Today's Feature

Safety Committee Rescheduled.

The City Council Public Safety Committee meeting that was cancelled last Monday due to the weather has been rescheduled for this evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Carthage Police Department, 310 W. 4th Street.

Items on the agenda include a request from Sandy Swingle to create a special coupon or reduced taxi rate for students learning English at the Carthage Literacy Center, and a request for taxi service rate increase by Bobbi Schrader Hagan.

The committee is also scheduled to discuss a proposed modification to a truck route. Baker Boulevard, from Central Avenue to Fairview Avenue is currently a truck route. The proposed changes would shorten the route on Baker, running from Central Avenue to Oak Street.

This item was previously discussed by the City Council Public Works Committee. The two options discussed by that committee included removing the street as a truck route or shortening the length of the route. The committee forwarded the recommendation to modify the route to the Safety Committee.

Mornin'
I suppose with all the speed of jets and telephones and television, we’ve lost the art of allowin’ ourselves the luxury of makin’ mistakes ever now and then.

Let alone thinkin’ somethin’ unexpected might pop up in the middle of somethin’ we’re tryin’ ta get done. Most of us don’t allow any "room for error" these days.

I’m startin’ to wonder if maybe we aren’t a little hard on ourselves. Seems that takin’ a day ever’ now and then just to catch up on some readin’ or visit a friend for no particular reason just doesn’t come up much.

We hear a lot about the standard of livin’, but maybe the standard ain’t what it used to be. Maybe somewhere we picked up the wrong measurin’ stick.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Balance a Forced-Air Heating System

Q: It doesn’t seem to matter whether I open or close the registers in certain rooms -- my house is constantly too cold in some spots and too hot in others. The insulation seems fine, and the heater is working fine. I change the filter every two months. What else can I check? -- John P., Worcester, Mass.

A: You may be able to further balance a forced-air heating system if dampers have been installed within the delivery air ducts leading to the registers. Check along the air duct run as far as possible to locate air dampers. These are indicated by a wing nut installed directly in the duct that does not seem to be joining anything.

If this wing nut is perpendicular to the duct (say, the duct is horizontal but the wing nut is oriented vertical), the damper is closed, restricting airflow. Use a screwdriver or manually turn the wing nut parallel to the duct, thereby opening the damper.

Try to locate as many of these dampers as possible. Working with a partner who is inside the living area of the house, find out where these ducts lead and if air flows or stops flowing to different areas of the house depending on whether the damper is open or closed.

Then, label the damper. Using a permanent marker, write the duct’s destination (such as the living room or a bedroom), and mark what angles the wing nut should be at when closed and when open.

Using this method of opening or closing dampers in the air ducts, you can balance the heating system a bit better so that additional warm air flows into colder areas of the house and is diverted from parts of the house that are too hot.

HOME TIP: To save on heating costs, don’t turn a thermostat to its highest setting hoping to quickly heat a room -- keep it at a lower temperature setting and give the system about 20 minutes to bring the room up to a comfortable temperature.