Today's Feature

Maple Leaf Festival Registrations Underway.

News release

Registration for Maple Leaf Festival events has begun. "Forms are already available in our office for food vendors, arts & crafts booths, the parade, and the quilt show," states Carthage Chamber of Commerce’s Amber Carrier.

Food vendors and arts & crafts vendors who have participated in recent years have already received their forms and booth space is filling rapidly. Anyone who has not received a form and wishes to rent booth space should obtain their forms directly from the Chamber office at 402 S. Garrison. Forms are also available by email request to info@carthagechamber.com or phoning Linda at 417-358-2373.

"This year we offer the added service of accepting payment by credit card for those who wish to email or fax in their forms and make payment by phone," said Carrier. "This will greatly speed up the registration process for our vendors."

Food booth space is limited and nearly full already and no registration is accepted until a completed & signed form and full payment are received in the Chamber office.

Arts & crafts booth space is also limited and beginning to fill rapidly as well. Those applications require photos of the items to be sold as it is a juried process. Anyone with questions may call Linda at 417-358-2373 for clarification.

Parade entry registration has also begun. "We have reached our maximum capacity for the number of entries in our parade and are now focusing on the quality of entries in hopes of returning the parade to a more traditional content with more floats and bands than in some past years. We are receiving enthusiastic feedback from participants who have registered to date," said Carrier. "For forms and further information, stop by our Chamber office or call Linda at 417-358-2373."

Maple Leaf Quilt Show applications are currently available at the Chamber or Powers Museum. "Powers Museum will be filled to capacity with some of the finest quality quilts in southwestern Missouri for this annual competition," states Susan Griffith, chairman of the event sponsored by the Four Corners Quilter’s Guild. "Deadline for entry is October 1st, but we urge quilters to get their entry forms submitted quickly because of space limitations." For more information, contact the Chamber at 417-358-2373 or Powers Museum at 417-358-2667.

"With more than 30 events during the 8-day Festival, watch for continuing announcements through local media!" states Carrier.

For more info, contact the Carthage Chamber of Commerce at 417-358-2373.

Attorney’s Response to Globe.

The Mornin’ Mail recently received a fax of a letter written by Robert N. Mayer, legal representative for Jasper County Public Administrator Rita Hunter. According to Hunter, the letter was sent to the Joplin Globe and reads as follows;

Dan Chiodo

President and Publisher

The Joplin Globe

RE: Rita Hunter

Dear Mr. Chiodo:

I have been retained by Steve and Rita Hunter to file a lawsuit against the Joplin Globe for defaming Ms. Rita Hunter who is presently the public administrator in Jasper County. The Hunters have sent numerous articles published by the Joplin Globe and written by reporter Susan Redden that mention Ms. Hunter in her capacity as public administrator. After reading these articles and reviewing evidence provided by the Hunters, I believe that your paper has published certain stories that grossly misrepresent Ms. Hunter’s role in the process of a guardianship/conservatorship for Mrs. France being ordered by the Jasper County Probate Court.

Furthermore, after reviewing copies of the Court transcripts, I believe the stories were written with actual malice towards Ms. Hunter and that your reporter and newspaper had knowledge of their falsity.

Additionally, Ms. Hunter has related to me that several quotes she gave to your reporter were changed and certain words not included. These material changes have a negative effect on the reader in contrast to what the true and accurate statements would have produced.

I am pursuing further evidence and witnesses with the intentions of filing a lawsuit against your newspaper for the defamation of Ms. Rita Hunter in her capacity as Jasper County Public Administrator.

Sincerely yours,

Robert N. Mayer

Jake’s Women at Stone’s Throw.

Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre announces its upcoming production of Neil Simon’s JAKE’S WOMEN

JAKE’S WOMEN is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon, to be presented by Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre of Carthage, Missouri this coming September. Additional funding assistance is provided by the Missouri Arts Council and Schmidt & Associates.

Show dates are September 4, 5, & 6, and Sept. 12 & 13, with a Sunday matinee on Sept. 14. Doors open at 6:00 pm, with dinner served at 6:30 pm and show starting at 7:30 pm. Sunday matinee opens at 12:30 pm, with lunch served at 1:00 pm and show starting at 2:00 pm.

Ticket prices are $20.00 for adults, $19.00 for Seniors over 55, $17.00 for youth under 16, and children under five admitted free.

Reservations may be made by calling the theatre at 417-358-9665 or Betty Bell at 417-358-7268 or on line at bbell23@ecarthage.com or by visiting our website at www.stonesthrowdinnertheatre.org

JAKE’S WOMEN by Neil Simon

Poor Jake. A very successful novelist, his marriage is not so successful. In fact, his wife wants to leave him. So in an effort to help him through this crisis, the women in his life come to his rescue. Sort of. There’s his boisterous sister who bosses him around, his sardonic analyst who seems to enjoy taunting him, his grown daughter who’s wise beyond her years, and his revered first wife who is clueless but with good reason. But here’s the problem – the conversations are in his imagination. He even talks with his daughter when she was just a child, and has poignant dialogs with his first wife who, by the way, is dead. Imagination invades the reality, especially when struggling to discuss the marriage with his estranged wife, or trying to decide on his future with his new girlfriend. The result is a moving romantic comedy with laughter and tears as only Neil Simon can craft a story.

Directed by Doug Dickey, Jake’s Women stars Kevin Provins in the title role, with Shana Kleinhans, Shanti Navarre, Morgan Sneed, Cheyla Navarre, Linda Bailey, Lyn Whyte, and Amber Norton as Jake’s Women.

Mornin',

I haven’t been on a roller coaster for some time. Now if the opportunity presented itself, I’d no doubt be willin’ to go, I just haven’t gone out of my way ta be in that position.

Growin’ up we had an amusement park not far off. Class trips and special occasions would be excuse enough for kids to spend an afternoon or an evenin’ ridin’ the rides.

My favorite at the time were those cages that you can make tumble over and over again. A friend a mine used ta like ‘em also, till he and a buddy had that contest to see who would puke first. One of ‘em lost but the winner wasn’t any too pleased as he crawled out of the cage. I never did really know which one got the sickest.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here's A Tip
By JoAnn Derson

"I love to work in the yard, and I always wash my hands before coming in. I put a bar of soap inside a piece of mesh from a potato sack and tied it with a string. I tied the string to my water faucet outside, and now I can easily wash my hands with soap before coming in. The sack kind of works as a scrubber as well." -- F.A. in Texas

"When I take the kids to the pool, I bring my cell phone with me. I have started putting it in a zipper-top plastic baggie, and now I don’t have to worry about it getting wet accidentally. I can see through the bag to check messages or the time right out of the pool; there’s no need to dry my hands off." -- Y.W. in Missouri

"I found a really great fix for my basement stairs. It’s a bright, reflective, nonslip tape. I used a long piece across the end of each riser, and I am much more sure of my footing when going downstairs -- especially when carrying a laundry basket. And it’s easier to see where the steps are if the lights are dim." -- N.M. in Ohio

Here’s a great conversation piece: Get a big, shallow bowl or box, fill it with loose snapshots and set it on your coffee table. People can’t resist photos.

"I have a sore back, so it’s hard for me to bend down and pull out weeds. I found a way to do this without too much bending. If you have a pair of loppers, all you have to do is cut a section of garden hose into two 1-inch pieces and slit them down the side. Then slip them over the ends of the blades. This way, you can grip the weed without much effort." -- J.K., via e-mail