Today's Feature

Casting Call at Stone’s Throw.

Auditions will be held at Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre for two upcoming plays.

On Sunday, November 26, 7:00 p.m. and Monday, November 27, 7:00 p.m. auditions will be held for the New Year’s Eve Murder Mystery, directed by Robert Moritz. 4 males and 3 females are needed. Auditions will consist of Ad-Libs and cold readings. The show date will be December 31, 2006

Also on Monday, November 27th at 7:00 p.m., auditions will be held for "Gangster Apparel", directed by Rick Schwab. Two men between the ages of 30 and 60 are needed. Show dates for "Gangster Apparel" will be February 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, and 18, 2007

For more information about either casting call or email Betty Bell at 417-358-7268 or bbell23@ecarthage.com

Flu Shot Clinic.

A community flu shot clinic for persons 4 years old and older will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 30 at McCune-Brooks Hospital. The vaccine is available for adults and for children ages 4 to 18. Cost for the flu shot is $15. Those with Medicare or Medicaid cards must bring the cards with them.

The clinic will be held in the hospital cafeteria. Participants are asked to use the east entrance and follow the directional signs. No appointment is necessary. For more information call the Community Relations Office at 417-359-2452.

Stench Report:

Tuesday,
11/22/06

No stench detected on the Carthage Square

I’ve seen it proven before that financially, it doesn’t make any sense to own a home. I’ve got to admit, I was skeptical at first, but time and time again, I’ve seen the numbers and it costs more to own a home than it does to rent one. ‘Specially if ya look at the frequency that most move from one location to another. Time ya pay closin’ costs and loan fees and do some maintenance, the dollars really mount up.

Made me feel foolish for bein’ a home owner. I finally figured out that it didn’t matter. There is somethin’ in me that wants to own my home and the logic doesn’t override that.

I suppose the pleasure of gripin’ ‘bout havin’ ta pay property tax and bellyachin’ ‘bout havin’ ta fix the fence is just too great to miss at any price.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Maybe because of the nature of my work as an herbalist, I like to see things as they were. More emphasis on our roots (no pun intended) of health and well being from plants. Things are moving so quickly that it is easy to overlook the wisdom of those who proceeded us. Our ancestors didn’t survive without a knowledge of the land and use of what it had to offer. It is so much better to utilize that which is readily available to us. Sounds hard, but it can be easy with certain plants. Look at dandelion for example. How many of us have access to them in our own yards or even a park? Boneset is a common Ozark herb which works wonders with aches and pains and also stimulates the immune system. The tea can help break a sweat to relieve fevers. Echinacea is common in our area as is mullien, poke, chickweed, nettles, juniper to name only a few.

Some say that herbs are just treating symptoms. In addition to their other healing properties, relieving symptoms is not necessarily a bad thing. When it involves reducing inflammation so the body can heal....so be it. When we use herbs, we are nourishing our bodies with balance. In one sense, they also keep us in touch with who we are through our ancestral teachings. We credit Native Americans with much of our herbal knowledge, of which they had plenty, but many pioneers learned about plants from books brought with or trial and error: either way, the knowledge is in our "memories."

* This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. References available by request. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

artCentral
Art Notes from Hyde House
By Sally Armstrong, Director of artCentral

We have been very pleased with the response to the Barbara Courtney show and thanks to all who have come by. To date, 5 originals have been sold and I hope more will be as we are not quite half way into the show. The hours this week will be shortened due to the holiday, and the fewer days that our staff have available. This Saturday, Alyson will open the gallery during the afternoon for weekend viewers to come by if they would like. Bring your visiting family members and make this an outing away from football and the leftovers!

The home tour on last Saturday was a great success for us I think. The ladies used Hyde House as the "tour hub" and I think it worked out nicely for those involved. We saw quite a few go through, tea and cookies were served in darling pink and white tea cups that the visitors were able to keep! The cookies were delicious (yes, I felt it my duty to sample!) and an abundance was provided by the membership so as to provide leftovers for other worthy causes. I was especially pleased for the visibility factor of our Hyde House--- now a few more people will know where we are and hopefully come back for an art event! Those of you who were here for the first time, thank you! And special thanks for helping us by donating about $110.00 for our cookbooks and general donations. We are most appreciative! Our holiday shop will remain open during the Barbara Courtney show, until December 15th. And if you missed us on this past tour, the second one will be on December 2nd (I mistakenly gave the 13th as the date in my last article--- sorry!).

As we near the end of 2006, I want to thank all those who have joined for the first time or renewed their membership with artCentral during this past year. The membership numbers have nearly doubled since I arrived last February, and I thank all those who have made that possible. I hope many of you have been able to come to an Opening or visited a show, brought a kid to artCamp, attended or entered the Membership Show, used the Pottery House facility, or just stopped by with a question or request about what we do. What you have NOT done this past year is attend a workshop, because we have not held any! But we will be changing that beginning in February and March, with 2 adult workshops to be offered. I plan to stick around in 2007 and hope all of you will too!