This and that …: A Wednesday edition
WL sees growth, plans to expand wastewater plant. Heads up: Fireworks Saturday at Ross-Ade. Celebrity softball at Loeb for Joyful Journey. WL Library prepping for grand re-opening. And more.
Thanks this morning to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for support to help make this edition of the Based in Lafayette reporting project possible.
I have a ton in my notebook, itching to get out, but time out reporting ate me up Tuesday. So, for now, how about a little of this and that for a Wednesday. Thanks for subscribing …
EXPANSION PLANS FOR WEST LAFAYETTE WASTEWATER PLANT: With a rush of new activity at Purdue’s Discovery Park District – a $1.8 billion SkyWater Technology semiconductor plant announced in July, among it – West Lafayette’s wastewater treatment plant has capacity to handle the anticipated added load, Dave Henderson, the city’s utility director, said. But he told the city’s board of works it was a good time to study expansion of the plant, as industry came on line and the city drew more people to work in the facilities on the western edge of Purdue. On Tuesday, the city entered a $60,000 agreement with Indianapolis-based Wesler Engineering to do that.
ABOUT THOSE FIREWORKS YOU’RE GOING TO HEAR SATURDAY AT ROSS-ADE: Purdue gave West Lafayette a heads up to expect a short burst of fireworks at 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Ross-Ade Stadium for the end of the annual Boiler Gold Rush orientation program for new students, West Lafayette Police Deputy Chief David VanVactor told the city’s board of works Tuesday. Classes start Monday on the West Lafayette campus. (And if you haven’t been near campus lately, move-in has started in earnest in near-campus neighborhoods. As usual, keep a heads up on the city’s one-way streets. We were all new around here at some point.)
FEW VICTORY LAPS AFTER SB1: Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, a reporter with the Indiana Capital Chronicle, had an interesting take in the week or so since the Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1, Indiana’s near-total ban on abortion, set to go into effect Sept. 15. She tracked the abundance of official news releases from Indiana House Republicans after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June (69% of them) compared to those issued after SB1 was approved Aug. 5 (3%). The story did differentiate between the official statements from the House Republican caucus pages and the comments from House members to local media outlets. (Example: The Greater Lafayette delegation was consistent in answering calls here for comments on progress during the special session, including after the final votes, in this Based in Lafayette piece. The exception: State Sen. Brian Buchanan, a Lebanon Republican who represents much of Lafayette and eastern Tippecanoe County.) For Muñiz’s piece, here’s a link.
THE FATE OF INCOME SHARE AGREEMENTS, PURDUE AND BEYOND: Purdue has been turned out as the poster child for income share agreement woes, with graduates lining to question whether the “Back a Boiler” financial aid they signed up for was really worth it as they start to fork over part of their early-career paychecks to the alternative loan program. Federal regulators have taken notice. And schools are starting to retreat – including Purdue, where the income share agreement program is on pause. This week in Wired, reporter Steven Yoder had a closer look at the ISA situation and where it could be heading. Here’s the story in Wired.
THEIR MAN, MITCH: IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange interviewed a pair of former aides to then-Gov. Mitch Daniels about a new political action committee they formed recently, trying to get Daniels to run for governor, again, in 2024, after he steps down as president of Purdue at the end of 2022. The name of the PAC: “Frugal Hoosiers for Mitch 2024.” Daniels wasn’t taking the bait at this point. Here’s a link to Lange’s story, posted Tuesday.
WEST LAFAYETTE PUBLIC LIBRARY GRAND RE-OPENING: The West Lafayette Public Library’s $11 million expansion and remodeling project will be on display during a grand re-opening from 1-1:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, on the new Chauncey Street Plaza, just outside the library, 208 W. Columbia St. The library will host tours from 2-6 p.m. that day. Parking will be available in the library’s parking garage at Chauncey and Columbia streets and at West Lafayette City Hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave. For more information, here’s a link.
IVY TECH’S COMMUNITY JOB FAIR: Ivy Tech Community College, 3101 S. Creasy Lane, and WorkOne will hold a Lafayette Community Employment Fair from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, in Ivy Hall on the Lafayette campus. Among the sponsors: Caterpillar, Evonik, Nanshan, Summers Heating and Cooling, Star City Broadcasting, Kirby Risk, Radian Research, Wabash, FBI Buildings, Walleneius Wilhelmsen Solutions and Oscar Winski. According to Ivy Tech, other companies, many conducting on-site interviews, will have jobs available in manufacturing, business, health care, hospitality, law enforcement, child development, banking, agriculture, media and therapeutic massage.
JOYFUL JOURNEY CLASSIC: Joyful Journey will host its first celebrity softball game and home run derby from 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette’s Columbian Park. The home run derby starts at 12:30 p.m., with $20 entries still being taken for a contest featuring a $200 prize. The celebrity game starts at 3 p.m. Admission: Pay what you wish, with proceeds going to Joyful Journey, an adult day center that supports people with Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related conditions. For more details, advance tickets or to sign up for the home run derby, go to: https://joyfuljourneywl.org/celebrity-softball-charity-classic-lafayette-in/
Thanks, again, to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for helping make this edition of the Based in Lafayette reporting project happen.
Tips or story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com. Also on Twitter and Instagram.
RE the wastewater plant piece. All this grown and expansion means more asphalt, concrete, and rooftops replacing natural/agricultural vegetation. We are planting the seeds for a heat island, and I see no official comment on how this is being mitigated. I doubt that it is. Planting a tree in a parking lot kinda doesn't count.
When it comes to water/wastewater in West Lafayette, the real question is can their residents afford it.
Bernie Kroll