Today's
Feature
Society
Rules.
The Carthage Humane Society
Board was notified during their regular meeting
last night by Steadley Trust advisor Bill Putnam
that the Trust was seeing needed improvements in
various Society activities and was favorable to
assisting future projects.
Putnam said that according to
his records the Trust had granted over $140,000
over the years to the Carthage 501c corporation
and that the Society was specifically singled out
by Kent D. & Mary L. Steadley in the original
formation of the Trust as a worthy recipient.
After the regular business was
taken care of, the floor was opened for public
comment. Citizen Jane Platt addressed the Board
as asked for the resignation of an unnamed board
member.
"The member I’m
talking about knows who they are," said
Platt.
The Board moved to go into
closed session, apparently to discuss the matter
proposed by Platt. After questioning by the Mornin’
Mail about the appropriateness of a closed
meeting to discuss a board member, the Board
decided to call a special open meeting in April
to discuss the matter.
In an extended "after
meeting" carried out at the front door and
then eventually through the entry and back to the
Board room, some clarification of various issues
were arrived at.
Platt acknowledged that the
staff at the Humane Society had made great
strides in improving the well-being of the
animals and the overall facility. Her main
emphasis was for the Board to operate as a better
entity.
This argument was countered by
various individuals present that the Board was
the influence that allowed the staff to better
the operation.
John Hacker, reporter for the
"evening paper," told the group that he
had more information than he could possibly use
in a single story, but he had the responsibility
to report on the affair. His questions of those
involved did seem to bring some resolution to the
quandary.
Stop the
Clock: Treasury Releases Bailout Contract
by Ben Protess,
ProPublica.org
File it under the category of
better late than never.
After five months, and much
pestering, the Treasury Department finally
released the entire contract it awarded the Bank
of New York Mellon to keep the books for the $700
billion taxpayer-funded bailout plan.
Until now, Treasury had
redacted compensation figures and other key terms
from the three-year contract, which was awarded
in October.
As we previously noted, a
January GAO report revealed that New York Mellon
is estimated to receive $20 million to be the
bailout’s chief custodian, far more than any
other bailout contractor.
In October, Treasury officials
said it would be only a matter of weeks before
they removed the redactions. This estimate led us
to launch the inaugural ProPublica Promise
Clock—an effort to track just how many weeks
it would take Treasury to release the figures.
Now, after 21 weeks, the clock
has ticked its last tock. (Due to a rare slip in
the clock’s vigilance, we are rewinding it
to March 14, when Bailout Sleuth first noticed
that the document was no longer blacked out.) A
Treasury spokesman did not respond to an e-mail
we sent asking when the redactions were removed
and why it took so long to do so.
Treasury originally hired New
York Mellon to run the government auctions used
to purchase billions of dollars in distressed
assets. But TARP’s course changed midstream,
and now the bank is managing the
government’s investments in the
nation’s banks.
Though the GAO revealed that
the bank would receive $20 million for this work,
Treasury is not wedded to that amount. No total
award figure is mentioned in the finalized
Treasury agreement.
Instead, it disclosed that the
bank received $3.8 million from Oct. 14 through
Nov. 30 of last year. Since December, New York
Mellon has been paid based on an elaborate
formula that gives it a cut of Treasury’s
investments in the stock of banks, credit card
companies and other institutions. In the cases of
struggling institutions like AIG, Citigroup, Bank
of America and the auto companies, New York
Mellon receives a flat fee.
The bank must receive at least
$2 million a year, but it stands to make more as
the government ups its investments. Last year,
the bank also took $3 billion in TARP funds
itself.
Treasury originally released
the contract, sans compensation figures, one day
after Neel Kashkari, the Treasury official
overseeing the bailout, touted the bailout
plan’s transparency. "Consistent with
Congress’ intent, we are committed to
transparency and oversight in all aspects of the
program," he said.
Bonus Social
Security Payments, Like Flowers,to Sprout in May
by Olga Pierce,
ProPublica.org
While some worry stimulus
funding won’t reach them before it’s
too late, one group of beneficiaries is actually
getting its payments early.
People who receive Social
Security and Supplemental Security Income
benefits will be getting a separate $250 check in
May, some six weeks earlier than the legislation
requires, Vice President Joe Biden announced
today at a meeting with the Cabinet and assorted
other officials.
So, for those of you keeping
track at home, add 50 million people to your list
of those helped by the stimulus and about $13
billion to your expenditures column.
But if you are expecting a
check, don’t start waiting by the door for
your federal May Basket. People getting Social
Security or SSI should not contact the agency
unless a payment is not received by June 4, 2009,
the official release says. While you wait, you
can check out the Social Security agency’s
FAQ at www.socialsecurity.gov
artCentral
ART
NOTES from Hyde House
by Sally Armstrong,
Director of artCentral
As promised, the
floral drawings by Lora Waring that we have just
displayed in the Member Gallery are very lovely!
I have enjoyed working all week with the
beautiful 29 pieces that were brought in Sunday
by our featured artist Mary Ann Soerries, and
know that these cheerful and beautiful floral
photographs will be most appreciated by all who
are ready for spring. Today I will tell you about
Lora Waring, who has brought 20 additional
florals, these in watercolor and watercolor
pencil. Lora was born and raised in Florida, and
nature has always been a large part of her life.
Whether it was the woods surrounding her, or her
grandma’s garden, nature was never far! She
says, "This reflects in my artwork. I love
drawing flowers! The way that light bounces off
and shines through petals and leaves entrances
me. I am forever trying to capture the magic I
see there." Lora, who is self-taught, began
her art career with oil painting. She had to put
her brushes down for a time, and turned to
photography. Capturing the magic was still the
goal, and lately she has used colored pencils and
watercolor in her landscapes and florals. Every
day and every painting is her learning
experience! She belongs to the Coloured Pencil
Society of America (CPSA) and has her work in a
number of private collections. She currently
lives in Carthage. I hope you will take time and
view the beautiful floral work that we are
currently presenting here at Hyde House Gallery
from this new exhibition which opens Friday
night, March 27th at 6:00, and will continue
weekends and Fridays from noon until 5:00 until
April 12th. Admission is free and we are located
just east on 13th street from River Street.
Sincere thanks our underwriters once again for
their generosity, UMB Bank and UMB Asset
Management, and the law firm of Checkett &
Pauly, both here in Carthage. We could not
continue without the help of our underwriters and
we appreciate them!
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