 The Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County, of which
Ladd is also the head, will sponsor the Kelly Miller Circus on Oct.
6.Ladd said the circus typically joins itself with some type of
charitable or fundraising event, and it made for a nice match with
the foundation to restore The Mill.
Ladd explained that when he was notified that Oct. 6 was the date
the circus could be available to come to Lincoln, he quickly
realized this was the same date as the Railsplitter Antique Auto
Club cruise-in at The Mill.
The cruise-in is held annually in the back lot at The Mill, with
proceeds from the day going to the Save the Mill Foundation.
Ladd said he had made arrangements with the car club and Best
Western so that all the events of the day will be moved to the empty
lot owned by Best Western, next to the Railsplitter Covered Wagon,
which is recognized by Guinness as the world's largest.
Ladd said Best Western had agreed to allow the circus to use the
property free of charge. Area Disposal is going to provide garbage
collection free of charge. Ladd said so far this means that the
foundation has incurred no expenses. The only thing left is to get a
permit from the city to hold the circus. He said he was in hopes
that the city would grant that permit and at the same time waive the
$50 registration fee.
Ladd said the restoration of The Mill is still in process, and
currently there is a need for approximately $20,000 for HVAC work,
plumbing and restrooms. With the foundation receiving a portion of
the ticket price for the circus, Ladd said he is hoping to raise
approximately $2,500. In addition the cruise-in is expected to raise
about $500 for the foundation, so it could end up being a $3,000
fundraiser for The Mill.
About the circus
The circus will roll into town early on the morning of Oct. 6. By
7:30 a.m. the public will be able to come out and watch the
activities as the circus sets up.
Everyone is invited to come out and watch the animals being
unloaded and fed. The elephants will be used to raise the big-top
tent at 9 a.m.
Throughout the day, guides will be available to lead groups
around the grounds and talk about how the circus prepares for a
show.
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The auto club will bring in their car show at noon and run until
4 p.m. That show will be located at the southwest corner of Fifth
and Lincoln Parkway, at the old gas station site next to the USDA
offices.
The circus has an entirely new show for this season, so those who
may have seen the Kelly Miller Circus in the past can look forward
to something new this time.
Council favors support
During the discussion portion of the committee of the whole
meeting, Jonie Tibbs said she thought it was wonderful that this was
going to take place. She told the council that if they were to take
a straw vote now, she would support putting Ladd's request on the
consent agenda for next week.
No one voiced any objection to Tibbs' suggestion. When an item is
placed on the consent agenda, this basically means that the council
has no argument with a request and it may be passed without further
discussion.
The council does, however, have the ability to ask that an item
be removed from consent for further discussion. This does not happen
often and generally is not expected to happen with Ladd's request.
Treasurer Chuck Conzo also complimented Ladd on the nice event he
had set up in Broadwell in honor of Ernie and Fran Edwards. He said
it had been a very nice day for all those who attended.
Ladd said he was happy with the turnout and grateful to Conzo for
being in attendance as a representative of the city.
[By NILA SMITH] |
