A summary of an intensive cleanup ordered by Mayor Kenneth Johnson on March 30 has been submitted to the Mayor and Council. The efforts of the Police Department and the Engineering Department were involved.

The property maintenance inspections concentrated on an area that extended from Fourth Street to the eleven hundred block on Main, Grant and Howard Streets. The area included all cross streets between these locations within a 34 block area according to the report.

Of the 138 sites observed, 105 had no reported violations. According to the report from the Engineering Department, two demolitions have been ordered from these inspections and fifteen notices have been mailed. Most were given from thirty to ninety days to correct, with a few granted one hundred twenty days to make extensive repairs. At least seven were required verbally to install address location numbers and numerous porch repairs have been ordered.

The Police Department reported nineteen violations with ten of those had already been resolved.

Woke up last Saturday mornin’ to the sound of crunchin’ wood. A box spring I would imagine, bein’ crushed by the trash truck gate. Crunch, crunch, cr-r-r-runch. Umph. Umph. Whi-i-i-ne. Ahh. Then the truck moved on to the next pile along its route. Spring cleanin’ at its best.

I only got to observe the start of the Friday evenin’ scavenger hunt for worthy throwaways. The early gatherers were mainly after iron for scrap sales it appeared, but other less durable goods are typically considered of value also.

Whoever ended up with the merchandise, it seemed to disperse by Sunday. Some day I’d like to see all the stuff piled into one big pile, just to get a sense of the volume of junk that gets removed durin’ the annual spring cleanup. Good to have it gone.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

Your kids won’t be bored with this make-and-play board game idea. In fact, creating the game may engage your child as much as the playing! This game comes from Tara Gingerich, a sixth grader from Plymouth, Minn. She and mom, Anna, made the board game together using Tara’s ideas.

Step 1 - Brainstorm an idea with your child. Tara decided to make a board game of her neighborhood. Players would be challenged to avoid road hazards while moving their markers along a winding road from Tara’s house to the community park.

Step 2 - Ask your child to name the game. Tara called her game "Watch Out!" the expression she uses when her parents drive the home-to-park route and encounter their own hazards.

Step 3 - List challenges to include along the game trail you create. Ask your child, "What might happen when you go from point A to point B?" For example, in Watch Out! some hazards with instructions include: "Pot Hole, Jump forward 3," "STrong Winds, Go back 2," "Traffic Jam, Move any car back 4," "Flat Tire, Lose a turn" and at the last space of the game, "Forgot Picnic Lunch, Go home!"

Step 4 - discuss how the game board will look. A large piece of poster board or cardboard cut from a sturdy box is ideal. Draw a winding trail from one corner of the board to the others. Along the trail draw squares or use a round milk-bottle lid to trace circles the players will land on as they play. Write or illustrate the hazards and fill in the instructions players must follow.

Use game markers and a spinner or dice from other board games you have at home. If you wish to make homemade dice, cut a large two-inch square cube from a big sponge. Draw appropriate dots on each side of the cube with permanent markers. For Watch Out!, the players use miniature toy cars for markers.