City Council Committee Assignments Draw Fire.

Mayor Kenneth Johnson’s reassignment of several Council committee positions drew criticism from some during Council member comment period at the end of last Tuesday’s regular Council meeting. (See Before and After inside this issue.)

Council member Jackie Boyer was Budget Committee Chair for the last year and a half.

"I am embarrassed that you have so little confidence in me that you removed me from my committee position," said Boyer. "If you had changed every position I would not have said anything, but you did not change every chairman and vice-chairman. In fact, of those ten positions, seven of them didn’t change.

"If you had a problem with my leadership, I would have appreciated a talk."

Mayor Johnson responded.

"I have never had a problem with anybody’s leadership," said the Mayor. "I told you at Council last week I am doing this mainly for people who.."

"No sir," said Boyer.

"I thought I did," said the Mayor.

"You may have said it," said Boyer, "but if you look at your layout of what you did, you’ve put a couple. . . ."

"I believe that is my prerogative," said the Mayor, "let’s move on from there. I’ve noted your criticism."

Council member Art Dunaway commented next.

"I went from the bottom of the list on Budget," said Dunaway. "And Jackie went from the top to the bottom."

"That does not mean anything," said the Mayor.

"Now wait a minute," responded Dunaway, "it’s my time to talk. All I was going to say is that I hope that I can depend on Jackie to help me."

The Mayor continued his explanation.

"What I’m trying to tell you is, nobody has been topped or bottomed," said the Mayor. The same people are still working together..."

Dunaway continued.

"I said I went from the bottom to the top and I hope I can depend on Jackie to help me."

"I appreciate that," said the Mayor.

"There will be some people not working together, I am no longer on Finance, at all," said Clark. "I too am deeply hurt. It is the Mayor’s prerogative. I can’t take it as anything but an insult. --------I find that I no longer have the stomach for political life. I will not seek reelection."

"I’m sorry you all feel that way," said the Mayor. I could have done this last April, but I left the committees as they were because there was only one person change on the whole Council, and that was Mr. McPheeters.

"I am trying to give people who have not been a committee chairman, who might not be here next time, a chance to perform.

"And still, I don’t think I have to explain the reason, but if you remember the previous (administration), I think they changed every thirty or sixty days. Meeting adjourned."

Letter to the Editor
Opinions expressed reflect those of the writer
and not necessarily those of the Mornin' Mail.

My father Eugene recently passed away, and while going through his papers I came upon a letter from Mrs. John Bright of P.O. Box 153 in Carthage, MO.

In 1943 my father was stationed at Camp Crowder training as a radio telephone operator in the Army. He preferred to attend church in Carthage on Sundays, and in early July 1943 did so.

In a letter dated July 5, 1943 he wrote his mother:

"When I left church and started out in the direction on town to get something to eat some elderly couples who were driving by stopped and asked if I wouldn’t like to have dinner with them. There were two couples each of whom was going to treat a soldier. The one couple had all ready picked up a corporal at the Presbyterian church where they were from.

I had the best chicken dinner that I have had in a long, long time that noon. They were very friendly and took snapshots of us and also took our addresses so they could write you and tell you and the other boy’s folks what they thought of us."

Sure enough, in a card dated July 4, 1943 and datelined Carthage, Missouri, my grandmother in Compton, California, received the following note:

"My husband and I had the pleasure of having your son with us today for dinner. Our town is not far from Camp Crowder and we have many visitors come from there. Our son is in North Africa. He is 22 years of age. He landed there last November.

You have a fine boy and we were so glad to have him with us. He was well and cheerful.

Sincrely,

Mrs. John Bright."

My grandmother treasured the note, and after she passed away it came to my father.

My family and I wish to belatedly thank the Brights and the people of Carthage, Missouri for the many kindenesses they showed to the troops training at Camp Crowder. Their warmth and generosity was greatly appreciated and fondly remembered by those it touched. I also belatedly wish for the Brights that their son returned safely home.

Thomas Rittenburg

397 Hornblend Court

Simi Valley, CA 93065

Entries for Christmas Parade Now Being Accepted.

news release

Entries are now being accepted for the Carthage Christmas Parade, scheduled for Monday, December 4 at 7:00 p.m. There is no entry fee and the theme this year is "Christmas Remembered."

Catergories include: Senior High School Band, Junior High School Band, Elementary Band, Church Division, Youth Organization, Adult Organization, Twirlers/Dance Groups, Automotive, Business/Commercial, Horse/Rider, Horse/Wagon, Specialty/Miscellaneous and best lighted float. Also two additional awards, Directors’ Choice and Mayor’s Choice.

Deadline for entries is November 17th. Sponsors are the SkillsUSA-Vica Chapter of the Carthage Technical Center and Main Street Carthage, Inc. For more information or application call 417-359-7026 or 417-359-9005.

Main Street Carthage Provides Halloween Entertainment.

news release

Main Street Carthage is sponsoring a Harvest Party Downtown on Saturday, Oct. 28th from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Free activities on the square include: hay rides, George Washington Carver Old Time Games & Toys, storyteller Judith Wynhauser (sponsored by Bee’s), magician Karey Green, a pet costume contest (sponsored by From the Heart Craft Mall), and a pumpkin decorating contest (sponsored by UMB). In addition, The Carthage Press is sponsoring a pumpkin baking contest, with prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place pies.

Following the pie judging at 12:45, Main Street will be selling slices of pumpkin pie for $1.00 to help fund these activities. For more information call Renay Minshew at 359-8932.

Main Street Carthage is also sponsoring Trick or Treats on the square on Tuesday, Oct. 31st from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Participating merchants will be handing out treats, and the costume contest (sponsored by the Carthage Press) will be held at 5:00 p.m. on the north side of the courthouse. Mike Morgan will be taking Halloween photos on the northwest corner of the Courthouse lawn. Come downtown and join the fun.

For the record, this year’s Maple Leaf, at least on the Square, seemed to avoid a big rest room controversy.

This year there were porta potties on each corner of the Square, and for the first time as far as I know, City Hall rest rooms were available for the general public.

Accordin’ to the info I casually gathered, nearly 200 visitors took advantage of the indoor facilities at City Hall on Saturday.

The Chamber of Commerce paid to have a person to watch over the art work in the main entrance hall and keep the supplies available in the rest rooms. There seemed to be little in the way of problems, and there seemed to be more than a few who commented on the cleanliness of the facility. One more minor contribution to the effort.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack
TALK CARS

by Tom and Ray Magliozzi

My car is a ’93 Volvo 960. When I first turn on the air conditioner, it gives off an odor which makes me think the car is harboring a well-used cat-litter box. This odor ("stink" is more descriptive) goes away after several minutes, only to return each time I turn on the air conditioner.

I’ve tried air-freshener sprays, but they just introduce a new dimension to the problem. I’d love to take care of this problem before next summer. Any ideas? -Edgar

TOM: Well, my guess is you’ve got yourself a little mold-spore farm there, Edgar. Congratulations.

RAY: There’s a part of the air conditioner called the evaporator, which removes the moisture from the air (i.e., "conditions" it). That moisture is then supposed to drain out through a hole in the bottom of the evaporator housing. That’s why you often see water dripping out from underneath cars in the summertime.

TOM: My guess is that you don’t see much water dripping out of the bottom of your car, Edgar, because your drain hole is all plugged up. That’s preventing water from escaping, and creating the perfect breeding ground for mold spores; a dark place with standing water.

RAY: You need to have somebody clear out the evaporator drain for you. It’s an easy job and is usually done with compressed air. Then you’d be wise to spray something in the vents to kill the remaining mold spores.

There are automotive products specifically designed for this purpose, but consumer products like Lysol seem to work just as well.