Maple Leaf Pageant

Registration Underway

Registration for the Carthage Maple Leaf Festival Pageants is now underway with a September 27th deadline for all pageants.

This year brings a slight change in the pageant process. "The Maple Leaf Princess Pageant is a new category for us this year," said Jeanine Poe, pageant chair. "In years past it has been part of the Junior Miss Pageant which covered girls from age 5 to 14. The Maple Leaf Committee decided to break the Junior Miss Pageant into two smaller age categories this year to hopefully allow both age divisions to be more competitive. The Junior Miss contestants will be judged on a 5-minute interview and then on stage modeling. The Princess Pageant contestants will also be judged on a 5-minute interview and on stage modeling; however, they are also asked to submit a one to two paragraph essay on what they enjoy about the Maple Leaf Festival or what Maple Leaf means to them. We are looking forward to this new division this year and feel it will give more young ladies an opportunity to experience the Maple Leaf Pageants."

NASCAR THIS WEEK

By Monte Dutton

Sponsored by Chad's Garage

Vickers Sets Return After Heart Surgery

Brian Vickers, who made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2009, competed in only 11 races this season. After a 10th-place finish at Darlington Raceway on May 8, he fell ill.

Doctors discovered that Vickers, 26, had developed blood clots in his left leg, left finger and lungs. A regimen of blood thinners made it impossible for him to compete in his No. 83 Team Red Bull Toyota.

Recently, Vickers underwent successful surgery to repair a small hole between the two atriums of his heart. He also was diagnosed with May-Thurner Syndrome, in which blood flow is restricted because a vein and/or artery are pinched. After surgery, a stent was placed in a vein on July 13 to open it.

Now, however, Vickers expects to return to full-time competition next year.

"Not only did we figure out what the problem was," said Vickers, "but we were able to fix it. ... I’m going to be back in the No. 83 and very excited to be back with Red Bull."

Vickers, who has mostly stayed away from the track, has spent off time traveling and working out.

"My main priority is getting back to racing next year," he said. "I’ve been given a gift. Things happen for a reason. I’ve had some time to think back and look at my career, both personally and professionally. I don’t think I’ll change a lot when I come back, but I do think I will change some. I’m probably going to tolerate a lot less, but at the same time there will be areas I will tolerate a lot more -- just depends on what it is. I have a new appreciation for life. I’m looking forward to it. I feel great and can’t wait to race."

Vickers, from Thomasville, N.C., expects to be off blood thinners by January, at which point he will get back in a race car and begin testing to prepare for the 2011 season.

"What I love to do is race," he said. "It is not only my job, but my passion. I’ve been missing that need for speed, the competition, my people and friends in the industry, but at the same time, it has been nice to take a break."

An interestin’ note, the first Carthage board of trustees passed the first six ordinances in July 1869.

The first was to establish a regular meeting time twice a month. Ordinance number two required any property owner on the Square to construct walks of dressed flag stones or of pine or oak lumber. Ordinance number three made it illegal to block any street or sidewalk by merchandizing display. Ordinance four and five created a public pound and forbade hogs, goats, and horses to run at large. Ordinance number six made drunkenness punishable by fine.

‘Course all of these are still bein’ debated, ‘cept maybe the drunkenness one and the goats. The more things change the more they stay the same.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

---

Weekly Columns

Dear Tom and Ray:

The BMW dealer told me that it is going to cost $445 to replace the battery on my 2006 330i BMW. I was told that it cost this much because they have to reprogram the car’s computer to tell it that there’s a new battery. Is this true, or are they ripping me off? The battery by itself cost $225. What are your thoughts? - Ollie

Tom: My first thought is, I’m going into the BMW-battery-replacement business!

Ray: I don’t believe that the computer has to be reprogrammed on this car, Ollie. It does on the highter-end BMWs, but not on the 3 Series.

Tom: In your car, Ollie, any reprogramming would be done by YOU. You’d have to reprogram the radio presets and the seat setting and stuff like that, unless the shop does what we do.

Ray: At our shop, we have a "settings saver" device that we plug into the car’s data port before we change a battery. It’s essentially a 12-volt battery, and it provides enough power during the battery change to preserve all of your radio stations and driver preferences. I’m sure your dealership has one of these, too.

Tom: I suspect that what they’re charging you extra for is diagnosis. Before we replace a battery, we test the charging system to make sure the alternator is working and nothing is draining the battery.

Ray: Checking the charging system correctly takes about an hour and a half of labor, which, at your BMW dealership, probably is about 220 bucks. So there you go, Ollie. Unfortunately, for this car,I think that’s the right price.