Today's Feature

Incarceration Costs.

The Carthage City Council Public Safety Committee met Monday evening in a regular session and reviewed a proposed ordinance which would allow the city to collect incarceration costs from prisoners.

The proposed ordinance draft reads; "A Ordinance... to allow the City to collect court costs for costs incurred by the City of Carthage, including costs of incarceration," and continues, "including but not limited to, costs of confinement, including any necessary transportation related thereto and medical costs incurred by the City while a defendant is in City custody."

Police Chief Dennis Veach says that the ordinance will essentially give the City the authority to charge per day for prisoners’ incarceration. The price agreed upon by the committee was $30 per day of confinement.

Veach added that it would be impossible to collect the costs from all of the prisoners, but said the amount that is collected would help reduce City costs.

"I think if we recoup half of our cost, it will be a pretty good deal."

The ordinance will extend to Carthage prisoners who are sent to other locations, such as the Jasper County jail. The City currently pays $55 per prisoner per day for the holding of prisoners in that place.

The committee agreed to forward the ordinance to Council with a recommendation for approval.

Wording for the ordinance draft is similar to that of a recently passed Carl Junction ordinance for the same purpose.

Stench Report:

Tuesday,
12/19/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square

I’ve always liked things that do the job they’re supposed ta do and not let ya down.

A claw hammer is a functional thing. Contrary to popular belief, its main purpose is to remove nails. Sure you can drive nails with it, but what use would it be if it wasn’t able to fix all those mistakes bein’ made across the country.

If folks didn’t bend nails and pound ‘em in the wrong places pretty often, there wouldn’t be a need for a claw. That also tells ya that the claw hammer is honest. It knows what it’s made for and doesn’t try ta hide it.

It’s not like one a those little tack hammers with the screw drivers in the end. Now the hammer has a function. It keeps all those drivers where ya know where they are.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• Pay attention to the price that is rung up per item. Oftentimes, sale prices have not been entered into the computer. If you saw the item in a circular, it pays to bring the whole circular with you -- especially if it is a great deal. It will speed up a price correction at the register, and the people in line behind you will thank you for it.

• When entertaining, or for your own special family meals and celebrations, try this stress-buster: Set up the table with linens, plates and silverware up to a few days ahead of time. Cover it with a sheet and you have one less thing to worry about on the day of the event.

• "If you have problems with wax splattering when you extinguish a candle, get yourself a snuffer. It can eliminate smoke and keep the wick from drifting to one side or the other, and it prevents wax from splattering. Also, make sure you let the wax cool before you move your candle, since it’s still hot." -- Candle Aficionado in Ohio

(A note from JoAnn: Never leave a candle burning in an unsupervised space. Prevent a fire in your home!)

• Items typically on sale in December: holiday decorations, appliances, gift items.

• "If you use more than one type of Christmas card, use one of each style to hold a list of those to whom you sent it. If you have cards left over, you can avoid sending a duplicate the next year." -- W.L. in Texas

• "When packing for travel by airplane, have some of each member of the traveling party’s clothes in each suitcase. That way, if a bag is waylaid or lost, it won’t result in the loss of all of one person’s things." -- E.K. in Pennsylvania