Wow the food here was delicous. I got a cheeseburgerurgercheeseburg and frieseyesies. With the…read morehouse made battery acid eyedrops.

Best library a small town can ask for, quiet, well organized, clean, friendly staff, easy parking,…read morereading spaces, open and bright layout, and well sized community center with kitchen and stage for variety of activities and social events.

Interesting factoid: Carroll County was named after Charles Carroll, who was the last surviving…read moresigner of the Declaration of Independence. The Carroll County Courthouse sits on a square in Delphi, which is the county seat. I like the simplicity of the Courthouse Square. At the southeast corner of the Square is a huge memorial honoring those that fought in the Civil War with the Courthouse behind. Small local businesses and restaurants surround the Square with most architecture original. This is the second courthouse in Delphi. The first courthouse (Victorian Style) was built in 1841 and served the community until 1917. A photo of the original courthouse hangs in the current courthouse. The current Neoclassical Courthouse was designed by the architects of Elmer E. Dunlap Co., Indianapolis. A. E. Kenner completed construction for the opening. The interior of the building is breathtaking. The center atrium is crowned by a magnificent stained glass dome. A beautiful mosaic tiled floor sits beneath the dome. Spiral marble staircases with decorative iron bannisters ascend to the second and third floors. Blue trim sets off the interior. Elmer did a fabulous job. Most of the building is original, including offices and the Circuit Courtroom. The bell from the first courthouse is on display in the lobby. A war honor roll is on the wall. Staff and people I met in the Courthouse were friendly and knowledgeable about the building. The Courthouse is fully operational. The local heath department was handing out free medical supplies. Court was in session. Clerks were available to take various payments. I think there is a museum in the basement, but I missed going down. There's plenty of free parking around the Square. This is a fabulous Courthouse, well worth the drive to Delphi.

Benton County Public Library began as a Carnegie funded library in 1906. The facility was expanded…read morein the early 1970's adding space and accessibility. The library is neat and well organized inside. The historic portion of the building is painted in bright colors and houses children's books and reading area. The original entrance is blocked by furniture. Very little historic original content is present in the facility. A single 1906 letter from Carnegie raising funding to $7500 is framed and hangs in the library. The library is functional with public computers, videos and lots of books. Most of the adult books are upstairs. There is a lot of staff present but they were not engaging. There is free parking next to the building.

One thing I really like about exploring towns in central Indiana is when I discover a memorial to…read morethe history of the area, especially when it was something that I somewhat recall or have a connection with. Back on April 3, 1974, the Midwest was hit with a "Super Outbreak" that generated 148 confirmed tornadoes over a two day period across 13 states. 5000 were injured and 315 deaths were confirmed. Monticello was the target of an F4 tornado that swept in from the southwest, killing eight people. There was an estimated $100 million in damages, including the court house. The tornado struck the town at 5:17 p.m. It is considered (locally) as when "time stood still". In 2010, a new park was created a block west of where the new court house stands. The bricked plaza features several special items. A sculpture shaped like a tornado supports a clock that is stopped at 5:17. There are some pieces from the court house that were saved and put in this park. The original water fountain and several of the lamp posts were saved and used in this plaza. (Note: The keystone from the original court house sits a block to the west on the corner of Constitution Plaza by the new court house.) This plaza creates a quiet space in the downtown area that succinctly tells the story of what happened by use of plaques that are located around the plaza. I admire that the town pays tribute to its challenges and has continued forward rebuilding as a community. Review #2794

This is a small, but well done tribute to Gold Star families that is among many other memorials in…read morethe Tippecanoe War Memorial (a sub-section of Colombian Park). It was dedicated in May 2015 and honors the families of servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military. It costed about $60,000 to build. It is in a very picturesque and located on a man made lagoon island, that is nicknamed memorial Island. The memorial is primarily a sculpture. It is an abbreviated version of more recent one, has 2 granite slab panels, and was made by the Louisville-based Woody Williams Foundation. The two panels form a cutout silhouette of a solder rendering a hand salute, along with the gold-etched words, "Gold Star Families, a tribute to Mothers, Fathers and family members who sacrificed a Loved One for our Freedom" with a large gold star above it on the first panel and "PATRIOT Honoring All Men and Women who served Our Country" below an image of the Iwo Jima flag raining on the second panel. The seals of the 5 branches of service are long the base of the sculpture. The memorial has a little bench in front of and facing it that you can sit and reflect and there is a nice flower garden that surrounds it. This is a nice place to reflect and pay respects to those members of the Armed Forces that made the ultimate sacrifice. There are not many memorials or monuments dedicated to Gold Star families, but that number is growing every month. Currently, there are less than 120 nationwide. The Woody Williams foundation has made these monuments in all 50 states and Guam. Indiana has 2 of them, the other two being in Fishers and Indianapolis. The front of each monument is the same, but some of them are personalized on the reverse side to suit each respective community. This one, in Lafayette does not have anything on the back.

The White County Courthouse was constructed by Robert Longardner in the mid 1970's. The building is…read moremodern and is the third courthouse for White County. The second Victorian Courthouse, built in1895, was tragically destroyed by a deadly tornado in 1974. Sadly, eight people lost their lives who were in the historic building at the time of the tornado. A plaque in today's building memorializes these individuals. The White County Building houses county offices and courtroom. There is free parking around the perimeter of the square.

Strange as it may seem, I've had a lot of interaction with City Water Works. My first experience…read morewas a week after my closing when I realized I had no water service to the house, including the toilet. I called the water works and was told I needed to give them a deposit of $200.00 before they would turn my water back on. I ran down to their office immediately and gave them the $200.00 check. I was told that no matter how often or where I moved in Monticello that I wouldn't have to give them another deposit. If I moved away from Monticello, I would get my $200.00 back. By the time I got home (and I live around the corner), they had the water turned back on. Out of pure laziness, I hated getting the little postcards with my water and garbage bill so the nice lady at the water works kept my credit card on file and charged my card monthly before they had automatic withdraw from checking. When they got automatic withdraw, I think I was the first person to sign-up, and they worked with me on getting that set-up. The people at City Water Works are give public service a good name. One day, I get a call at work from them telling me I have a leak equivalent to a house full of water. For the life of me and my neighbor, we couldn't find the leak. I called water works and asked them if it could be a faulty meter? They never really gave me an answer, but they also didn't charge me the $550.00 my leak cost. Nice to know that once a year, they will forgive you an atrociously high bill, if you leave the hose running for a month, your plumbing goes bonkers or like me, who knows what, and they will let you know within a week if you have done so.