Today's Feature

Snag Prompts Update.

The Public Safety Committee will meet this evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Carthage Police Department. Items on the agenda include an update from Jim Lucas of Lucas Technologies LLC on the Priority Command System.

At a committee meeting on August 21 of this year Lucas spoke to the committee concerning the installation of a traffic signal preemption system. Using global positioning satellite technology, the devices change traffic signals to assist Fire, Police and Ambulance vehicles en route to emergencies. The system uses two components; one in the emergency vehicle and one in the base of the traffic signal.

Lucas asked permission to install his product free of charge for the City beginning with one intersection (Centennial and Garrison) and vehicle, and fine tuning the system based on the test results. The item was presented to Council at a later date and was approved.

Since that time the vehicle unit was installed in the Carthage Fire Department Rescue truck. A delay was encountered upon seeking the installation of the intersection component. Brown Traffic Products, Inc., a potential distributor for Lucas Technologies would not agree to make a special trip to Carthage to install the component. The company suggested that the Lucas have the Missouri Department of Transportation install the intersection component. The Missouri Department of Transportation informed Lucas that the installation could not be completed without a letter from the City authorizing the installation.

Fire Chief John Cooper upon hearing of the complications asked Lucas to return to the committee with a status report, so the committee members could decide the best course of action.

Stench Report:

Friday,
11/17/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square

Same thing with fillin’ the little dispenser to start the coffee maker cookin’. If you try to pour it too fast, it always ends up with water runnin’ down the side of the pot and drippin’ on the burner. The sizzle that reminds you what a sloppy pourer you are.

Give me a coffee pot with a wide mouth, like a Mason jar.

If you’ll notice, paper towels are always near any coffee pot where folks gather. If they’d build a decent pot, the world would beat a path.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Q: When I get out of the shower, the bathroom is completely fogged up, even when the exhaust fan is running. What’s the point of having a bathroom exhaust fan if it doesn’t clear the air? — Kurt C.

A: Good question. If a bathroom exhaust fan doesn’t do the job it’s advertised to do, what’s the point of having one?

The exhaust fan serves a good purpose. It draws moist air out of the bathroom, minimizing damage to wallpaper, base-boards, the ceiling and anything else that isn’t sealed against water. However, if a "fog" lingers for more than 5 minutes after a shower, the fan isn’t doing its job.

The problem could be a blocked exhaust duct, an ailing fan motor or a unit that’s not large enough to clear the entire room. In every case, the unit is not pulling enough air out of the bathroom. An exhaust fan should remove as many cubic feet of air each minute as the number of square feet of the bathroom’s floor space. Clean dust and debris from the unit and air ducts. If cleaning the unit doesn’t help, consider replacing it.

Switch off the unit at the circuit box, then remove the front grille. Use a circuit tester to make sure no power is coming through the wires attached to the fan motor. Do this by placing one probe of the tester against each connector, then placing the second probe against the grounding screw on the fan housing. Don’t touch the bare wires. If the tester glows at any point, go back to the circuit box and turn off the correct switch.

Remove the mounting screws and pull the fan out of the wall or ceiling cavity. Disconnect the vent hose and household wiring to free the unit, then set it aside.

Next, measure the fan’s wall or ceiling cavity and record it. Measure the square footage of the bathroom, as well. Take those figures and the fan assembly to the home-improvement store and purchase a fan that works best for the room’s square footage. Make sure the new fan’s exhaust port matches the size of the old exhaust port.

Install the new fan in the old cavity, if possible. Attach the fan housing to the stud or joist, avoiding the nail holes of the old unit. Test the household wiring to make sure the power is off before attempting to connect them to the new unit. Then, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to hook up the wires. Connect the vent hose to the new unit’s exhaust port, replace the grille cover and switch on the power at the circuit box.