Today's Feature

Not Only No, but HECK NO!

Months of convincing and several meetings by the City of Carthage wrangled only one vote from the residents of the Southwind Acres neighborhood to bring the area into the City. In yesterdays election, twenty-five out of twenty-six of the residents voted no to the proposed annexation of the area just south of Wal-Mart on Fir Road. Just over 60% of Carthage residents voted in favor of the annexation. To be approved the measure had to be approved by at least 50% of Carthage voters and 50% of the Southwind Acres voters. By state statute the question must now be put on another ballot in February and passed by a two-thirds majority, or 67% of the combined voters of the City and Southwind Acres.

In light of the only 60% approval by City residents, the City will now have to turn it’s attention to convincing current residents that the approval of the forced annexation is in the best interests of the community.

In the mean time, the residents of Southwind Acres will no doubt be mounting their own campaign to fight the effort, and to uncover that one rogue voter.

Mornin'
While waitin’ for the election results last evenin’, I made my usual rounds of the courthouse takin’ in the nostalgia and imaginin’ the crowds that used to gather for events like the presidential election in years gone by. Shoulder to shoulder, waitin’ for the next result to be posted. The rowdy banterin’ of politics suddenly hushed by the next bit of news called out by the County Clerk.

I carried by digital camera recordin’ various interestin’ details of the "Hall of Justice" when I noticed a relic was missing. The old wooden phone booth stood as a symbol of communication to the outside world, but inside there was no phone. No way to reach legal, medical, or moral assistance. Surely the system can afford to at least provide the means for one phone call.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• What’s on sale in November: shoes, boys’ clothing, blankets, select deals on loss-leader items during holiday sales.

• "With the holidays fast approaching, I found a great way to spend more time with family instead of in the kitchen. I invested in all different sizes of crockpots. This allows me to have food prepared all day. Cleanup is a breeze and storage is even better. I use extra-large bulk sweater plastic storage bags with shelves. I can place at least five large crockpots very neatly in my dining-room closet. Now I can get a hot meal and enjoy my family at the same time." -- B.O. in Pennsylvania

• "After a big dinner like Thanksgiving, there’s much scraping of plates. I keep a bowl lined with a plastic shopping bag by the sink, and we can scrape into that. I believe it keeps the smells down in the trash when all that mess is tied together." -- O.L. in Washington

• Recipe Substitutions: If you need 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.

• To keep ashes from flying around and ruining the carpet near the fireplace, spray cold ashes with a mister before removing. This dampens them, helping them to clump. Remove them to a box, misting again as necessary. When you’re finished, lay a piece of wet newspaper over the top of the pile, and you can carry the box outside without fear of a flyup!

• For wrapping paper in a pinch, try using the funnies from the newspaper, or a map. You also can use fabric scraps or a brown paper grocery bag turned inside out. You can write funny quotes or draw pictures on the plain paper to jazz it up.