Emergency Doses of Tetanus Vaccine.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has arranged for emergency shipments of 1,300 doses of tetanus-containing vaccine to be delivered to the Joplin area today.

One thousand doses of the new pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap) will go to the Jasper County Health Department and 300 doses of tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine will go to the Joplin City Health Department.

Clean-up and repair during and after a disaster present a greater risk of injuries that can lead to serious infection. One of the most serious is tetanus, also known as "Lock Jaw," which can be deadly.

Tetanus infection is preventable by vaccination.

You should get a booster dose of tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine if you have not had a dose within the past 10 years.

You should also get a Td booster if you are unsure of the last time you received a Td shot. Anyone who receives a deep cut or puncture wound during reentry and clean-up activities should seek immediate medical attention and ask about a tetanus-containing vaccine.

Jasper County Jail Count

May 24 - Tuesday: 190

Total Including Placed out of County

NASCAR THIS WEEK

By Monte Dutton

Hindsight Is 20/20

As Matt Kenseth charitably pointed out, had it not been for late caution flags, his Roush Fenway teammate, Carl Edwards, might have won the last two Sprint Cup races.

Kenseth, of course, could afford to be understanding, since it was he, not Edwards, who won the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway.

In spite of all the Monday morning crew chiefs who have been insisting ever since the checkered flag waved that Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer collectively botched the race, blew the victory, struck out and fumbled the ball, it’s really much more complicated than hindsight would seem to suggest.

In recent years, a certain oddity gradually has become apparent. When the strategic situation that decided the season’s 11th Sprint Cup race arises, the leaders are sitting ducks. Whatever they do dictates what other drivers do. If the leaders change four tires, the next group will either change two, as in the case of Kenseth, or not change any, which was good enough to secure second place for Mark Martin.

As Johnson said, "I knew we were outnumbered once we came off pit road, and so many guys who had taken two or didn’t stop ... I knew we were in trouble."

If only he had known that before he came off pit road ...

When the leaders stay on the track, or change two tires, the next group probably changes four. The situation at Dover made it even more complicated. Rains had limited practice. No one had really studied how much faster four fresh tires were than two. In practice, they ran with four tires that had been placed on the cars at once. Until near the end of the race, most everyone dutifully changed all four tires during each visit to the pits.

Edwards, Johnson and Bowyer all played it safe. They seemed to have the fastest cars, so it would stand to reason that the best way to keep it that way would be to complete the race on fresh rubber.

What they perhaps didn’t realize was that Kenseth had a fast car, too. He had just never quite been able to show it at the front of the pack, largely because he had started 24th and spent much of the race trying to establish track position. The fact that Johnson had started first had much to do with the fact that he led 207 laps.

But, said Kenseth, "I knew one of the first three cars on the restart was going to win the race. The rubber (from tire wear) would build up (on the track) and make it almost impossible to pass."

Kenseth quickly got past Martin because he had the tire advantage. Bowyer, Edwards and Johnson finished sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively, because, once trapped back in the pack, they couldn’t get free of traffic.

Now it all seems crystal clear, but it wasn’t really a no-brainer until everyone took his chances. Kenseth pulled out his second victory of the season because he and crew chief Jimmy Fennig made the right call.

I’ve always thought I had a pretty fair recollection. Back to earliest childhood there are things that I know happened and I can bring ‘em up on occasion.

There are times that I do have doubts, however. ‘Ever now and then I get to talkin’ to an old friend I went to school with and they’ll bring up some incident that they claim I was involved in and I don’t have any idea what they’re talkin’ about.

"Remember that time we were out fishin’ and you slid down that bank and into the creek?" I might say.

"We never went fishin’," comes the reply.

The fact that these lapses in memory obviously aren’t just in my mind is reassurin’. But maybe it wasn’t fishin’. Maybe we were quail huntin’. Anyway it sure is a good memory.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin.’.

---

Weekly Column

CLICK and CLACK

TALK CARS

Dear Tom and Ray:

My husband and I recently purchased a new car. My husband refuses to run the air conditioning in heavy stop-and-go traffic or if we are sitting in the parked car. When I ask him what the reason is, he says that since the compressor for the air conditioning is belt-driven, if there is no airflow into the engine, the car will overheat. So I’m wondering why I see everyone else sitting in their nice, cool cars with the windows up, but their cars aren’t overheating. He has been this way with all of his vehicles. We have a vacation coming up with a 12-hour drive. I’m worried about long, HOT construction delays. -- Katie

RAY: Katie, we feel for you. We really do. The reason you see everyone else sitting in their nice, cool cars is because they’re not married to your stubborn husband.

TOM: He’s being overly cautious. Far too cautious. For at least three decades now, all cars have come equipped with electric cooling fans. When the car isn’t moving and there’s no wind being pushed through the front grille, an electric fan now comes on, independent of the engine, and makes its own breeze for the radiator.

RAY: That’s why cars can sit in traffic, even with the AC on, on very hot days, and still not overheat.

TOM: In fact, most cars have a second cooling fan, or a higher speed for the cooling fan, that kicks in automatically whenever the air conditioner is turned on, just to provide extra cooling under hot conditions.

RAY: Now, there is a limit to a cooling fan’s effectiveness. It never will provide as much cooling air as you would get when driving 65 mph on the highway. So if you’re stuck in traffic for a long time, and it’s 120 degrees out, an engine still can overheat. But those are highly unusual conditions.