Dally/Butler Arguments Heard.

Witnesses testified yesterday afternoon giving evidence in the petition filed by David Dally, Candidate for Circuit Judge, Division II, asking the court to find that Susan Butler "is not qualified to seek or hold the office of Circuit Judge." Judge Darnold of Nevada, Missouri is hearing the petition in the Carthage Jasper County Courthouse.

Attorney Doug Crandall, representing Dally, called witnesses in an attempt to show that Butler does not meet the requirement that she be a qualified Missouri voter for the last three years before taking office.

Butler’s attorney, Tom Elliston, repeatedly told the Judge that the evidence "was not relevant" and that Crandall was creating a "trial by ambush." He said his client was being denied "due process."

Crandall’s evidence was directed at proving that Butler had not been a registered voter in Jasper County for the last three years. Elliston contended that Butler was a registered voter in St.Louis County and therefore met the conditions necessary.

Judge Darnold said he would have a decision shortly after the first of May.

Letter to the Editor.

AN OPEN LETTER TO FEDERAL LEGISLATORS AND THE READERS OF THIS NEWSPAPER

The Honorable Kit Bond, John Ashcroft, Roy Blunt

Untied States Congress

Washington, D.C.

Dear Sirs,

During this time of national sorrow (tax calculation time), I have compiled the following list of complaints against the onerous tax code Congress has re-approved every year since you have been in office.

Many of your constituents in the 7th Congressional District are against the income tax for the following reasons:

1. It is a violation of the Fourth Amendment which forbids the unreasonable search and seizure of our homes and personal effects. While it does not physically invade our homes, it violates our privacy by requiring us to send our private financial records out of our home for the government's examination.

2. Changing to a flat tax will not change this fact. It simplifies the way we calculate "taxable income," but politicians will still manipulate the definition of "income" and will still require us to report information that the Bill of Rights says should be of a private nature.

3. The flat tax proposals contain no mechanism for preventing the onerous tax codes from growing monstrous again after a period of reprieve.

Many of us support the national sales tax for the following reasons:

1. It eliminates all of the above problems.

2. It assures that people who have more money to spend will pay more taxes, thus lowering the burden on the poor.

3. It rewards the practice of saving since money not spent would not be taxed and this money diverted to capital investments would create more jobs and greater prosperity.

4. It would assure collection of taxes on the sizable "underground" cash economy that currently avoids taxes by not reporting income.

5. This includes payments from drug dealers and criminals who have no qualms about cheating the government out of their undeclared incomes, cash incomes. They would taxed whenever they spend their ill gotten gains.

6. It would increase the spendable income of all honest citizens by the following:

A. The dissolution of the IRS which is highly inefficient, very expensive, and occasionally tyrannical in its collection procedures would mean great savings and lower tax rates to taxpayers.

B. Revenues for the federal government could be collected and routed by using the already established mechanism of existing state stales tax agencies for greater economy.

C. It would eliminate the need for expensive tax accountants who currently charge $100 to $200 per hour to help citizens calculate their taxable income and itemize all their deductions. These individuals could be used more productively helping Americans invest and manage their new found prosperity.

7. The IRS cannot possibly be successful in their efforts to achieve computer modernization before the Year 2000 in time to avoid loss of miscalculation of electronic data. Before he resigned, Associate Commissioner Arthur Gross indicated bids for this effort would not even be let until October 1998. Computer experts say the amount of time needed for their millions of lines of programming to be reviewed, revised, and tested cannot possibly be fixed in less than three years. This means the IRS will not be able to function and the government cannot run without a stable flow of income. It must switch to a simpler method.

These are some of the reasons I support the effort to change to a national sales/consumption tax. I do not support a Value Added Tax because of its complexity to calculate at each level. I would appreciate your support of legislation that abolishes the IRS and the 16th Amendment before the year 2000 and implements national sales tax.

Sincerely,

John L. Putnam, Chairman

32nd Senatorial District

Missouri Republican Party

New Phone Directory for City of Carthage

Ambulance Service

Emergency ONLY ------------------- Dial 911

Non-Emergency Calls -------------- 358-8121

City Administrator ----------------- 237-7003

City Clerk --------------------------- 237-7000

City Collector ---------------------- 237-7000

Civil War Museum ----------------- 237-7060

Economic Development Director - 237-7004

Engineer ------------------------------ 237-7010

Fire Department

Fire Alarms ONLY - Give Location -------------------- Dial 911

Other Fire Department Calls ------ 237-7100

Landfill ------------------------------- 237-7024

Mayor's Office ----------------------- 237-7000

McCune-Brooks Hospital ---------- 358-8121

Memorial Hall ---------------------- 237-7050

Parks and Recreation

Fair Acres Maintenance ------------ 237-7033

Municipal Golf Course Pro Shop ------------------ 237-7030

Municipal Pool --------------------- 237-7034

Parks and Recreation Department ----------------- 237-7035

Police Department

Emergency ONLY ------------------ Dial 911

Other Police Department Calls ---- 237-7200

Sewage System ---------------------- 237-7300

Street Department

Garage -------------------------------- 237-7021

Office --------------------------------- 237-7020

Water and Electric Plant---------- 237-7300

After Hours, Saturdays, and Holidays ------------------- 237-7300

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

I’ve been diggin through the list of voters who show up at August primary elections. Carthage shows pretty good, with nearly half of the registered voters castin’ their opinions in the ‘96 primary. The actual number was right at 3,100. Compared to the overall turn out in Jasper County of around 23%, Carthage is a force in County politics. This compares with about 7,700 primary voters in Joplin, around a thousand for Webb City and near that many from Carl Junction.

The total County turnout for the ‘96 primary was a little over 14,000, out of over 60,000 registered voters. If ya do the math, that means that with less than 11% of the County voters, Carthage cast over 22% of the votes in the primary election. It’s hard ta say if it’s in the genes or in the water, but it’s a political fact.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click and Clack Talk Cars.

Dear Tom and Ray:

I have a 1986 Nissan Pulsar NX with a five-speed transmission. It's in really great shape and usually runs well. Recently, though, it has developed an annoying habit of dying a slow (30- to 45-second) death, complete with shivers and shakes. But up to that point it seems to run perfectly. I took it to the nearby Nissan dealer, but it was no help. I don't get it. What would cause the cart to run just fine for a few miles, and then start bucking, kicking and die? - Theo

RAY: A sudden lack of gasoline would cause just this kind of behavior, Theo. And that could be caused by a bad fuel pump.

TOM: The Pulsar is mechanically identical to the Nissan Sentra. And Sentras are famous for failing fuel pumps.

RAY: And you don't say how many miles are on this car, but since it's a 1986, I think we can safely assume that you've got at least half-a-bajillion.

TOM: Ah, technical terminology!

RAY: So, assuming that your dealer already checked the fuel filter, the next thing to do is ask your mechanic to check the fuel-pump pressure. If it's below spec, put a new fuel pump in there, and that should solve the problem.

TOM: If the fuel pump is OK, then next thing to look at would be the secondary gas filter located inside the carburetor. In this car, that filter sometimes gets plugged up and causes fuel interruption, mostly at high speed. You have to take the carburetor apart to change that one. Good luck, Theo.

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