Jasper Announces Pirates of the Patoka Fun Fest

Jasper’s Board of Public Works and Safety was hard at work Monday morning with a calendar bursting with events and city updates that residents can look forward to in the coming months. 

The End Alzheimer’s Softball game will be held on Saturday, Sept 21 st at the Men’s Softball Field. Hosted by DC Multisports, The Heartland Half Marathon, 5k, and Team Challenge will also be on the 21 st at 7am at Jasper’s Downtown Square. The Kids’ Fun Run will be on Friday, September 20 th . 

Also on September 21 st , the Pirates of Patoka Fun Fest will include a variety of events. Attendees can enjoy a Geocaching Scavenger Hunt, a kids’ pirate craft at the Cultural Center, Spirit of Jasper Pizza and Beer Train Rides, Puzzles and Padlocks experiences, a Beard Contest, Storybook Walk, and the Wood Capital Open disc golf tournament. Other pirate-themed events include The Pirate Chowdown on September 5 th , The Pirate Pub Crawl on September 14 th , and the Pirate Shop and Sip on September 18 th . 

Pluck-a-Duck, this year’s duck race, will be held by the downtown swings during the Shop and Sip event on October 16 th . Downtown Running’s annual Turkey Trot 5k will be held on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28 th from 8 to 10 am. The race, which benefits Girls on the Run and the Greater Downtown Jasper Business Association, will begin and end at Downtown Running on Main Street. The board approved road closures for the route from 6:30 am to approximately 10 am. 

The board approved several items related to maintenance projects on the city’s schedule. The Mill Street water main replacement project will extend from 9 th to 15 th Street. The board approved closures on Mill Street on a block to block basis as each section of the road is worked on. It is expected take 2 to 3 months in total to complete the project, with approximately 2 weeks of work per block. Residents will be notified door to door and they will have access to the road during the evenings. Closures will impact access during work day hours. 

For the Downtown project’s Phase 2, the board approved a closure on Main Street from 3 rd to 5 th Street beginning August 26 th . Demolition is expected to begin on September 3 rd . The first part of Phase 2, involving the South side, is expected to be complete by Thanksgiving. The second part of Phase 2 for the North portion of the project will commence after the first of the year. A 50/50 sidewalk project was also approved on the east side of Cabby O’Neill Gym and the west side of Seymour Street between 6 th and 7 th Streets. 

Director of Community Development and Planning Josh Gunselman provided a reminder that vehicles like cars, trucks, and trailers cannot park on grass or in yards. Gunselman said that they do need to be parked on an improved surface, for a variety of safety reasons. He said that the department has not had the schedule availability to fully enforce this in the past, but that they will be working to communicate this requirement to those whose vehicles are not parked appropriately. The initial contact would be a courtesy notice, as the department would like to work with residents to correct the issue and remove the safety hazards. 

City Attorney Renee Kabrick updated the board that the contract with GOGov has been renegotiated, resulting in a reduction in the annual increase amount from 5% to 3%. In addition, Kabrick gave an update on a project that included identifying underutilized parks, particularly those with equipment that is not in good condition. As these would require financial investment to be put in good order, some of these parks could be decommissioned. For some of these properties, the maintenance of the parks reverted back to original owners. The board identified the State Police Post Park as one of these underutilized parks. The play equipment was removed, but the property houses technology infrastructure for the State Police tower. The board approved an MOU stating that the State Police Post would take over maintenance of the property and would continue a discussion of a lease or sale of the property in the future.


For more information on these and other updates, visit jasperindiana.gov or JasperGov-Indiana on Facebook.


- Drew Hasselbring