By GLEN WERLING
Three of the five dates for the Archbold-Wilson Memorial Park concert series have been filled.
Ossian-Jefferson Township Park Board members Meagan Luce, Tim Rohr and Gary Guenin learned from Ossian Town Manager Luann Martin Monday night that in addition to Hubie Ashcraft June 11, the country singer John McRae has been booked for Aug. 13 and “Whoa, Man,” a band that celebrates iconic women of rock, will close out the concert series Oct. 8.
Potential July 9 and Sept. 10 performance dates remain open. The concerts are held the second Saturday of every month from June through October.
Two of the concerts have a sponsor. Anyone who might be interested in sponsoring a concert should contact Martin at the Ossian Town Hall at 260-622-4251.
The board members also learned from Martin that a backboard that will not fit a pole could result in Archbold-Wilson Memorial Park getting its own basketball court.
Martin informed park board members that the pole at the Melching Park basketball court will not fit the 60-inch backboard that the parks department has in storage. Therefore, on Monday night, she sought and received permission to purchase a 54-inch backboard directly from Spalding sporting equipment at a cost of $150. The board replaces one that was vandalized last year.
Since the parks department has had the 60-inch board for awhile, Martin suggested that she explore the price of purchasing a pole for the skate park at Archbold-Wilson and convert that pad into a basketball half-court.
Unfortunately, Guenin observed, the skateboarders are more interested in using the Archbold-Wilson Event Center for skateboarding than they are the skateboard park.
The board agreed to Martin’s suggestion and asked her to look into the price of setting a pole that will fit the 60-inch backboard for Archbold-Wilson.
The board members also agreed to recommend to the Ossian Town Council that Jared Kurtz fill the vacancy created when Ashley Harmon chose not to seek reappointment to the board.
The board also approved renewing a contract with Aquatic Management of Bluffton for maintenance of the pond at Archbold-Wilson for 2022. The price has gone up about $150 from last year to $1,020 this year.
The board members also waived the rental fee for the event center to permit the Ossian Elementary Parent Teacher Organization to use the pavilion for a movie night fundraiser Friday, May 13. The fee was also waived for the First Baptist Church of Ossian to use the pavilion Sunday, June 12 for a church service and dinner for the church’s missionaries. Both events will be open to the public.
Martin’s only update on the baseball leagues in town is the two groups organizing leagues seem to be working well together on scheduling use times for the diamonds.
glenw@news-banner.com
