Kellogg Lake Improvements Questioned.

The City Council Public Services Committee, which oversees the Parks and Recreation Department, delayed approval of the construction of a water’s edge structure on Kellogg Lake during last Thursday’s regular monthly meeting.

Ed Grundy presented a sketch of the structure and asked for guidance from the Committee. No detailed plans were provided Grundy has obtained funding through Main Street Carthage with grants from the Steadley Trust and the Boylan Foundation.

Grundy is on the Kellogg Lake Committee appointed by Mayor Kenneth Johnson to look at long term improvements to the property. Some members of the Kellogg Lake Committee are reluctant to approve the construction until a master plan for improvements has been completed.

The Kellogg Lake Committee has no official capacity at this time except as an advisory group, but the Public Services Committee wanted to wait until a plan was developed or at least until the Lake Committee approved the construction.

Lake Committee member Jo Ellis has supported Grundy’s proposal.

Commentary

Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126

As the Session winds down, the big issue facing the legislature this past week was redistricting. Every ten years district lines are redrawn for Congress, State Senate, and State House of Representatives. These changes are made to reflect the shifting population. Back in the 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all legislative districts had to contain roughly the same number of people for the purpose of providing equal representation. The only exception to this is the U.S. Senate, which has two senators from every state.

Laws vary from state to state on who draws the lines for the various districts. In Missouri, the Legislature draws the Congressional lines and appointed commissions draw the lines for the State Senate and State House of Representatives.

As you can imagine, this is a very important and serious process, since what we do will determine the lines for the next 10 years. Obviously, the members of Congress from Missouri are affected by it, but so is every citizen since it has a great determination on who they will be voting for in Congress.

You would think the utmost consideration would be given to a matter of such great importance. Sadly, the democrats in the House chose to put partisan politics ahead of doing what is right. Their whole proposal centered around protecting

Congressmen Dick Gebhardt and Lacy Clay. There has been a huge exodus of people from the city of St. Louis, (imagine that!), so as a result, those two districts need to pick up a lot of new people. Congressman Clay, who is black, has been playing the race card, (imagine that!), insisting that he be given preference so as to protect a minority district.

Debate started with the democrats voting to suspend the rules by which debate is run. When amendments were offered, they were voted down on straight party line votes. After very limited, and sharply partisan debate, the democrats then voted straight party line to shut off debate and force a vote. What a shameful way to determine how people will vote for the next ten years! Oh well, I guess if the citizens are going to vote to keep one party in power for five decades that is what they end up with.

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.

To the relief of most readers I’m sure, the City budgeting process is almost over.

The recommended budget is scheduled to go to the full Council for first readin’ next week. Due to there bein’ five Tuesdays this month, it will then be three weeks before the Council is scheduled to vote on final approval of the document at the June 12 meetin’. Some of the Council members that aren’t on the Budget Committee attended a good number of the meetin’s up to this point. They will have a better idea of where the money goes.

What new members might not yet appreciate is how difficult it is to get anything changed after this point of the game. There may be some votes against the budget, but I doubt that it changes much.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

Health Notes

Health & Nutrition by Judith Sheldon

SMOKING AND HEALING: A few weeks ago, I did a column on how smokers heal more slowly from broken bones and other trauma than non smokers.

Now, there’s more evidence that nicotine taken in through inhaled smoke also delays healing after surgery. This supports decisions by surgeons not to perform anything but an emergency procedure on anyone who has smoked within the six weeks prior to surgery. And that includes cosmetic surgery as well as therapeutic.

A recent research program at Baylor University in Houston, Texas, used nicotine patches on people undergoing hand surgery to study how nicotine from inhaled smoke affects nerves and constricts blood vessels leading to the surgical incision.

"Each time nicotine entered the nervous system, blood flow was restricted at the site of the surgery," said Dr. David Netscher, an associate professor of plastic surgery at Baylor. "The decrease in the amount of blood flow to the incision area was significant," he added.

Insufficient blood flow can cause the skin to slough (a term used for improper healing and, eventually, death of the tissue). A skin graft may be necessary to deal with the condition. Sometimes the whole surgical procedure will have to be redone.