Maple Leaf Begins.

The 45th annual Maple Leaf Festival will begin Saturday, October 8th with the Maple Leaf 5K Run, Duathlon, Kids Duathlon, Mile Run and Fun Run, and Diaper Dash and conclude Sunday, October 16th with the Maple Leaf Circus. The Maple Leaf Parade will be Saturday, October 15th beginning its route on the historic downtown square. Food, craft booths and live entertainment on the square, the all new Maple Market at 6th and Main, and Willie Arthur Smith’s Marching Cobras performing in the auditorium will provide a variety of activity for this year’s attendees.

In addition to the activities downtown on the day of the parade, the week holds plenty of other events located throughout Carthage including pageants, a car show, lighting contest, adult beverage tastings and Historic Downtown Art Walk.

For a full schedule of events, Maple Leaf Festival brochures are available at the Chamber, 402 S Garrison and at sponsor locations throughout Carthage in both English and Spanish.

Jasper County Jail Count

? October 3, 2011

Total Including Placed out of County

I suppose that one a the appeals of the many fall festivals in the area is the fact that they aren’t considered as one of the regular family holidays. They are more of a make-your-own holiday.

There isn’t the pressure of Christmas or Thanksgivin’, or for lots a families the Fourth or Easter. In many cases it seems, the fall gatherin’s are more of an excuse to see old friends or some combination of friends and family.

The traditional meal can be as informal or formal as is comfortable or with so many activities and food venders there can be no meal at all.

Probl’ly the best part for some is that the local merchants don’t close on this holiday. Shop till ya drop.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Weekly Column

Many Ways to Treat Atrial Fibrillation

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Will you please discuss heart fibrillation? I take a medicine for high blood pressure. Medicines for atrial fibrillation made me wild. I also take warfarin for the fibrillation. I’d appreciate any information you have. -- M.L.

ANSWER: Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common heartbeat irregularities. The atria are the two upper heart chambers, the site of origin for the electric signal coming from the heart’s inborn pacemaker and producing each heartbeat. Fibrillation is a rapid twitching of the heart muscle. The atria are not contracting; they’re squirming. This decreases the heart’s pumping power.

More dangerously, it also leads to clot formation. Blood stagnates in the squirming atria. Stagnated blood clots. Those clots can be carried in the circulation to a brain artery, which they block. That’s a stroke. That’s why you take warfarin (Coumadin) -- to prevent clotting (anticoagulation).

Aging, high blood pressure, heart artery disease, heart valve disorders and an overactive thyroid gland are some of the things that lead to fibrillation.

The goals of therapy are to slow the heart, establish a normal heartbeat and prevent a stroke. Sometimes, simply slowing the heart will restore normal heart pumping without ending the irregular beat. Anticoagulation (blood thinning) is still needed.

I can’t mention all the medicines used to control fib; there are too many. In place of medicines, a shock to the heart sometimes can restore a normal beat. Heart specialists also use a technique called ablation. They thread into the heart a special catheter that has the capability of creating tiny scars with radio waves or ultrasound waves or by freezing tissue. The scars form an impenetrable barrier to the renegade electric signals causing fibrillation.