The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 Volume XV, Number 125

did ya know?

Did Ya Know?... St. Luke’s Nursing Home is hosting a Gingerbread House Competition this evening, Tuesday, Dec. 12 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The event is FREE to the public. Hors D’oeuvres and refreshments, entertainment by Grace Church Christmas Dinner Theatre presenting a "Doo-Wop Christmas", and a Gingerbread House Auction. All proceeds go towards St. Luke’s residents’ garden and patio enhancement. Located at 1220 East Fairview, Carthage.

Did Ya Know?... An American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held in the First Nazarene Church, 2000 Grand, Carthage on Thursday, December 14 from 1:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday, December 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Donor card or photo ID required, refreshments to all donors.

Did Ya Know?... A live Nativity re-enactment will be presented at the south side of the First Baptist Church in Carthage, 631 S. Garrison every half hour from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The public is invited to the free performance. December 14-16. Free cider, cocoa and cookies between performances.

Did Ya Know?... The McCune-Brooks Hospital Auxiliary will meet December 13th in the hospital cafeteria.

today's laugh

In my glove compartment, I had ten moving-violation citations, which are like savings bonds - the longer you keep them, the more they mature. - Bill Cosby

Our village idiot bought himself a pet zebra. Named it Spot. - Henny Youngman

I once played in a town so small that if you went out for a night on the town, it took only half an hour. - Jack E. Leonard

My hobby is napping. It’s not only fun, it’s inexpensive.

1906
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

Not Seriously Injured.

Roy Carroll, the lad who was knocked unconscious by running into a wire at the southeast corner of the square Monday evening is suffering no disagreeable effects from his hard fall excepting a large and sensitive lump on the back of his head. He struck his cranium on a rock in the gutter when thrown back by contact with the springy wire.

Mexican Dollars Afloat.

A stranger went into McBean’s store this afternoon and attempted to pay for his purchase out of a Mexican dollar. Miss Doebbler who waited upon him refused to take the bad coin. He claimed he didn’t know if was foreign and came up with a nickel.

Erected a Carpenter Shop.

W.A. Williams has erected an iron covered building on his lot in the rear of the east side stores. It is intended for a carpenter shop, but has not been rented yet.

 

Today's Feature

Phone Service Agreement Changes.

City Council will meet this evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Council chambers of City Hall. Items on the agenda include an ordinance entering into a Plexar II Fixed Rate Payment Plan Agreement with AT&T for local telephone service for City Hall and all City Departments.

The City’s previous phone service contract was a Plexar II payment agreement, which required that the City pay for a certain number of lines in order to receive a lower rate. This number was larger than the number of lines used in City Hall and the other City departments. In order to attain that number the City combined phone services with the Carthage Library, Carthage Water & Electric Plant (CW&EP) and McCune-Brooks Hospital. City Administrator Tom Short said that using the Plexar II agreement the phone service bill was reduced by approximately half.

The City’s previous contract has expired and new information was received from AT&T stating that the minimum line number is no longer required for the City to be part of the Plexar payment agreement. With these changes, CW&EP and the hospital will both separate their phone services from the City. The library will still be included with the rest of the City lines.

According to Short, McCune-Brooks intends to pay for phone service on a monthly basis until the transfer to the new hospital is complete.

Other items on the agenda include the renewal of the one year City contract with Chad and Pam Sturgeon for the use of the pavilion in Municipal Park as a skating rink.

Stench Report:

Monday,
12/11/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',
Ever’ now and then I’m a little astonished when I read the 1906 columns on the front page. Sometimes it’s hard to realize the difference in dollar amounts from that time to this.

If you’re a regular reader, you have surely noticed that horses sold at that time in the $500 range from time to time. Now the upkeep was prob’ly a considerable amount less back then, and I’m sure common horses were considerably cheaper, but it took a good portion of most folks income to keep a horse I’d suppose.

I guess when you consider the fact that the clock in the courthouse cost a thousand bucks back then, you start ta get a feel as to the value of that dollar to most folks.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Sponsored
by:
Oldies & Oddities
To Your Good Health
By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

Blood Pressure Basics

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am writing about my husband’s recently diagnosed hypertension and my concerns about it. His doctor recommends a home blood pressure unit for him. I wonder if the stress of using a home monitor will raise his blood pressure. I would like to know what the consensus is among doctors for a normal reading. -- W.W.

ANSWER: Ideal blood pressure is one that is less than 120 over 80. A new category of hypertension is prehypertension, whose readings are 120 to 139 over 80 to 89. Stage 1 hypertension is 140 to 159 over 90 to 99, and stage 2 is any value equal to or greater than 160 over 100. If one number is normal but the other number is not, the abnormal number is the one that is used to determine the classification.

For prehypertension, doctors have their patients make changes in the way they lead their lives. They’re told to lose weight when indicated, to decrease salt use, to increase potassium and to exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Decreasing salt intake means more than taking the saltshaker off the table. It means reading labels for the sodium content and avoiding salted products, like most luncheon meats.

For stage 1 hypertension, the above is prescribed and medicines are given if there’s any evidence of changes in the eye, the heart or the kidney. If blood pressure doesn’t come down with lifestyle changes, medicines are prescribed. For stage 2, medicine is prescribed from the start, along with lifestyle changes.

Getting a home blood pressure unit is a wonderful idea. It will give him readings that are obtained in normal surroundings, readings that can be more valuable than those taken in the doctor’s office.

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