Today's Feature

Sobriety Checkpoint Successful.

The Carthage Police Department on Saturday, September 27 stationed a sobriety checkpoint at the corner of Central Ave. and Garrison Ave. from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m.

Carthage Police Chief Greg Dagnan said during a recent interview that the checkpoint went well. During the course of the evening 659 cars were stopped at the intersection. Of those 659 cars, the Carthage Police Department with help from the Joplin Police Department and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department made 5 arrests for DWIs, 1 arrest for driving with a revoked license, 2 arrests for driving with a suspended license, 1 warrant arrest, and also caught 1 suspect in a statutory rape case.

"I was very, very pleased," said Dagnan.

The checkpoint was funded by a Highway Safety Grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation which was awarded to the Joplin Police Department. The grant allowed Joplin’s Department to establish regional checkpoints and Carthage was chosen as a location. In addition to funding the checkpoint, the Joplin Department also provided additional manpower for assistance at the busy intersection.

Mornin'
There’s nothing that spoils a magic trick like knowin’ how it’s done. Some of the most impressive tricks can be accomplished by anyone, if ya know the secret.

Used ta amaze my friends by takin’ a hat pin and carefully pushin’ it into a fully inflated balloon. Then just ta show that there wasn’t anything fishy, I’d pull out the pin and pop the balloon with it. The trick of the whole thing is ta put a piece of Scotch tape on the balloon. When ya stick the pin through the tape, it holds the hole together and keeps the balloon from poppin’.

The thing that makes tricks work is figurin’ how to use their expectations to direct attention elsewhere and bring about an unexpected conclusion. Sometimes the simplest things can escape even the watchful eye of a skeptic.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

To Your Good Health
By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

Dealing With Motion Sickness

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’ll be going on a cruise this fall. Since I am susceptible to motion sickness, is there anything I can take, other than the pill Marezine? I have heard the Transderm Scop patch isn’t recommended for older people.

ANSWER: A great many people are affected by motion sickness. The waves of nausea are triggered by a mismatch of signals the brain receives from the eyes and from the balance organs in the inner ear. They send conflicting messages, and the brain can’t cope with those messages. You can minimize the mismatch by doing a few simple things:

• Reserve a cabin in midship, near the waterline.

• Look off into the horizon. If you see a distant object, fixate on it.

• Don’t read.

• Don’t overeat.

Dramamine belongs to the same class of motion-sickness medicines as Marezine, but you might be able to tolerate it better. Antivert is another drug of the same class. Try them before you take the trip to see if they upset you or make you groggy.

Transderm Scop -- the patch worn behind the ear -- has permitted many people prone to seasickness to have a happy cruise. The manufacturer says it should be used with caution in the elderly because they are more sensitive to its side effects, like dry mouth, difficulty urinating, blurred vision, disorientation and drowsiness. If your doctor OK’s the idea, this is something else you could try before getting on board. If you feel any of the side effects setting in, take the patch off immediately.