Energy Petition Language.

Secretary of State Matt Blunt has announced that an initiative petition that would amend Missouri statutes by allowing customers of public utility companies to generate electricity through alternative means such as solar cells, wind power generators or biomass generating, has met state standards for circulation. The Reverend Larry Rice of Holts Summit is sponsoring the petition, called the "Consumer Clean Energy Act".

Before the issue can be brought before Missouri voters in the November 2004 election, signatures must be obtained from registered voters equal to 5 percent of the total votes cast in the last governor's election from six of the state's nine congressional districts. Depending on which congressional districts are used, approximately 75,000 valid signatures are required for a proposed statutory amendment to be placed on the ballot through the initiative petition process.

The ballot language for this statutory change reads:

It’s that time a year where it seems one of the main functions in life is just keepin’ warm. Even if it’s just gettin’ to the car, there is the constant checkin’ ta see if your gloves and your cap are in place. Makin’ sure the coat is buttoned up and the shoes will stay dry.

I suppose most of use durin’ this time a year would like to see a more moderate winter from time to time, but we really don’t have much to contend with compared to some.

It could be that it’s not so much the cold that is causin’ the concern these days, maybe it’s just that it bothers some of us more that it used to.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

Unclogging the Tub

Q: My relatives’ holiday visit finally sent our aging tub over the edge: It drains slowly, even after a short shower. How can I fix this? I don’t want to use a chemical drain cleaner. — Melanie F., Fort Myers, Fla.

A: Sounds like it’s time for a post-holiday overhaul! Even brand-new tub drains can suffer from high-volume use, as hair and soap form "gunk" clogs that much faster.

In this case, the whole drain assembly should be addressed. The assembly includes the area from the round drain opening in the bottom of the tub to the trip lever that closes the drain and allows water to fill the tub. A linkage and stopper system runs from the trip lever to the drain; removing this and cleaning it will often clear up the slow-drain problem.

Gather the following tools: a screwdriver, a small wire brush, needle-nose pliers, vinegar and heatproof grease. Keep a plunger handy and bring along a hand auger (or plumber’s snake) just in case. Also, put a couple of rags in your toolkit.

Identify the type of drain assembly your tub has: plunger or pop-up. The plunger type uses a brass plug (the plunger) to stop water from draining; the drain opening is unaffected. The pop-up type is easy to identify because when you push the trip arm to plug the drain, a metal drain stopper covers the drain opening.

With a plunger-type assembly, remove the screws on the trip arm’s cover plate and carefully pull the cover plate off the overflow opening. The entire linkage should come out with it: two linked metal rods with a heavy brass plug dangling at the end.

A pop-up drain is removed in two stages. First, move the trip lever up into the full-open position, grasp the metal stopper in the drain opening at the bottom of the tub, and carefully pull out the stopper and the rocker arm.

Second, unscrew and remove the cover plate, gently pulling the linkage out. Clean the linkage assemblies with the wire brush dipped in vinegar. Lubricate the assembly (except the stopper and rocker arm) with heatproof grease.

At this point, you can also adjust the range of the linkage, which will help the drain close completely. The top rod of the linkage (the "lift rod") can be screwed up or down — down increases the range of motion, while up decreases it.