The City Council approved an increase in pay grade for two positions in the City Engineering Department during the regular Council meeting Tuesday evening.

The motion to move the Junior Codes Inspector grade from 9D to 12A and the Engineer Technician position from an 10A to a 11A was made by Finance/Personnel Committee Chair Lujene Clark.

Public Works Committee Chair Bill Fortune supported the adjustments.

"It would be my hope," Fortune told the Council, "that these would be steps on the way to eventually making the positions (Grade) 14’s, assuming that all of the (job description) qualifications are met."

Engineering Department Director Joe Butler had initially requested the positions be moved to the Grade 14 level that is recommended by a 1997 personnel study. Current employees holding those positions are short of the five years experience in the job description.

Clark agreed that as the employees’ experience level fulfilled the job description requirements, the Grade 14 would be appropriate. The changes take place July 1.

Churches Gather On 5th Sunday.

Churches from around the Four State Area will gather once again on the 5th Sunday in April. Sandwiched in between Easter and the National Day of Prayer, a thousand or more Christians will join together to wave the banner of Jesus.

Over three years ago, Pastors from this region decided that having a church on every corner was not enough. Relationships began and now over 100 Pastors and Church Leaders gather on a regular basis to lift up this region in prayer and talk about what God is doing in their "neck of the woods" so to speak. A group formed to become an invitation team with the responsibility to plan events like the 5th Sunday Gatherings, Pastors Prayer Summits, and Family pic-nics such as the one planned for May of this year. Pastors and Church Leaders have found that the relationships they’ve formed are invaluable.

Now it’s time to include the people. Four times this year the Pastors will arrange for a common location, enlist a local minister to lead in the music and preaching. This is a time to encourage unity in purpose. This next 5th Sunday Gathering will take place at the new Fairview Christian Church facility located in the old Wal-Mart building in Carthage, just behind Wendy’s. The biggest problem the committee has been faced with is finding a facility big enough to handle the 1,000 plus people expected. Nursery is provided for children 3 and under.

A new addition to this gathering will be the Teen Break-Out Service with the theme "PRAY Y2K - Our Hope for the New Millenium". A fitting theme considering its proximity to the National Day of Prayer to be celebrated on May 4th of this year. The main service will revolve around a prayer emphasis with music by a group made up of musicians from several churches. Everyone is invited to join in as we celebrate Jesus.

D.A.R.E. Choir Walking Fundraiser.

The Carthage Sixth Grade D.A.R.E. Choir will be holding a fund-raising activity Saturday, April 29th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Carthage Junior High School track. Students are walking to raise funds for a trip to perform for D.A.R.E. Day at Worlds of Fun. The public is invited to stop by and check out the activities. The new D.A.R.E. Jeep will be there; McGruff the Crime Dog will visit; D.A.R.E. Officer Provins and Det. William will be present; balloons; crime and drug information will be available to visitors. In case of inclement weather the event will be held at Steadley School Monday, May 1st from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Master Gardener Hotline.

Do you have a problem with your lawn or garden and don’t know where to turn for help? Then contact the Master Gardener Helpline.

Beginning May 1, a Master Gardene will be available to answer your questions on Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The Helpline will run through August 10.

The Helpline is sponsored by University Outreach and Extension. To contact a Master Gardener, call 417-358-2158 or stop by the Jasper County University Outreach and Extension Center in the basement of the Jasper County Courthouse in Carthage.

The Master Gardeners have completed a horticulture training course offered by University Outreach and Extension. A part of their certification is to provide volunteer service in their communities. For more information about the program, contact the Jasper County Outreach and Extension Center in Carthage, 417-358-2158.

I’ve always heard you should pick your battles. Not take on just anything that comes along ‘cause battlin’ takes a lot of time an energy. The problem is the fewer battles ya take on, the fewer ya wanna pick. After a while it’s just easier ta not pick any.

‘Course, as a friend a mine used to like ta say, "Who gives a rip about apathy?"

There is little doubt that there are things worth stickin’ your neck out for, but mostly it’s committin’ the time and energy necessary to get something worthwhile accomplished. The other thing necessary is to utilize all the tools available to complete the task. Not goin’ at it half hearted. It’s easy to sit around and jabber about somethin’, ‘nother thing to actually get off the porch and get after it.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin.’

by

Metcalf
Auto
Supply

CLICK & CLACK
TALK CARS

by Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

Help! I own a 1985 Toyota Corolla four-door sedan with a five-speed transmission. I bought it used, and it was extremely reliable for a year, then, starting at the beginning of last summer, every time it rains, the car won’t start. At first, engine starter fluid corrected the problem, but not anymore. Now I need to wait for the sun to appear, and it generally takes three to four days after a rainstorm or light rain for the car to start again. I’m a poor college student, so I hope you can help me. —Kimberly

TOM: Help you? You’ve got the world’s most perfect car, Kimberly! Do you know how much work I could miss if my car wouldn’t start for four days after every rain shower? I’d never miss a daytime rerun of "Columbo" again!

RAY: You’d best ignore him if you ever want to graduate, Kimberly. Let’s start with the basics. Water, or even just moisture, can interrupt the flow of electricity from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. And if the electricity doesn’t get to the spark plugs, the car won’t start.

TOM: And the "classic" parts that get affected by moisture when they’re old are the sparkplug wires, the distributor cap and rotor. They’re all relatively cheap, so I’d start by replacing all three.

RAY: My guess is that will fix it. But if it doesn’t, the problem may be in the igniter assembly, which is inside the distributor. And that requires replacing the distributor itself, which costs many hundreds of dollars. So if you need another distributor, I’d look for a used one in a junkyard.

TOM: Or you could transfer to Arizona State. With the nice, dry weather there, you shouldn’t miss more than two or three weeks of classes a semester.