Annexation Policy Discussed.

Discussion on the formulation of a annexation policy began during the regular meeting of the Public Works Committee on Tuesday afternoon in City Hall.

City Director of Engineering Joe Butler told the Committee that he would like to see all annexation requests come to the Public Works Committee before they are presented to the full Council.

"As you know, now requests for annexation do not go through any Committee," said Butler.

Butler said the Engineering Department currently contacts individuals requesting annexation to explain the process and determine expectations.

"We would like to have that written down somewhere," said Butler, "that they come to our office. They we go out and look at the property, see if there are any problems, then we would make some type of recommendation to the Committee.

Butler said he knew that septic systems were a concern of some of the Committee members.

Committee member H.J. Johnson expressed those concerns during an earlier annexation request before the full Council.

"I’d like to see, as a minimum, that we don’t bring anybody in that doesn’t currently at least meet the County standards, which is about point nine acres, I think, for a septic tank. My preference would be that we don’t bring anybody in unless they hook up to the sewer system."

Committee member Trish Burgi-Brewer pointed out there are already septic systems within City limits.

"I know," said Johnson, "but we don’t have to take in more.

Committee Chair Bill Fortune brought up question of annexing one piece of property at a time.

"A lot of people are not too happy about that," said Fortune. "In an area where we are looking to annex, maybe we could have some sort of policy where we have to have more than one at a time or something.

City Administrator Tom Short broadened the issue further.

"I was thinking we need an overall annexation policy," said Short. "Are we going to actively pursue annexation, or are we going to wait for people to come to us? We need an overall policy."

Butler also wanted it understood that property being annexed would come in zoned as it was currently being used. After the property was annexed, the owner could request a zoning change that would go through the Planning, Zoning, and Historical Preservation Commission.

The discussion will be continued during the next regular meeting.

In other business, Butler reminded the Committee that the annual, city wide clean up day will be Saturday April 29.

Butler also notified the Committee that two grant requests submitted to the Region M Solid Waste District were rejected. The grants would have paid for a mobile recycling trailer and for removal of recycled material at the City recycling center. A grant from Region M covered the cost of removal last year and funds will need to be allocated from the City budget if the service is to continue.

Beimdiek and Hill Agencies Merge.

LeRoy Hill, Hill Insurance Agency, Inc. and Steve Beimdiek, Beimdiek Insurance Agency, Inc. have announced the merger of their respective insurance operations. The combined organizations will be located at 303 West Third Street, Carthage, MO and operate as Beimdiek Insurance Agency, Inc. The new company will have offices in Carthage, Springfield and Neosho, Missouri.

Beimdiek Insurance Agency founded in 1936 is owned by G. Stephen Beimdiek. The agency is the largest private locally owned agency in Southwest Missouri providing insurance management services for personal and commercial insurance clients. The agency employs 27 sales support and administrative employees. Separate Personal, Commercial, Financial Services, Employee Benefits, Agribusiness, Professional Liability, Special Programs and Safety Services divisions are responsible for sales and service to agency clients. Additionally, the agency also provides self-insured Employee Benefit and Workers Compensation programs to medium/large business entities.

Beimdiek Agency offers specialized insurance programs for agribusiness, manufacturing, contracting, medical care providers, social service agencies, veterinarians, schools, financial institutions and public entities.

The Hill Agency was formed in 1977 following the purchase of the Lawrence Insurance Agency by LeRoy Hill. They provide Personal, Business, Health and Life insurance programs. LeRoy Hill and the Hill Agency staff will move into the offices at 303 West Third Street on February 18th. In making this announcement LeRoy Hill stated, "The new combined organization will represent a larger group of insurance companies and offer more services to our policyholders. This merger allows us to stay abreast of the latest insurance products and technology available in our industry."

Steve Beimdiek stated, "This affiliation will be a big benefit to our customers. The combined resources will continue a commitment to excellent client service and innovative insurance program management. The excellent staff from the Hill Agency will be a tremendous asset to our company. We will continue to develop other strategic partnerships with organizations that share our vision and offer specialized resources."

The Beimdiek Agency participates in marketing partnerships with SIAA, Appex, Arm of Mid America, Arm/Gallagher Partners and Associated Risk Management of Missouri.

Check Out the Style of Joe Leiter.

by Robin Putnam, artCentral

Last Friday night...... again.....we had an absolutely wonderful time at the opening reception for Joe Leiter !! We can’t thank our supporters enough for venturing out on an evening where the weather was not exactly nice !! While everyone was inside and warm and eating......the hail totally covered our yard and driveway. Kyle went out once it all stopped and made a nice pathway from all the doors to cars and down to the street. That way our guests didn’t have to worry about slipping !! What a nice boy that Kyle is....very helpful, too !!

We had quite a few new faces here, also. A number of parents brought their kids who have been music students of Joe’s or are students of his now. We always love having the youngsters come by. It’s good for them !!

We also had some great help in the kitchen...before and after !! Can’t thank Caleb enough for doing all those dishes !!! And, of course, Shellie had the place cleaned up and stuff put away in no time !! Thanks to all who helped...it is very much appreciated !!!

Joe’s paintings and sketches will be shown until March 17th. All his works are for sale and he has tapes of his classical guitar for sale as well. Come by....it’s an interesting show for more than the obvious reasons.... Joe has a different style than most...he creates a piece very spontaniously. He doesn’t usually sit down and draw it out first....he just starts painting !! A very loose, easy style with great colors !!

Now that we have a beautiful and large new classroom we hope to have it overflowing with eager to learn students !! With the summer fast approaching we are gearing up to see what sort of fun stuff we can offer to the public !!

We have had a lot of people interested in some on-going classes so this may well be the perfect time to set something up !! If you have anything in particular in mind don’t hesitate to tell us what you would be interested in doing !! We have one fellow from Jefferson City that wants to teach a landscape oil paint-ing class this spring.

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

A friend a mine in high school pointed out to me the "free"energy that is produced by a car heater. ‘Course it ain’t ‘xactly free, but it is a captured by-product of the act of drivin’ a car.

The heat from an engine is gonna happen whether it gets put through a heater or thrown off into the atmosphere. The trick is just a matter of puttin’ the energy to use in a positive way rather than lettin’ it fritter away in the wind.

Like a lot of solutions, a car heater was prob’ly obvious to a lotta folks, but someone with a little insight actually put it to use for the first time. Too bad we can’t readily identify more of those simple answers to capture and utilize random sources of wasted effort.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Oak Street
Health &Herbs

Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold. It doesn’t take much of a genius to know we are living in the Ozarks. The robins looked so cold the other morning, but I am surely happy to see them. It is a true sign that spring is just around the corner.

Steven Horne is a teacher. He is based in Utah and is a teacher of better health through the use of nutrition especially the use of herbs. He runs a clinic and also authors several newsletters.

The following are some of his suggestions:

Cough: To help expel mucus and irritants from the lungs (making the cough productive), use expectorants (BRN-AV, AL-J, Yerba Santa, Garlic, Lobelia). For a dry cough consider combination Four, HY-C or Lobelia. To soothe throat tickle suck on slippery elm. For a nervous cough try VAL extract.

Dandruff: Jojoba oil rubbed into the scalp may relieve dandruff problems. Dandruff can be related to stress (B-complex, NutriCalm, STR-J). Or consider rinsing the hair with bayberry tea.

Diarrhea: The usual treatment is with bulking agents (psyllium, activated charcoal , Nature’s Three, Bentonite, Slippery Elm) and/or astringent herbs (yarrow, red raspberry, whiteoak bark). Replace lost electrolytes with Combination Potassium. To help prevent diarrhea while traveling take Acidophilus.

Inflammation: IF-C, Pycnogenol, yarrow, Licorice, Butcher’s Broom, Zinc, Target Defense, bromelain, chamomile.