Today's Feature

Approved Driving Range Lease.

Carthage City Council met Tuesday evening in a regular session. Council approved an ordinance authorizing a contract between the City of Carthage and Dennis Detert for the lease of the driving range at the golf course for $4,000 per year. City Attorney Nate Dally outlined recent amendments to the contract prior to the vote. Council approved the amendments and unanimously voted to approve the lease contract.

Council also heard the first reading of an ordinance that would modify City Code to allow for trash abatement. The changes would allow the City to hire an entity to remove trash or solid waste from properties, and recoup expenses from the property owner by way of a tax lien.

During committee reports, Finance & Personnel Committee Chair Diane Sharits noted that the committee had approved a motion to allow payment to Kaatz & Associates for the City Salary and Benefits Study, but only for 90% of the bill due to the untimeliness of sections of the report.

Council also saw the swearing in of new Carthage Police Officer Shane O’Sullivan.

Mornin'
Talkin’ to a few youngsters will get ya straight on their priorities. Schools out, one informed me.

Plans for summer are comin’ to the top of the list for most. "Course there are lots a choices, includin’ doin’ nothin’ in particular. As much as a lota folks like ta see some definite plans laid out, there is some justification for not plannin’ at all for the days outa school. Summer opportunities seldom are expected. Part of the fun of bein’ a kid. Fishin’ holes, bicycle ridin’, sandlot baseball are hard to put into a defined plan of activities. They just seem to happen.

‘Course most of us that have reached some level of adulthood yearn for just one more childhood summer. Not likely.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

So, I was driving home in my beloved 2003 Toyota Prius on Friday. I turned right a few blocks from my house, and the wheel froze in the turned postion...I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a parked truck. After a few minutes, I realized , I could forced the wheels straight enough to get it home. I had it towed to a dealer, and they say it's an electrical connection between the steering column and the rack and pinion, and will cost about $2,000 in parts and labor. I'm at about 70,000 miles, past the 36,000 mile warranty. I know there was a recall having to do with the steering system on Priuses made just after mine, but the dealer says it doesn't apply. Do I have any recourse? Thank you!---Rebecca

RAY: I'm afraid the dealer is right, Rebecca. The later steering recall is for a different issue entirely, so it wouldn't apply to your car.

TOM: And he's right that what you probably need is a rack and pinion, which will cost you two grand.

RAY: Welcome to the world of new technology! One of the many ways the Prius saves fuel is with electric power steering. Although it's expected to become more and more common, the Prius was one of the first vehicles to use it.

TOM: It workds by using sensors in the steering column that tell a computer how far, how hard and how quickly you're turning the steering wheel. The computer then sends an appropriate amount of electrical "boost" to the electric power steering motor.

RAY: The advantage of this electric system is that it saves fuel by being smaller and lighter, and by running off electric power only when that power is needed. The disadvantage of it is that it's new, and apparently it can fail catastrophically.