Library Public Forum.

There will be a public forum held in the basement of the Carthage Memorial Hall tonight at 7 p.m. Citizens for the Carthage Public Library will host the event. Voters on November 4th will decide a proposal to increase city sales tax by three-sixteenths of one percent to generate money for the renovation and expansion of the Carthage Public Library.

CW&EP Finance Vote.

The City Council will have their regular meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers in City Hall. The Council is scheduled to vote to authorize Certificates of Participation to finance improvements for CW&EP. They are also scheduled to vote on the ordinance to amend the Code of the City of Carthage to change the number of members on the McCune Brooks hospital board of trustees from seven to nine.

New business includes an Ordinance amending the Carthage Code to add a section pertaining to firearms in city buildings and an Ordinance amending the Personal Policy Manual by adding a new section regaurding workplace violence and safety.

KIDS AT HEART

news release from George Washington Carver National Monument

The Kids at Heart Programs designed for senior citizens will kick-off on Tuesday, November 4, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at George Washington Carver National Monument. Park Ranger Dena Matteson will present a cornhusk doll workshop which is the first in a series of monthly programs through April 2004. Participants will enjoy hearing about the boyhood years of George Washington Carver as they make their own cornhusk doll to take home. Class size is limited and reservations are required. Call 417-325-4151 Materials for the Kids At Heart workshops are provided by the Carver Birthplace District Association.

Additional programs are scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. with the exception of woodcarving in April.

Administered by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of Interior, George Washington Carver National Monument preserves the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver, scientist, educator, and humanitarian. All activities and events are free to the public.

If your in the mood for a little education, supporters of the proposed Library expansion are havin’ an information and discussion get together this evenin’ in the Memorial Hall basement.

The meetin’ is to let folks see where the proposed sales tax would be spent. The election will be next Tuesday so it would be a good time to take a look. I’m guessin’ there will be pictures of what the new expansion of the library will look like and the opportunity to ask questions about the project.

If ya haven’t been to Memorial Hall since the renovation, use the front door. There is an elevator to take ya to the basement and you’ll find a nice meetin’ room and other improvements.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please address sciatica. I have it but don’t know much about it. My wife says I should take time off work and stay in bed. Would rest hasten healing? — R.B.

ANSWER: Sciatica (sigh-AT-ee-kuh) comes from an irritated sciatic nerve, the body’s largest and longest nerve. The sciatic nerve originates in the lower back. Nerve roots springing from the lower spinal cord intertwine to form the right and left sciatic nerves. Each nerve travels downward through the buttocks and legs to reach the heels.

Irritation of the nerve anywhere in its long path causes pain. Typically the pain is in the lower back and buttocks and often runs down the back of the leg.

A bulging disc in the backbone is one cause. The backbone looks like a stack of blocks with small sponges (discs) between adjacent blocks to act as shock absorbers. The center of the disc is a gel material, and it can protrude through the disc and press on back nerves. Spinal stenosis is another cause of sciatica. That’s a narrowing of the spinal canal that often comes with aging.

No, you should not go to bed. If the pain is unbearable, one day in bed is allowed; two, at most. Bed rest does not hasten recovery, and it weakens muscles and bones. Tylenol or anti-inflammatory drugs (Advil, Motrin, Indocin, Naprosyn and on and on) can bring a lessening of pain. Time is the healer for most.