I hope you got your fill of fair food this week, so it will tide you over until Street Fair comes. I can’t believe that we are nearing the end of July already. As school gets closer, our summer events start winding down. Next week is the last week for Picnic in the Park. Children aged 18 and under can still receive a free lunch every weekday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Roush Park (925 W. Silver) until July 31. Special thanks to the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan schools for feeding kids this summer!
Once school starts, we lose all our lifeguards, so be sure to squeeze in the last few days of the Wells Community Pool. Pool hours are 1- 6 p.m. daily, weather permitting. Lap Swim is offered Mon., Wed., Fri. (12:00 to 12:50 p.m.) for only $2. We still have a few opportunities to rent the pool for a private party before we open from 10-noon. Call the pool at 824-1550 to schedule. The splash pads will remain open through Labor Day.
Bluffton High School tennis will start picking up practices once school begins, and while their courts are being installed, you may see an increase in use at both sets of our tennis courts. Their schedule will have them at Lions Park on Aug. 2 and 4 from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. They will be at Washington Park on July 31, Aug. 3, 5, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. and have evening practices at Washington Park July 31 to Aug. 5 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Beginning Aug. 7 to Sept. 29, they will have practice on weekday afternoons at Washington Park from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m.
During last Friday’s concert, we honored our volunteer of the year, Tammy Shaffer. The Eugene Edington Memorial Award started back in 2001 to honor the dedicated men and women who generously give their time to serve our community. Two plaques are hanging on the walls of City Hall that include the names of individuals who have given their time and talents to volunteer for the Parks Department.
Tammy has handed out food every Tuesday for years at the Farm Wagon, and she and the Friends of the Shelter group come to all the special events for pets. Not only has Tammy been a blessing to our department, but she has also served 8 years on the Wells County Foundation Board and chaired their marketing committee. She is a board member of the Caylor-Nickel Foundation and is approaching 20 years of service with the Friends of the Shelter.
She served our community with her career as a police officer for 15 years and as Police Chief for 11 years before retiring in 2014. During that time, Tammy was honored with Indiana’s Outstanding Officer of the Year Against Domestic Violence for chairing the Wells County Domestic Violence Task Force; she received the DARE Agency Head Award for the State of Indiana for over 20 years of teaching and supporting Drug abuse resistance education. The Center for Non-Violence also recognized her commitment to ending domestic violence; she was also the first woman to serve as President of the Indiana Association of Chiefs.
Our community is blessed with the number of volunteers who help us out each week with special events, teaching classes, assisting races, and park maintenance. We are also fortunate to live in a town with generous donors who contribute to capital projects and events that keep our concerts and programs free for everyone to enjoy. I know we say it all the time, but Bluffton is a great place to live because of the kind-hearted people in this community. If you see Tammy this week, be sure to give her an extra thanks for all she does.
Have a great week!
