Today's Feature

Approved Pump Funding.

The City Council Budget Ways and Means Committee met Monday evening in a regular session. The committee approved a motion to recommend to Council the appropriation of $16,250 for the purpose of redesigning a pump system for excess water at the intersection of Grand and Centennial.

City Administrator Tom Short and Public Works Committee Chairman Dan Rife explained to the Committee that the current pump located at the intersection has broken, and has been estimated to cost $10,000 for its repair. Sprenkle and Associates, with whom the City contracts for engineering, has proposed the redesigning of the pump system, to allow for two smaller pumps to replace the larger single pump that is currently in that location.

The dual pump system, according to Rife, would be designed on a cascading system, wherein one pump would be utilized at a certain water level, and both pumps when the water level is increased.

Bids for the purchase and installation of this new system were submitted for by the Public Works Department, but not all of the bids have been received. The committee is scheduled to award the bid when all of the bids are received, by the next Public Works Committee meeting, to be held October 21. The committee approved a motion to appropriate the necessary funding prior to the bid being awarded, so that the new pumps may be purchased as quickly as possible. The specific amount of appropriation will be finalized when the bid is approved.

Mornin'
The one good thing ‘bout holidays like Columbus Day is that they remind us that the world does not revolve around our own schedule. It’s a humbling experience to prepare for the daily routine of makin’ it to the bank, a stop by the Courthouse, and waitin’ on the mail, just to finally realize that on that particular day, none a that is gonna happen.

Even after I pulled on the bank door and walked up the steps to the Courthouse, I still checked and worried that somethin’ had happened to the mail carrier. It was neigh on to 2 o’clock ‘fore I finally accepted the fact that there would be no mail delivery.

There was a quick glimpse of hope that somehow Columbus Day could be used as a "catch up" day. That idea was soon left in the pile of outgoin’ mail that would still be a day late to its destination.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here's A Tip
By JoAnn Derson

• Don’t store propane tanks in the garage. They have a freezing point of -310 F, so they can stay outside year-round.

• "If you’re like me and wear glasses and get your hair colored, try this wonderful tip. My hairdresser keeps a container full of glove fingers in her drawer. She cuts the fingers off the plastic gloves after the pair of gloves gets worn. I slip one over each stem of my glasses, and they are protected while the color is on my hair. I can put them on without worrying about the chemicals messing with the plastic, and I just slip them off when my hair is ready to be rinsed." -- F.E. in New York

• "I line my cookie sheets with aluminum foil. A lot of people do. But as soon as I have made a batch of cookies, I wipe it clean with a damp paper towel. Then I can set it aside to cool while another batch is cooking. I can do many batches with one lining of foil, and this saves me money." -- V.K. in Oregon

• "I use coffee filters to clean windows and mirrors. They are less crumply than newspaper, but still are lint-free and give a nice shine." -- P.C. in Virginia

• "My husband is hard on buttons. So, I sew the waist buttons on his pants with dental floss. A touch of shoe polish helps the white to blend in, and it’s as tough as he is. I don’t recall ever having to resew a button that was put on with floss." -- U.S. in Michigan

• "My kids love to do chalk drawings, and when they have finished a particularly nice one, we spray it with hairspray. It sets the chalk so that it doesn’t shake off or rub off too much." -- S.N. in Georgia