today's laugh
A Dutchman was describing the red, white, and blue flag
of his native country. "Its symbolic of our
taxes," he explained. "We turn red when we talk
about them, white when we figure them, and blue when we
pay them."
The American he was talking to
said, "Its the same in Americaonly we
see stars too!"
When I first moved into my house and
undertook a twenty-five-year mortage, I wondered if
Id last that long. Now, I keep wondering if the house
will last that long.
1900
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have
Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.
To
Float Down Spring River.
Joe Hall, of the post office force,
went to Alba this afternoon armed with a huge
six-shooter, a fishing pole and a Winchester rifle. There
he will be joined by George Bradley and the two will
embark in a large row boat, with tent, fishing tackle,
bait and provisions for a long trip down Spring river.
They will drift with the current, fishing, hunting and
fighting mosquitoes for four days, by which time they
expect to have reached the Indian Territory. They will
then ship their baggage, boat and fish and return by
rail.
Repairing a Water
Plug.
The water company has been putting a
new valve in the water plug at the corner of Central and
Main today. It has been leaking for some time. The plug
had to be dug up to make the necessary repairs, as the
valve is placed below the frost line.
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Today's Feature
Finding Funding For Intersection.The City Council Public Works Committee
will consider adjustments to individual line
items within the current Capital Improvement
budget recommended by City Administrator Tom
Short this afternoon. The adjustments are
necessary to pay for intersection improvements
and new traffic signals at the intersection of
Garrison and Chestnut. Bids for the project came
in approximately $35,000 more than the $100,000
budgeted.
Short recommends that $6,600 be
taken from the $30,000 budgeted for bridge and
overpass repairs; $10,000 used of the $25,000
budgeted for engineering costs for another signal
at Centennial and Garrison; $11,800 transferred
from the $55,600 budgeted for connecting the City
fiber optic system, and $6,600 applied from the
$30,000 for a proposed City development plan.
Other options would be to take
the total amount from Council Contingencies, or
from the $361,986 of General Fund reserves.
The Committee agenda also
includes a discussion of the new storm water
drain at the Steadley Sports Complex.
The Committee meets on the
first and third Tuesday at 4 p.m. in City Hall.
Commentary
Martin
"Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
Last week I was in Jefferson City for some
meetings and one was a real eye opener. The
meeting was between gas station owners and the
Department of Agriculture which has quite a bit
of regulatory authority over them.
The tone of the meeting was
kind of contentious from the start stemming from
several new rules and regulations the Department
had recently imposed on the station owners. Quite
simply, the new rules were costing the owners
quite a bit of money to comply with. The rules
were dealing with safety, as the environmental
rules are implemented by the Department of
Natural Resources.
I will admit, that most of the
rules did seem unduly burdensome and costly,
while not providing much in the way of benefit to
the public.
Also, keep in mind that all of
the new costs involved are passed along to us,
the paying consumer. The price of gasoline is
high enough without other unnecessary costs to
deal with. At one point the man putting on the
meeting said that the reason they needed all the
regulations was because the stations had gotten
so much larger the last few years. I pointed out
to him that the reason was because of all the new
regulations they had implemented the last few
years. I told him the large, corporate stations
could afford the extra costs, but the mom and pop
stations couldnt absorb the costs and were
forced to close. Ive always maintained that
is the case in any sector of business. That is
why I have always opposed many of the new rules
and regulations. All most of them do is drive
small businesses out of business, drive up costs
to consumers and provide little or no benefit to
the public.
Later in the meeting he showed
a slide of a stream and stated, "We have to
protect our environment no matter what the dollar
cost". I couldnt believe my ears. I
asked him to repeat what he had said. When the
statement was the same, I asked him if that was
the position of the Carnahan administration.
I asked this because as
director, he is an appointed bureaucrat of Gov.
Carnahans administration. He immediately
started backpedaling and said that was his
opinion and not an official position. I told him
this was supposed to be a policy meeting and that
we really werent interested in his personal
opinions. I further told him I found it
reprehensible that he was using his position to
demand a blank check from the station owners to
pay for his personal agenda. If he wanted to
crack open his own billfold to pay for his ideas,
I told him to hop right to it, but there was
nothing generous or honorable in him demanding
someone else pay for it.
As Ive said before, no
one, including myself, wants to be put at safety
risk or breathe or drink dirty air or water.
However, there should be reasonable limits. No
matter what we do, we are never going to be able
to protect everyone from everything, nor should
we even try. There has to be a balance. Our world
is not sterile now and it never has been. The
real outrage is that this guy was only supposed
to be dealing with safety regulations and not
environmental regulations. As is all too common,
he was using the veil of the bureaucracy to
advance a personal agenda. When that happens the
citizens suffer.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
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![](/images/jake.gif) |
Just Jake
Talkin'
Mornin',
Back ta school season
always gets me ta thinkin
bout various implements that were
part of the tool kit necessary for each
particular grade.
I dont know what
grade it was that allowed pointed
scissors rather than requirin
rounded ends. I just know when they were
legal, ya had ta have a pair. Usin
the rounded tipped werent
"grown up" enough.
Course ball point
pens were another object of necessity at
some level. Ya still had to have your
supply of No. 2 pencils however. They
never seemed to go away.
Some tried to use the
"erasable" ball points, but the
teach would usually frown on that big
smeared spot in the middle of the page.
Its good ta see pencils still have
erasers. At least makin a mistake
ever now and then is still part of the
learnin process.
This is some fact, but
mostly,
Just Jake Talkin.
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Sponsored by
McCune Brooks Hospital
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Weekly Column
Health NotesHealth & Nutrition by Judith
Sheldon
We know that
being overweight taxes the cardiovascular system.
But now theres evidence that carrying
excess poundage can also impair lung function.
To assure a longer, healthier
lifetime, lose extra weight and dont smoke.
To help you lose weight, and
thereby help you reduce the risk of developing
lung impairment, heart trouble, high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, Type II diabetes, and
certain cancers, the following tips may make
reducing easier:
1. Talk to your doctor about
what your ideal weight should be and discuss a
diet that will help take off the pounds safely
and consistently.
2. Plan on a slow weight
reduction. Losing weight quickly can cause
depression, irritability, obsession with thoughts
of food, muscle loss, and the decreasing ability
to burn calories.
3. Learn to appreciate your
food without its usual (for you) drenching of
high-calorie, fat-full dressings and sauces.
4. Add 30 minutes of activity
to your day. During TV commercials, get up and
move around (but not to the refrigerator).
5. Walk at least partway to
work every day. Getting off before your scheduled
bus or train stop can help.
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Publishing. All rights reserved.
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