Today's Feature

Election Today.

The Annual Municipal Election for Carthage will be held today. One Council member from each ward is running unopposed for a two year term.

Councilman Dave Woods is the candidate for Ward One. Councilman Ron Wells is a candidate for Ward Two. Councilwoman Diane Sharits is a candidate for Ward Three. Councilman Bill Welch is the candidate for Ward Four. Councilman Jim Woestman is the candidate for Ward Five. Additionally Councilman Tom Flanigan of Ward Five is running for an unexpired one year term.

The Annual School Election is also being held today. Three candidates shall be selected to serve as members of the Board of Education for the Carthage R-9 School District. Each of the three selected candidates will serve a term of three years. Candidates for the position include; Tony Diggs, Nate A. Stokes, Clay Novinger, Jeff Jones, Dan W. Stanley and Danny Lambeth.

Trustees for Crowder College will also be voted upon. Two candidates have filed without opposition; James B. Tatum for Subdistrict 1 and Rick Butler for Subdistrict 2. Elected Trustees will serve a six year term.

‘Course I don’t buy the idea that by not showin’ up at the polls folks make a statement. I’ve tried that with tv shows. I figure if ratings are based on how many people watch a program, my not watchin’ will somehow be noticed. In fact the opposite seems to occur. The more I enjoy a show, the more likely it seems it will be canceled. The shows I never watch seem to run on for ever.

The thought that I am completely out of step with the rest of the viewin’ audience has crossed my mind. I simply refuse to acknowledge that line of thought.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Bladder Infections Can Frustrate Women

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have repeated urinary tract infections. I am a 68-year-old woman. I have been on trimethoprim (an antibiotic) for a long time, and last week I had another infection. What is your opinion? I am frustrated. — J.

ANSWER: The female urethra — the tube that drains the bladder — is shorter than the male’s, and bacteria can more easily gain access to the bladder. The external opening of the female urethra is in an area where there is an abundant bacterial population.

First off, it must be established that your symptoms are truly due to an infection and not something else. High on the list of something elses is interstitial cystitis, a condition that closely resembles a bladder infection but for which antibiotics do nothing.

One way of preventing recurrences is to put a woman on a low dose of daily antibiotics for extended periods of time. During that treatment period, a woman’s urine should be checked, even monthly, to see if there are still bacteria in it. If there are, then the laboratory runs tests on them to determine if they are still susceptible to the antibiotic that the woman is taking.

Or, you might have an anatomic problem like a dropped bladder, something many 68-year-old women have. It is impossible to empty a dropped bladder of all its urine. That creates an environment conducive to bacterial growth and bladder infection. Treatment for this condition is not antibiotics but surgical restoration of the bladder supports.