Today's Feature

"A Long And Distinguished Career."

Street Commissioner Tom Shelley attended his final Council meeting before retirement on Tuesday evening. Council approved a resolution signifying the City’s appreciation for Shelley’s 35 years of service, 31 of which were spent as director of the Street Department. Mayor Jim Woestman read the resolution and presented Shelley with a plaque in honor of his "long and distinguished career."

Throughout the meeting all of the other City department heads as well as the members of City Council expressed their appreciation for Shelley’s knowledge, expertise and dedication.

Shelley expressed his thanks to the past and present City employees and Council members.

"I’ve had the privilege to work with a lot of good people," said Shelley.

Tom Shelley

Council also approved the general support of a proposal in which the County would apply for a grant from the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council to help offset the cost for removing the roll-off dumpsters from the Carthage Recycling Center. Council recently raised the rates for disposal of construction materials at the landfill in order to compensate for rising costs of dumpster removal. The rate change has caused an increase to the level of illegal disposal of construction materials on County property.

Harry S. Truman Director Harry Rogers told Council that he encouraged the County to seek the grant, which would subsidise a portion of the loss at the landfill and allow the City to reduce the rates back to the previous levels. The grant process, according to Rogers, is lengthy, and approval is not certain. Representatives from the County expressed an interest in receiving an indication from the City as to whether or not Council would support the idea. The motion to support was approved unanimously.

Mornin'
They say that the worst thing about a cow bein’ at the back of a line is that the view never changes. ‘Course the good thing is ya don’t have ta do much thinkin’ as ya wander through the pasture.

I probab’ly heard that story from some motivational speaker at one time or another over the last twenty years. Looks like they’d come up with an original way to illustrate the point.

I suppose they’re like most of us, we get used to ploddin’ along the path and don’t really wanna be bothered with change. Even if the view isn’t that great.

I’ve walked a few cow paths. No matter where ya are in line, you still have ta watch your step.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Water Coming From Tailpipe Is No Big Deal

Dear Tom and Ray:

I recently purchased a used ‘06 Subaru Outback. It was a rental car that came from the Tahoe, Nev., area. I have noticed water coming out of my tailpipes, and there is a lot of it. At times, it looks like rain. Should I be concerned? I live in Iowa and didn’t know if the change in altitude would cause something like this, or if it might be something else. - Shannon

TOM: Shannon, what the heck are you doing snooping around behind your car? Cut it out!

RAY: Yeah. No good can possibly come from it, Shannon. Especially if the neighbors catch you.

TOM: Actually, the water is nothing to worry about. Water is a natural by-product of combustion, and seeing it come out of the tailpipe means that the engine is running nice and clean.

RAY: The water might be most noticeable after a series of short trips. Short trips allow water to condense in the cooler exhaust system and accumulate in the muffler.

TOM: On a four-cylinder car, the water will sometimes spray out in spurts that coincide with the firing of the cylinders. I’m assuming that’s what you mean when you say it looks like rain. If you’re actually seeing a torrential downpour with little bolts of lightning that go from the tailpipe down to the ground, then you may want to get a second opinion.

RAY: But in general, having water come out of the exhaust pipe is perfectly normal. Unlike whatever you’re doing snooping around back there.