Today's Feature

Festival To Offer Wide-Range of Activities.

The 40th Annual Maple Leaf Festival, hosted by the Carthage Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled for October 14-21.

The theme for this year’s festival is The Tradition Continues. The festival design, which will be featured on the festival promotions and event shirts, was created by local graphic artist Heather Lesmeister. The design incorporates photographs of the Jasper County Courthouse, Carthage Civil War Battle reenactment, Marlin Perkins statue, Route 66 and the city’s trademark, the maple leaf.

Maple Leaf Parade and craft vendor applications are available at the Chamber office. Commercial vehicles are required to pay a $50 fee to line-up in the parade, while Political entries can enter for a $25 fee. All other parade entries are free of charge. Fees to set-up a booth for the arts & craft display are $50 for a single and $100 for a double. All arts and craft booth fees include a $10 non-refundable jury fee.

Other forms currently available at the Chamber office include: Maple Leaf Quilt Show entry forms, Maple Leaf 5K Run and Fun Walk registrations, Maple Leaf Baby Contest entry forms, Maple Leaf Little Miss and Mister Pageant forms, Maple Leaf Junior Miss registration forms and Maple Leaf Queen candidate packets. Many of these forms can be downloaded through the Chambers website, www.CarthageChamber.com under the Maple Leaf Festival listing within the Calendar of Events link.

The annual event, which brings over 50,000 visitors to the local community, is being sponsored by Leggett & Platt, Inc., Southwest Missouri Bank, Beimdiek Insurance Agency, Hometown Bank, McCune-Brooks Hospital, Grundy’s Body & Frame, Fair Acres Family YMCA, Four Corners Quilter’s Guild, the Carthage Humane Society and media sponsors; the Carthage Press, 95 Mike FM, Fabulous 1490 AM and KSNF-TV.

For more festival information or to inquire about an event application, contact the Chamber at 358-2372.

Stench Report:

Friday,
8/25/06

No Stench Reported on Carthage Square.

Foul balls would typically end up out behind where folks parked there cars along the baseline fences. For a while we kids used ta get a nickle trade at the concession stand if we brought a foul ball back to ‘em. Puttin’ a bounty on the ball was onea those things that seemed like a good idea, but gradually turned sour. The good natured fun of seein’ who could get to the ball the fastest soon became a team sport in itself, especially between kids from different towns.

After a few bruised egos and elbows the practice was halted. A nickel Baby Ruth really wasn’t worth the trouble anyway.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

To Find Wood Rot, Follow Your Nose

Summer is prime time for exterior repairs, especially to the roof, gutters and siding. But don’t neglect the hard-to-see parts of your home, where trouble can be breeding even while you’re preventing issues on the outside.

Have a finished or unfinished basement? Head downstairs and look around. Or just a crawlspace under the house? Get down and dirty and crawl under there. Now, smell. If you can smell wetness, mildew or a general odor of decay, moisture is having its way with the wood around you.

Poke your head into the attic or storage space at the top of your house, and sniff again. Same smell? Same problem. Unseen moisture is at it again. Chances are, you won’t see any problems from this moisture for years -- but when those problems appear, they are big, expensive trouble.

What causes moisture in attics and crawlspaces? Sometimes it’s leaks or spills. Sometimes poor ventilation leads to high humidity, and constant evaporation and condensation, along with the precipitous rise and fall of temperatures (particularly in the attic), cause wood to expand and contract more than it should.

Make certain that both the attic and basement/crawlspace are properly vented to allow good, constant airflow that minimizes humidity. Check the outside foundation to see if water is draining improperly from the gutters and leaking around or into the basement. Eliminate these sources of moisture, and replace any rotted wood or cracked masonry that you find in the process.

These repairs can cost quite a bit, but not nearly as much as replacing entire sections of a home due to years of seemingly small moisture invasions turning into a huge problem.

HOME TIP: Immediately patch small exterior cracks in mortar along the foundation of your home to prevent moisture from entering.