Today's Feature
Multitude of Projects.
The agenda for the City Council
Public Services Committee meeting this evening
includes several updates on continuing projects.
The Committee is scheduled to hear progress
reports on the Park Department maintenance
building, the Fair Acres expansion project and
the Memorial Hall renovation. This will be the
first meeting under the newly appointed Chair
Larry Ross.
The Committee is also scheduled
to discuss the use of Myers Park Soccer fields.
Past meetings have generated discussion about the
amount of trash that is left at the fields.
Although efforts have been made by the Park
Department to furnish convenient trash
containers, the problem persists. Non league play
is not allowed on the newer fields at the Fair
Acres Complex so the Myers Park fields are
typically used for practice and informal
competition matches.
The consideration of bids for
the completion of finish dirt work for the new
softball fields is also scheduled. The Committee
is pushing to have the expansion at Fair Acres
completed for use early next spring. The
concession stand/multipurpose building
construction has commenced.
The
2000 Presidential Election Underground Opinion Poll.
news release
Eddie Miller, former manager of
Bridal Cave and Thunder Mountain Park, began the
"Underground Opinion Poll" in 1968 as a
way to predict the outcome of the Presidential
election. This poll has been 100% accurate since
its inception.
On each and every tour of
Bridal Cave, guests are asked to vote using their
ticket stub as a ballot and vote for the
candidate of their choice. During the first 30
days of the poll the voter may choose between the
major political candidates or choose to be
undecided. For the final two weeks of the poll
the undecided ballot box is removed and the
voters must choose between the major candidates.
On November 2, 2000 the final votes are tallied
and the prediction as to whom will be the next
President of the United States will be made.
Due to the wide diversity of
guests from around the country who tour Bridal
Cave, the "Underground Opinion Poll"
has become a very accurate barometer of the
Presidential election outcome. Every election
since 1968 has been successfully predicted,
including 1972 when the exact percentage of the
popular vote was successfully predicted.
The latest results of the
"Underground Opinion Poll" are as
follows:
• George Bush/Dick
Cheney, 57%
• Al Gore/Joe
Lieberman, 31%
• Undecided, 12%
The final results of the
"Underground Opinion Poll" were
released on November 2, 2000. These results may
be obtained via the internet at www.bridalcave.com,
or by contacting Steve Thompson, General Manager
of Bridal Caves at (573) 346-2676 or by email,
info@bridalcave.com.
12th Annual
Christmas Lighting Ceremony at Precious Moments Chapel Center.
news release
The Precious Moments Chapel
Center in Carthage, MO is hosting its 12th Annual
Christmas Lighting Ceremony on Friday, November
10th, 2000.
Seating begins at 5:30 p.m. and
the ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the
Fountains of Angels theater. Guests will enjoy a
Christmas setting, story, and live performance by
the Fountain of Angels singers. Directly
following the ceremony, guests will participate
in a spectacular candlelight procession through
hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights, which
adorn the Precious Moments grounds. The Lighting
Ceremony is a free event offered to the public to
celebrate the Christmas season.
During November 10th through
December 11th, 2000 a "Christmas
Remembered" celebration will be taking place
on the Precious Moments Wedding Island. Actors in
authentic time period costumes will be conducting
a live Victorian engagement scenario throughout
the island. Live presentations are scheduled for
Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
during these dates.
Chapel Center hours during the
holidays are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through
Thursday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and
Saturday. These hours begin on November 10th and
continue throughout December 31st, 2000. The
Chapel Center will be closed Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas Day, and New Years Day, and will close
at 5 p.m. the day before each of these holidays.
For more information on the
Precious Moments Chapel and holiday schedule call
1-800-543-7975.
MGE
Sets Winter
‘Cost of Gas’ Rate.
news release
As a result of increasing
wholesale natural gas commodity costs across the
country, Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) yesterday was
granted permission by the Missouri Public Service
Commission to increase its winter cost of gas
rate.
Effective November 1st, 2000,
the PGA/COG (purchased gas adjustment/cost of
gas) rate will increase to $0.68056 per Ccf (100
cubic feet). The rate change reflects the current
high cost of gas on the unregulated wholesale
market where MGE purchases natural gas.
A typical residential customer
uses between 1,000 and 1,200 Ccfs per year. With
this cost of gas increase, customers could see an
increase of 40 to 50 percent over last
year’s bills, assuming similar usage. The
company reminds customers that weather can also
have a significant impact on gas usage and total
bills. Because the last few winters have been
warmer than normal, a return to more normal
temperatures, regardless of the cost of gas
increase, would result in increased usage and
also increase bills.
As a distribution company, MGE
must buy the gas it delivers to its customers.
Those gas costs are passed on, dollar for dollar,
to customers in the PGA/COG rate, which also
includes storage and transportation costs. The
PGA/COG, which is listed separately on bills,
typically accounts for about two-thirds to
three-fourths of a residential customer’s
winter bill. As a regulated company, MGE
currently does not earn a profit on the purchase
and sale of gas, only the delivery of it.
Customers will receive bill
inserts in their November bills informing them of
the PGA/COG rate increase. The company is urging
its customers to be energy conscious this winter
and take simple steps to conserve energy and
weatherize their homes. MGE is also urging its
customers to consider enrolling in its
ABC—level payment—plan. A list of
weatherization and conservation tips will also be
included in November bills.
Prior to 1998, MGE made changes
to the PGA/COG rate about every month, similar to
how gas utilities in Kansas adjust prices. In an
effort to mitigate the impact fluctuating
wholesale natural gas costs have on customers,
MGE reached an agreement with the Missouri Public
Service Commission in 1997 to limit PGA/COG
adjustments to two to three times a year. MGE
typically sets its pass-through cost of gas rates
in April and November, with a third adjustment
allowed in the winter if significant changes in
the wholesale cost of gas occur.
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