The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Thursday, June 30, 2005 Volume XIV, Number 9

did ya know?

Did Ya Know?... More dogs and cats become lost during the 4th of July season than any other time of the year. At the first sound of fireworks, confine your pets to a safe, quiet place.

Did Ya Know?... The Sanctuary Choir of First Church of the Nazarene, 2000 Grand, Carthage, will present Our Flag Was Still There, Sunday, July 3, 10:30 a.m.

Did Ya Know?... The City of Carthage will be spraying for mosquitoes through Friday, July 1st. Areas will be sprayed in the evening of the regular trash pick up day, between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. It is recommended that attic fans and window fans be turned off when the sprayer is in the immediate area.

Did Ya Know?... The City of Carthage Recycling Drop-Off Center and Composting Lot will be closed Tuesday, July 5th in observance of Independence Day.

today's laugh

Doctor: "Have you taken every precaution to prevent spread of contagion in your family?"
Pa: "Absolutely, doctor. We’ve even bought a sanitary cup and we all drink from it."

Why did you cut the sleeve out of your overcoat?
So I could put it on without taking the books out of my hand.

1905
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

Two Police Court Fines.

Three Men Fined Yesterday Skipped Out From Work on the Street.

In police court this morning H.M. McCoy pleaded guilty to intoxication and was fined $7 including costs which he paid.

Yesterday afternoon Leslie Oglesby pleaded guilty to fighting and was fined $7 including costs which he is laying out in the calaboose. The other party to the fracas has not been found yet.

The three Sarcoxie strawberry pickers who stopped here in their wanderings over the earth and were arrested and fined yesterday were put out to work the worth of their fines on the street. Before noon they had skipped. They took the pains to first ask someone who was working nearby if Street Commissioner Coulter carried a gun. On being told that he probably did not they took advantage of the first time his back was turned and all three skipped out.

 

Today's Feature
Approved the Budget.

City Council approved the Annual Operating and Capital Budget for the City of Carthage for the Fiscal Year 2005 at the meeting Tuesday evening.

Council member Ronnie Wells told the council that he would be voting against the ordinance because he did not agree with several points of the new budget. According to Wells the budget calls for spending $300,000 more than what the City has available. The budget also includes a pay increase for City employees and increased personnel for the Police Department which Wells said was ill-timed given the already tight budget.

Council members in favor of adopting the budget included Jackie Boyer, Bill Welch, Tom Flanigan, Jim Woestman, Claude Newport, Dave Woods and Mike Harris. Wells was opposed. Council members Diane Sharits and Bill Johnson were not in attendance of the meeting.

Fire Chief John Cooper expressed concerns to the Council concerning the dry and hot weather lately and the approach of July 4th. Cooper said he urges the public to use great care in lighting fireworks as the risk of fire is very high.


Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin'
Used ta have a dog that would start shakin’ all over and hide behind the couch whenever it started to thunder. No talkin’ to that dog. Just wouldn’t listen.

No matter how calm we spoke, or how much we petted that dog, it wouldn’t move away from its security furniture.

I don’t suppose it really hurt anything that the dog was so fearful of a rumble or two. There was somethin’ that made us kids want to get the dog to face the thunder.

‘Course we were prob’ly lucky not to be struck down by lightnin’ durin’ some of our adventures durin’ rain storms.

I suppose now there would be some dog shrink tellin’ us that we could somehow work the animal through its fears and make it a more functional pet. The dog lived a normal and healthy live. Sometimes you just have to let shakin’ dogs lay.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Sponsored
by:
Metcalf Auto Supply
Weekly Column
Click & Clack Talk Cars

By Tom and Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

I have an elderly mother - now over 80 - who drives a 1999 Lincoln Continental. She loves the car, but uses its power seat to position herself within a few inches of the steering wheel and air bag. I’m concerned that she might be seriously injured if the air bag goes off in an accident. Should I pull the fuse on the air-bag circuit? Is there some standard distance between the driver and the air bag that is considered safe? - Jim

TOM: The recommended distance is 10 inches, Jim. That pretty much guarantees that, even when the seat belt stretches in an accident, you’ll end up no closer than 3-5 inches away from the air bag when it’s inflating.

RAY: But so many people benefit from air bags that there are strict rules set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about who can disconnect them and under what conditions.

TOM: So, you have a couple of options, Jim. First, measure your mom’s actual distance from the air bag. It should be measured from the center of the steering wheel to the driver’s sternum. If it’s less than 10 inches, you can play around and try to find a seating position that DOES put the sternum 10 inches away.

RAY: If they’re almost 10 inches away, you can also try pedal extenders.

TOM: If none of that works, then you can get an authorization letter by calling NHTSA’s Auto Safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or going to www.nhtsa.gov. Once you get authorization, you can take the car to a mechanic and have him install an on-off switch for the driver’s air bag.

RAY: So go about it the right way, Jim. The rules are there for a reason.


RACING
By Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive

Hmiel Suspension Is Racing Rarity

Q: You are always preaching how “clean” NASCAR and other forms of motorsports are when it comes to drug problems we have in other major sports. Well, Shane Hmiel flunked a drug test for the second time and was suspended indefinitely. I guess your sport isn’t that clean after all. — Eddie K., basketball fan from Charlotte, N.C.

A: It’s a shame that someone of Hmiel’s talent has again failed a substance-abuse test after being given a second chance. Citing “reasonable suspicion,” the procedure used by NASCAR to initiate the testing, Hmiel was tested after qualifying at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend. NASCAR informed him of the results the following Friday at Dover International Speedway, and Hmiel immediately left the facility. I am in no way trying to protect Hmiel, nor am I a fan of his. However, in fairness, I hope he receives help for whatever substance-abuse problems he might have.

I’m also standing on my conviction that professional motorsports — be it NASCAR, NHRA, IRL, Champ Car, American Lemans or whatever — is a cleaner sport than the others when it comes to substance-abuse problems.

Overall, we’ve had way less problems in major-league motorsports than the others. I hope Hmiel cleans up his act and, if NASCAR sees fit, perhaps gets one last chance after a very long layoff — I’m talking one to two years here.

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