The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Tuesday, March 13, 2001 Volume IX, Number 187

did ya know?



Did Ya Know?. . .The Carthage R-9 School District Board of Education and administrators will host a community forum for the purpose of informing the public of the April 3 bond issue. The session will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 22nd at Fairview Elementary School. Everyone is invited.

Did Ya Know?. . .The Area Agency on Aging will host its annual St. Patrick’s Day lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursday, March 15th at the Scottish Rite Temple, 505 Byers, Joplin. The cost is $4. Proceeds go to the homedelivered meal program of the agency.

Did Ya Know?. . .The Carthage Public Library Winter Reading Clubs, "Dragon Tales" and "Once Upon a Time"end with Spring Break. Points and book slips can be turned in through Wednesday, March 15th. St. Partick’s Awards day will be Saturday, March 17th. Call the YPL desk for details.


today's laugh

Dentist: "Good grief! You’ve got the biggest cavity I’ve ever seen - the biggest cavity I’ve ever seen. "
Patient: "You don’t have to repeat it, doc!"
Dentist: "I didn’t - that was the echo."

A minister asked a little girl what she thought of her first church service. "The music was nice," she said, "but the commercial was too long."

 


1901
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

Wm. P. Smith To Build A Home.

Will Build on Maple Street South of Centennial Avenue.

Wm. P. Smith, who recently sold the South Carthage mining land, and now lives in the Kilgore house on South Main street, has arranged to build a modern home on two lots he has just bought in Judge McGregor’s new addition, which was accepted by the council last night. The two lots are at the corner of Maple street and St. Louis avenue and cost $400.

The house will have a corner front looking towards both streets. It will be an eight room structure with all modern conveniences and will cost about $2,500. Mr. Smith expects to break ground tomorrow or the next day for his new house and hopes to push it to rapid completion.

  Today's Feature

Sunday Sales and Building Codes.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on five separate Council bills relating to the sale of liquor by the drink in restaurants at the regular Council meeting in City Hall at 7:30 this evening. Another bill that would ban alcoholic beverages in glass containers on City property, except Memorial Hall, is also scheduled.

The combination of liquor by the drink ordinances would allow restaurants with a state license to acquire a license from the City for weekdays for $75 and $300 for Sunday sales. Hours of sales on Sundays would be from 1 p.m. until midnight, the same as liquor stores.

The Council is also scheduled to vote on the amended City Personnel Policy M annual and the utility rated changes proposed by CW&EP.

The first reading of Council bills that would adopt the various International 2000 building construction and maintenance code is scheduled. These bills have been postponed twice and come to Council without specific recommendations from the Public Works Committee. The Committee voted 3-1 to table further discussion of the topic.


Commentary
Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126

I really don’t make this stuff up. The fact is, I couldn’t think up stuff like this. I’ve always said that if the people knew what happened at their Capitol, they would be furious. Well, about a hundred folks got a first hand look at what I am talking about.

We were voting in committee on Tuesday and just as we finished voting on one of the bills, a democrat member walked in late. The chairman, also a democrat, asked him if he would like to cast a vote on the bill. He said, and again, I am not making this up, "I don’t have a clue what we are voting on, just vote me the same way the chairman voted".

The packed audience looked like they were in total disbelief. Even though the incident had nothing to do with me, I was still embarrassed to even be in the same room at the time. In fairness to the member, we many times have to be several places at once and can’t always be constantly on top of everything. I have walked into a committee in the middle of a vote and been asked if I would like to vote on the pending legislation. If I know what we are voting on I will indeed cast a vote.

If I truly have no idea what we are doing at the time, I will pass until I understand what we are considering or I will abstain from that vote. I would rather be recorded as absent than cast your vote in a state of total ignorance.

The other committee incident that left me shaking my head also had to do with voting. I am on two committees that both meet at the same time on Tuesday afternoon. We were voting in this committee as well. There were about 10 members present and as we vote, I keep track in my head or on a piece of paper what the vote is as we call out our vote. In committee, recorded votes are taken by a vocal roll call with each member calling out aye, no, or pass. On this particular vote, it was 4 in favor and 6 against. When the Chairman, again a democrat, announced the vote, he said it was 9 in favor and 6 against. I thought that seemed kind of strange since the number of votes outweighed the number of members present.

Finally, the chairman was asked if members that weren’t present had had their votes cast for them. He admitted that was the case. That is in direct violation of our House rules. What is the point of being here if we don’t need to show up to vote? Maybe we could just call in our votes over the telephone!

Somewhere I have heard the phrase; self-government only works with self-discipline. It would appear we are a little short of self discipline right now.

As usual, I can be reached at House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments, or advice.


Letters to the Editor

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

After reading your "commentary" in the March 6th issue of Mornin’ Mail I felt I had to say something.

The truth is, we do not live in a color blind society. And the truth is there are people of color being stopped for only one reason, their skin color. When that stops the need to monitor the actions of police officers will stop.

"Laws like this only serve to make the chasm wider and when the final reports are in, it will do no one any good."

When the final reports are in it will hopefully be clearer whether or not an officer or a police force has been practicing racial profiling. And if they have it will be a starting point in stopping that practice.

"..I predicted that no matter what the results were, minorities would complain they were being unfairly singled out."

By making any kind of blanker statement like this you are claiming that because a group of people have one thing in common, in this case- they are minorities, they all think alike and act alike. That in itself is a stereotype from which discrimination stems.

In an utopia we will live in a color blind society and be as open minded and empathetic as you. But until that happens, we as a society need to be held accountable for the actions we take, and sometimes the only way to do that, is unfortunately, with laws such as this one.

Sammi Johnson


I was surfing on the Net when I came across the 1897 wedding announcement for my grandparents: Eugene E. Dodd and Clara Riley in your Mornin’ Mail.

It was a very happy discovery. I will add the information to the family archives.

Grandfather Dodd went on to become the principal of Central High School in Springfield, Mo., from about 1899 to 1915.

An interesting footnote, E. E. Dodd in 1898 and 1899 started a successful school supply business in Chicago.

It was so successful that members of the Chicago Board of Education wanted kickbacks under the table. My grandfather wouldn’t do it. He told them to go to Hell, sold out his business, and came back to Missouri.

Best wishes,

William Dodd Brown


Tax Collection for February 2001.

Stephen H. Holt, Jasper County Collector, has announced $1,039,789.20 was collected by his office for the month of February, 2001.

This amount includes $479,869.80 in 2000 real estate taxes, $43,198.72 in 1999 real estate taxes, $7,384.64 in 1997 real estate taxes and $1,163.45 in 1995 real estate taxes.

Also collected was $459,510.43 in 2000 personal property taxes, $14,499.43 in 1999 personal property taxes, $3,517.42 in 1998 personal property taxes and $778.68 in 1997 personal property taxes.

$24,659.63 was collected in 2000 Personal and Real State Assessed Utility taxes.

$458.00 in duplicate receipts, $4,450.00 in merchants licenses, $90.00 in publication fees, $159.00 in auctioneer’s licenses, and $50.00 in miscellaneous fees.

Distribution of the $727,267.15 allocated to schools in Jasper County is as follows: Carl Junction R-I, $109,009.94; Sarcoxie R-II, $18,794.65; Golden City R-III, $8.81; Diamond R-IV, $2,201.10; Jasper R-V, $11,685.93; Webb City R-VII, $141,605.95; Joplin R-VIII, $316,023.79; Carthage R-IX, $121,846.60; Avilla R-XIII, $6,090.38.


Search for Century Farms Continues.

news release

The search is on again for Missouri farms that have been in the same family 100 years or more.

These farms will be recognized in the Missouri Centennial Farm program at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In the 1976 program, 2,850 Missouri farm owners were recognized as owning a centennial farm.

In 1986, the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and University Outreach and Extension planned a Century Farm program in which 1080 more farms were recognized. Due to continued interest in the program, annual updates are now given each year. Since 1987, there have been an additional 1884 farms recognized. Last year, 146 family farms joined the program.

"Today’s pace of change certainly challenges our human ability to accept it," says Thomas Payne, dean of the University of Missouri-Columbia of Agriculture Food, and Natural Resources. "There is perhaps no greater icon, or symbol, of all that has changed in America than the farm. Missouri’s farms that have stood the test of a century of weather, of markets, and of descendants deserve our respect and the honor bestowed by the Century Farm program."

To qualify as a Missouri Century Farm, farms must meet the following guidelines. The same family must have owned the farm for 100 years or more as of Dec. 31, 2001. The family shall consist of direct descendants only. The farm must be at least 40 acres of the original land and make a financial contribution to the overall farm income. A website, http://outreach.missouri.edu/centuryfarm, includes the history of the program, guidelines, application form, and highlights several farms from the 2000 program.

Applicants certified as owners of a 2001 Missouri Century Farm will be recognized by University Outreach and Extension in the county where the farm is located.

Application forms and information are available through Extension Publications, 2800 Maguire Blvd., Columbia, MO 65211, through your local Extension office or on the website. A $25 fee is required to cover the cost of certificates and farm signs for approved applicants. Checks should be made out to Missouri Century Farms and should accompany a completed application. If more than one sign is requested, $10 should be included for each additional sign. Applications must be returned by July 4, 2001.

The Missouri Century Farm program is jointly administered by the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and University Outreach and Extension.

For more information, contact the Carthage Extension office at 358-2158.


Just Jake Talkin'

Mornin',

You might take a look at the Square next Saturday, there should be a good group of folks gatherin’ to listen and pick a little bluegrass and traditional music. If the weather is decent, I’d guess the Courthouse lawn may be used for some jammin’.

If the weather is cool, most will prob’ly gather inside the Main Street Mercantile on the west side of the square. It’s bein’ called a festival and there will be groups performin’ on the Woodshed stage in the back of the Mercantile startin’ about noon and continuin’ till 10 or so that night.

While ya might expect ta pay $8 or $10 bucks for a similar day of entertainment, this one is FREE! Donations are accepted to help offset expenses, but not required.

Should be a good day for the Square and Carthage.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Sponsored

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

Weekly Column

Health Notes

Health & Nutrition by Judith Sheldon

ANOTHER SMOKING HAZARD: By now, you probably know that cigarettes can cause cancer, cardiovascular complications, respiratory ailments, premature aging, and many other physical problems.

Now there’s one more reason not to smoke: the possibility that you can suffer severe burns from aerosol hair sprays.

Apparently, this happens far too often and people who use aerosol sprays need to be reminded that these can explode in the presence of a flame or even an ember.

If you still smoke, please don’t do so while using hair spray or any aerosol product. Also, since teenagers are among the nation’s fastest growing group of smokers, and since they also tend to use hair sprays, they need to be cautioned not to do so while smoking.

UNDERWEAR ALLERGIES: The latex that lines the waist and leg openings of some styles of underwear can cause allergic reactions in people who have a chemical sensitivity to various rubberized materials. When these linings or leg openings are stretched, the latex may come in contact with the skin, which can cause itching and inflammation, as well as teary eyes and sneezing. Dish washing gloves, hot water bottles, and even rubber bands can set off the same allergic reactions.


Copyright 1997-2000 by Heritage Publishing. All rights reserved.