a state meeting for council members that he had attended. He said that other county councils had similar frustrations as the Jasper County Council, especially regarding the way that the state resets county budgets in a seemingly arbitrary fashion.
The picture today is from Potawatomie Park showing the arbor vitae trees on the south end of the park. Note the line indicating how high the flood waters rose. Also, some of the trees recently planted in the park seem to have been killed by the water, in particular, several of the yellowood.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
City council meeting July 13, 2015
The first city council meeting of July had some interesting bits.
The meeting began with approval of a gas tracker increase for July that was a fraction of cent. Then the Rensselaer Urban Forest Council approached the council with two requests. First, they wanted the Council to approve $1000 to help create an 18-inch bump-out for an elm tree that is estimated to be 240 years old. It is the big tree by Harley Houghton's dentistry practice across from the post office.
It is the biggest elm in Rensselaer and as the picture shows, it has encroached on the curb. The Rensselaer Urban Forestry Council (RUFC) will provide the concrete for the bump-out and also a plaque recognizing the significance of the tree. The motion was approved.
The second thing the RUFC wanted was to be included in the next budget. They want to be able to plant trees even when they cannot find outside funding. For this year the City Council had approved $1200, but it was not spent because the RUFC found other money. One reason for including the money in the budget is that when the RUFC seeks outside money, the question of community support comes up and money in the budget would indicate support.
The mayor wanted approval to purchase land at the intersection of 850 W and Bunkum Road for a future substation. It would provide a backup connection for both the Interstate area and Rensselaer itself. The motion was approved.
On the topic of substations, it was reported that on Friday a squirrel had gotten into the Banet substation by SJC and shorted out a bunch of equipment, causing a power outage at SJC. There still needs to be a check of the transformer before it is returned to service.
In administrative comments, the mayor noted that it was tradition that the mayor approve one holiday a year. He recommended Friday, September 4 and the Council approved.
The Rock the Arts Festival may not be able to use Potawatomie Park because of saturated soil. A backup plan is to use the city parking lot next to the bowstring arch bridge and also Front Street from Washington to Kellner. The request to approve the street closing, if needed, was approved. The decision of which location will be used will be made the Tuesday before the festival. If the street has to be closed, it will be closed from late Friday until early Sunday.
There were 88 cars registered at the car show on Saturday.
The building inspector has started the legal process on some neglected properties. Actual construction of the new fire station in the form of moving dirt began today.
The city is accepting bids for the water main to I-65 and still working on the paper work needed for the high water treatment plant. Paving of the new road that connects to Gasper Drive has been delayed by the wet weather. The city has installed about 3000 feet of new gas pipeline north of the city. Replacement parts have been installed in the turbine at the power plant that was down but it still needs some testing before it will be back in service.
I mentioned blueberry season had started. At the farm we picked, the early berries on small bushes were ripe. What I found unusual was that virtually all the berries on a bush were ripe. I am used to varieties in which only some of the berries are ripe, so they get picked several times during the season.
Update: The many showers that popped up last night missed Rensselaer. We did not need the rain they produced, but neither did the areas that they hit.
The meeting began with approval of a gas tracker increase for July that was a fraction of cent. Then the Rensselaer Urban Forest Council approached the council with two requests. First, they wanted the Council to approve $1000 to help create an 18-inch bump-out for an elm tree that is estimated to be 240 years old. It is the big tree by Harley Houghton's dentistry practice across from the post office.
The mayor wanted approval to purchase land at the intersection of 850 W and Bunkum Road for a future substation. It would provide a backup connection for both the Interstate area and Rensselaer itself. The motion was approved.
On the topic of substations, it was reported that on Friday a squirrel had gotten into the Banet substation by SJC and shorted out a bunch of equipment, causing a power outage at SJC. There still needs to be a check of the transformer before it is returned to service.
In administrative comments, the mayor noted that it was tradition that the mayor approve one holiday a year. He recommended Friday, September 4 and the Council approved.
The Rock the Arts Festival may not be able to use Potawatomie Park because of saturated soil. A backup plan is to use the city parking lot next to the bowstring arch bridge and also Front Street from Washington to Kellner. The request to approve the street closing, if needed, was approved. The decision of which location will be used will be made the Tuesday before the festival. If the street has to be closed, it will be closed from late Friday until early Sunday.
There were 88 cars registered at the car show on Saturday.
The building inspector has started the legal process on some neglected properties. Actual construction of the new fire station in the form of moving dirt began today.
The city is accepting bids for the water main to I-65 and still working on the paper work needed for the high water treatment plant. Paving of the new road that connects to Gasper Drive has been delayed by the wet weather. The city has installed about 3000 feet of new gas pipeline north of the city. Replacement parts have been installed in the turbine at the power plant that was down but it still needs some testing before it will be back in service.
I mentioned blueberry season had started. At the farm we picked, the early berries on small bushes were ripe. What I found unusual was that virtually all the berries on a bush were ripe. I am used to varieties in which only some of the berries are ripe, so they get picked several times during the season.
Update: The many showers that popped up last night missed Rensselaer. We did not need the rain they produced, but neither did the areas that they hit.
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