From The Minutes.

The City Council Public Safety Committee met last week. From the minutes:

"(Police) Chief Dagnan reported that the police department had received yet another anonymous $10,000.00 donation which was from the same donor that gave the $10,000 being used to purchase a new phone system. Chief Dagnan let the committee know the donor indicated they would prefer the money be spent on Segway personal transport vehicles to be used by the police department. However, the money could be spent on other items at the discretion of the Police Department.

A motion was made by Mr. Rife and the committee voted to recommend that the council accept the donation.

(Fire) Chief (Thompson) explained to the committee that the department had received a donation of three flagpoles from Crossland Construction to be used in the firefighter memorial on the East side of the fire department. Chief would like to request permission to accept such donation and request to be forwarded on to full council for their final approval."

The Committee approved.

If ya buy gasoline, have cable tv, use electricity, have a phone, and heat with gas, your payin’ taxes. All the bills you get include the tax in ‘em. The bill ya get at the end of the year for City property tax is around 6% of the City taxes citizens pay.

The sales tax is a little harder to define since folks livin’ outside the City do help to push that figure up considerable. If ya figure every man, woman and child in Carthage payed all the sales tax, $1.6 million, that’d mean ever one of the 13,000 some of ‘em spends over twelve thousand sales taxable dollars a year in the City. NOT. We get a lotta help from those just outside the City and those just passin’ through.

The best way to increase sales tax is to increase sales. The community is not dependent on sales tax, it is dependent on sales.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Weekly Columns

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

Reseed Lawn Now

Q: I’ve got a couple of bald spots in my lawn that I plan to either reseed or resod this spring. My neighbor told me that I can reseed them right now -- in the middle of winter -- without a problem. Won’t the newly sprouted grass just freeze and die? -- Joe in White Plains, N.Y.

A: It’s possible, and often recommended, to go ahead and reseed bare spots in the middle of winter. Most of the seeds will lie dormant through the cold month or two left, but as soon as the days lengthen and warm up, you’ll begin to see fresh green growth in those spots.

There’s no guarantee that an early-spring cold snap won’t freeze and kill the grass, but buying the right variety of grass seed for your climate will help prevent this, as the new grass will be hardy enough to withstand brief freezing temperatures.

Make sure the bald spots are free of snow and ice -- working on an above-freezing or sunny day is best. Clear away debris and loosen matted thatch with a rake or thatcher. Sow grass seed over the bare spot and then put down a layer of straw to protect the seeds from foraging birds, wind and water.

If you’d rather put down sod instead -- sometimes bare patches are just too big to seed well -- hold off until late winter or very early spring to make sure the sod "takes" well, the ground isn’t frozen and there’s less chance of cold snaps.

For sod, you’ll need to clear the bald spot, then dig out old sod to a depth of about 3 inches. Puncture the soil underneath with a pitchfork to make it more porous. Pack the new sod pieces tightly into the cleared spot and tamp them down so they’re almost level with, but slightly higher than, the surrounding lawn. The sod will settle downward over the next few weeks. Keep the sod damp for 10 to 12 days.

HOME TIP: De-thatching your lawn in early spring helps loosen and aerate the soil and grass roots, giving the grass more opportunity to grow in thick and green.

When in doubt as to whether you can safely or effectively complete a project, consult a professional contractor.