New Trash Pick-up Begins.

The new, required trash containers have begun showing up in front yards across the community. According to Public Works Director Chad Wampler the new containers are scheduled to be distributed to all residents by October 1.

Wampler says the new system was implemented with Carthage residents in mind and it’s financially a "good deal".

The new contract allows for a fifty cent increase in charges for each of the five years the contract will run. Wampler says at the end of five years, Carthage will be paying about what many communities are paying this year.

He says he knows there will be "bumps and bruises" while implementing the new system, but he has heard few complaints so far.

The new containers will come with a set of instructions as to what will be required of the resident and how the system will work.

The Public Works Department does have information concerning the program, but Wampler recommends and questions be directed to Allied Waste at 1-800-627-1717

NASCAR THIS WEEK

By Monte Dutton

Sponsored by Curry Automotive

Can Johnson Make It Four in a Row?

As much as he would like to play this down, Jimmie Johnson enters the Chase for the Sprint Cup as the favorite.

In part, this is because Johnson, who just turned 34, has won three races this year. In part, it is because he begins the Chase as the third seed, tied at 5,030 points with Tony Stewart.

Mainly, however, the favorite’s role is Johnson’s because he has won the past three championships, a feat matched only once (by Cale Yarborough, 1976-78) in NASCAR history. Another title would make Johnson the only winner of four consecutive championships.

Johnson is the only driver to make every Chase field. Denny Hamlin has made it in every year of his career, which began in 2006, but Hamlin wasn’t around when the format was first implemented in 2004.

But Johnson professes to being uneasy.

"Guys who have been kind of locked in (having clinched spots in the Chase several weeks ago), including Stewart, myself, Jeff (Gordon), we’ve been kind of running decent, but maybe not scoring the most points," said Johnson. "I think it’s tough to really give this to anybody and really pick a favorite.

"So we need to just buckle down, put in 10 good ones (races) and work really hard."

Johnson hasn’t won a race since the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis, six races ago. In the races since, he has finished 13th, 12th, 33rd, eighth, 36th and 11th. Meanwhile, by means of comparison, the driver who raced his way into the Chase at Richmond, Brian Vickers, has accumulated finishes of sixth, 11th, first, 12th, seventh and seventh over the same span.

"Nobody has had a clear advantage," said Johnson. "I’m optimistic and feel we have a very good chance."

In 2006, Johnson won the title by 56 points over 2003 champion Matt Kenseth (who failed to make this Chase). He outpointed Hendrick Motorsports teammate (and four-time champ) Gordon by 77. Last year Johnson’s margin was 69 over Carl Edwards.

Almost everyone considers Johnson the man to beat, with the possible exception of Johnson himself.

*Monte Dutton has covered motorsports for The Gaston (N.C.) Gazette since 1993. He was named writer of the year by the National Motorsports Press Association in 2008. His blog NASCAR This Week (http://nascar.rbma.com) features all of his reporting.

Saw a hitchhiker out on the road the other day. I passed him goin’ the wrong way and about an hour later came back by him in the direction he was headin’. I wasn’t willin’ to take the chance.

The hitcher threw up his arms in disgust as I passed him by. I felt a little less guilty by seein’ him vent his frustration. Wasn’t the kind a person I wanted ridin’ anyway, I told myself.

There was a time when I’d hardly ever pass the opportunity to give someone a lift out on the road. Right now, it’s just bad timin’. Whether justified or not, the feelin’s of caution are in the air.

I hope the guy got where he was goin’, but I doubt I’ll be givin’ in to the temptation to pick up any hikers anytime soon.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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CLICK and CLACK

TALK CARS

by Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

Can you help settle a bet with my dad? He has an SUV, and he frequently goes and gets it buffed and waxed. It runs about $100 each time. I asked him why he does that. He said because it gives him "better gas mileage." I mean, come on! He says "it is a proven fact." I don’t believe him. So my question is: Does it improve your mileage, and is it a proven fact? - Ken

Ray: Ken, I think your old man is confusing "a proven fact" with "something he saw on the internet."

Tom: Or in OUR column!

Ray: Right. Real "proven facts" have something called "citations" attached to them. A citation tells you which legitimate, scientific paper claims to have proven the fact.

Tom: So if you ask your dad for the citation on his proven fact, I suspect it’ll ultimately be traceable to the American Car Wash and Car Wax Association.

Ray: There’s no doubt that aerodynamics play a huge role in mileage. But unless you dad is parking his SUV under a tree that’s home to, say, pterodactyls who leave large, three-dimensional droppings on his hood, I don’t see how washing the vehicle could make any meaningful difference in his mileage.

Tom: Well, if it’s any consolation, Ken, tell your father he’s got the best looking SUV on the block. And if that makes him happy, he should keep cleaning his car. But if he wants better mileage, he should make his next car something smaller than an SUV.