Today's Feature

Approved the Street Closure.

The City Council Public Safety Committee met on Monday evening in regular session. The committee heard a request from Mark Sponagle of the Carthage Technical Center for a street closure in conjunction with the Carthage Christmas Parade. Sponagle requested closure of 9th, 10th and 11th streets from Chestnut Street to Grand Avenue on December 1 from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. The committee discussed the request and it was noted that the Carthage Invitational basketball tournament will be held on the same evening, and that some direction may be needed for the traffic flow during the two events. The motion to forward the street closures to Council was approved unanimously.

Fire Chief John Cooper told the committee that the Maple Leaf Parade had gone well, adding that the fire truck had to exit the procession during the parade to extinguish a residential fire.

Police Chief Greg Dagnan noted that the Carthage Police department has been helping with the investigation of a recent homicide, and added that overtime may become an issue during the investigation due to the volume of manpower being utilized.

Mornin'
I heard a guy the other night on TV (yes, there is an occasional bright spot) talkin’ ‘bout somethin’ that he felt was at least as important as the sense of the family. He talked about the sense of community.

He says that the social laws that we impose on ourselves are more important and enforceable than government imposed laws.

‘Course the reason is that we ultimately make the choice of what community we want to live in and therefore feel more of an obligation to conform to community standards than we do regular "laws."

It’s nice ta know that those ice-cream socials and parades and ball games are more than just entertainment, it’s good for us and our kids.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here's A Tip
By JoAnn Derson

• Getting that thermos out of storage? Freshen its smell with a half-cup of baking soda. Shake it around and let it sit overnight. Got stains? A few tablets of Alka Seltzer will do the trick. Fill the bottle two-thirds full with hot water, plop in the tablets and let them do their work. Use a bottle brush to scrub, and then rinse.

• "I like to make my own baby food, but doing it for every meal was tedious. Now I just make a large batch of each kind, freeze it into ice-cube trays and, when they are frozen, pop the cubes out into labeled freezer bags. I defrost just what I need quickly and easily, and I have a much greater variety this way." -- D.M. in Washington

• "If you are painting around windows, cut newspaper to fit the window, then dampen enough that it will stick on the window. Paint as normal, then just peel off. No tape required. Painter’s tape is getting pretty expensive, if you ask me." -- V.L. in Delaware

• "I keep a travel container of baby wipes in the car for use after filling the tank with gas. Now that it’s all pay at the pump, I hardly go inside and am not able to wash my hands off. Just a quick wipe and my hands are clean, and I can toss the wipe right there at the pump." -- J.S. in Texas

• "I have a very pretty pot that I keep beside my kitchen sink. It’s filled with baking soda. Whenever I am working with foods that are smelly or strong, I can open the lid and it helps a little. Also, I just dip my damp fingers into the baking soda and use it to scrub the smell from my hands. The bonus is that it makes my hands feel softer." -- O.O. in Iowa