No Action On Parking Request.

The City Council Public Safety Committee took no action Monday evening on a request from Jenny Mansfield to eliminate three parking spaces on the north side of 4th Street adjacent to the Professional Building. Mansfield had made the request during last month’s regular meeting of the Committee and returned to this month’s meeting to follow up on the request.

Mansfield felt that the line-of-sight was blocked to the point of being a hazard for those attempting to turn onto 4th Street from Maple. Her 10 year old granddaughter was struck by a car at the location on August 15. The injuries were not life threatening, but Mansfield witnessed the incident and feels the situation is dangerous.

A motion by Committee Chair Charlie Bastin at the earlier meeting to eliminate all three of the parking spaces was defeated.

Although there was no motion on the subject at Monday’s meeting, the request did bring to light the fact that the spaces are within the City’s two hour parking limit zone. Two hour signs around the Professional were not replaced after sidewalk repairs. The Committee requested the signs be installed.

There is this ordinance that prohibits parkin’ for more than two hours in an area defined by Garrison and Howard, west and east, and Central and 6th, north and south.

But at the same time, there is another ordinance sayin’ that even if there are designated time limits on parkin’ spaces, the area has ta have signs posted to make it so.

With the expansion of the Post Office the streets surroundin’ the facility will no doubt become more congested. There may be a time when some changes have ta be made to accommodate that traffic.

Parkin’ spaces are always a good topic to get a discussion goin’ on the Square. Ask anyone, but be ready ta get an earful.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

by Donna Erickson

When my kids help me pull the tired, tangled and snarled plants out of our little garden plot, it’s an official reminder that the warm and balmy days of summer and early fall have neared completion.

Cleaning the modest 8-by-8 square of dried-out tomato plants, zinnias and dill gone to seed is a chore my kids do half-obligingly, but for me it has become a ritual. I say goodbye to the seasons I love and face the prospect of a cold Minnesota winter with temps ranging for months between 20 degrees above zero to an occasional, mind-boggling 70 below with wind-chill factor. I already envision our routine of shoveling snow, scraping icy windshields and tying kids’ boots with numb hands.

When my children remind me that it’s not going to be THAT bad, I snap out of my reverie and we come up with an idea to bring the best of our summer garden indoors.

Here’s how we transplanted our rosemary plant and made it into a charming topiary-like design to nurture and display in our kitchen window through the winter months. You may also use thyme or a small ivy plant.

Decorate a clean, medium-size clay flowerpot with acrylic paint or paint pens. We used a gold paint pen and wrote ROSEMARY in fancy letters around the middle of the pot. Let dry. Plant the rosemary plant in the pot. We washed our plant outside before we brought it indoors and enjoyed the plants’ lovely aroma as we rinsed it off.

Meanwhile, an adult or older child may bend a metal coat hanger in the shape of a circle for a form for your topiary. Its size should be in proportion to the clay pot. Use pliers to straighten out the curved hanger portion. Carefully poke the straightened end directly into the soil as close as possible to the center of the rosemary, being careful not to injure the plant.

Wrap the trailing plant around the wire form, tying with string or wire to hold it in place.

Place the rosemary topiary in a sunny spot. As new growth appears, clip it off for use in your winter meals or tuck it into the form for a full topiary that will look lovely in your kitchen for months to come.