Bits & Pieces

Thoughts on subjects - big and small.

By Rhonda Westfall

The 'Big Crane': Anyone who has driven into St. Johns in the past week has to be curious about the 'big crane' that looms above the tree-line of the city.

Reaching 230 feet when fully extended, it's no wonder the crane has more than a few folks 'craning' their necks in the vicinity of the under-construction Clinton County Courthouse.

Watching the monster crane pick up huge beams of structural support steel and daintily drop them into place is really quite a sight to behold.

Courthouse: It's impossible to visualize how immense the Courthouse will be when it's completed sometime early in 2000 - but, having steel work in progress does help a bit.

What we saw last week in the "Big Hole" was the shell of the second story taking shape. Remember - this the finished product rises four stories above ground level with a fifth sub-level floor.

This is a HUGE building. It will dwarf every other building on the Courthouse Square.

City of St. Johns: We'll be closely watching the development of several issues that came before the St. Johns City Commission last week.

1. The city is actively working with a prospect who is interested in purchasing US-27 frontage at the St. Johns Industrial Park for the construction of a hotel and unattached conference/banquet center. The hotel would be in the 60-room range, and the conference center could seat upwards of 300 persons.

2. Very, very preliminary plans for an indoor ice arena were floated by a group of area residents representing the St. Johns Ice Skating Association. A rough cost estimate of $700,000 for the building was part of the discussion.

You can expect to hear lots more about both issues.

City/School Meeting: Speaking of meetings, the City of St. Johns and St. Johns Board of Education are planning a joint meeting March 29, beginning at 7 p.m, at City offices. The two entities have held joint meetings in the past - and we commend their efforts to maintain and improve the lines of communication between both groups.

Working together in a cooperative fashion benefits everyone. Nurenberg auction: This is really none of my business, but I couldn't help but wonder what city folks thought about all the pick-up trucks - and accompanying farmer-types - who flooded Townsend Road and adjacent city streets last Thursday for the auction at the Nurenberg farm.

As a "country gal," the sights and sounds of a farm auction are not unfamiliar - but I'd be willing to bet it raised a few eyebrows in the neighborhood.

Sleeping Bear: It's a good thing that the PBS Pledge Drive in support of Channel 23 doesn't run throughout the year - how would anyone get any work done at night? Although The Newshour with Jim Lehrer is "must-see TV" every night as are other regular features, the special programming for Channel 23's Pledge Drive has been particularly enjoyable - and entertaining.

"The Legend of Sleeping Bear" which aired last Tuesday evening was a special treat. Watching the video animation of the children's book based on the Objiway legend and illustrated by local artist, Gijsbert 'Nick' VanFrankenhuyzen, was a teary experience - I cried through the whole story. It was a "good" kind of cry, though.

If you didn't catch the showing, you might want to keep track of television listings and watch it the next time it airs.

An interesting web site that outlines the book and the legend is located at www:sleepingbearpress.com/legend.html

This is an interactive site with audio of Jeff Daniels reading portions of the book - and of course Nick's gorgeous illustrations.

St. Johns Indy: Speaking of excellent web sites, I'm going to break an unwritten code of conduct and do a little self-promotion. The local news web site, The St. Johns Independent, will celebrate its Second Anniversary in a couple of months - and we think it's better than ever.

Much of the credit goes to Jean Martin, of course. This web page wizard creates eye-catching Indy layouts week after week. Of special interest to many folks are the beautiful color photographs of school events which appear on a regular basis - this week's feature photos of the symphonic and conert band students are spectacular.

The St. Johns Independent address is www:sjindy.com

Give it a look.