Building Codes and
Engineering Contract.

The City Council Public Works Committee is scheduled to meet at 6:30 this evening in City Hall. The meeting was moved from its regular 4 p.m. time to accommodate citizens who wish to participate in the discussion concerning the proposed update of the City building maintenance code.

Opponents of the update are schedule to present their objections and suggestions for changes. A group of rental property owners have attended several meetings concerning the code. During the last regular Committee meeting the City Engineering Department presented their case for approving the update. The Committee is responsible for recommendations to the Council.

Also scheduled for discussion is the upcoming contract for a City engineering firm. The current three year contract with Tri-State Engineering will expire this spring. The City contracts the services of an engineering firm rather than hiring an engineer on staff. Tri-State also is used from time to time on various City engineering projects outside the scope of the contracted work. Committee member Lujene Clark has questioned that practice.

Commentary
Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126

Much attention has been focused on the price of natural gas and propane, as everyone’s bills have skyrocketed. I have received dozens of letters, emails, and phone calls on the subject. Customers of one gas company that operates in Missouri will see their bills raise by 44% next month. Hearings by various boards and commissions have been held with everyone searching for answers.

The fact is that we didn’t get to this point overnight. In the time that you have entrusted me with this office, I have always warned about and voted against the onerous environmental rules and regulations that everyone seems so eager to place on businesses, especially utility companies.

For years, much of our electricity has been generated by coal fired plants. Year after year, especially the last eight years under the Clinton-Gore administration, we have seen more and more restrictions placed on coal fired generating plants. It got so bad that some have actually been shut down. Some coal has actually been rendered useless by all the regulations. Many plants are required to burn only low sulfur coal from Wyoming. Still others have switched to the only other viable alternative left: natural gas.

Therein lies one of the major sources of the problem. It is easier, quicker, and cheaper to build and get an operating permit for a natural gas fired generating plant than it is for a coal fired plant. When demand for a product goes up with no noticeable increase in supplies, the price goes up. This year the cold weather, combined with the increased use from electricity generating has driven demand way up. It is a double slam, because the demand has driven up usage and price, making monthly heating bills astronomical.

As I have said since I have been here, no one wants to drink dirty water or breathe dirty air. Scientists, not fear mongering groups, have proven over and over that industry and the environment can easily co-exist. The planet is one of the best examples of recycling that exists. It has amazing ability to clean itself.

We have reached a crossroads. We can continue to listen to far out radical groups like the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, or any of many leftover hippie groups and face higher energy prices or, as in the case of California, no energy, or we can practice sound science and let industry and the environment co-exist together. If we continue to let the liberals run the agenda, we get exactly what we deserve.

As usual, I can be reached at House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments, or advice.

Case ya hadn’t noticed, the flu bug is tearin’ through the community.

One guy I spoke with said only nine kids out of twenty-seven in his daughter’s class were at school the other day.

Some get through in a day or two, others struggle for a couple a weeks. Some got their shots, others didn’t. Seems that the effectiveness of the shots mainly depend on the individual.

I’m still a believer in a good hot bath and pilin’ on the blankets to keep the body temperature up. Seems ta speed up the healin’ by helpin’ to kill off the virus.

The hardest thing for most is just stayin’ down for a day or two ta get through it. I suppose that’s why the body aches so much, tellin’ you ta stay down. Better listen.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

Health Notes

Health & Nutrition by Judith Sheldon

MORE ON TOMATOES AND CANCER: Several weeks ago I noted the encouraging news from cancer researchers on the role tomatoes might play in helping to prevent prostate cancer. I’ve since received several letters asking for more information and I’m happy to oblige. Tomatoes fit into a group of foods that contain carotenoids, which help enhance the immune system and fight free radicals which may cause various types of cancers, as well as premature aging.

There are various types of carotenoids. In tomatoes, the carotenoid lycopoene (which gives them their red color) was found to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by some 45 percent in men who ate at least 10 servings of tomato-based foods a week. Men who ate these foods less frequently (four to seven servings a week) had only a 20 percent risk reduction in developing prostate cancer.

As I cautioned last time, since saturated fats have been cited as risk factors for various cancers, including prostate, men should be careful about where they get their tomato-based foods. If you order pizza, for example, get it with little or no cheese. Also watch the pepperoni. You’d be better off with mushrooms. And try stuffing peppers with ground turkey instead of ground beef before you bake them in a tomato sauce.