The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Friday, July 23, 1999 Volume VIII, Number 25

did ya know?

Did Ya Know?. . . An M.D.A. Benefit will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, August 7th in the Carthage Central Park. It is in memory of Jamie Dean Parker. Games, a Live D.J., Hotdogs, Nachos, Soda and Baked Goods will be available for all ages.

Did Ya Know?. . . Jasper County Record Center Archivist Steve Weldon is seeking information about Jasper County and Southwest Missouri residents. He is specfically searching for documents that survived the Civil War; family information such as descendants, and identifiable photographs. Welden can be reached at 359-1100. The Record Center is located at 125 N. Lincoln in Carthage.

today's laugh

Tommy, what is a synonym?

A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.

I'm reading a story but I don't like the ending.

How do you like the beginning?

Oh, I haven't come to that yet.

You must read backwards.

I'll be glad to. Who wrote it?

I play tennis and I'm pretty good, but no matter how much I practice I'll never be as good as a wall.

Mitch Hedberg

1899
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

Old Settlers Picnic.

The ninth annual meeting of the old settlers of Jasper, Newton and Lawrence counties will be held near the Moss Springs in Union Township, seven miles southeast of Carthage on Thursday.

Good music and good speakers have been arranged for. A long list of premiums have been contributed by Carthage merchants, for oldest people, prettiest babies, handsomest girls, finest horses, highest jumpers, etc.

The association also offers cash premiums for best peck of corn, best peck of potatoes, best peck of apples, best peck of tomatoes, largest pumpkin and largest melon.

Judge Wesley Ralston is president of the association and Z. E. Lundy secretary, both of whom will be glad to give any information as to the gathering. Everybody is invited to attend. Good shade and water is provided.

  Today's Feature

Reports For Fire and Police.

The Public Safety Committee met for in it’s regular meeting Monday evening in the Fire Station.

Police Chief Dennis Veach reported that Carthage Ford is holding two patrol units that were ordered earlier. With trade-in of units 2 and 12, the total cost is $32,806.20 and under budget.

Veach said the $82,193.71 bid by Indico for 12 new work stations and software was over budget by $193.71 and credited the Computer Committee for the bid which was less than the State bid. Veach added that this bid included free maintenance for the first year unlike one bid that asked for $9000 annually for the same service. Six bids were let and Indico came in with the ‘lowest and best’ bid. The Committee moved to recommend both bids be forwarded to the Full City Council for approval.

Veach also reported a patrol unit with 13,000 logged miles was involved in an accident during a high speed chase. He said the only "part of the car that isn’t dented is the trunk." He credited the steel prisoner ‘cage’ with preventing serious injury to the officer involved. Veach feels the car is a total loss, but that parts such as seats and drive train could be salvaged. The two new units will not replace the damaged vehicle.

Committee member Lujene Clark raised a ‘line of sight’ issue at an alley location near the Phelps House. Attempts by the City to convince the home owner to trim the offending shrubbery have been ignored. Clark asked Veach to look into the situation and take appropriate action.

Veach said that reports of trash and mischief were down on the square due to the stepped up summer patrol and that the Police Department will host another summer event at the square for kids.

"I left it up to the night shift, but I heard they might bring a dunking booth," Veach said.

The City of Carthage and the Carthage High School will host the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) training exercise in August. The committee is comprised of Carthage Fire Chief John Cooper, Police Chief Dennis Veach and other officials from within the county. Training will consist of a series of meetings which will include films and lectures that are designed to instruct teachers, facilitators and police/fire/emergency personal how to respond in an emergency situation.

When Mornin’ Mail spoke to Cooper he stressed he did not anticipate any emergency now or in the future. The point of the training exercise is to teach participants how to react and what to do in an emergency.

The Governor’s Task Force is expected to attend the first of the meetings that will be held in August and continue throughout the year. Cooper mentioned that it is possible that the LEPC plan and training exercise could become a State model for other entities.

Chief Cooper presented a proposal for $18,500 from Danko Emergency Equipment for 22 sets of "bunker gear", coats and pants worn by fire fighters, to replace the items that are 4-5 years old.

Leather boots from Casco Fire Equipment cost an additional $3,586. The Committee voted to recommend acceptance of the bids.

"The police need guns and ammunition," said Cooper. "We need clothing and boots. When a coat is new it will repel water. When it gets older it doesn’t. When that happens the coats get heavier and it makes fire work harder. We priced leather and rubber boots.

The leather boots are lighter. When you’re in a fire situation you want to be able to move as quickly as possible. These boots let us do that."

A bid of $13,875 plus up to $2000 allowance for insulation from Dooley Roofing of Webb City for rubber roofing on the east roof of the fire station was accepted by the Committee. Cooper said that Dooley guarantees material and labor for 12 years and will begin the project as soon as it is approved by the Full City Council. The bid came in at $1675 under budget.

The issue of whether or not to stripe the sidewalk area of Chad’s Conoco located at Garrison and Macon was revisited. Several Committee members said they had seen a great deal of improvement in the area. Veach said there were no recent complaints.

Bastin said he talked to him earlier and Chad questioned why his business should be singled out. Bastin replied he checked other similar locations throughout the City and felt that stripping the sidewalk area should be applied equally.

He recommended that the City should either stripe all similar locations or do not stripe Chad’s. A motion was made and accepted to recommend that Chad’s Conoco not be striped as long as the improvements continue.

A request for a recommendation to close streets for the McCune-Brooks Hospital sponsored annual ice cream social will be held August 26 was approved 4-0.

 

letters to the editor

Editor,

I was going to stay quiet and watch the proceedings of the Chamber Audit but now thanks to Mari An's letter in the press last Saturday that opened the subject. I will have my say.

I feel that the "hounds" of the council are barking at the wrong car. In my opinion when an entity has a contract with the City for services their obligation to the City is to perform that contract. If the services are not satisfactory then don't renew the contract..it's that simple.

The City pays a certain amount of money for services and when the money is gone there is no more. If the services are performed satisfactory then the contract is complete. The Cities job should be to make sure the contract is performed not how the money was spent. You don't ask all these engineering companies and contractors what they had for lunch and how much it cost do you?

Point 1. In the past five or so years tourism has grown in this city. The taxpayers voted a few years ago for a lodging Tax. That tax was to be used to market tourism. It was designed to be a self perpetuating fund i.e. if you market tourism correctly the City will get more tourist. Tourist stay at motels and beds and breakfasts pay the lodging tax and also tour the City. Eventually if handled correctly the "outside agencies" as they are called will be self supporting by use of the lodging tax.

The result is the City does not have to dip into general revenue funds which are real estate taxes and sales taxes to help fund these projects. From what I am hearing that process is working. When the City gets more people in the city to eat and purchase products, sales tax revenues increase and we are better off for it. At no time have I ever heard that tourism has not increased.

Point 2. If it were not for hardworking dedicated people such as our Chamber of Commerce Director, or Main Street Director, their staff and volunteers, who knows where Carthage might be.

I know that several years ago we had boarded up store fronts on the square. Now thanks to Main Street Carthage, you can't find one to rent and the farmers market packs people in every weekend. Thanks to the Chamber marketing our City, tourism has increased. People love to come to Carthage and see the Kendrick House, Phelps House, Civil War Museum, Powers Museum and the list goes on. They love to attend the events and see the beautiful homes. That all takes marketing and marketing is not easy and it is not inexpensive. It takes special people with special talent to make it work. From what I see, it's working. If the City hounds continue to nip at the heels of these hardworking people, you will lose quality volunteers and workers.

If the City had the same type of dedication for economic development that we have with tourism, we would have our shopping centers and outlet malls by now. We wouldn't have to watch as Webb City gets a new Wal Greens and we can't even fill an empty grocery store, not to mention over a hundred acres of beautiful abandoned airport.

Donna Harlan


We Appreciate Our Members.

by Robin Putnam, artCentral

Boy..oh, boy...artCamp 99.... it's going to be a real blast!! There are only a couple of empty spots left!! Yea!! We're so tickled to have soooo many students....future artists we hope!

We've had a few adults wish for such a camp for themselves...sounds like something we might need to work on for next year!! Our thanks to all the parents who signed up their precious tykes and, of course, the precious teachers...we couldn't manage any of it without them!!

One of the parents who signed up her three children heard about our artCamp over the airwaves!! She was listening to the Kansas station KRPS!! She will be bringing her kids to Carthage from Altamont, Ks!! What a cool mom!! And a big thanks to KRPS for getting the word out!!

We want to say thanks to all of our loyal supporters.....all of you who have renewed your membership with us over these last few years...and those new members, too, because without our memberships we wouldn't have much in the way of income or a real reason to stay open.

Our hope is that our membership is proud of our facility, the cultural aspect of our existance and what we can and do add to the community.

By the simple act of joining our little organization we feel like those folks are saying keep up the good work...you can do it...we're behind you!! And for that we say thanks from the bottom of our hearts.

Our Membership Show is over as of today. We had a great turnout both in artist participation and visitors!! We won't have anything in the downstairs gallery until Jack and Lee Ann Sours' show which will open on August 27th.

Jack is a potter and Lee Ann is a goat herder...that's kind of true...Lee Ann raises goats and sheep then harvests their fleece to be spun and woven into beautiful and useful works of art. There will be more info on them later.

We always have prints in the library that are for sale so still feel free to come by. And you can always check out our new perennial garden or browse through our library books!

We've started booking the year 2000 and so far have some great artists lined up for you!!

More.....next week.


 

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

I can remember the "Saturday night gatherin’s" put on by the merchants in the small community I lived in as a youngin’. There would be a movie shown on the outdoor screen in the downtown and durin’ intermission there would be drawin’s for merchandise. Drew a pretty fair crowd as I remember. Course that was ‘fore many in the community had a tv set.

If ya haven’t heard, there is somewhat of a similar movement goin’ on here in Carthage. ‘Bout ever’other Friday night, the folks at the Main Street Merchantile are makin’ their "Wood Shed" available for musicians of various levels to perform. Folks can enjoy some real entertainment and there is no cover charge. The Mornin’ Mail is proud to announce it will assist in the promotion of this community event.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Oak Street health & herbs

Weekly Column

Natural Nutrition

by Mari

TIDBITS of knowledge:

• If you break out in poison oak, or ivy or any rash, start taking a good blood purifier such as red clover several times a day.

• Stevia, an herb 300 times sweeter than sugar. No known side effects other than bitter if overused.

• Cider vinegar in a bath will help to change the PH balance of the skin and leave you with a cool, clean, relaxed feeling. Helps stop the itching from heat or any kind of rash.

• Black cohosh is used by many women to assist them through symptoms of menopause.

• Colicky babies will find relief when nursing Mothers drink fennel tea. If not nursing, a diluted infusion in very small amounts relieves gas.

• One may find relief from a burning, weeping sting by applying a poltice of slippery elm, comfrey root powder and aloe vera juice. Apply as often as needed to keep dry.


   

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