The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Wednesday, April 26, 2000 Volume VIII, Number 221

did ya know?

Did Ya Know?
. . .The Carthage 6th Grade D.A.R.E. Choir will have a walking fundraiser from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. on Saturday, April 29. The public is invited to stop by. In case of inclement weather the event will be held at Steadley School on Monday, May 1st from 3 p.m.-5p.m.

Did Ya Know?. . .Gardening help will be available beginning May 1 from the Master Gardener Helpline. A Master Gardener will be available to answer questions on Mon.-Thurs. from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The helpline will run through Aug. 10. To contact a Master Gardener call 417-358-2158.

today's laugh

A dry-goods proprietor took an insurance policy out on his store the same day it burned down. The insurance company was suspicious, but an investigation failed to find any signs of fraud. The only thing the company could do was write the policyholder a note: Sir: You took out an insurance policy from us at 10:00 a.m. and your fire did not break out until 3:30 p.m. What took so long?

The tooth fairy, a low-priced attorney, and a high-priced attorney were in a room. On a table was a thousand-dollar bill. Who ended up with it?
The high-priced attorney. The other two were merely figments of his imagination.

1900
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

Stamps are Required.

A large number of letters without any stamps affixed, have been mailed at the Carthage postoffice recently, directed to Barton J. Morrow, the census supervisor at Neosho, the senders evidently thinking that as Mr. Morrow is a government official, no postage is needed in writing to him on official business. This is a mistake as the writers of those letters will realize when they see their missives in the glass case at the postoffice "held for postage."

Only in a few cases can the use of postage stamps on a letter be dispensed with, and then an official envelope is used which envelope can only be used by a government employee on official business, under penalty of $300 fine.


Miss Dora Dingle, who went to Cisco, Texas, recently for a sojourn for her health, did not like it there and has gone to the home of her sister, at Elm Springs, Ark.

  Today's Feature

Lodging Tax Fund Requests.

The distribution of approximately $70,000 in lodging tax funds will be one of the tasks of this year’s City budget process. The revenue comes from a 2 per cent tax on all motel and bed and breakfast rooms rented in Carthage. The fund has increased steadily since the tax was approved by voters in 1995. Proponents of the tax point to the increase as evidence that the fund is fulfilling its role to promote overnight stays in the City.

The Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Carthage, Victorian Carthage, and the Historic Phelps House are agencies being considered for funding from the lodging tax.

Requests from all agencies total $106,047 and break down as the Chamber, $59,447; Victorian Carthage, $20,000; Main Street, $23,100, Phelps House, $3,500.

Requests for outside agencies for the lodging tax and general fund contracts for service will be formally heard during the budget meeting Thursday evening in City Hall.

Other agencies that have requested contracts with the City are the Harry S. Truman Council ($2,686.75), Carthage Youth Baseball ($5,000), and the Carthage Humane Society ($14,400).



Just Jake Talkin'

Mornin',

With the tornado season obviously upon us, I see there are those educational gatherin’s to inform folks of what to do in case of a twister. I‘ll save ya some time, DUCK!

I suppose there is nothin’ wrong with makin’ folks more aware of the dangers of a hundred mile an hour wind that is throwin’ rocks and two by fours through the air, but folks who have lived in these parts for much time at all knows ta head for cover.

I can’t ‘member where I learned ta get in a ditch when things are flyin’ through the air. Just always made sense. Now if I moved ta where earthquakes are common, I suppose I’d be interested in a little education ‘bout copin’. I try to stay off shaky ground.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Weekly Column

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS
by Donna Erickson

You don’t have to live in a cold climate to make these beautiful candles molded with ice! You’ll feel cozy inside wherever you live, whether the temperature is 50 degrees above zero or 50 degrees below.

For two or three medium-size candles, you will need:

• 1-pound box paraffin (available in the canning section at many grocery stores)

• 1 tin can and a saucepan

• Ice cubes crushed in medium-size chunks. (Put ice cubes in a sturdy plastic bag. Your school-age kids will have a ball crushing the cubes with a hammer, under an adult’s supervision, of course.)

• Empty and clean pint- or quart-size cardboard milk cartons with the top cut off

• A white or colored taper candle for each ice candle, one inch shorter from the cut carton. (Trim the candle from the bottom if necessary.)

An adult should place a chunk of paraffin wax in the empty tin can. Set the can in water in the saucepan and heat the water until the paraffin melts, keeping an eye on it at all times. (Never place the can on the burner or over an open flame because the wax is flammable.)

Hold a taper candle in the center of one of your cartons. While you hold it in place, let your child scoop the crushed ice around it, filling the carton to the top of the taper. The ice will now hold the taper in place. An adult should pour the melted wax over the ice. Let the kids observe how quickly the wax hardens in the carton. Listen to the cracking ice.

Once the wax is completely hardened, let the kids pour off any extra water. Carefully peel the carton away from the ice candle and enjoy the surprise of your work of art. The ice will have formed interesting pockets and holes that resemble Swiss cheese!

Note: When burning candles, an adult should always be present to supervise.

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