CROTHERSVILLE
Out with the old signs and in with the new.
This week, weather permitting, new vinyl fences with signs are scheduled to be installed at the entrances to Crothersville. The signs will be for the Crothersville High School girls basketball team that won the school’s first sectional title in any sport in 2017 and for the boys basketball team that won sectional this year.
An FFA sign also will be included, while signs for a couple of churches in town that have closed were removed.
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During a recent Crothersville Town Council meeting, Vice President Chad Wilson said he received approval from Chase Murphy with CC Murphy LLC to place the sign on his property on the south end of town.
"Without hesitation, he said, ‘Absolutely. Just do what you’ve got to do,’" Wilson said. "It was a nice conversation."
He later received approval to place the other vinyl fence on property owned by Jackson-Jennings Ag LLC near the Premier Energy CountryMark gas station and convenience store.
Wilson received a quote of $675 from Kyler Blevins with Blevins Fencing for the vinyl fences. He said he also checked with Menards and The Home Depot, but the latter store didn’t have vinyl fencing in stock.
The council unanimously approved the quote for the fencing and for Wilson to proceed with the project.
Sims Bark of Crothersville has since donated mulch to be placed around each sign. Landscaping, which also will include shrubs and mums, should begin with the next couple of weeks, Wilson said.
"It’s going to look a lot nicer with some mulch and some shrubs," he said.
The town will be responsible for maintaining the area around both signs.
"I think it will help give our community the sense of pride that we need," Wilson said. "As residents come into the town, they see a nice sign with our sectional championship signs on there. It’s just a better appearance."
New welcome signs also will be installed. On the south side, one will be placed on town property along U.S. 31 near Industrial Way. The north side location has yet to be determined.
The design says "Welcome to Crothersville, Indiana. Open for business. Come on in." It also has a tiger head, the former Presbyterian church that’s now Hamacher Hall, "Est. 1858," an American flag and a train.
Last fall, Wilson conducted a contest asking the public to choose between two logos he designed. Buckets were placed at local businesses with each design, and people put money in the one they liked the most.
The image on the new welcome signs was the winning design. The signs were 100% funded by residents’ donations, Wilson said.
Wilson came up with the idea to create new welcome signs since the one on the north end of town off of U.S. 31 was overgrown by bushes and the one on the south end of town blew away in a tornado about 10 years ago and never was found. Both said "Crothersville welcomes you" and featured shaking hands.