Today's Feature
Maple Leaf Pageant Applications.

News release

The 39th Annual Maple Leaf Little Miss & Mister, Junior Miss and Maple Leaf Queen Pageants will all be held on Saturday, October 8th at the Carthage High School Auditorium, 714 South Main. Applications for pageant contestants are currently being accepted.

Applications for the Little Miss & Mister and Junior Miss Pageants, sponsored by the Carthage Chamber of Commerce, will be accepted until Friday, September 30. All participants will be evaluated on their stage presence and overall appearance, while Junior Miss contestants will also participate in an interview session with judges prior to the pageant.

Maple Leaf Queen applications will be accepted until Wednesday, September 21. The pageant, sponsored by Hometown Bank, is also a scholarship program. The pageant’s contestants will each be evaluated on their talent selection, individual stage presence, and overall appearance. They will also each participate in an interview session with judges prior to the pageant.

All pageant applications are available at the Chamber office. Junior Miss applications can also be picked-up at the Carthage Junior High, while Junior Miss and Maple Leaf Queen applications are available at the Carthage Senior High School.

For more information contact the Chamber office at 358-2373.

Stench Report:
Tuesday,
09/13/05

No Reports of Stench

I went against my basic strategy and bought an electronic gadget without knowin’ whether it worked. Or not.

I plugged it into its charger and let it get a good test of powerin’ up. I pushed the button and it struggled and then started spinnin. I then pushed the other side of the button and nothin’. Not even an attempt to rotate. I checked closer and found why the gadget was in the auction. It would take a screw out, but it wouldn’t put one in.

Apparently I have to get these two dollar lessons ever’ year or so. The temptation is too great, even when ya know better.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• "I work in fast food, and we chop our own onions just about every day. A customer told me that to get the onion smell off your hands, rub them on something stainless-steel and the smell will go away. So I tried it on our sink, and it works great!" — B.B. in West Virginia

• "I enjoy cooking, but once in a while getting that old frying pan clean and grease-free can be difficult. If I use kosher or rock salt in the bottom and smear it in circular motions with my fingers, cleaning is a breeze. — C.B. in Alaska (Excellent tip, but don’t use on nonstick frying pans, as it might scratch the coating.)

• "If your eyeglass screws tend to come loose, just unscrew, brush clear nail polish over the threads and rescrew tightly. As the polish dries (in seconds), it will form a tighter bond." — I.D. in Oregon

• "I have a large dog, and he is getting older. To keep him from having to bend over so much when he eats, I put his water and food bowls on a small footstool. I found one big enough to hold both bowls. To keep the bowls on the stool, I applied hook-and-loop tape to the bottoms of the bowls and to the surface of the stool." — U.A. in Missouri

• "To keep cell-phone chargers organized (our family has five cell phones), we label the chargers with a small piece of masking tape and write the name of the person it belongs to. It really helps to maintain order." — C.D. in New York

• Need to safely transport a bow along with a present? Place it inside a zip-lock sandwich bag, close partway, fill with air and seal. The bow will make it to your destination uncrushed, and you can stick it on at the last minute.