Today's Feature

Jasper County Youth Fair.

The Jasper County 4-H Youth Fair began on Saturday, July 5 and will continue through Friday, July 11th at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Carthage Municipal Park. Today’s events include the 4-H/FFA Agri-Science Judging at 2:00 p.m., the Fair Speech Contest at 5:00 p.m. in the Agriculture building, and the Horse and Mule Show at 6:00 p.m. in the Saddle Club Arena.

Tuesday’s events include judging of the FFA Exhibits at 3:30 p.m., Poultry check-in from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. the Pageant at 6:00 p.m. and the Rabbit Show in the Show arena at 7:00 p.m.

Youth Fair Events will be listed in the Mornin’ Mail throughout the week. A complete listing of events can be found at http://extension.missouri.edu/jasper/youth/JCYF/Jasper_County_Youth_Fair.htm

Waste Provider Merger, Name Change.

City Administrator Tom Short announced last week that the City had received word of a merger between Allied Waste, the City solid waste provider, and Republic Services, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Short said that though Allied Waste is a larger company, the merger will retain the company name of Republic Services, Inc.

Mornin',

Sometimes ya hear folks complainin’ that the art of conversation has been lost in the age of worldwide communication.

In a general sense, I suppose the simple act of conversing with actual human beings is becomin’ less common.

Lately I’ve been wonderin’ if it would be more to the point if the symptom is more the fact that folks just don’t listen anymore.

Like a train that passes in the middle of the night, after a while we grow accustom to the clatter and begin to hardly notice. People just assume that they already know what someone is goin’ to say and are formulatin’ a response without actually hearin’ what they’re respondin’ to.

I suppose listenin’ would be common if anything bein’ said was worth a hoot.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

Q: I try to maintain my home as well as I can by myself. However, there are some things that even the most determined body cannot do. The sills on my outside back windows, which face south, are rotting away. I hope that something can be done simply, but whenever someone gives me advice, they seem to think all the windows and frames need to be replaced. Any advice would be appreciated and considered. I’m a senior citizen on a limited budget. -- Bonnie M., via e-mail

A: Normally, when a wooden window frame begins to show significant rotting, it’s best to replace the entire frame -- you get a well-fitted, better-insulated window that will last for decades. But it isn’t cheap, and the project is beyond many do-it-yourselfers.

It’s a tough call, without being able to look at your exterior sills, as to whether you can make temporary repairs to them and hold off on replacing the entire window unit. Take a close look at them: Is the rotting only affecting a portion of the exterior wood? Does the rot go through to the interior side? Does the wood crumble away with light pressure?

A rotting window frame can result in a lot of other costs -- water damage from moisture seeping through the compromised wood, and high energy bills from poor insulation.

If the rot is limited, you can buy a little time -- a year or two, max -- by filling the cracked surfaces with a two-part wood filler. This product is mixed together and then applied to the damaged area with a putty knife. After it dries, it can be lightly sanded and painted.

Once that’s done, start pricing replacements. The temporary seal will give you extra time for this. With parts and labor, you may only be able to replace one frame at a time, but the replacement will be well worth it in the long run.