Did Ya Know... The CW&EP Board will conduct a meeting at 4 p.m. today, Dec. 18, at the City Hall Council Chambers.

Did Ya Know... The National Literacy Hotline, which is a toll-free number (1-800-228-8813) refers students and tutors to programs closest to them.

Did Ya Know.. Tickets for the Friday night City Lights tour are $1.50 per person with children under 5 FREE.

Did Ya Know... The Area Agency on Aging Friday Fair at Northpark Mall will hold an open house from 10-2 p.m. & have a seminar at 10:30 a.m. on Heart Disease.

Mother to fussy son: Twenty years from now you’ll be telling some girl what a great cook your mother was...now eat your dinner.

Money does make a difference. If you have two jobs and you’re rich, it is called diversified interests. If you have two jobs and you’re poor, you call it moonlighting.

Jack: I’m so nearsighted I nearly worked myself to death.

Elmer: What’s being nearsighted got to do with working yourself to death?

Jack: I couldn’t tell whether the boss was watching me or not, so I had to work all the time.

Secret Societies Have Their New Officers on Duty.

The Royal Arcanum officers were installed Monday night by the deputy grand regent, Geo. W. Read. The Alba Haywood company will play at the Grand opera house in this city January 23 and Geo. W. Read, John Henkle, and J. A. Banks were appointed as a committee on arrangements.

The new officers for Carthage Lodge No. 171 I. O. O. F. were installed Monday night by the district deputy grand master, Bert Starkweather, of Webb City.

The Knights of Pythias installed their newly elected officers for 1897 last night. W. S. Shuler, district deputy grand chancellor, was the installing officer. A number of Carterville Knights attended the installation. After the ceremonies an informal banquet was given and a general social hour spent by all Knights present. A number of short talks were made by members which were much enjoyed. The lodge is in a healthy financial condition and is growing rapidly.

Folks often complain about how long it takes ta get things done when dealin’ with the government. Red tape, bureaucrats, and the like. The fact is, our form a government was intentionally structured so as ta make things hard ta change.

One a the problems most elected officials have, especially on the local level, is acceptin’ the fact that it’s not much better on the inside. In fact in a lot a cases, it’s more frustratin’ for elected officials to change things than it is for the rest of us.

‘Course that’s why the system is built the way it is. The longer it takes ta get somethin’ done, the more likely it is that all the information involved will rise to the top.

Although it’s easy to understand wantin’ to hurry up the process, even the appearance of public officials tryin’ to bypass the normal procedure typically results in the erosion of public confidence.

Cards can be played close to the vest, but even in a friendly game, it’s best ta keep your hands above the table, .

This is some fact, but mostly, Just Jake Talkin’.

by Metcalf Auto Supply.

Click and Clack Talk Cars

Dear Tom and Ray:

I own a 1991 Toyota Camry that has never been any trouble until lately. Whenever the weather becomes humid, the car won’t start, I first noticed the problem several months ago when I was driving and the car actually died. My impression was that if I stepped on the gas harder, it died more quickly. Eventually, the car wouldn’t start at all in the humid weather. The engine would crank, but it wouldn’t start. In the past year, I’ve had a new timing belt, new spark plugs and new wires. The part about the humid air is the perplexing part. Any ideas? - Jason

Ray: Actually, it sounds like a classic case of a bad coil. The coil is what generates the spark. And when it fails, the spark would be interrupted and the car would hesitate and die.

Tom: And as we all remember from our high school physics, water conducts electricity. So moisture (a k a water) in the air is likely to "steal" some of the electricity that would normally go to the spark plugs. And that’s why it’s worse when it’s wet out. Eventually, it’ll get so bad that you won’t be able to start it, even on dry, sunny days.

Ray: The best solution is to replace the whole distributor, which includes the coil, igniter, cap, pickup, rotor and plug wires. It’s expensive (around $500 with labor), but, as you say, this car has never been any trouble. So just consider yourself due. Good luck, Jason.

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