Council Poised on CW&EP Rate Hikes.

The CW&EP staff presented a budget draft for fiscal year 2012-2013 during the Boards April meeting members discussed major items including revenues, operating expenses and capital expenditures. According to the minutes:

"A motion by Johnson and seconded by Faulk to include in the budget a managerial flexible pay increase of 2.75 percent passed unanimously.

Also discussed was the impact on local costs due to EPA and DNR regulations being implemented through the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act on the federal level. Implementation of regulations such as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule covering S02 and Nox, the Coal Combustion Residuals Rule covering fly ash, and the Utility MACT Rule covering mercury and particulate matter, combined with increased cost for coal and rail transportation, is expected to increase the cost of electricity by 40% within the next 6 years, with much of that increase coming as soon as 2014.

A motion by Beimdiek and seconded by Ross to approve the CW&EP Fiscal Year 2012-2013 budget for presentation to the Carthage City Council with recommended rate increases of 15% Electric with a decrease in revenue from Purchased Power Adjustment of approximately 5%, 15.6% Water Rate increase, and 10% Wastewater increase passed unanimously." The Council is now considering the increases.

Renewable Energy Initiative Short of Signatures.

The Missouri Energy Development Association (MEDA) and Missourians for Affordable Renewable Energy (MARE) have announced that California-based Earth Island Institute, Inc./Renew Missouri’s (EII) new renewable energy mandate initiative petition effort was unable to produce the necessary amount of signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office by the signature collection deadline of May 6, 2012. Therefore, no renewable energy mandate initiative petitions will be eligible for the November 2012 election ballot.

"MEDA, MARE, and additional business and labor coalition partners worked extremely hard to protect Missouri’s residential and small business energy consumers by defeating the rampant rate increases that would have resulted from EII’s costly mandate," said Trey Davis, president of MEDA.

MEDA has been working since 2008 to put into action the original renewable energy mandate, Proposition C, so that investment is promoted. As recently as December 27, 2011, the Cole County Circuit Court ruled in favor of MEDA’s argument that Proposition C provides a 1 percent rate increase limit, not 10 percent plus like was argued for by EII, and that a utility may comply with the standard by purchasing renewable energy credits and facilitating a broad market within which the credits can be traded and consumer costs can be kept low.

Collectively, MEDA members deliver now, and in the future, nearly 1000 MW of wind energy to customers.

Letter Carriers Food Drive On Saturday, May 12.

20th anniversary of "Stamp Out Hunger" annual national food drive.

The Carthage Area United Way encourages community members to donate a sturdy bag of non-perishable items (canned foods, pasta, rice, cereal, etc.) to be collected by letter carriers as they deliver mail along their postal routes.

"Stamp Out Hunger" is a national partnership between NALC, the U.S. Postal Service, United Way, the AFL-CIO, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, Campbell Soup Company, Feeding America, Valpak, AARP and Uncle Bob’s Self Storage. Mail carriers will take the donations to the local Post Office and then it will be delivered to Carthage Crosslines Ministries, a Carthage Area United Way agency that assists in meeting emergency needs of persons and families in our community by providing assistance with food and clothing.

The Food Drive will be this Saturday, May 12, 2012, prior to mail delivery. Those unable to get donations out on Saturday morning, can drop off any donation, all year long, at the Crossline’s office, 600 E. 6th Street between 8 and noon or call 358-1577 for more information.

Bag(s) should be left next to the mailbox.

This year the drive is amidst a "perfect storm" of high unemployment, sky-high food and gasoline prices, unprecedented budget cuts to federal nutrition programs, limits on charitable-giving incentives and a decline in federal commodities. Some larger food banks are reporting declines in food inventories of as much as 35 percent from last year. Moving into the summer months, 22 million students are at risk of going hungry when the school year ends. For many children, school meals are the only complete and nutritious meals they eat.

DWI Check Point

No Refusal weekend May 11th-13th, 2012.

The weekend of May 11th-13th, 2012, The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the Southwest Missouri DWI task force, will be holding a sobriety checkpoint, in Jasper County. According to the Sheriff, this Check Point will be a "No Refusal" check point. A no refusal check point is defined as if a suspect is arrested for driving while intoxicated/impaired and refuses to submit to a breath test. A search warrant will be obtained and a blood sample will be acquired. A member of the Jasper County Prosecutor’s Office and a Jasper County Judge will be on scene to issue any needed search warrants or other legal documentation.

The Jasper County Sheriff says that he and his Office, "want to preserve the safety of the residents of Jasper County and keep the roadways in Jasper County safe. Drunk drivers kill thousands of innocent people yearly on the roadways and this check point goal is to deter impaired driving and seek out those people who drive impaired, violate the law and most importantly save lives of those passing through this County."

Jasper County Jail Count

181 May 9, 2011

Total Including Placed out of County

Weekly Column

CLICK and CLACK

TALK CARS

I love your show. I recently got a 2001 Audi A8L that now has 130,000 miles on it. The only other owner was my dad, and he took extremely great care of the car. Recently, the check-engine light has been coming on, saying that my catalytic converter’s efficiency is too low. My mechanic tested it and said the level is just barely above what I need for the car to pass its emissions inspection.

He said to wait as long as I can to replace it, but that some people choose to get rid of their cars at this point because the repair is $5,200, and the blue-book value of the car is only $6,000. So, what should I do? Keep the car and pay $5,200 to replace the converters when the time comes, or sell it now, while it is still passing its emissions tests?

-- Patrick

TOM: You have to relocate to somewhere with no emissions testing, Patrick. Have you considered the Democratic Republic of Congo?

RAY: A lot of people don’t realize that when you buy a high-end car, it’s not only the purchase price that’s high -- the parts and service are "premium priced," too.

TOM: But the price you got sounds a little high even for Audi. This car uses two catalytic converters. According to our sources, the converters themselves cost about $1,900 if you buy them from Audi. Then you probably should replace all four oxygen sensors, at about $200 a pop. And then add labor. Still, I don’t see how they can charge you more than about $3,500 for this job. So I think the estimate you got is high.

RAY: Not that $3,500 is cheap! But if someone offered you this car, right now, with new catalytic converters, for $3,500, you’d probably buy it, right? After all, what’s your alternative? You could sell it for $6,000 and get what? A 2004 Dodge Caravan?

artCentral

ART NOTES from Hyde House

by Sally Armstrong, Director of artCentral

Attendance was wonderful for our third opening of 2012, John Lasaters exhibiton called "Ordinary Beauty", and I am thrilled to report that sales for this show exceeded any other show to date! We ended up with 26 paintings total, and six have been sold to date. It is not too late to see this beautiful exhibition, as the gallery will be open this coming weekend and the next, Fridays-Sundays noon to 5:00 daily, through May 20th. John did something that was a first for me as director, and began a plein air painting on the front porch of one of the beautiful blooming magnolia flowers from the big saucer magnolia tree in the front yard. He got about 1/3 finished when guests began arriving, and he had to pause, then never returned to finish. The subject being painted has long since perished, but we are hoping to convince John to complete the painting and donate it for auction in our late summer member’s sales donation auction, so stay tuned for that! Please come by if you have not already done so to take a look! It was a busy weekend for me too, not only being present at the gallery to greet guests, but to prepare several mailings that went out to both our membership as well as all former artCamp students. I have ready the artCamp class materials, and have sent those now to some 89 student homes in hopes of receiving many of our former students back once more in July for our two week kid’s artCamp. This year’s camp features 29 classes, sometimes as many as four a day! This means that we can offer alot of choices to our students, and the eight teachers who will be bringing these new classes have presented a lot of fun and interesting alternatives. This year’s overall theme seems to be birds, and particularly "angry birds" will be featured in a few places, so if you have a child aged 8-14 who might be interested in coming for the first time, stop by the Public Library later this week, or by the Chamber of Commerce, for the hot-pink informational fliers and registration cards. More information next week on specific classes.