| Today's Feature Phone Costs Up, Recorder Move Off.
The cost of telephone service
for Jasper County offices resurfaced Thursday
during the weekly Commissioners meeting when
Eastern Commissioner Ben Johnson announced the
current limited area long distance service
provided by Southwestern Bell will be
discontinued.
According to a letter he
received, July 22nd is the cut-off date for the
COS or Customer Optional Service plan. COS
provides unlimited calling to Joplin and several
outlying towns. Johnson said the cost of COS was
affordable.
The County Commission is now
faced with two options as presented by the
telephone company: Pay normal and customary
charges for all long distance calls or adopt the
new Customer Service (CSA) plan they are
offering.
The Mornin’ Mail
contacted SW Bell mid-June when first told about
the new CSA which is also available to area
residences. The cost to the county would be $60
per month, per line, with no multiple-line
discount, for essentially the same service
provided by the COS plan with an enlarged calling
area. The cost of the identical service to area
residents is $30 per month. Johnson said with
over 200 phone lines regardless of what the
County does the monthly phone bills are going to
increase.
According to a telephone
company representative the reason COS was
discontinued was cost. Customer usage was greater
than anticipated by the telephone company. No
action was taken.
The Commissioners were also
provided with a copy of a letter written to
County Finance Review Task Force Chairman Ron
Langford by County Recorder Edie Neil in which
she restated her decision not to move her office
this fall into the proposed site at the
County’s newly acquired Nation’s Bank
Building. She cited security concerns. Neil told Mornin’
Mail one of her concerns was with computer
hackers. She feels the new area would offer easy
access to computers in her office because of the
proposed openness of the area to outside
entities.
Western District Commissioner
Anna Ruth Crampton, who is in charge of county
buildings, said the three Commissioners and Neil
met with contractor Rick Brockman at the bank to
discuss the area in question two weeks ago.
When contacted Brockman said he
was in the building about 30 minutes. He said he
couldn’t recall all of the conversation
except they discussed moving existing glass
panels and that wall portions were mentioned at
that time. However no plans were finalized.
In other business Danny Hylton
of Hylton Dairy, Norwood, Missouri and Senior
Vice President Ray Tubaugh of Mercantile Bank,
Lamar presented the Commission with a concise
plan for the development of a dairy operation.
The plan included measures to meet or exceed
current Missouri Department of Natural Resources
requirements.
Hylton said the plan, which
would be implemented in two phases over five
years, would adequately address waste from the
anticipated 2,000 cows by using a three stage
non-discharging system with solid waste
separator. The plan calls for the initial
construction of a 12-acre lagoon.
When in full operation the
dairy will employ 12 full time employees. Hylton
said that although he is an independent dairy
operator his milk will be sold initially to
Mid-States of St. Louis.
Ray Tubaugh added that as far
as he was concerned the operation as presented
was "good for business and good for the
community." The plan was no different, he
said, and in some ways better, than other animal
operations his bank financed. He said they
anticipated no more than minimal problems.
Hylton added that his dairy
operation would be very clean and to that end
they will install a cleaning system much like the
"Rainbow sprinkler" used on lawns. The
system will spray the feet and underside of the
cow when it enters the barn before it goes to the
milking stalls.
Computer Monitor from MSSC and
Dr. Jerry Williams.
by Robin
Putnam, news release artCentral
Here it si the first of July
and everything is lush and green even if it is a
bit soggy. All this rain is really getting to be
a nusance. Our new sign out front, the one that
says open or closed, has stuck inside its little
holder soooo....if you're going west on 13th
we're closed and if you're headed east on 13th
we're open! Just remember we're open Tuesday
through Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day no
matter what that silly sign says! and, Yes, we're
open during the lunch hour. Our friend Bill is
going to fix the sign as soon as it dries out a
bit so bear with us...thanks.
We've had a great response to
the kids artCamp 99!! We hope all the kids really
have a great time!! So far we haven't met the
maximum for any of the days so it's not too late
to get that certain class!!
The hours for each are 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. and each student needs to bring a sack
lunch. Some supplies are supplied and some
classes will need the kids to bring along bits of
this and that. Letters will be sent out
confirming all of the above!
We have some great news!! We
were in need of a computer monitor and we got
one!! Dr. Jerry Williams, head of the Dept. of
Continuing Education at Missouri Southern, has
arranged a loan of one of their monitors that
they weren't using!! Isn't that great!! We want
to thank the good Doctor and the kind-hearted
folks at MSSC for their support!!
We will be sending out our
quarterly newsletter to our members. These are an
overview of what is and has happened around here
in the last few months. If you are considering
becoming a member and would like to know a little
more about us now is the time to stop by and pick
up a complimentary copy.
Since we are doing a membership
drive in August we might as well share that info
now. Some of the perks of membership include
newsletters, space upstairs to show, sell or work
on paintings, sculptures, etc., a vote at the
annual meeting, checking out books from our art
library and invitations to our openings.
There are several different
types of membership and each one includes a gift
such as an 8 x 10 Lowell Davis print (while the
supply lasts) or a set of six Courthouse
postcards, cookbooks or a Jerry Ellis print of
our beloved Geranium House!!
Membership levels are
Student/Senior, $10, Individual $15, Family $30,
Benefactor $50, Patron $100 and Lifetime $1,000.
This is for one year and will include the use of
the pottery room whenever we get that up and
running.
We hope everyone has a safe and
exciting Fourth of July celebration! Remember to
use extreme caution when setting off fireworks!!
Grown-ups only!!
More......next week.
letters to the editor
Hi Jake,
I don't read your Mornin' Mail
every day. Like a lot of other working people I
don't take the time to even read the newspaper
that I pay to have delivered to my door. But more
than occasionally I read and respect your
opinion, and your little paper.
For instance, Bubs Hohulan's
Commentary in a recent issue on child discipline.
I whole-heartedly agree with his viewpoint. When
we were growing up today's violence by teens was
unheard of, because it wasn't there. Discipline
was taught at home and sentence carried out by an
authorative person in the home, with the backing
of any co-authorative person in the household.
This is necessary for a growing child. Without
some respect for authority in a home, then
authority outside the home means nothing.
Yelling, screaming and threatening a child mean
nothing, action does. They learn to expect one or
the other. Should it be a very loud threat,
"Next time you do that I'm gonna get
mad!" or a simple swat on the rump, or thump
on the noggin' to teach them there should be no
next time?
Anyway, in the next issue of
the Mornin' Mail I picked up, was a letter from
the staff of Kit Bond. I don't suppose that some
politicians have decided that your little paper
may have an impact on some of the voters in this
community. Do you Jake? So far, a freedom we
still have, is our opinion. But rest assured,
some group out there is working hard to prevent
us from voicing it. As well as other groups have
outlawed home punishment for our own children.
The tobacco industry for example, has been
severly fined, and punished, and taxed for
supposedly targeting children with their
advertisements. And all smokers pay the price for
the governments solution. And yet the government
can openly declare they are going after a select
group of voters, and do it without a penalty of
any sort. Such as soccer moms. Just my opinion,
but seems to me, the good shepard is not taking
us to greener pastures, but to the slaughter
house. Beware of a wolf, dressed in a lambs
clothing.
Steve Beagle
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