CARTHAGE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS

Receives Mid-America Arts Alliance Performing Arts Grant.

Carthage Council on the Arts announced that it is among a select group of regional presenters chosen to receive a Mid-America Arts Alliance grant. This award will support an upcoming performance of the Sugar Free Allstars at Carthage 4-9 Auditorium on Tuesday, November 24th. The Sugar Free Allstars will present a performance to 7th and 8th grades at Carthage Middle School during the afternoon, and perform at 6:30PM that night to all Carthage and surrounding communities and their families at no charge.

Funding for the Carthage Council on the Arts’ Mid-America Arts Alliance grant is drawn from generous underwriting by the National Endowment for the Arts, Missouri Arts Council, and foundations, corporations, and individuals throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Additional funding support is provided by the Springfield Regional Arts Council and the U. S. Department of Education.

Sugar Free Allstars is a Hammond keyboard/Drum duo that creates a unique new sound by blending elements of New Orleans funk, Memphis soul and quirky pop. The connection and fire between the two performers includes a good mix of humor, making their performance a one-of-a-kind rock and roll party.

Children and adults alike enjoy the high energy performance with an attitude that music is primarily for dancing, laughing, and having fun. Families of all ages are invited next Tuesday night, November 24th, at 6:30 pm, at Carthage R-9 Auditorium by Carthage Council on the Arts. For more information call:N.Sanders 417-358-3560.

NASCAR THIS WEEK

By Monte Dutton

Sponsored by Curry Automotive

Johnson Takes a Hit

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jimmie Johnson kept saying homilies like "there’s a lot of racing left" and "it’s way too early" to declare a fourth straight Sprint Cup championship a foregone conclusion.

Johnson, of course, could take no solace from being proved right in Texas Motor Speedway’s Dickies 500. The race had barely started before Johnson, who had seemed so blessed by the fates, found himself wading through a nightmare.

On the third lap, Johnson’s Chevrolet, riding just outside the top 10 near Sam Hornish, who had started alongside him, was in the wrong place at the wrong time when Hornish’s Dodge first wobbled and then, as Hornish tried to gather it in, took a tap from David Reutimann’s Toyota. Hornish bounced into Johnson, and everything went out of control. Johnson’s Chevrolet slammed into Hornish a second time, then eventually clobbered the wall at the inside of the Texas back straight.

Johnson had to return to the track in his patched-up No. 48 just to finish as high as 38th. By day’s end, Johnson’s 184-point lead over Mark Martin was down to 73.

On the positive side, with but two races remaining, Johnson’s margin is somewhat comfortable, though the incident with Hornish offered testimony to just how fleeting such a margin can be.

Afterward, Johnson was amazingly upbeat, saying he was still "very much" optimistic.

"I felt like we had a chance to win the race," he said. "I felt like at least we could stretch the margin or keep it like it was. But it wasn’t meant to be. We still have a nice lead, and we’ll take it from here."

Only Martin is within 100 points. Only Martin and Jeff Gordon -- both of whom are Hendrick Motorsports teammates, by the way -- are within 150.

Odds in Johnson’s quest to become NASCAR’s first winner of four consecutive championships remain in his favor.

It’s always odd to run into folks ya know in a place ya didn’t expect to see ‘em.

I happened upon several at a bluegrass music festival a while back. Some of ‘em didn’t surprise me that they were attendin’ the event, just didn’t expect to see ‘em. Others I had no idea they had an interest in such things. Some were folks I hadn’t seen for several years, others I see ever now and then around these parts.

Then there were those that I was wantin’ to run into that I never found. I know they were there, just didn’t make contact.

There were also the three or four folks I didn’t know, but kept seein’ ‘em at various times. I wasn’t followin’ them around, but I wonder if they don’t think I was. Or maybe they were keepin’ an eye on me.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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CLICK and CLACK

TALK CARS

Dear Tom and Ray:

Is it ever safe to start a car with no oil in it? I have a 2004 Honda Civic, and when I change the oil filter, it always drips all over the place, down the side of the engine and onto the struts or CV axles, I’m not sure which. My brother-in-law says to start the car after I drain the oil, and it will pump the oil out of the filter so I can remove it without a mess. I told him he is insane! Was I right? I told him I would rather clean up the mess than buy a new engine. ---James

Ray: I’m assuming your brother-in-law is a man with a very clean garage floor and lots of experience rebuilding engines, James. He’s also nuts, by the way.

Tom: You should never, ever run your engine without oil. Not even for a few seconds. The engine is full of very expensive metal parts that slide along each other at high speeds. To keep them from ruining each other, engine manufacturers go through a lot of trouble to make sure these parts are ALWAYS bathed in oil.

Ray: They even go so far as to put a big, red idiot light smack in front of the driver’s face that lights up if the oil pressure drops. Apparently, the light’s not big enough for your brother-in-law.

Tom: So that’s not a good option, James. But there’s no perfect solution. Oil filters often are attached at odd angles, and crammed into hard-to-reach places. And they’re generally hard to remove without spilling oil. On your Civic, the oil drips- harmlessly, but messily-right onto an axle.

Ray: What you CAN do is punch a hole in the oil filter with an awl. After you’ve drained the crankcase, slide you oil tub underneath the filter, loosen the filter a little bit to let air in, and knock a hole in the lowest part of the filter. After about 20 minutes, most of the oil will have drained out.