Today's Feature

Comprehensive Plan Continues.

The steering Committee for the Carthage Comprehensive Plan met late last week with Planning Works, the company that has been hired to update Carthage’s 10 year comprehensive plan. The committee had intended to finalize the preliminary land-use map which slates different areas of the City for different uses, including rural living, residential and regional business among others.

City Administrator Tom Short said that the committee had difficulty reading the maps, as the current land-use and future land-use maps were overlayed on top of one another. The committee requested that the two maps be separated and brought back for further discussion and review. The committee did discuss planning for growth, and a potential I-49 connection which may be located in Carthage.

The committee also discussed a new proposed historic area, which would be separate from Carthage’s current Historic District. The area would serve many of the same purposes as the District, but would cover a larger section of the City including the area around Route 66. Sections of Garrison, Central and Oak Street would be included in this area. Municipal Park and the Battle of Carthage site would also be included.

The current Historic District has some restrictions which are enforced on a case-by-case basis through the Planning and Zoning Committee. The proposed historic area as planned would not hold those same restrictions, but would attempt to retain the character of the culture and historical significance of the areas. The committee discussed possible names for the area listing "Cultural District" and "Tourist District" as possibilities. The steering committee is scheduled to hold another meeting early in March.

Mornin’

I’ve always liked functional things. Things that do the job they’re supposed ta do and not let ya down.

A butter knife is one a those things that looks like it’d be real functional, but I think it’s more for looks. Maybe I just never got the hang of usin’ one. For butter spreadin’, I think if the truth was known, most folks prefer a fork. That gets the job done. I don’t know if they make a margarine knife.

Telephones used ta be functional, now it seems they gotta have a hundred buttons on ‘em. I like the redial button but all the rest just set there. I’ve never explored the full potential of my telephone. I’m sure it can do a lot a things that would save me loads a time and effort.

And one button there is written, "flash". I don’t even want to know what that means.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

THIS IS A HAMMER
By Samantha Mazzotta

Putting Chair Rungs in Their Place

Q: My mother gave me a set of kitchen chairs that are very nice, but the cross-braces between the legs are mostly loose and either pop out or spin around in their sockets. Is there any way to fix these?

A: If the chairs or chair legs are not too badly warped, resetting the rungs (the cross-braces between the legs) should be fairly easy. You’ll need to pick up some wood glue or aliphatic adhesive from the home-improvement store, as well as a clothesline or other sturdy, thin rope and a wooden dowel.

Turn the affected chairs over so that you can easily reach the rungs. Carefully coax the loose rung out of its socket to apply glue to the end -- or, if that is not possible, apply glue by pressing the applicator nozzle as far into the socket as you can and squeezing a small amount in four opposite places. Do the same for the socket on the other side.

Wrap a piece of the clothesline around the two chair legs to which the rung is attached. Make sure the clothesline is placed below the rungs, where the chair legs are wider (or, since the chair is upside down, above the rungs). Tie it snugly. Then, take the wooden dowel. Hold it between the two sides of the clothesline, then use it to twirl the clothesline together so that it becomes fairly tight -- not so much that it warps the chair legs, but enough to hold the rung firmly in place. Brace the dowel against the rung so it doesn’t spin freely (you might also want to tape it against the rung to keep it secure).

Keep the clothesline in place until the glue sets, about 24 hours.

HOME TIP: Try repairing split chair rungs before replacing them. Glue the split together, then wrap duct tape around the rung to hold it in place for a day.

Land Transactions

Margie Sue Murray sold the property commonly known as 603 Sophia, Carthage, Mo to Jaime A. Barahona. The transaction was handled by Roland Miller with ReMax Classic and by Steve Johnson with Century 21 Associates Ltd.