The City Council Public Works Committee is scheduled to discuss the current policy for curb and gutter incentives to new housing developments during the regular Committee meeting this afternoon at 5:15 in City Hall.

The Council has set aside funds for curb and gutter and street reimbursement for new housing developments for the last several years. The budget year for 1999/2000 included $50,000. For the last several years only a portion of the funds available have been requested.

Committee member H.J. Johnson has requested that the Committee look at ways to also make the funds available to established neighborhoods that don’t have curbs and gutters.

Developers are typically reimbursed $9.50 a foot for curb and gutter installation. The incentive was put in place several years ago to encourage housing development in the City. The City requires all new streets to have curb and gutters as a condition of the permit process.

A recent bid for curb and gutters on an existing street was close to $18 per foot.

Commentary

Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126

Every now and then the good guys win one. In a surprising mood, we defeated a piece of legislation that was known as the Equal Pay bill. Don’t let the name fool you. It should have been known as the ‘We’re Going To Sue The Pants Off Of Every Business In The State’ bill.

What it was purported to do was to ensure that every person in a company would be paid the same wage for doing the same job. This bill would have made it very easy for an employee to get a jury trial if they thought they had been discriminated against as far as wages were concerned.

How can anyone argue against equal pay for equal work? Only a boorish slob would be against such an enlightened idea! The fact of the matter is that some employees are more productive than others. As a farmer, if I hire 2 people to drive tractors for me and one hops on in the morning and takes off and the other one takes time to check the oil and do a little preventive maintenance first, which one do you think I am going to pay more? Under this bill, the one I paid less could haul me into court and sue me for discrimination. Even if I won the case I would still have lawyer fees and court costs to deal with.

The other part of this idea that is bad is that it simply isn’t any business of the government how much a business pays whoever. There are some businesses that do contract work for the government and the government will require certain employment practices as a requirement for bidding on government contracts. I can kind of see that, but when a business is working completely in the private sector, with no government contracts, it is simply not the business of the government to regulate who gets paid what.

In today’s society it seems to be increasingly popular to blame the business world for just about anything and then try to regulate them or tax them in the interest of ‘fairness’. The fact is that business is why we have jobs that people get paid to do. If we continue to place burdens in the way of businesses to the point that we eventually run them out of business, where are the jobs going to come from? I guess we could live off the government, but if no one is working and paying taxes, the government isn’t going to have any money either. The best thing government can do is stay out of the way and let businesses continue to do business and drive the economy.

As usual, I can be reached at House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments, or advice.

Land Transactions

Judith Duncan and Roy J. Duncan, wife and husband sold the property at 11926 Old 66 Blvd. Carthage, MO to Albert R. Hartman and Juanita K. Hartman, husband and wife. The sale was handled by Donal M. Myers with Donal M. Myers Realty in cooperation with Cathy Thompson with Charles Burt Home Folks.

Rogler Family Properties. LLC 1745 South Garrison, Carthage, MO 64836, have purchased of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart R. and Jill Murry Hunter the property at 1407 South Fulton, Carthage, MO. Donal M. Myers of Donal M. Myers Realty handled the transaction in cooperation with Joyce Rogler of Charles Burt Realty.

David T. Troyer purchased property in the original town of Carthage, Lot NO# 129. The transaction was handled by Pete Randall of Donal M. Myers Realty.

Guess if I plan on listened to any music I’m gonna have ta get with the program.

I get a big kick outa kids not knowin’ what an LP is. Those big plastic disks with a little hole in the middle. I recently acquired a record player after years of not havin’ one, so I’m gettin’ to hear those records I’ve been luggin’ around. ‘Course cassette tapes have been the main source of any recorded music for me for a while now. I understand that they are not gonna be made on any scale for much longer.

I’m gonna have ta break down and get a CD player I suppose. I’ve been puttin’ it off for some time now, waitin’ ta see if it was just a fad. Guess most of us have figured out by now they ain’t goin’ away. Hope it doesn’t end up with my 8-track.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune Brooks Hospital

UNDECLARED EPIDEMIC: Every year, millions of people deliberately expose themselves to the risk of developing melanoma, a dangerous skin cancer that is expected to strike some 34,000 people this year, and claim some 7,200 lives.

The tragedy lies in the fact that so many of these cancers could have been prevented, and that many of the people who died might have survived if their cancers had been caught early enough.

The American Academy of Dermatology calls skin cancer, "an undeclared epidemic." It is the most prevalent type of cancer in the country, yet its prevalence doesn’t seem to deter those who throw caution to the winds and submit themselves to the sun’s potentially dangerous rays.

The principal cause of skin cancers is overexposure to the sun. The risk is increased if the exposure results in sunburn and blistering. Other causes include repeated medical and industrial x-ray exposures, scarring from diseases or burns, occupational exposure to such hazards as coal and arsenic, and a family history of skin cancer. Prevention remains the best "remedy." If you must go out in the sun, avoid exposure to its harmful rays by covering up as much as possible and using sunscreens with a 15 SPF rating, at least.