R-9 Board Sets Tax Rate.

The Carthage R-9 School Board met Monday evening in a regular session to set the tax rate for the 04-05 year. The board approved a 42 cent increase in the levy.

The vote on the increase was 4 to 2. Those in favor were Neel Baucom, Debbie Baugh, Tony Diggs and Dr. Mark Westhoff. Those against were Dan Beck and Nate Stokes. Member Danny Lambeth was absent from the meeting.

The tax raise has been the subject of debate since the vote last April which approved a 67 cent maximum raise for the continuation of a variety of courses after a cut in state funding. The Citizens for Fair Taxation started a petition asking for another vote on the issue after it was announced that State funding would be increased in addition to the levy. The R-9 Board called a special meeting to hear from the public on the matter on August 9.

The board had approved a preliminary budget for the year based on a 52 cent increase at a meeting in June. Due to a $6.7 million increase over last year’s County assessment values the board lowered the amount to 42 cents.

I’m guessin’ that near a hunderd years ago the music could have been heard around the Square most evenin’s comin’ from the honky tonks and the opera house. It was the "rock and roll" of the era and the young especially jumped on the band wagon.

Like rock and roll and the blues, ragtime was an American invention. Prob’ly the first true American popular music and it captured the spirit of the turn of the century.

There will be several concerts of varying size over the weekend. The schedule should accommodate most anyone’s plans.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

HERE’S A TIP

By JoAnn Derson

• "For slip-off skins on sweet potatoes, boil them for about 20 minutes or until done. Then immediately drop them in a bowl of ice water. The skins virtually fall off." — Anabella R. in Lexington, Ky.

• Joseph DeM. of Memphis, Tenn., writes: "To really clear smells out of my garbage disposal, I use one cup of lemon-fresh ammonia. It clears out the odor."

• "If you love oysters, this news will interest you. We talked to the seafood manager of our local grocery store, and he said that oysters are relatively safe year-round (except possibly ones from the Gulf of Mexico), but are less flavorful in the summer, since that is when they bloom. He said oysters can be frozen for up to three months. Just shuck them and freeze them in their own juices. They only keep in the fridge for a day or two." — Oyster Lover’s Wife in Oregon

• For maximum flavor, always add your herbs — fresh or dried — in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

• "Barley, rice, pasta and beans make great soup stretchers. There is hardly a soup recipe that wouldn’t be complemented by one of these, and they are all relatively inexpensive. They can almost double a recipe without affecting the taste too much, and you can freeze a portion for another use. Potatoes are also good, but they don’t freeze well at all." — Rebecca G. in New York

• To keep ice cream from dripping out of the bottom of a cone, just jam a small marshmallow into the bottom before filling it with ice cream.

• To sweeten grapefruit, sprinkle with a little salt.