Red Ribbon Night Scheduled.

The Carthage R-9 Safe and Drug Free Committee will again sponsor a Carthage Community Red Ribbon Night on Tuesday October 26 from 6:30 till 8 p.m. in the Carthage Junior High. The goal of the event is to educate students and parents toward the prevention of drug abuse. Students will have an opportunity to participate in drug-free projects and fun while parents attend Parent University educational sessions.

"We believe educators and community groups need to work together to equip our youth with knowledge and support they need to stay drug-free," says Parent University Coordinator Tom Bewick.

The evening will begin with a message in music presented by the Carthage DARE Choir. Then parents will break into groups to attend three twenty minute informational sessions. Students will go to the Junior High gym for a "Too Cool to do Drugs" Carnival or the cafeteria to view student-made Drug-Free projects and have snacks. Community and school groups will work the carnival booths. For more information call Tom Bewick at 359-7068.

Cellular Callers Cannot Be Located Automatically By Emergency Responders.

The Jasper County 9-O1-1 Board once again seeks to remind cellular phone users seeking assistance through the 9-1-1 Center that no location information is provided by your wireless carrier. Unlike the phone within your home or business, which has a physical address associated with it to assist in routing the appropriate emergency response, the cellular call is absent all that information.

The cellular industry was mandated by the FCC to provide location technology by the year 2001. Delays are expected as the industry continues to debate how to recover their costs as well as the preferred technology. In Missouri, a special fee for cell phone users only would have supported the technology but was defeated in public referendum early in 1999. In the meantime, everyday some 98,000 cell phone users nationwide seek assistance by dialing 9-1-1 and then must be able to clearly describe exactly where they are, often under circumstances that are marked by injury, fear and disorientation.

Cellular callers are most strongly urged to know their surroundings, be aware of road markers, direction of travel, exit signs and even billboards as County 9-1-1 Team Members make every attempt to expedite the needed emergency services to your location.

letters to the editor

Just returned from Carthage and the Maple Leaf Festival. The parade has become a family reunion for us and we enjoy it so much every year. We’ve watched the parade at the same place (Budlong and Grand) now for 32 years. We always see old neighbors that we grew up with and its fun. It always fun to go up to the square afterwards, this gets better every year.

One question, why don’t they have the high school homecoming football game Friday evening? It seems, that for the past several years, the Tigers play away from home on the Friday night of the Maple Leaf Festival week.

Thanks to all who helped organize the Saturday events, your former Carthaginians - now Kansas Citians - appreciate your efforts.

Tom Brown CSHS Class of 69

Editor Mornin' Mail,

I recently had an unpleasant experience at a local convenience store that prompts me to write this letter. I have noticed in the past few years that convenience stores do not offer a receipt after a purchase. If you want one you have to ask for it. At most of the stores, when you do get one, it is barely ledgible and/or the store name does not appear on the receipt. Leaves me scratching my head a lot when I try to do books.

I don’t understand this practice, but I do see where it would be a liability to the stores and their customers that follow this proceedure. Could someone help me to see the logic for this?

Ken Cole

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

As you can see in today’s letters to the editor, we continue to get email from folks from outa town that check in to our web site from time to time. ‘Course locals use the email also (as in yesterday’s letter to the editor).

We had an increase in folks findin’ out what’s goin’ on in Carthage in the two weeks preceding Maple Leaf. We see a steady increase in hits on the site. We seem ta be averagin’ about 1200 a month now. We still offer our free fax service to those with a local phone exchange.

If you have friends out their who like ta stay up with the goin’s on around here, let ‘em know about the morninmail.com web site. That way, you’ll have somethin’ to talk about when ya see ‘em next.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Dear Tom and Ray:

I have a 1996 Honda Civic. From June to October, it got 34 miles per gallon. From mid-October through February, it got only 25 mpg. The dealer says "all cars get lower mileage in the winter due to the reformulation of gasolines."

They refuse to look at it without charging me. Whatever happened to customer service? Cripes, the car cost almost $18,000, and it seems to me they ought to be willing to give it a quick lookover in the first year. Do you think there's something wrong with my car? —John

TOM: Maybe, maybe not, John. Mileage does drop in the winter, but it has nothing to do with the reformulation of gasoline. It has to do with the reformulation of the temperature, from nice and warm to freezing cold.

RAY: Several things conspire to lower your mileage in cold weather. One is lower tire pressure. Even without any leaks, tire pressure drops about a pound for every 10-degree drop in temperature. So if you haven't checked the pressure since it was 80 degrees in the shade last summer, you may have lost enough tire pressure to seriously reduce your mileage.

TOM: The other important change that occurs in the winter is that gasoline doesn't burn as well in cold temperatures. So you're not burning all of your gasoline completely. That means that some of it is being wasted in the cylinders, and that's hurting your mileage.

RAY: This is particularly true if you make short trips, because the engine gets out of the "warm-up" mode, where it boosts the idle speed and is pouring in extra gasoline anyway.