Country Fest Saturday.

The Jasper County 4-H Parents Association will once again sponsor a County Fest at the Carthage Municipal Park during the October 16 Maple Leaf festivities.

The event will start at 11 a.m. and run until 5 p.m. Along with the petting barn yard, country games for the kids and various exhibitors, this years special attraction will feature the Painted Hours War Dance Society. The Society is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to preserve and protect Native American traditions and culture while providing education for native people in traditional arts, dance, and spiritual counseling.

Saturdays schedule includes tribal storytellers relating stories from their tribes, and traditional singers singing in their own language. The songs range from hymns to lullabies. Dancers will demonstrate many of the various tribe’s dances.

Bids can be places on several Country Baskets located at the Farm Bureau and Sports World on the Square. Items include Kansas City Chief Tickets, a Branson Get Away and others plus more than $500 worth of additional coupons and discounts.

Stone's Throw Community Theatre Presents "The Belle of Amherst."

Carthage's Brandi Graber is the featured player in the fourth production of Community Theatre for Southwest Missouri's Tenth Anniversary Season at Stone's Throw Theatre. Starring in award-winning playwright William Luce's one-woman show, "The Belle of Amherst," Ms. Graber portrays America's most famous female poet of the 19th century, Emily Dickinson.

This lighthearted special production during Carthage's annual Maple Leaf Festival runs October 7-9 and October 15-17, in dinner-theater format at the playhouse, located just west of Carthage on Old Highway 66 Boulevard at 796 South Stone Lane.

Ms. Graber is currently president of the Board of Directors of Community Theatre for Southwest Missouri, Inc., and has been associated with the theatre group since its inception in 1983, appearing in over forty productions over the years. A 1992 graduate in Theatre from Missouri Southern State College, she is a professional makeup artist and was associated with numerous films and television production units in California for several years. Her husband, Ron, is an editor of the Carthage Press and a professional photographer.

Playwright Luce's script contains some of the famous recluse's best know poetry, but is principally a "clever" retelling of the events and concerns in Dickinson's life, revealing a surprisingly modern woman in the 19th century dress. Of her role Graber says, "I feel I know this woman; she's a kindred spirit. It's a wonderful play, with many aspects of the script hitting close to home for many people."

Resident director Henry Heckert is production supervisor. Cody Dyer serves as technical director and set designer. Luella Brooks is production costumer.

Prepaid reservations which include dinner are required by credit card, cash or check. Tickets are $15.00 per person, with special rates for large groups, for season membership patrons and their guests, and for youth sixteen and under. Doors open for evening performances at 6:00 p.m., with dinner served promptly at 6:30. For the Sunday matinee, doors open at 12:30 p.m., with dinner served at 1:00 p.m. Seating will be limited to 70 patrons for each performance of this special presentation. The box office is opened from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. weekdays only for reservations. The dinner menu features foods popular during the mid-nineteenth century.

Later Life is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., New York City, with the production funded in part by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. For more information, call 417-358-9665 during regular theater business hours, 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Commentary

Martin "Bubs" Hohulin

State Representative, District 126

I’m not sure if this is a state or federal issue, but since it affects Missourians I guess I will write about it.

A former House colleague of mine, Ronnie White, was nominated to a federal judgeship by President Clinton. White, who is currently on the Missouri Supreme Court, was in the House of Representatives for several years, including when I was first elected.

While he is very personable and someone that it would be very easy to be friends with, his views are way out of touch with those of most people.

While we were in the House together, he would post notices of Committee hearings on Sunday when no one was in the Capitol and then wouldn’t notify the committee members except those he wanted there. As a Supreme Court Justice, he is a frequent opponent of the death penalty. Overall, he is very liberal.

When he was nominated to the federal judgeship, our Senator, John Ashcroft, immediately announced his opposition. As the home state Senator, he has quite a lot of say in whether a nomination will come to a vote.

Right away Rep. Dick Gebhardt (D-MO), and others started playing the race card. One of the lines used was that Ashcroft was holding up the nomination "because Judge White is not white." What a bunch of nonsense!

I don’t care what color Ronnie White is, I don’t want him and his wildly liberal views to have a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. I applaud Sen. Ashcroft for having the guts to stand up to the race baiting liberals and oppose the nomination. Incidentally, it was Gov. Carnahan that appointed White to the Supreme Court.

The nomination was voted on this week and in a victory for reasonable people everywhere, he failed to be confirmed. The vote was 45 for and 54 against. Any bets on how long it takes them to start yelling about skin color?

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',

I’m a little surprised at the lack of citizen comment appearin’ in the letters to the editor about the upcomin’ election ‘bout county plannin.’ Maybe folks are takin’ a likin’ to the idea.

The Plannin’ Commission did a pretty fair job of gettin’ out and givin’ folks a chance to see what the plan was all about. Several town meetin’s across the County. From what I hear they were overall pretty positive about the response from those who attended.

The seemin’ constant expansion out into the county side by residential type construction prob’ly needs a little guidance from time to time. I’m guessin’ the plan will pass unless some unforeseen objection comes along.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune Brooks Hospital

Health Notes

POINTS OF INTEREST: With autumn comes falling leaves and falling bodies on the gridiron. Dr. Maureen Finnegan, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, cautions football players not to overlook warm-up exercises.

Professional and college team coaches make warm-ups mandatory. Too many high schoolers or younger people, unfortunately, don’t warm up, which means they leave themselves wide open for injuries. "A good warm-up," Dr. Finnegan says, "reduces the chances of some of the most common football-related injuries - muscle pulls."

Especially vulnerable is that hamstring muscle which is found along the back of the thigh. Also vulnerable are the Achilles’ tendon at the back of the heel, and the abductor muscles inside the thigh.

Dr. Finnegan suggests a light jog around the field at about half-speed, followed by gentle stretching (remember that word: gentle) of the main muscles.

Calcium is a vital nutrient for everyone, but especially so for younger women and girls who need to build strong bones that will help reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later years. Skim milk added to cereals instead of water during cooking is one way to get more calcium into the diet.