Today's Feature

Flag Retirement Ceremony.

News release.

On November 22 at 10:00 a.m. the Carthage Veterans’ Alliance, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans will hold a U.S. flag retirement ceremony at the Carthage V.F.W. Post Home.

This is an open ceremony and the public is invited to attend. Citizens in possession of flags that need retirement are encouraged to drop them off at the V.F.W. or bring it to the ceremony. The V.F.W. Post Home is located west of Carthage at the Southeast Corner of Hwys. 96 and 71.

Public Works Committee Meeting.

The City Council Public Works Committee will meet this evening at 5:00 p.m. in the Public Works Department building, 623 E. 7th Street. There are several items of new business on the agenda including the discussion of an administrative lot split in the 2500 block of south Clinton and another lot split of property at the intersection of Airport and Missouri.

The committee is also scheduled to discuss the bid openings for the Centennial to 13th Street Drainage Improvements project’s second phase.

Mornin'

The old sayin’ is ya always find somethin’ the last place ya look. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Seems like I always find what I’m lookin’ for after I bought a similar item for more money somewhere else.

It’s hard ta know when ta stop lookin’ most of the time. Those shoes you fretted over for an hour before ya finally put ‘em on and walk out of the store are displayed in the next shop ya walk by, at half the price.

That vehicle ya thought was so unique is suddenly the most popular vehicle in the county. Most of ‘em are even the same color as yours. If you’d only looked one more place. ‘Course most of us learn to live with our "bargains." At least until the next fashion is released.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Arteries Make Better Grafts Than Veins

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had a triple coronary artery bypass in 1998. The vessel used for the grafts was taken from my leg.

A cardiologist tells me that the leg vessel graft needs replacement in eight years. It is not as good as grafts taken from arteries in the arm or the chest wall. I feel fine. It has been 10 years since my operation. Am I living on borrowed time? Why isn’t the leg vessel as good as the others? -- W.P.

ANSWER: Hold on a minute. Predictions about the longevity of grafts for clogged arteries are hazardous. The source of the graft is not the sole factor in its life span. The general health of the person getting the graft is most important. Diabetes, for example, has a negative effect on all blood vessels, including grafts. If graft recipients make major changes in how they live -- watch their weight, keep their cholesterol low, get exercise, pay attention to blood pressure and don’t smoke -- then their grafts are bound to stay healthy for a long time.

The leg vessel you speak of is a long and large leg vein. Veins are not the same as arteries. Arteries have to stand up to pressure that is much higher than it is in veins, so arteries are tougher. At five years, 75 percent of vein grafts are functioning well, and at 15 years, 50 percent are still in good shape. Some last much longer.

The "chest wall" graft isn’t from the chest wall. These grafts come from arteries within in the chest. Most of these grafts stay open for 20 or more years.

Many heart surgeons use an arm artery as the source of their grafts. These grafts are better than vein grafts. They’re arteries. They have a life span between that of a vein graft and that of the inner chest artery graft.