Wind turbines

spoil landscape

I was raised in Benton County. When I return to visit family, I am saddened by the landscape created by the unbelievable amount of wind turbines that have been erected in the last two years. The wide open spaces are now littered with these ugly structures.

You may have a vision of a grid-like placement of towers as seen on carefully created television advertisements; this is not the case in Benton County. They are rammed into the ground in no such graceful pattern. The only picture that I have seen that is pleasing was taken from the top of one such tower on a foggy morning where only the top of the turbines are seen. The photo reminded me of a science fiction scene; from another planet.

These turbine towers stretch from the east side of the county along Ind. 18 to the west side approximately 20 miles, with even more in the planning stages. Along U.S. 41, north of Boswell, is an area of rolling hills created by glaciers and once inhabited by prairie Native Americans.

These hills will soon be covered with these grotesque towers; ruining the landscape that created a vision of what life was like on the prairie many years ago. Along these Benton County highways there were only telephone poles, barns, homes, and an occasional wooded area; thus allowing an unobstructed view of the horizon in all directions.

I am not filled with awe. I am glad I do not have to see this new landscape every day; it would be too depressing to see my beautiful neighborhood polluted with progress.

Louise Gudas

Winamac



Oh Baby Run

a big success

The Logansport Memorial Hospital Obstetrics Department and the Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation hosted 99 runners and 110 walkers during the recent Oh Baby Run 5K Run and Fun Walk.

Our top three runners were Kiel Lester 19:18, Shanna Bonnell 20:44 and Patrick Rentschler 20:46.

The event raised over $2,500. Proceeds from the 5K run and fun walk will help fund the purchase of a new Obstetrics Central Monitoring System, which simultaneously links mother, baby, nurses and physicians while recording the heartbeat of both mother and baby.

Oh Baby Run was a great success thanks to the efforts of many. LMHF cannot thank the Logansport Memorial Hospital Family Birth Center enough for its dedication to this project. More than 70 volunteers including 40 Ivy Tech students also made the event possible. Event Sponsors included Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation, Logansport Parks and Recreation Department, Ultimate Fitness, Cass County Tire, Fulton County Tire, Logansport Burger King, TJ Smith Photography, Cass County Medical Center, Logansport Memorial Hospital Nursing Staff, Frounfelter Dental Clinic, Ivy Tech Community College, Women’s Health Center of Logansport, EmCare, B&K; West, and Gallahan Oil Company. Race day sponsors included Logansport Memorial Hospital, Cass County EMS, Subway, Papa John’s Pizza, Sonic, McDonald’s of Logansport, Pizza Hut, Arone Hardware, Enfamil, Deans Foods, Culligan Water Conditioning, Mr. Happy Burger, Pairie Farms, Logansport Savings Bank, Security Federal, Kevin Crook Agency, Designer Joe’s Haircare and Nails, Judy’s Good Life, Family Video, Waste Management, Terry Huddleston’s DJ Service, and Dale Turnpaugh’s Special Officers.

Jeremy Ashcraft, coordinator

Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation



Thanks for help

with cleanup

On April 25, Logan’s Landing held a “Downtown Green & Clean Day!” Over 75 volunteers donated a few hours of their time to pick up litter, sweep and generally spruce up our downtown district. We collected six bags of trash, one large bin of recyclables and 40 bags of yard waste! Now that everything is squeaky-clean, it is our hope that downtown business owners and residents will be able to maintain this level of cleanliness, and that our citizens and visitors will take a moment to dispose of trash properly rather than tossing it on the ground.

Special thanks to the following: Logansport Fire Department for donating ice for our refreshment cooler; Dave Thimlar for hauling filled bags to the Depot; Baptist Temple for donating ice water; Cass County Solid Waste Management for lending us recycling bins; Logansport Street Department for free same-day pickup of the mountain of yard waste bags; The Home Depot for donating tools and supplies; and to the League of Women Voters, Civic Players of Logansport, LHS Safe Club, Cass County Arts Alliance, Main Street United Methodist Church Youth Group, Family Opportunity Center, Baptist Temple, the LHS Berryettes, Logansport Historic Preservation Commission, Logan’s Landing board & committee members and numerous individuals for volunteering their time and efforts to make our downtown district an area we can all be proud of.

Let’s all help keep downtown Logansport green and clean!

Becki Harris

Executive director

Logan’s Landing



Building safety

focus of week

America will celebrate Building Safety Week from May 3-9. The theme is “Building Safety: Where You Live, Work and Play.” The Logansport Building Commissioners office is participating this year. First observed in 1980, Building Safety Week annually raises public awareness of critical safety issues affecting every person, regardless of age or occupation. These entail the structural soundness of the buildings where we live and work, reliability of fire prevention and suppression systems, plumbing and mechanical systems, and energy efficiency and sustainability.

Inspectors, plan reviewers and others work to ensure the safety of the structures in which all of us live, work, attend school, worship and play. These officials provide the first line of defense against building disasters. We are silent but vigilant guardians who work daily to ensure safety in the built environment. The Logansport building commissioner’s office has issued 135 building permits, collected $4,719 in fees with a total construction value of $1,556,013.

Local activities during Building Safety Week include a presentation on building safety and the important role the building department plays in keeping them and their families safe, at two local elementary schools. The presentation will be made to Fairview Elementary second-graders at 12:30 p.m. Thursday and to Landis Elementary third-graders at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

A presentation on “Benefits of Building permits and Building Codes,” and “How do they Help,” will be presented to contractors, builders and the general public at a later date. This will be announced as soon as possible.

The best way to find out if you need a permit is to call your local building department. Even if a permit is not needed, the building commissioner will answer construction questions and may provide valuable advice.

Attractive, educational materials are available for schools and the community at large; for example, brochures about flood cleanup, mold prevention, green building and preparing for natural disasters.

Gary L Hostetler

Logansport building commissioner