New lights added to downtown Jasper - Dubois County Free Press, Inc.

Casey Hall, a member of the Jasper Electrical Distribution Department, replaced lamps in the lampposts around Courthouse Square on Tuesday. — Casey Hall, with the Jasper Electrical Distribution Department, replaced lamps in the lampposts around Courthouse Square on Tuesday.

The Jasper Electric Distribution Department is replacing the yellowed lamp lights in the lampposts around the downtown area with new LED lamps.

The new 100 watt LED lights replace the 150 watt sodium lights. According to Electric Distribution Manager Jerry Schitter, the new lights should cut the amount of energy consumed by the lamps by 50 percent compared to the older sodium lights.

This is accomplished through the lower wattage of the lights and as they are being replaced, the department is reducing the number of lamps on each lamppost by half. Those with four lamps will be reduced to two and those with two lamps will be reduced to one.

A light sensor causes the lamps to turn on at around dusk.

The new lights cost about $720 each; the department purchased 100. The department also modified the harnesses to accept the new lights and repainted all the posts around the town. According to Schitter, this saved the city money also since the original lampposts cost about $3,000 to install originally.

The department will replace all the lamps along Main Street from 9th to 3rd Street; on 6th Street from Newton to the post office; around the courthouse; along 3rd Street/Avenue to Azura; on the Veterans Memorial Bridge; a city parking lot; and if any are left, the Jasper Train Depot.