The Public Works Committee held their regular meeting Tuesday in City Hall. Carthage Street Commissioner Tom Shelley announced that bids for contract paving will open March 25th at 3 p.m. Shelley stated that Blevins Asphalt of Mount Vernon and Apac Construction of Springfield are the two companies that have been submitting bids in the past and he expects they will be the only two again this year. The bid for asphalt this year will be 3600 tons.

Shelley said that currently the City is paying $26 per ton for asphalt. Shelley mentioned that before 9/11, they were paying $21 per ton.

Shelley also informed the committee that he is currently working on the operating budget for 2004-2005 for the Street Department. Shelley stated that it will be approximately $10,000 over the current budget.

"The biggest increase will be fuel," said Shelley. "I raised the gasoline budget 20% and currently fuel will go over budget this year, we still have April, May and June."

Shelley explained that he is currently under budget in some areas, so the rise in fuel won’t effect the current year’s budget.

Letters to the Editor.

Opinions expressed reflect those of the writer
and not necessarily those of the Mornin' Mail.

We all probably received in the mail this week the brochure on the future of the Carthage R-9 school system. Please take time to really read the brochure. I have heard the comment that we as citizens are being ‘threatened’ into voting for the levy (i.e. fewer teachers, more students per classroom, cut/reduce music, eliminate most sports, eliminate Odyssey of the Mind, etc.). I for one can’t see it as a threat but as a given.

Our parents and grandparents arose to the task of seeing that we had those opportunities and the best education possible. Can we expect anything less of ourselves?

If we don’t pass the levy, we will certainly lose some of our kids to other districts. When our kids go, so goes even more federal/state dollars.

Please go to the polls and vote your conscience.

Virginia Bryan

The City gets a hit when gas prices go up. All departments use a fair chunk of petroleum in their daily routine.

Onea the reasons ya don’t hear any big squawks about the increase in price however, is the fact that taxes on gas for the City are based on a percentage. If gas prices are a buck a gallon, the 1% tax is a penny. If the price goes to two bucks, the tax goes to two cents.

‘Course the same thing applies to all sales tax, but typically if inflation is pushin’ up prices for ever’thing, the increase just help buffer the increase in cost for services.

With gas prices pushin’ up and the rest of the economy settin’ at a low inflation rate, the City should see a little boost in the revenue for the streets, which is where the gas tax goes.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack
TALK CARS

By Tom Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

I work in law enforcement on a surveillance unit. We often have to sit in our vehicles for long periods of time, sometimes with the engine running. Is it hard on a vehicle for it to idle in a stationary position for long periods of time — and why or why not? If it is necessary to remain stationary with our vehicle idling, is it better for the vehicle to be in Park or Neutral, or something else? I just want solid, expert advice to help our fleet of vehicles and perhaps save some taxpayer money. — Jerry

TOM: Well, the less time and engine spends running, the longer it’s going to last. That’s obvious, right? An engine that has 100 hours on it will last longer than an engine that has 10,000 hours on it. That’s why we don’t recommend that people buy used taxicabs. Or used police cars!

RAY: So, if you don’t need the engine on to keep from freezing, or to keep from melting, turning it off is best. That saves gas, saves money and decreases pollution.

TOM: But if you need to leave the engine running, aside from the normal wear and tear, no additional harm will be done to it. You can run a modern engine at idle all day and — as long as the cooling system is in working order — nothing will break.

RAY: And Park is definitely the best gear to use so you don’t do what? Roll into someone else’s car. Which tends to blow your cover.

TOM: In the old days, when cars had carburetors, fuel metering was so imprecise that the carburetor would pour way too much fuel into the cylinders at idle. Some of that fuel would inevitably seep down into the crankcase and dilute your oil. And that was bad for the engine.