County Planning Commission To Meet.

The December meeting of the Jasper County Planning Commission will be held at the County Annex Building, at Central and Lincoln, this evening at 7 o'clock p.m.

The discussion this evening will be with Gary Nelson, Superintendent of the Jasper County Road District, and Keith Aubrey, Superintendent of the Carthage Special Road District. A general discussion of County road issues is on the agenda.

Also scheduled to attend the meeting is Tom Simpson with an update on the progress on the planning recommendations.

The Planning Commission was appointed by the County Commissioners and charged with devising a zoning plan for the County that will be presented to the voters in the November 1999 election.

Members represent all townships in the County and have been allocated up to $75,000 to develop a plan that will be acceptable to the various interests of the County.

Simpson expects to have a document ready for the Commission's approval in late spring and several public hearings will be held during the summer. All Planning Commission meetings are open to the public.

Miracle on 34th Street.

news release

Dr. William Roehling, Joplin, directs this season's holiday special at Stone's Throw Theater, located just west of Carthage's Municipal Park on West Old Highway 66 Boulevard. The now classic story, Miracle on 34th Street, will be presented December 17-20, in dinner theater format.

Dramatized for the stage by Dave Brandl from Valentine Davies's novel, the twenty-two members cast features Robert Moritz, Carl Junction, as the kindly old gentleman, Kris Kringle, whose insistence that he is indeed the real Santa Claus befuddles corporate America. Bundled off to Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, Kris eventually has his day in court and proves his "case" with assistance from the U.S. Postal Service.

Others in the cast include Betty Bell, Sarah Crandall, Kendra Dearing, Betsy Fleishaker, Henry Heckert, Sara Oxendine, Rick Schwab, Keith Tackeberry, Caleb Biesterveld, Hope Biesterveld, Cynthia Bradley, Lauren Copple, Eric Fleishaker, Becca Jones, Brandon Jones, Daniel Jones, Mariah Marsden, Catherine Marsden, Katy Schwab, Mary Schwab, and Bailey Stiles.

The production staff for Miracle on 34th Street includes Sonya Kew, stage manager and makeup; Brandi Backer, costumes; Heckert, set, light, sound; Cody Dyer, set assistant and properties; Backer, Dyer, and Jon Elliff, light and sound assistants; Ashley Farley, makeup assistant; and Eric Conrardy, Eric Fleishaker and Caleb Biesterveld, running crew.

Seating is limited and prepaid reservations are required, with admission including dinner ranging from $16 for adults to $10 for children 12 and under. Seniors 55 or older are $15. Groups of 15 or more are $14. Members and their guests are $14.

Reservations are being taken now. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. weekdays only. VISA and MasterCard are accepted. Doors open at 6 p.m. evenings; at 12:30 p.m. for Sunday matinee, December 20. Dinner is served thirty minutes after the doors are opened. For more information call 417-358-9665.

This production is presented by special arrangement with Eldridge Publishing, Company, Venice, Florida; and is funded in part by Missouri Arts Council, an agency of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Commentary

Martin "Bubs" Hohulin

State Representative District 126

Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto. That is the official State Motto. Translated, it means Let the Will of the People be the Supreme Law. It is a pretty good motto and a pretty good rule for politicians to remember if they want to stay in office. Why then are there bills being introduced that would seem to go against the will of the people? And why am I going to be a co-sponsor on at least one of them? The answer is that a legislator has to first be responsible to the people of his or her district.

Where I am going with all this is that there have already been bills filed and there will be more filed that will repeal all or parts of the recently passed Proposition A. Prop. A was the measure that was purported to outlaw cockfighting and bear wrestling, but then also had language that made it a felony to even own or breed the birds or own the spurs regardless if they were ever involved in fighting. There was also language that threw into doubt whether some rodeo and hunting and fishing activities were legal.

One of the bills that is being considered for filing would make Prop. A only take effect in the counties where it passed. Another would take out everything except the parts outlawing cockfighting and bear wrestling. All the other stuff about owning, breeding and the hunting and fishing items would be repealed. I will probably at least sign on to the latter bill. I make no secret of the fact that I am disappointed Prop. A passed at all, but if it is going to be law, it ought to be at least what it was advertised to be; a measure to outlaw cockfighting and bear wrestling and nothing else. It is my firm belief that even those that voted for it thought that is all they were voting on.

The ownership part is really flawed. The day after the election, anyone that owned birds was guilty of a felony. That is pretty serious stuff. One guy I know of turned his birds loose the next day and within two days there was only one left, they had all killed each other. Another man was telling me he had never even been to a cockfight, but as an antique lover owned several sets of old spurs. Since there are no exemptions for antiques, he also is guilty. Those situations are just wrong and not justifiable. The punishment far exceeds the crime.

Keep in mind Prop. A was written by a citizens group and put on the ballot by that group getting enough names on petitions. We have made mistakes on bills in the legislature and I have been the first to admit it. There is scarcely a year goes by that we aren’t correcting an oversight or mistake from the year before. In this case, Prop. A was flawed and needs to be fixed.

As usual, I can be reached at House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101 or 1-800-878-7126 or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments, or advice.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

The cool weather last weekend was just right to put an edge on my exercise of seein' how close I could come to a nail without doin' enough damage to my fingers so I would be forced to lay down the hammer.

Workin' from a ladder, I was placed in the position where I could strike justice with both my right and left hand, thus givin' equal time for both sides of the story.

Bein' prone to favor my right hand for hammer swingin', I was more accurate, usually, but also did more damage when I miscalculated. When swingin' with the left hand, I only was able to inflict a little sting, but that one good shot with my stronger right handed swing resulted in a swell blood blister. It's amazin' how well the voice travels through the neighborhood on a quiet, cool afternoon, from the top of a twenty foot ladder. Even the squirrels scattered.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin'.

by

McCune Brooks Hospital

Health Notes.

PATIENTS RIGHTS: I recently had a procedure done in the ambulatory surgical department of one of our New York teaching hospitals. The anesthesiologist came by to check over my chart and to ask me a few questions about allergies and any other problems I might have. He then started to describe what he was going to do as his part of the surgical team’s work. I asked several questions. He answered them. I disputed one part of his course of action, giving my reasons why I thought it was unnecessary. He gave me his reasons for why he felt he should go ahead with it, and I accepted them.

Later, in the recovery room, a woman I’d met while we were all waiting to be summoned to our respective O.R.’s (operating rooms) said she was shocked that I had the nerve to question and even argue with the doctor. She could never have done it.

Aha! This was my chance to enlighten her. I told her that it’s because I didn’t know as much as he did that I had a right to ask questions, since I don’t like gaps in my knowledge about me. As for disputing him on a point, why not, if I felt I was right? After all, who knows my body better than I do after (ahem) all these years of living with it? He won that round. But my question alerted him to something he hadn’t known about me and in an emergency, that extra bit of lore could have been crucial.

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