Carthage Fire Chief John Cooper informed the City Council that the Fire Department is to handle the calls when persons complain of the smell coming from the RES (Renewable Environmental Solutions) plant.

"Call me at the station," said Cooper. "I’ll send someone down to RES to inform them of the smell."

Cooper spoke to the Mornin’ Mail and explained that the fire station handles the "People For Clean Air Act" by the Federal Government. Cooper said employees working at RES are unaware of the odor outside because the parts being processed are enclosed in a burn stack. Cooper stated that RES wants to be informed so they can adjust the burn temperature of the stack that is used to burn off the gases of turkey renderings.

"When the wind blows out of the North," said Cooper. "Is when the smell becomes noticeable."

RES is a refinery that processes turkey renderings into usable petroleum products and organic waste products. They use heat and compression to speed up the process of natural decomposing.

From what I can understand of the process, the folks down at the turkey parts to oil plant are still fine tunin’ their machine. Part of that fine tunin’ is gettin’ just the right mixture to make the plant run without emittin’ a foul odor (pardon the pun).

The promise was that the conversion from animal to mineral would not cause any noticeable change in the fresh air that Carthage has grown accustom to. Hopefully that will prove to be the fact.

It is also well to note that not all unpleasant odors floatin’ through the City are necessarily produced by the scientific wonder. A couple Sundays ago the spreadin’ of chicken droppin’s for fertilizer north of town matched about any man made odor in terms of potency. Man is not alone, sometimes nature stinks too.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

Wasps, Hornets Are Uninvited Guests

Q: With the weather improving, the wasps are back. They have started building a nest under the edge of my roof. Is there a permanent way to get rid of them? — Tabitha J., Jacksonville, Fla.

A: While you can probably get rid of wasps this season, there’s nothing available out there that is guaranteed to keep them away permanently. Unfortunately, you’ll have to check the outside of your home on a regular basis for these pesky insects. They love to build their nests in partially shaded, protected and sturdy areas (anything resembling the crook of a tree limb attached to a trunk) near a source of water. So, the best you can do is to clear away the current nest and reduce the chances of their coming back.

Tackle this task as soon as a nest is discovered. Left too long, it will just get bigger, with more and more wasps in and around it. Wear protective clothing: long sleeves and pants, with the cuffs tucked into your socks. You probably don’t need gloves and a beekeeper’s hat if the nest is small, but be ready to run just in case.

A chemical spray that can shoot several feet is available at home improvement and gardening stores. This will kill most or all of the wasps in the nest. However, if you don’t want to spray chemicals around your home, use the nonchemical method: a garden hose with a pressure nozzle attached. This option works only for small nests, as its chief result is destruction of the wasps’ home, but not the wasps themselves.

If you’re using chemicals, wait until just after sunset to spray. By this time most of the wasps will have returned to the nest. Send the kids and the neighbors inside and let loose.

When finished, go inside and avoid the sprayed area until morning, when the nest should be safe to remove.

To prevent wasps or hornets from returning, get rid of any standing water around the house. Prune tree branches so that they don’t touch the edges of the roof.

An important note on wasp and hornet nests: If they’re located on a tree many yards from your house, and are out of reach of children, avoid destroying them. The displaced insects could move to the next best location: on or inside your house.