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Nik Groothuis and father and son, Pete and Matthew Todd strap an unwanted freezer for loading into a Ferrell Gas boom truck donated for use during the Casey In Action appliance pickup held Saturday, Aug. 22. Pete is employed by Ferrell Gas.Two volunteer teams collected 25 appliances, mostly refrigerators, washers, dryers and freezers and hauled them to Kusterman's Scrap Metal, south of Casey, for recycling. Kustermans was open extra hours, especially for this project.The other group, composed of Marsha Lee, Mark Rich and Howard Loftis also collected appliances. Laura Baston compiled a list from call-ins and organized the pickup. Photo by Marcy Shonk
Open House planned to honor CIA and Casey Township  Share
The Casey Senior Social Center will honor the recent accomplishments of Casey in Action and Casey Township at an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at the center, 14 S. Central, Casey. The CIA Downtown Cleanup Action Team, led by Danelle Ledley, recently completed its first downtown facelift of the center, owned by Casey Township. CIA provided volunteer labor to replace and repair windows on the three-story building, painted the exterior and cleaned up the second and third stories, both unused. The township board originally pledged half of the materials cost, to be matched by community donors. As the project progressed, the board decided to cover the cost of materials and CIA's donations will be used in future projects. Other businesses and organizations, including JJet and First Neighbors Bank, assisted with equipment, food and labor. Ledley reported at the CIA's Aug. 13 meeting that one more window needs repaired and that the interior second story windows and exterior third story windows need caulked. Anyone who has tools onsite from the project, should pick them up at the Sept. 3 CIA meeting. Also during the Aug. 13 meeting, the group heard that the City of Casey has invited CIA teams to hold fundraisers during its Aug. 22 Customer Appreciation Day. So far, the Playground team is set to sell their purple and gold umbrellas and the Animal Shelter team will be on hand to sell pet memorial markers, take donations and offer vaccination information.
It was announced that the city has received a $240,000 Safe Route to Schools grant. This grant will provide sidewalks to Monroe School, as well as a bicycling and walking path in the park. (See related story). CIA is getting quotes on liability insurance and may be able to gain coverage from the Casey Rotary Club. The 501 3C federal non-profit status application has been submitted by Cara Honselman, attorney working pro bono for the CIA. It was discussed that as the application is pending, donations can be claimed as tax exempt for the year, but that should the status be denied, donors would need to file an amended return. The CIA had agreed at the previous meeting to assume sponsorship of the National Road Festival. A separate CIA National Road Festival Facebook page has been setup and interested parties are encouraged request membership. Group reports included: - Downtown Cleanup -- downtown trash cans will be moved away from the buildings to more visible locations and the areas will be monitored for litter problems to determine if additional receptacles are warranted. New plaques will be ordered for the downtown benches. The current ones are fading from sun exposure. An etched version is being considered. - Citywide Cleanup - the used appliance pickup is set for Aug. 22. Pete Todd and a church youth group will assist. Contact has been made to schedule an Environmental Protection Agency used tire collection, and attempts will be made to also schedule an EPA hazardous material collection, perhaps at the county level. - Entrance Sign - The Welcome to Casey sign, as first proposed by Eleanor Markwell, has the go ahead. City Attorney Sarah Holsapple Miller will draft an agreement between the property owner and the city, which will establish city ownership and maintenance responsibility. - Animal Shelter - efforts for foster care and adoption continue in the pet rescue efforts. The group has several fundraising events underway, with the pet memorial markers, crafts and events. They meet next Monday, Aug. 17. An adoption day will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29. - The Playground Action Team is in need of volunteers to help with fundraising events. Future participation includes the Pictures in the Park, Warrior BBQ (if approved) Popcorn Festival, a September cookout at Martin's IGA, and CIA Harvest Festival. A bid of $3,276 has been obtained from Greg Haas to make the existing playground structure (at the west gate) ADA compliant. Poured rubber surfacing around the structure would cost $32,378. The group received a $710.56 donation from the First Christian Church Vacation Bible School. They also plan to meet with City Park Director Debbie Hutton and the council's park committee. CIA meets next at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 at the Casey Senior Social Center. Sharon Durham is a staff reporter for the Casey Reporter.
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