County Filings Approach.

The filing period for candidates wishing to run in the August 8 primary for County elected officials begins on February 29 and ends March 28.

Positions that will be up for election in November include the Sheriff, Assessor, Treasurer, Public Administrator, Eastern District County Commissioner, and Western District Commissioner.

According to County Clerk Jim Lobbey, there will be no need to camp on the Courthouse steps this year. In years past the first candidate in the Courthouse was placed first on the ballot. Lobby says he will institute a lottery to determine placement on the ballot this year. Each candidate that files on the first day will draw a number that will determine ballot placement among others filing that day. Those filing after the first day will be placed on the ballot in order of filing.

So far there have two candidates indicate they will seek nomination for Eastern County Commissioner on the Republican ticket, Jim Honey and Trish Burgi. Democrat Ben Johnson currently holds the position.

David Niebur announced his intention to run for sheriff last week.

Gordon Godfrey Softball Coach for 2000.

news release

The Carthage R-9 School District is pleased to announce that Mr. Gordon Godfrey has been named head softball coach for the 2000 season. Godfrey replaces Ms. Cindy Murguia who held the position as a non-faculty head coach for the 1999 season, when the district was unable to fill the position from within the staff.

Godfrey has held various teaching and coaching positions in the Carthage School system since 1990. He is presently a junior high counselor, the head eighth grade girls’ basketball coach and the seventh and eighth grade track coordinator. His coaching background includes high school football, basketball, and head track coaching duties at Branson High School, as well as working with baseball and summer softball programs.

Athletic Director Ray Harding commented, "Gordon Godfrey brings a considerable amount of experience in coaching girls athletics to our softball program. He has coached or worked with virtually all of the girls who currently play, which will allow him to immediately put his program in motion."

Precious Moments Bowling Tournament.

news release

The Precious Moments Chapel Center will sponsor the Precious Moments Youth Pro-Am Bowling Tournament on Sunday, February 6. Scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., the tournament will be held at 4th Street Bowl in Joplin, MO. First and second-place winners will win a $300 and $200 Scholarship Award respectively, as well as a plaque. Bowlers will compete in a boys or girls category.

The Pro-Am is open to youths, ages 6 to 18. Youth bowlers will bowl three games with handicap combining their scores with the three pros for the final standings. Handicap for youth bowlers will be 100% from 210.

Youths will have the opportunity to bowl with three different "pros", as well as compete with their peers. Any youth bowler out scoring their three pros (handicap included) will receive a monthly bowling pass.

Registration is $10 per bowler, with each registered bowler receiving a free hamburger, fries and soda. For more information contact Terry Crippen at (417) 359-2946.

The Precious Moments Chapel Center is located in Carthage, MO. For more information about the Precious Moments Chapel Center, call 1-800-543-7975 or check the Precious Moments Chapel Center’s web site at www.preciousmoments.com

Letter to the Editor
Opinions expressed reflect those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Mornin' Mail.

Here is a letter I sent to Congressman Roy Blunt:

The Internet was supposed to be the one entity that would serve as a true democracy, allowing a "leveling of the playing field" between large companies and small, wealthy persons and those who are just getting by. All of this will be effectively destroyed if the legislation currently under consideration is passed in any form. The expression that comes to mind is "killing the goose that laid the golden egg," for once again the little guy will have the life strangled out of him. I enclose the following quotes for your reference:

"Under proposed legislation the US Postal Service will be attempting to bilk email users out of alternate postage fees. Bill 602P will permit the Federal Govt. to charge a 5 cent surcharge on every email delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP."

"CNN has reported that within the next two weeks Congress is going to vote on allowing telephone companies to CHARGE A TOLL FEE for Internet access.

Translation: Every time we send a long distance e-mail we will receive a long distance charge." Sir, for the overwhelming majority of your constituents it is all we can do simply to acquire a computer system of some sort and pay the monthly charges to the ISPs for access. The WWW means for the individual access to information never before possible and a significant broadening of our mental horizons’s as though every museum, library and art gallery is at our fingertips. The small businessman has a chance to open up a legitimate business and appear to the reader as equal to the major players. He has a fighting chance to make his business survive and thrive. All this will be blown out the window if any legislation similar to these is allowed to pass.

Talk about a mass of angry citizenry, the boys in D.C. would have plenty on their hands then. In the name of God and all that is holy, DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN! Make the postal service and telephone companies compete legitimately for a change.

Thank you. Similar letters are going out to senators and congressmen across the nation, as well as to all the national and international media.

John Jeffries
johnjeffries@earthlink.net

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

Heard an interestin’ story from an ex-law enforcement officer the other day.

Seems he was called outa bed in the middle of the night becuase one a the locals was tryin’ to commit suicide. He didn’t ask any questions, just hurried to the scene.

The suspect was locked inside his pick-up with a hose neatly hooked to the exhaust pipe runnin’ into the cab

The local ambulance driver and another officer were at the scene and frantic.

"Ol Jim’s not comin’ out," they said. "Reckon we’re gonna have ta bust out the windows ta get him outa there."

The officer relatin’ the story was wide awake by this time. He assessed the situation, walked over to the exhaust pipe and pulled off the hose.

Sometimes it’s easy ta overlook the obvious solution to a complex problem.

This is some fact, but mostly

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune-
Brooks
Hospital

Health Notes
Health & Nutrition by Judith Sheldon

STOMACH "SENSE" - Researchers at Purdue University have found that when it comes to sticking to a diet, or finding how much food you actually need, you have a built-in food measurer that’s been with you all your life: your stomach.

The Purdue scientists have found that the neural (nerve) network in the digestive tract helps monitor and control what we eat. These nerves continually assess every morsel we ingest, and help the body absorb maximum nutrients from the food, while also passing on information to the brain which, then, can act on the data to determine when to slow down or stop eating.

Terry L. Powley, professor of psychological sciences at Purdue, explained that further study of this process can lead to a better understanding of eating disorders and weight problems.

We’ve long known that the brain sends signals about slowing or stopping the eating process.

Many people, however, choose to override these signals by ignoring them. Instead of eating when hungry, and stopping when full, they eat when, what, and as much as they like, and often wind up with serious health problems.