By LINDON DODD
I took a trip by time traveling last week and thought I would share some of my local Clark County travel photos from 20 years in the future.
(click) ... This is a picture of the Army Ammunition Plant in the year 2029. Look at the Cooperstown Baseball Complex. Over there is Galligan field and right next to that is the Tom Galligan press box where the talk seemingly never stops. The most popular feature is the Wilder restroom facility. Since the new sewer capability has not caught up with increased demand it is a septic system. Due to the crowds being drawn during the summer play a pumping truck is a familiar sight as the Wilder facility always seems to be full of it!
(click) ... I stopped in at a school board meeting and snapped a photo of 87 year-old School Superintendent Dr. Stephen Dasechner who was signing his 16th one-year contract option for a reported $1 million per year. This was a bonus offer for the 2 percent increase in ISTEP scoring that was measured over the last 20 years. The biggest difference in the contract terms was that now Dr. D requires a 31⁄2 hour window each afternoon in order to be able to cover the distance of his daily bicycling route. School Board trustee Christina Gilkey was the lone nay vote stating she supported the contract extension but thought having to raise the now $875,000 for the part of the salary not in the budget from private sources was not a prudent move considering the board’s finances.
(click) ... In other school board business, I took a snapshot of the board unanimously voting to not replace the lone dozen teachers left on the Greater Clark County School System payroll. It was decided that gym/physical fitness could now be taught to the kids over the laptop with a Jane Fonda Wii workout video. The board also agreed to extend the Stars Program for another year.
(click) .. Jeffersonville City Council member Barbara Wilson, now the longest serving local public servant in the history of the United States, is shown here being sworn in for yet another Council term. Barbara’s platform will remain as being sworn to be the most progressive city council member. Lt. Gov. Ron Grooms drove in for the ceremony explaining that Republican Gov. Tony Bennett was tied up with the new education reform he was attempting to get through the legislature.
(click) ... This is a photo of Charlestown Mayor Ernie Gilbert cutting the ribbon and finally settling a land swap deal gone awry with Greater Clark School Board in 2008 over the Johnathan Jennings playground land in dispute by erecting an above ground municipal swimming pool on the site. Critics of the plan complained they had no way to reach the mayor to voice their opposition.
(click) ... I took this snapshot of the Scott County special prosecutor’s press conference where he was denying that the process had been too slow and vowing to soon make a ruling on Jeffersonville Clerk Treasurer Peggy Wilder’s case. Clark Prosecutor Steve Stewart had no comment on the comment by commenting that he would not comment on an ongoing investigation comment. Wilder was out of town on personal and city business and couldn’t be reached for comment.
(click) ... Parks and Recreation Director Keith Fetz is shown here announcing that city ordinance regarding public parks was finally completed and approved and he declared that Jeffersonville’s parks were the safest in the state of Indiana. While that was true, a reporter from the Evening News noted that no citizen had actually used a city park since the year 2019 when it was amended to bar anyone who had been convicted of drunk driving, speeding, jaywalking or littering from using a city owned park.
(click) ... Here is a picture of Jeffersonville Mayor Robbie Valentine’s press conference where he wants to follow up the Cooperstown project with the Valentine project to bring in an indoor basketball camp facility where he can simultaneously hold 40 basketball clinics during spring break. Valentine did not respond to questions about how the city would benefit directly from his camps but hugged the reporter and gave her a head noogie.
Tourism head Jim Keith stated that he was noncommittal on how much tourism funding should be allotted which resulted in a controversial tourism board meeting that eventually led to Keith being awarded an additional three-year contract.
(click) ... I love this photo of the Galligan Canal which runs throughout the city of Jeffersonville. The new gambling casino boat — the state’s 23rd — sits nicely near the mouth of the canal. Note the most striking aesthetic feature — and the most expensive proposed by the Estopinal architectural firm — the elevated combination canal overpass/pedestrian walkway which allows the canal to run two stories above Galligan Way — formerly 10th Street. Mayor Valentine and the City Council are still claiming to be holding some talks with local investors to open up something on the Jeffersonville side of Veteran’s Parkway sometime in the next four years.
(click) ... Look how happy Monty Snelling looks in this photograph after finally settling his lawsuit with the city from a 2009 police shooting which resulted in damage to his home and nearly being hit by stray gunfire. Snelling said it was never about the money. Former Mayor Galligan referred all questions to Attorney Larry Wilder who is still completing legal issues that were already started before he was released as the City Council attorney in 2009.
(click) ... This historical photograph of the last meeting of the Clark County Council is kind of sad. The recent annexations completed by Jeffersonville and Charlestown have left only the paved lot and building at the methadone clinic site as the remaining piece of county owned land. Edward Culpepper Cooper did manage to get the council to sign a one year extension for insurance covering the last remaining county employee before the final gavel was pounded, claiming he could save the county thousands of dollars due to his diligent work.
(click) ... Finally, I happened to take a photograph of my last newspaper column published in December 2029. As you can see, it is my final Annual Jeffersonville Christmas Parade column. It does seem to be true in Clark County from my trip to the future — “The more things change the more they stay the same.”
Lindon Dodd is an Otisco resident who is a freelance writer and can be reached at lindon.dodd@hotmail.com
