Summer Food Service Program.

This summer, local organizations will provide nutritious meals to low-income children in the area through the Department of Health and Senior Services’ Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Eligible participants are encouraged to attend their local meal service sites. Open service sites in Carthage include Fairview Elementary, Columbian Elementary, Steadley Elementary, Carthage Junior High School, and the Carthage Technical Center. For more information contact Pam Cary at 417-359-7000.

The open sites in Carthage will be offered to all children age 18 and under who want to participate in the meal service. The program is also available to people over age 18 who are determined by a state or local educational agency to be mentally or physically disabled, and who participate during the school year in an established school program for the mentally or physically disabled.

"Children need nutritious meals throughout the year to continue to grow and learn," said Ann McCormack, chief of the Missouri SFSP, "and we are pleased that agencies in Missouri will be offering meals through the Summer Food Service Program.

Sometimes an asset can quickly become a liability.

I can remember the adventure of bein’ able to ride my bicycle out in country as a kid. Part of the fun was seein’ how many miles could be traveled in an afternoon. On one of those five mile or so trips, a tire went flat. Then I realized both tires were flat. All the sudden that wonderful machine became a real burden. Thinkin’ I couldn’t show up at home without the bike, and knowin’ I couldn’t ride on a the flat, I pushed.

Now walkin’ a bike on pavement with the tires inflated is fairly effortless, but pushin’ two flats on a gravel country road becomes a chore after a couple a miles. I’ve learned to carry patches and a pump.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

The Super Handyman

by Al Carrell & Kelly Carrell

Painting can be a lot of fun. One thing that really helps is having the right tools.

When it comes to painting something like a railing, whether it’s round or carved, the best tool is a painting mitt. Basically, it’s just a mitten with a fleece covering on the outside. The fleece holds the paint and makes it easy to apply just by grabbing the piece and rubbing your hand over the irregular surface. If you’ve got a pair of old fleecy mittens that are ready for the scrap heap, you’ve got a paint mitt.

Wear a rubber or latex glove under the mitten to keep the paint from soaking through to your hand.

Dear Al & Kelly: I recently patched a small hole in my bedroom wall. I speeded up the process by drying the compound with my hair dryer. I used a low heat setting so it wouldn’t dry too quickly but was able to do two coats of the stuff in just a couple of hours instead of waiting overnight. I even painted that evening, and you can hardly tell where I made the patch. -S.C.

Be sure not to dry paint too fast, or it might crack or shrink.

Dear Al & Kelly: This spring we made our own stepping stones from concrete. It was easy. The only hard part was mixing the concrete, but we found as easier way to do that. We put the mix and the water into a small plastic garbage can with a lid that sealed on tightly. Then we just rolled the can around on its side until the concrete was mixed thoroughly. The concrete poured easily into our mold. It was fast and neat. The can just washed out with a garden hose spray, and we use it inside again. -P.K.