Master Gardener Program.

news release

Jasper County University Outreach and Extension will be sponsoring a Missouri Master Gardener program, beginning in January. The program is designed to train volunteers in various aspects of horticulture. The Master Gardeners will assist University Outreach and Extension in providing unbiased educational information to the public.

A person who wishes to become a Master Gardener is required to attend 30 hours of training, and agree to return 30 hours of service during the following year. There is a $60 per person fee.

Topics to be covered in the ten basic sessions include an orientation to the Master Gardener program, plant physiology, soils and nutrition, annuals and perennials, fruit crops for home production, insects, woody ornaments, lawns and turf, vegetable production, plant diagnostics, and trees in the landscape.

To apply for the program or to obtain further information, contact Ed Browning or Janet LaFon, Courthouse Basement, Carthage, MO 64836, 417-358-2158.

Make Us Your New Year’s Resolution!

by Robin Putnam, artCentral

Wow........we hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. It was definately a beautiful one. For those of us who have never had a white Christmas it was magical......

It was also a pain in the ...we have a very steep drive way......it took 4 tries, in 4-wheel drive, and the neighbor boys had to push the vehicle out of the yard once just to get up the driveway. Needless to say we haven’t been open and there have been no columns for weeks.....

So....our next show will be Joplin photographer, Bill Perry, will have an exhibit of his latest works. He travels all over the world taking photos of exotic people and places...including Carthage’s own Brent Irwin and his Leopard Appaloosa !!!

The opening reception will be January 12th from 6-8pm. Never mind what we said earlier. Opening is January 12th.

The Big Spring Artists group show ends today. Thus ends our year 2000 !!!!! We think it was a great year and would like to thank all of the artists that showed here as well as all of our loyal members and supporters !!!

When you add it all up we had more than 40 artists show their work here and we had over 30 kids at our two-week artCamp and members are using the new pottery room!!

We want to welcome our newest Board member, JoAnn Evans !! Three cheers for her......clap, clap, clap !!! We thank her from the bottom of our hearts !!

We also thank our other Board members for their time and energies this last year. We’ve come a long way in a short time thanks to such a great group of people who know how to work together to get things done !!

2001 will be our best year yet.....we’re planning on it !! Come and see what we’re talking about !! It’s always an interesting place with interesting people !!

If you’re making a New Years resolution to give of yourself........get involved...... improve your community......remember us, we can always use a helping hand.

More.........next week. 358-4404. 1110 E 13th & www. ozarkartistscolony.com under organizations.

I saw somewhere that one copy of the New York Times contains more information than a person would have been exposed to in a lifetime back in the 1500’s. I suppose on some level that may be fact, but I doubt that the information in any newspaper woulda been much use.

Today the problem seems ta be more of information overload. So much stuff bein’ shoved in the head that the challenge is to sort through ta find somethin’ relevant.

The nice thing about a newspaper is you can pick and choose what ya spend time learnin’. Browse through and pick out things you’re interested in, use the rest to wrap fish or line the bird cage.

The one thing that hasn’t changed in the last few hunderd years, we still want ta know what our neighbors are up to.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Oak Street health & herbs

Natural Nutrition

by Mari An Willis

One of our most precious gifts is our eyesight. Something most of us take for granted until something goes wrong. Prevention is a key to keeping our eyes healthy. Two of the main herbs used for nurturing the eyes are Eyebright and Bilberry.

Traditionally, Eyebright has been used for failing vision, inflammation, con-junctivitis, ulcers and eye strain. It helps the nerves and optic tissues stay supple and maintain their elasticity. It can be used as an eyewash or taken internally as a tea.

The use of Bilberry of blueberry was first documented during World War II when it was noted that British pilots had better records as night fliers than anyone else and they were the only ones consuming large amounts of blueberry jam. Research led to the connection between the high amount of flavonoid activity in this fruit which led to better night vision. Flavonoids act as free radical scavengers and have a collagen-stabilizing affect.

Collagen is the most abundant protein of the body and is responsible for maintaining the strength of the tissues. Collagen is destroyed during the inflammatory processes that occur in various forms of arthritis, periodontal disease, and other inflammatory conditions.

It has also been noted that Bilberry can help normalize the strength of capillaries, it may assist in muscle relaxing and has several ophthalmological applications including improved night vision, quicker adjustment to darkness, and faster restoration of visual acuity after exposure to glare.