Memorial Hall Fee Adjustment.

The Public Services voted Monday evening to recommend a reduction in fees for Memorial Hall auditorium rentals. Committee members expressed the hope that a reduction in rates might increase usage of the building.

The projected budget for the 1999/2000 fiscal year shows a projected rental income for the facility of $46,000 and an estimated cost to operate of $91,518.

While the $25 charge for use of the smaller rooms remained unchanged, the recommendation dropped some other charges to as little as a half of the current rate. The current fee for renting the auditorium for 8 to 12 hours with alcohol served is $600. The recommendation would lower that to $300. The same amount of time for a non-alcohol event is currently set at $300 and would be reduced to $200 under the proposed plan.

Under the current system a $600 deposit is required for an auditorium event where alcohol is served. The new proposal recommends that be reduced to $100, the same for non-alcohol events.

The recommendation will be presented to the full Council.

Farewell to Luann Felts.

news release Carthage Area United Way

Please join us as we appropriately celebrate our friend, Luann Felts, and her contribution to the Carthage area. It is time to wish her well and say, "Thank You!" and "Goodbye."

The Board of Directors of the Carthage Area United Way will be celebrating this event on Monday, April 10 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at the New Fairview Christian Church Community Center.

This event is provided for the express purpose of allowing the United Way agencies, the Board of Directors and the community to show their appreciation for the many contributions Luann has made to our agencies and the community of Carthage.

Refreshments will be served.

Musical Workshop On Aging
Presented By Bob Payton.

news release

Banjo plucking, guitar strumming and notes played on a harmonica will be heard throughout the four county area when Bob Payton comes to town April 6.

The Area Agency on Aging is sponsoring a series of seminars titled, "I’ve Never Been Old Before...a Musical Workshop on Aging."

He will be in Carthage from 1-2 p.m. on Thursday, April 6 at the Over 60 Center, 404 E. 3rd St. Carthage. This presentation is free and all ages are welcome to attend. For more information call 417-627-0600.

These musical workshops are designed to encourage seniors and their families to become knowledgeable about all aspects of the aging process which will help them to make informed choices as they make plans for the future. The audience will find "I’ve Never Been Old Before" to be both entertaining and informative.

"Aging brings many experiences. There are joys and achievements only possible if one has lived a long time," says Payton. "Likewise, there are losses and difficulties which are the direct result of living a long time."

Payton, a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and talented musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota, weaves audience discussion with a lively performance of thought provoking songs, stories and questions that reflect change or challenge of later life. He has teamed up with his wife, producer Denise Dreher, to write and collect positive songs about aging which introduce a variety of aging topics.

During the workshop, the group will look at ways cultural attitudes affect the way we think, feel and talk about aging, examine how our personal feelings about aging affect the way we listen and respond to others, and learn the importance of talking about aging as a way to prepare for and cope with the changes of later life.

Songs which Payton uses in his presentation have been recorded on an hour-long audio cassette tape with 16 new songs about aging.

They include "What the Old Folks Know," about life experience; "Nature’s Way," about physical changes of aging; "Give Me a Home in the Highrise," about independence; and "The Dancing Boilerman," about retirement expectations.

Saw onea those shows ‘bout animals the other evenin’. I don’t ‘member what they were, but these two little critters were facin’ opposite directions diggin’ their respective holes in the ground. Both of ‘em goin’ a mile a minute. The fact that they were throwin’ all the dirt outa their hole into the hole bein’ scraped out by the other didn’t seem ta bother ‘em any. They just kept their nose down and kept movin’ the dirt back and forth between ‘em.

I suppose as obviously futile a situation those two critters were in, it’s sometimes a good idea to stick your head up and take a look around. Could be that by shiftin’ just a little, the work might get done a little better, or at least not hinder those makin’ progress.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

I have a ’94 Dodge Shadow. When I stop at a red light and I have my foot on the brakes, I can feel the brake pedal slip and go down a little. I called my mechanic, and he said it could be the master cylinder and told me to take it back to the dealer. The dealer checked it and told me that nothing’s wrong. They didn’t charge me for the checkup. What do you think? Should I be concerned? - Ellen.

Ray: It could still be a bad master cylinder, Ellen. Leaky master cylinders are notoriously difficult to diagnose.

Tom: But it could also be absolutely nothing. We see this on a lot of modern cars with electronic engine management systems. When you come to a stop, the engine management system may increase or decrease the idle speed slightly for a variety of reasons. When that happens, the engine vacuum changes and, since the power brakes are vacuum-assisted, you could feel a slight sinking of the brake pedal.

Ray: The problem is, how do you know whether it’s normal or not? The answer is that you don’t. But your mechanic should be able to tell. And if he’s unsure about it, I would suggest he put in a new master cylinder and see fi the problem goes away.

Tom: If it does go away, then you know the master cylinder was, indeed, starting to leak. If the brakes do exactly the same thing with a new master cylinder, then we’d have to conclude that their diagnosis was correct and there’s nothing wrong.