Today's Feature

Demolition Bid Approved.

The City Council Public Works Committee met Tuesday afternoon in a regular session. The committee reviewed bids for the demolition of a City-owned building at 415 E. 3rd Street. Public Works Director Chad Wampler told the committee that 5 had been received. The low bid was received from B&D Yard Builders in the amount of $4,600 for the demolition. Wampler recommended this bid for approval. The committee unanimously agreed to forward the bid to Council with a recommendation to approve. The use for the lot where the structure currently stands has not been officially decided.

The committee also discussed storm debris clean up efforts and agreed upon a cut-off date for all clean up activities. February 15th was the date set by the committee to end the clean up by J&R Disaster Services for contract debris pickup in City right-of-ways, the date for re-establishment of fees at the City landfill for debris drop-off and the end of the burn-ban which has been in effect since the ice storms. J&R Disaster Services this week began its third and final pass through the City and is also working with the Parks Department to remove hanging limbs in City parks.

Mornin’
It must look pretty silly to folks that don’t "understand" football fans. People showin’ up in all kinds of costumes, sittin’ in cold weather, watchin’ twenty-two guys fightin’ over a ball.

It must be a great thrill for the players after winnin’ a game. Fans cheerin’, tellin’ ‘em what a good job they did. I suppose for a lot of ‘em it means almost as much as their multi-million dollar pay checks.

It’s a lot harder for fans of outstanding performances achieved by more ever’day folks. Like most things, after a while most of us start takin’ for granted that fires will be put out, streets will be taken care of, and murders will be solved. It’s more typical for us to remember the things that don’t turn out so good. We tend to easily forget the big "wins" that these folks have.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

My ‘91 Buick LeSabre Custom needs replacement struts, and I am stumped. I went to the mechanic the other day, and he asked me what type of struts I wanted. I had no idea what he meant. So he asked me if I wanted gas-charged struts, quick struts, or the Monroe Matics or Monroe Sensa-Trac. My question: What is the difference between these, and which is better? -Gregory

TOM: Good question, Gregory. The term "strut" and "shock absorber" often are used interchangeably. But technically, a McPherson Strut is a shock absorber surrounded by a coil spring.

RAY: And a "quick strut" is the whole package. It includes a shock absorber, a coil spring and the strut mount, which houses the bearing. That’s a complete McPherson strut, and it gets bolted right in and replaces all at once.

TOM: A quick strut is expensive. You’d pay around $400 each for them on this car, just for the parts. So, you don’t want that unless you need it - if, for example, your springs are also shot, or one of your springs is broken.

RAY: Since your mechanic didn’t tell you that you needed springs, eliminate the quick strut.

TOM: So then it’s a question of whether you want gas shocks. The Monroe Sensa-Tracs are gas-filled, the Monroe Matics are not.

RAY: All shocks use oil to dampen the bouncing motion of your springs. Gas shocks normally fill the "air space’" where the oil expands into, with nitrogen. Why? Manufactures claim that nitrogen reduces foaming and bubbling of the oil during harder driving, and therefore leads to better overall handling.

TOM: Is it true? We don’t know. But it sounds good!

RAY: And since the difference between the gas shocks and the non-gas shocks is about 10 bucks in your case, we’d suggest that you opt for the gas shocks. The nitrogen industry will thank you. Good luck, Gregory.