New Year's Eve ball drop planned at courthouse
Dave Hett hopes someday his New Year's Eve ball drop and lighting celebration will be accompanied by fireworks.
But for now, he's content with the status quo.
Hett and his wife, Michelle, plan to celebrate New Year's Eve the same way they have since 2000 — by lowering a lighted metal ball from the flagpole on the west side of the Marion County Courthouse.
The ball drops promptly at 12 midnight Jan. 1. However, county residents are invited to begin gathering between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m. Dec. 31.
The lighted "2003" sign will be set up on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse this year, Dave Hett said.
"Instead of hanging on the side of the courthouse like it has in the past," he said.
Last year, somewhere between 75 and 100 people attended the event.
"It was really, really cold," Michelle Hett said. "So, there were a lot of people watching from their cars."
Dave said he drops the ball as the courthouse clock chimes in the New Year. Sometime before the ball drop, Dave watches each face of the courthouse clock to determine which one triggers the chimes.
"Sometimes it chimes by the south tower," he said.
"You can't really hear it though," Michelle said. "The noise from the crowd drowns it out."
For those who want breakfast after a watching the ball drop, McGillicuddy's in Marion will be open until 2 a.m. on Jan. 1
