Today's Feature

Odor Ordinance on Agenda.

The City Council Public Works Department will meet this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. in the Public Works Department building, 623 E. 7th. Items on the agenda include the consideration of a possible amendment to the nuisance ordinance of the Carthage code regarding odor emissions. The ordinance, as previously discussed by members of City staff, could be modified to impose more strict regulation of odor emissions inside the City.

Currently the City relies on the Department of Natural Resources for regulation of odor emissions, as the current City code allows 5 days for the abatement of a nuisance. City Attorney Nate Dally said he felt the City could "tighten up" the ordinance to allow for more municipal control.

Mayor Jim Woestman recently told Council that the city of Springfield had implemented an odor control ordinance with some success. City staff last week held a conference call with members of Springfield city staff to discuss the workings of that ordinance.

The committee is also scheduled to discuss the removal of Baker Boulevard as a truck route.

Mornin'
Most of us get pretty impatient ‘bout wantin’ the government to get things done. If ya look at the hoops that have ta be jumped through, sometimes I’m amazed that anything gets done at all.

My uncle worked at a steady pace. He’d get jobs done that no one else even wanted to try. But ya didn’t hurry him.

"If ya just leave him alone," I’d hear ‘em say, "he’ll get it done."

I’ve seen the time when someone tried to push and speed him up a little. It was like watchin’ an old mule. The harder ya tugged on the rope, the further in he dug his heels. A matter of principle I suppose.

Sometimes ya just have to relax the tension a little and let things go at their own pace. Don’t get kicked as often, either.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Hiatal Hernia Turns Traumatic

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Our experience with my husband’s hiatal hernia was traumatic. He was 69 and in excellent health. After a day of working in the yard, we sat down to supper and within three minutes he was incapacitated with chest pain. He was taken to the hospital and was given nitroglycerin for the pain. The pain subsided quickly. It took two months to discover the real problem: His stomach was in his chest cavity and had crowded his heart and lungs. Surgery was scheduled. Before the scheduled date, the pain returned and he had to have emergency surgery. Please let people with a hiatal hernia know about this. -- M.H.

ANSWER: People have been led to believe that a hiatal hernia is the same as GERD, gastroesophageal reflux -- heartburn; it isn’t. They are different. A hiatal hernia is a bulging of the stomach through a gap in the diaphragm muscle, the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. The gap is the hiatus, and through it, the esophagus can pass from the chest into the abdomen to join the stomach.

GERD can happen to people with a hiatal hernia, and it can happen to people without a hiatal hernia. Your husband’s problem was a rare complication of a hiatal hernia. The upward bulge of his stomach, the portion in the chest, twisted and cut off its own blood supply. The first time, the hernia untwisted spontaneously and the pain left. The second time, the twist didn’t untwist.

This process is called strangulation and is a very serious affair. You’ve provided a chance for people to learn what a hiatal hernia is, what a strangulated hiatal hernia is and what GERD is. We’re all glad that things worked out well for your husband.