Claypool Plans For Tractor Show; Talks About Grants
Posted
Alaister McFarren-
At its meeting on Tuesday the Claypool Town Council approved a motion to allow a section of Main Street to be blocked from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday for a tractor show.
The show will be hosted by Someplace Else Saloon and Echoes of the Past. EOTP, a Kosciusko-centric organization, is a group that focuses on restoring and showcasing old farm equipment.
Ken Archer, who petitioned the council for the street blockage on behalf of SES and EOTP, estimates that 20 to 25 tractors will be on display. Tractors will be staged at Claypool Elementary School until it is time for the show.
The show itself will start at 11 a.m., and judging will take place between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Archer stated that no alcohol sales will take place during the event, but a food vendor will be selling hotdogs and hamburgers.
Claypool United Methodist Church will be handing out frozen soft drinks and food certificates to their church dinners, as well as providing a bounce house for children to enjoy.
One issue the council inquired about was the lack of restrooms for those too young to enter SES. Per Archer, no plans were set in place as of the meeting, but he said they would either speak with the fire department about possible locations or rent a portable toilet.
The council also talked about the possibility of working with grant writer Lori Shipman of Lori Shipman Consulting. Due to her background in economic development and working with rural communities, Shipman believes that she would be a good fit for working with Claypool to help them fulfill needs.
Of primary interest to the council was gaining grant money for a new utility and police vehicles and the timeframe for requisitioning those funds. Shipman offered her professional opinion that it was “unlikely that they would be able to get the funds for both in the same year through USDA Rural Development, so their best option would likely be to prioritize which vehicle the officers needed most.”
Travis Neff, an attorney at Tuner Valentine LLP, was confirmed as the new town attorney. Neff replaces John Barrett, who recently resigned his position.
Town Marshal Ben Sanders mentioned that Claypool has about $13,000 in unpaid ordinance fines, which Neff will investigate once he settles into his new position.
In other business, the council:
• Purchased a 60-inch ExMark mower for the town cemetery from Bobcat of Warsaw, Inc. for $9,176.49.
• Heard from the Claypool Police Department that 166 service calls were received during the month of May.
• Thanked the CPD for their quick response and administration of CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED), with assistance from Parkview EMS, to save the life of a Silver Lake resident.
• Agreed to replace the Clerk-Treasurer’s 15-year-old printer/scanner with a new model costing $2,084.45.
• Agreed to join the Kosciusko County Economic Development Corporation.
