Today's Feature

Red, White and Boom.

The City of Carthage Red, White and Boom celebration will be held July 4 at Carthage Municipal Park. Activities will begin with a 5 K Run at 7:00 a.m. Pre-registration is encouraged. Persons participating will need to be checked in at the run’s starting line by 6:30 a.m.

The Red, White and Blue Salute to America will begin at 5:00 p.m on the west side of the skating rink and will open the evening’s activities. Along with the presentation of colors, a proclamation will be read by Mayor Kenneth Johnson. The Heartland Band and others will provide entertainment. A tribute will be given to all veterans with a special tribute to members of the 203rd Missouri National Guard Units of Southwest Missouri. A special invitation is extended to all members of the 203rd Missouri National Guard units, as well as all Veterans, to attend the ceremony. Entertainment by the Heartland Concert Band will follow the salute.

The Fireworks in the Sky presentation will begin at 9:30 p.m. The exhibit will be choreographed to music. Carthage has been known for many years for its outstanding fireworks exhibition and this year’s show will be as large as ever. The exhibition becomes a music show beginning at 9:30 p.m. with the synchronized music on Mix 95.1 FM radio station.

Food concession will be provided by the Carthage Lion’s Club.

Activity sponsors include The Carthage Senior High School Cross Country Team, Carthage Boy Scout Troop # 9, The Heartland Concert Band and the City of Carthage. Red White and Boom Partners include the City of Carthage, Leggett and Platt, Inc. Fastrip, Precious Moments, Beimdick Insurance Agency, Inc., McCune-Brooks Hospital, Carthage Water and Electric, Carthage Press, KDMO-KMXL Mix 95.1 Radio, KSN-16 TV.

For more information about the 5K run, contact Andy Youngworth, Carthage Senior High Cross Country Team coach. For more information about the Red, White and Blue Salute contact Tom Flanigan, Carthage Boy Scout Troop # 9 Leader. For more info about musical entertainment, contact Nancy Sanders, Heartland Concert Band member.

Saw one a those little bits a trivia on the tv the other day. Said that more people get hurt by television sets than are injured by fireworks. I don’t know what that says, but it sure goes ta show ya.

I’d guess that it could be interpreted to mean that we should be blowin’ up more tv sets. Or we should be watchin’ more fireworks. That’s one a the problems with just knowin’ a little bit of the facts. Ya never really know what ta make of ‘em.

It’s like the old story of the Russian and American auto race. The Russian newspaper was said to report that the Russian came in second and the American came in next to last. Never mentioned that only two cars entered the race.

There will be plenty a fireworks for folks in this part of the woods on Monday. Might consider turnin’ off the TV.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• "If you have delicate items to wash, put them inside a pillowcase and knot or tie off the end before you run them through the delicate cycle on your washing machine. This works really well if you have something that has thin straps, as they will not get tangled up in the agitator." — K.Z. in Rhode Island

• To keep your kitchen trash can smelling sweet naturally, put three drops of eucalyptus or cinnamon oil on a cotton ball and drop it in the bottom of the can.

• An excellent suggestion comes to us from the National Watermelon Promotion Board, via a reader: Try freezing watermelon juice in ice cube trays to add to lemonade or iced tea. Put a cup or two of seedless or de-seeded watermelon in a blender and mix until smooth. Run it through a strainer, and put the resulting liquid into an ice-cube tray. Then freeze and enjoy!

• "Keeping track of relatives is hard to manage sometimes, but now that my son is getting started on geography, we put up a map of the United States and pinned pictures of our relatives in the states where they live. Once a week, we pick a relative and write a small postcard to him or her. It keeps us in touch, and my son gets to know the states better, since we have relatives all over." — E.C. in Arkansas

• "Dust from the top down, and clean walls from the bottom up. Dust falls, so by the time you get to the bottom, you’ve got it all, but drips are easier to clean off when the wall is already clean." — I.M. in Ohio