Today's Feature

Highway Patrol Interested in Hospital.

City Administrator Tom Short recently told City Council that members of the Jasper County Highway Patrol Department, Highway Patrol Crime Lab, and the Missouri State Office of Administration conducted a walk through of the former McCune-Brooks Hospital building on Tuesday with the possible intention of relocating Crime Lab operations and Highway Patrol evidence storage to that place.

As was reported in the Mornin’ Mail on March 7, 2008, the previous option of Missouri Southern State University occupying the building has become significantly less likely. The crime lab, formerly located at MSSU, was also interested in utilizing a portion of the 85,000 total square foot building originally. During a Mornin’ Mail interview MSSU President of the Board of Governors Dwight Douglass said that the Crime Lab still had the option of relocating but that it would be independent of the university.

One of the reasons Missouri Southern indicated that they would not be relocating was because of repairs that reportedly would be needed to the building. Mayor Woestman said that during the walk through, minimal areas were found that would require repair. City Administrator Short also took part in a roof inspection. Short said that the roof was close to reaching its age of useful life expectancy, which is estimated at 20 years. Short added that there are alternatives to a complete replacement of the roof that may be less expensive. The Office of Administration, which is responsible for setting the guidelines for Missouri Agency buildings, was to review the condition of the building and options, and present its findings by Friday of this week. If any legislation is required it may extend the timeframe.

If the relocation takes place, the Crime Lab would be utilizing approximately 8,000 square feet of the building, formerly the emergency room and radiology center. The evidence room would use approximately 2,000 square feet.

The Missouri Highway Patrol has indicated that they would like to own the portion of the building in question, as opposed to leasing. Short said one primary advantage of this situation is that it would allow the state to maintain the building as a budgeted item. The portion of the building is able to be sealed off from the rest of the building with minimal labor, according to Short. The Highway Patrol Department has indicated that it would like to have a deal in place as soon as possible.

Mornin’
I have some problems understandin’ a lot of that advertisin’ they do out there.

There used ta be a magazine ad that showed a guy sittin’ in front of a speaker with his hair gettin’ blown straight back. Now that says somethin’ ‘bout a stereo.

The commercial where they broke a glass with a recording, that always seemed to work for me. Fact is prob’ly any recording could do that if the pitch was right and the volume loud enough, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that it was a commercial I could understand.

I won’t even get into the weird perfume commercials. I guess I’m just outta the latest "target market".

What really bothers me is those crazy commercials must be workin’ on someone. There must be a whole world out there I don’t understand.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

Will an air bag deploy if the vehicle is running but not moving? For instance, you are waiting at a red light minding your own business, and a vehicle plows into your grill. Will the air bag deploy? What if the car is turned off? Let’s say you’re sitting at the side of the road, out of gas, and you get hit. Will the air bag work even if the ignition is off? Thanks for knowing the answer. - Patrick

TOM: The answer to your first question is yes, Patrick. The air bag is designed to work even when you are not driving.

RAY: If you’re at a traffic light with the engine running, the air bag is absolutely powered and ready to deploy if necessary. It’s ready anytime the engine is on or your ignition key is on (even if the engine is not running).

TOM: In a situation where the engine is turned off - even if the key is removed - the air bag will still have enough stored battery power to deploy for at least a few minutes. That covers you if you park the car and get hit while you’re collecting your Sleepy LaBeef CDs and getting ready to go into your girlfriend’s house.

RAY: In fact, when we do work on a steering wheel or steering column at the shop, we’re always advised to disconnect the battery and let the car sit for at least half and hour to be sure that the stored power is completely depleted before we start monkeying around in the vicinity of the air bag.

TOM: The number of minutes of reserve power varies from car to car, so there’s no way for us to tell you exactly how many minutes YOUR car’s air bag will remain ready after you turn it off. But it’s probably closer to five or 10 minutes than to 60 or 90 minutes.

RAY: But just to be safe, even after we leave the battery disconnected for half an hour, we still send my brother in first. Why should those of us who still have passable faces take that kind of a risk?