R-9 Enrollment and Orientation.

August 19 will be the first day of school for kindergarten through twelfth grade for the Carthage R-9 School District.

Elementary students (K-6) should enroll at the school they will be attending on August 4 and 5 from 8:00 A.M to 3:00 P.M. Seventh-grade students should enroll August 4 at 9:00 A.M. Eighth grade students should enroll August 5 from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M and ninth grade students should enroll on August 5 from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. Senior high school students who have not previously done so should enroll from August 9 to August 13 from 8:00 A.M. to noon or 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.

Columbian, Fairview, Mark Twain, Pleasant Valley and Steadley Elementary schools will have open house on August 17 from 5:30 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. Carthage Junior High will have seventh grade orientation August 17 at 6:45 P.M. and open house for grades 7 through 9 on August 17 at 7:15 P.M. Carthage Senior High will have tenth grade orientation on August 19 at 5:30 P.M. and open house August 19 at 7:00 P.M. You-Turn Academy will have open house August 17 from 6:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.

The theory I was brought up with was the more ya had the more ya had ta fix.

I can remember when electric windows in cars were still a luxury. "Just somethin’ else to go wrong" was heard more often than not. Which was usually followed by somethin’ like "I can’t imagine someone too lazy to roll up their own window."

I often wonder what a car with just the basics would cost these days. One of those with an AM radio (used ta be an "option"), a heater (an option in some pickups at least) but not air (wasn’t available at all), a three speed manual transmission, four roll up windows with wing vents, and real hub caps (white wall tires optional). Maybe some real metal chrome for flair. ‘Course ya prob’ly couldn’t give the thing away, way too simple for the complex society we have today.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

August is probably the best month of the year to take care of messy, hot, annoying exterior maintenance and repairs. Take roof repairs, for example. Is there anything less fun than replacing shingles and patching gutters under a boiling-hot sun? The trouble is, that hot, sunny weather is perfect for patches, glues and cements, which bond more securely in warm temperatures. It’s also a fairly calm month, weather-wise, giving you the best opportunity to do rooftop inspection and repairs.

A quick safety tip: Always work with a partner who can hold the ladder as you climb, and secure yourself with a safety rope before starting a task. This week, we’ll cover a general inspection of your home’s roof and describe the repairs you can do on your own. Next week, you’ll get the skinny on flashing, its role in protecting your home, and how to repair it.

Now that you’re on the roof, sweating buckets, do a visual inspection of its condition. Check the shingles closely, particularly along valleys (where gables meet) and ridges where falling debris does the most damage. Note the color of the shingles: green and black streaks mean that moss and mildew are accumulating; light-colored asphalt shingles are likely in an advanced stage of decay and will soon begin to curl (often requiring complete roof replacement). Broken or torn shingles can be found every year on most houses; that’s the price of protection from rain and falling branches.

Walk carefully along the roof and feel for soft spots. These soft spots indicate decay of the sheathing beneath the shingles; if you tug at the shingles over the spot they may easily tear away. Damaged sheathing must be replaced as soon as possible.

Finding just a few damaged or torn asphalt shingles is great, because these can be replaced easily in just a couple of hours. Bring these supplies up to the roof: a hammer and pry bar, caulk gun, utility knife, roofing cement, roofing nails and of course the replacement shingles. Starting with the uppermost shingle in the repair spot, pull out the damaged shingles as well as the old roofing nails. Patch the damaged building paper underneath with roofing cement. Install the new shingles, starting at the bottommost part and tapping in the roofing nails above the shingles’ tab slots. When you reach the last shingle, apply roofing cement to its underside and carefully slip it into place under the overlapping shingle. Then, carefully lift the overlapping shingle to tap nails into place.