• RECYCLING DAY: Saturday, April 22 is Electronics Recycling Day in Jasper County. Residents can bring their unwanted electronics to two locations, including the Jasper County Highway Department/DeMotte Annex at 11850 North 500 West in DeMotte (behind the Face Center) and the Rensselaer Street Department at 820 E. Walnut St. This will be a drive-through event, which will be held rain or shine.
• MEMORY GARDENS SPRING CLEANING: Memory Gardens Cemetery of Rensselaer began spring cleaning on Monday March 6. All decorations will be removed. New decorations may be placed May 26, the Friday before Memorial Day. If you have any questions or to request special exceptions, please call 219-866-5125.
• LIFEGUARD CLASSES: The Rensselaer Central High School will be the site of American Red Cross Lifeguard classes on April 15, April 29 and May 6. For more information, contact Angie Tomlinson at 219-863-8632 or Lisa Houston at 219-866-7428.
• SWIM CLINIC: A swim clinic for kids 8-10 will be held at the Rensselaer Central High School pool on April 17-28. The clinic will feature 10 40-minute sessions and the cost is $65 per swimmer. Registration forms have been distributed to local elementary schools for those who wish to sign up.
• TOWN WIDE SALE: Rensselaer residents who may not have a town location to set up their yard sales on town wide garage sale day on April 29 can reserve a spot at the Jasper County Fairgrounds this year. The cost is $25 for two days, Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29. For more information, contact Judy Chernowsky at 219-964-5683.
• BINGO: The Jasper County Fair Association will hold bingo at the fairgrounds on Sunday, March 19 at 3 p.m., with doors to open at 2 p.m. Anyone 18 years or older can participate and the cost for early tickets is $25. Tickets at the door will be $30.
• ST. PATTY DINNER: The Rensselaer Moose Lodge at 1345 N. McKinley Ave. will hold a corned beef and cabbage dinner on Friday, March 17 from 5-7 p.m. The cost is $12 for adults and $6 for kids 3-12.
• GOLF OUTING: The Greater Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce golf outing is set for Friday, May 19 at Curtis Creek Golf Club. There will be gift baskets for longest drive and longest putt. Proceeds from the event will help provide funds for the city’s Christmas parade and painted windows downtown during the holidays.
• FISH/PORK CHOP DINNER: The Jasper County Fair Association will hold a fundraising fish and pork chop dinner for the community on Saturday, March 18 from 5-7 p.m. at the county fairgrounds. The dinner costs $12 for adults and $7 for kids ages 6-12. Dinner will be provided by Remington Poultry and Catering.
• FAIR LOGO CONTEST: A contest to create a logo for the 100th anniversary of the Jasper County Fair is currently underway. The fair will be celebrating 100 years in 2024 and members of the community are invited to participate in the contest. There is no entry fee and only one entry design submission per contestant will be allowed. Each entry must include “Jasper County,” “Rensselaer, IN,” and the centenary year of “1924-2024.” Entries must be submitted at jcfalogo@icloud.com with “Subject Logo” attached. No entries will be accepted through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Messenger. The deadline for submission is July 1, 2023. Designs will be judged according to originality, visibility (is it eye-catching and visible from a distance?), feasibility (must be easy to reproduce) and incorporates the words as shown above as well as the “1924-2024” time stamp. The winner will receive a t-shirt and entry for one into a grandstand event at this year’s upcoming fair. For more information, email jcfalogo@icloud.com.
• 100TH CELEBRATION OF THE FAIR: JCFA’s 100-year committee is also taking donations for the the fair’s centenary in 2024. Anyone with photos, trophies, memorabilia or items pertaining to the last 100 years of the fair can donate or lend those items for display by the association. All items will be accounted four and returned to the owner if desired. For more information, contact Suzanne Frey at jcfa100collections@gmail.com.
• MUSIC IN THE LOFT: Carpenter Creek Cellars in Remington will be hosting area musicians and groups during its Music In The Loft series, Todd and Robin will perform on March 25 from 2-5 p.m. during Carpenter Creek Cellars’ 10th anniversary and Alex Akers will perform on April 29 from 2-5 p.m. BT Koning will provide music on May 20 from 2-5 p.m. Reserve tickets through Eventbrite.com.
• DINNER FUNDRAISER: The Trailblazers 4-H Club Tack Auction and Chicken Noodle Dinner will be held Sunday, March 5 at the Jasper County Fairgrounds. Dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the public auction to commence at 1 p.m. That auction will be followed by a tack auction, with Brian McDaniel serving as auctioneer. Proceeds from the event will go towards the Trailblazers club. The general auction will include a variety of items, while the tack auction will include saddles, bridles and many kinds of tack and horse-related items. Food and drink concessions will be available for purchase throughout the day. Presale dinner tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under. Tickets at the door are $9 for adults and $6 for kids. Carry-outs will be available.
• LEPC MEETING SCHEDULE: The Local Emergency Planning Committee will meet six times throughout the year, with the first date set for Feb. 9, 2023 via Zoom. The committee will meet again in person for a tabletop exercise on April 13 at 5:30 p.m. and June 8, Aug. 10, Oct. 5 and Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m., CST, each day via Zoom. Access information through Zoom will be supplied as meeting dates draw near.
• OPEN SWIM AT RCHS: The Rensselaer Central High School pool will be open for local residents who want to get in a few laps over the winter months. The cost is $3 per person and the pool will be open from 6-7:30 p.m. on the following dates: Monday, March 6 and Monday, March 20.
• GOLF CARTS REGISTRATION: The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department is accepting applications to register ATV and golf carts so they may be operated on county roads. The new ATV/golf cart ordinance and registration form can be found at www.jaspercountypolice.com. Once the registration form is completed and the $25 fee has been collected at the Jasper County Sheriff’s Annex in DeMotte or the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department in Rensselaer, drivers will then receive a registration sticker to operate their cart on county roads. This registration will work for the remainder of the year and the entire 2023 calendar year. As a reminder, the ATV registered with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office must still be registered with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles to operate on roadways.
• NEW GALLERY HOURS: The Lilian Fendig Gallery and Prairie Arts Council office will have new hours. The gallery and office will be open Tuesdays from 12-4 p.m. and Thursdays from 2-6 p.m. For more information, contact the PAC office at (219) 866-5278.
• MEALS-ON-WHEELS: Meals-On-Wheels low-cost home-delivered meals are now available in Jasper and Newton counties. For more information or to order meal delivery, call (219) 756-3663 or on the web at mownwi.org.
• BE A FIREFIGHTER: The Rensselaer Fire Department Is currently taking applications for volunteer firefighters. No experience is necessary to apply. The department will provide all training and PPE for free. You must be at least 19 years of age, live within six miles of the city limits and have the time to be a dedicated individual. Applications can be picked up at the first station from Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: The Narcotics Anonymous Support Group will meet on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the Nazarene Church Fellowship Hall in Rensselaer. This is a closed meeting. The time is now to listen and share your experiences, strengths and hopes. The group helps people with life’s problems and additions one day at a time.
• BIRTHRIGHT OF RENSSELAER: Birthright of Rensselaer is open at normal capacity at 331 S. College Avenue. The hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Curbside service is still available. For more information, call 866-4555.
• 500 CLUB ENROLLMENT: The Rensselaer 500 Club, Rensselaer’s only Athletic Booster Club, is holding a membership drive. The cost is $60 per year and semi-annual cash drawings are held for cash prizes of $500. Your membership helps support Rensselaer high school and middle school teams, St. Augustine teams, RBI Baseball, SJC Youth Soccer League, Youth Basketball, Summer Swim Team, Pop Warner and more. The club benefits all Rensselaer athletes ages 3-18. For more information or to sign up, go to rensselaer500club@yahoo.com. Also visit the club’s Facebook page.
