Plans For Hall Renovations.

The City Council Public Services Committee was presented with a preliminary floor plan of proposed renovations for Memorial Hall Tuesday evening. Representatives of the architectural firm of Pellham, Phillips, and Hagerman from Springfield met with the Committee to clarify the general intent and specifics of the major remodel.

The project is a down-scaled version of a master plan commissioned by the City in 1998. The original plan was projected to cost $1.9 million and was delayed by the lack of funding.

The current proposal is expected to cost about $800,000 and was propelled by a grant of $373,000 by the Missouri Veterans Administration. The City voted to accept the grant and have applied to the Steadley Trust and the Boylan Foundation for additional funding.

The thrust of the renovation would be a new roof for the structure and renovations to the basement and the front portions of the interior of the Hall. This would include expanded rest room facilities and an elevator reaching from the basement to the top level where the American Legion hall is located.

Carthage Christmas Parade Winners.

news release

Winners in Monday night’s Carthage Christmas Parade are as follows:

Senior High Band, Joplin High School; Junior High Band, Joplin North 7th and 8th Grade Band; Church Division, Center Christian Church, Columbus, Kansas; Youth Organization, Brownie Troop #6726; Adult Organization, Tri Statesman Barbershop Chorus; Twirlers/Dane Group, Strawberry Strutters; Automotive Division, Glory Riders/Christian Motorcyclist Assoc.; Business/Commercial, Atnip General Contracting, Jasper; Specialty/Misc., Mirza Mini Monsters, Pittsburg Mirza Shrine; Horse/Rider, Peggy’s Arabians; Horse/Wagon, T & T Industries.

Three additional awards were presented. Mayor Kenneth Johnson’s Trophy Choice went to PAX 44 TV. The Directors Choice Trophy went to Show-Me Challenge, Nevada.

A new category was added for Best Lighted Float. This trophy went to Center Christian Church, Columbus, Kansas.

The Carthage Technical School Chapter of Skills USA-VICA, led by Mark Sponaugle and Main Street Carthage, Inc., represented by Sally Lackey, were the parade sponsors.

The sponsors would like to thank all the many participants who took part in the parade.

The Public Services Committee voted to forward a bill to the full Council that would prohibit glass bottles that contain alcoholic beverages on any City property. The idea was to make the ordinance broad enough to not only cover the parks and golf course, but also help deal with the problem of bottles bein’ left on the parkin’ lot at Memorial Hall from time to time.

The problem is Champagne comes in a glass bottle. Seein’s how the Hall is frequently used for wedding receptions and the sort, this minor detail poses a problem.

There is nothin’ simple ‘bout dealin’ with laws and regulations. Always a bottle neck of some sort.

The proposed ordinance, with adjustments is scheduled to be presented to the Council. Any appropriate toasts?

This is some face, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack
TALK CARS

by Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

Besides complaining about my driving, my wife complains about how I park. She says when I park facing downhill I should put my gear shift in Reverse. And when I’m parking uphill, I should put the shifter in First gear. She says that the engine doesn’t want to turn backwards. And if my brakes fail while I’m parked on a hill, the car is less likely to roll away if I park this way. Does any of this really matter?-Carl.

RAY: Sure it matters, Fred. My brother used to think this stuff didn’t matter. Then one day his parked car rolled down a hill into Tony "The Leg Breaker" Testosteroni’s brand-new Coupe DeVille. And from his hospital bed that summer, my brother did a lot of reading up on parking techniques.

TOM: And here’s what I learned. When you have a stick-shift car and you’re parking on a hill, you need several things to keep the car from rolling. You need an engine with good compression, a clutch that doesn’t slip, a parking brake that works, and you need to put the shifter in Reverse.

RAY: Why Reverse? So you can make a quick getaway from Tony "The Leg Breaker" Testosteroni after you smash into his car!

TOM: Actually, Reverse gear generally has the largest gear ratio in the transmission. That means that the wheels have to turn the greatest number of times to make the engine turn once. And that’s what you want-you want to make it as hard as possible for the wheels to turn the engine.

RAY: Is the engine less likely to turn backwards? No. The engine doesn’t care if it’s turning backwards or forward. It’ll readily turn either way. So you really want the highest gear ratio, and that’s almost always reverse (and First is usually very close to that.)