Today's Feature

Approved Tree Planting.

Carthage City Council at the regular meeting Tuesday approved a bid from Pinewood Nursery in the amount of $10,821.00 for the planting of 72 trees at Kellogg Lake. The approval is contingent upon Pinewood Nursery meeting all specifications for planting. The item was brought to Council by the Public Services committee. Committee Chair Jim Woestman informed council that the bid includes the provision and planting of the trees. Pinewood Nursery submitted the low bid to the Public Services Committee.

Council also approved a number of ordinances including three ordinances annexing property into the City. Two of the annexations were requested by Precious Moments and the third was requested by Don Butcher.

Council heard the first reading of an ordinance amending the Carthage Code to establish a permit process for the construction of driveways. This ordinance was brought to Council by the Public Works committee in preparation for an upcoming ordinance restricting parking in yards.

Council member Ronnie Wells was not in attendance of the meeting.

Stench Report:
Wednesday,
1/11/06

No Stench Detected

Usually it would begin innocent enough. Someone would happen ta be out kite flyin’ in the school yard and ‘fore long the race was on.

Usually, after a while, the faint at heart reel in their kites and the hard core competitors beg for assistance to add to their collection. The final two have ta face a tough decision. To start reelin’ in or literally cut and run. On lucky days, the string may be tied to a fence and the kites will still be flyin’ the next mornin’. Usually though, the winner is pullin’ in string far past sundown. Provin’’ the point that it’s lonely at the top.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Dear Tom and Ray:

I know that lugging the engine is bad, and I know how to avoid it. But what IS it, really? What causes that pinging or clunking noise? Is the crankshaft bouncing up and down? Is there detonation in the combustion chambers? - Randy

RAY: Good question, Randy. Most of the noise comes from mistimed explosions in the cylinders - which is called "detonation" or "pinging."

TOM: When you lug the engine - when you try to accelerate in too high a gear - you make the engine work harder than it’s supposed to. Just like you would work harder than you’re supposed to if you rode your bicycle up a steep hill in 21st gear - as opposed to first gear.

RAY: When the engine is overworked, it overheats. The way it overheats is that the temperature inside the engines gets too high. When that happens, the gasoline-and-air mixture - which is supposed to detonate when the spark plug fires - detonates unpredictably at other times, too. That’s called pinging - when those extra detonations make a sound like marbles rolling around in a coffee can.

TOM: And under the worst of circumstances, you can also get piston slap, which is a "clunky" noise. Because you are getting uneven combustion inside the cylinder (the detonation doesn’t necessarily happen at the right time or in the right spot), the explosion can force the piston off to one side when it descends during the power stroke. When that happens repeatedly, the cylinder walls get all scraped up, and over time, your car turns into the proverbial oil-burning heap.

RAY: Also see: "Any car ever owned by my brother."

RACING
By Greg Zyla

A Look Ahead at 2006 from ARCA to Outlaws

As we move into the 2006 season, let’s look at some of the major series:

ARCA Stock Cars: I’ve always respected the efforts of ARCA, which is one of the country’s oldest sanctioning bodies. You’ll see drivers competing on everything from superspeedways to 3/8-mile bullrings. Big races at Talladega, Pocono and Daytona give spectators a chance to see ARCA regulars run with up-and-coming NASCAR racers.

Hooters Pro Cup: There’s no better place to start your stock-car career. With the likes of Rusty Wallace’s son and other big-name drivers running in Hooters, this series continues to grow and now replaces the defunct ASA as the best short-track stock-car series in America.

NASCAR: If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I know there are detractors out there, but I’m sure glad NASCAR has run things the way it has and continues to do so. It’s the biggest sport out there, with lots of big-money sponsors, great crowds, tremendous TV ratings, great drivers and exciting racing. Take a bow, NASCAR, for all of the classes of racing your organization presents, from Nextel Cup to the Dodge Weekly Series.

NHRA Drag Racing: Another great year to look forward to, with full fields of pro drivers at each event. The television is better than ever, attendance is good, and corporate America knows it’s one of the best buys out there. For $3 million to $4 million a year, you can have a Top Fuel or Funny Car team. That’s about $10 million less than Nextel Cup. To all those readers who have yet to see a 4-second, 330-mph fuel run, you won’t soon forget it, as television does it no justice. You’ve got to see it to believe it.

As for Pro Mod, I’d still like to see them run at every event as a full-fledged Pro attraction. But don’t hold your breath.

USAC: USAC continues to field some of the best non-winged open-wheel racing anywhere, especially the Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown (big cars). I remember when they had a national Indy car and stock-car series, but those days are long gone. Still, USAC open-wheel racing is top class.

World Of Outlaws: Thank goodness the takeover by the now-defunct National Sprint Car League failed. The 2006 season will feature lots of races, but where will some of the racers who supposedly aligned with NLS go now? We’ll wait and see, but if it were me and I was running the Outlaws, I’d welcome all the defectors back into the fold with open arms and come to some sort of agreement on tow money and things like that for the overall good of the sport.