Bloodmobile in Carthage.

For the first time, the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (CBCO) is hosting a bloodmobile from 1-6 p.m. on Monday, September 24th at the Fairview Christian Church, 2320 S. Grant, Carthage.

Last July, McCune-Brooks Hospital asked the CBCO to supply all the blood for their patients. They became the 34th area hospital to ask CBCO to supply blood.

Adding McCune-Brooks Hospital, with already skyrocketing blood transfusion rates, will require CBCO to collect more blood than ever before.

"Since the first of the year, transfusions have increased by 18 percent over the last year," said Don Thomson, CBCO Executive Director. "Meanwhile, blood collections by CBCO have increased just over 5 percent."

The CBCO now must collect at least 5,400 units of blood every month to meet the needs of 34 area hospitals.

Reasons for the increase in blood transfusions are several. "There is no simple answer," Thomson said. "Some of the reasons are more complex medical procedures are now available to more patients and more people are getting older and requiring treatment."

To donate blood, you must be at least 17-years-old, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health, and haven’t given blood in the past 56 days.

For more information please call Saundra or David Lang at the Fairview Christian Church at 358-3912 or Belinda Belk at the Joplin CBCO at 1-866-401-5143.

What’s Next? Parking and artHenge!

by Robin Putnam, artCentral

The opening for Karolee and Lil was another great evening !! We had lots of new faces from Joplin, lots of great paintings and tons of fabulous food !! The kitchen bunch gets a big round of applause for all of their domestic help !! It sure makes the evening end on a lighter note when there are so many hands getting the chores done! Thanks to one and all !!

We are pleased to say that we are going to be getting a few parking spaces !! Seems all parties agree we should put in eight to ten diagonal parking places out on the street.

We will have to move a medium sized maple tree but that looks like the only glitch. There is plenty of room down there and it wouldn’t interfere with our tall pines and holly trees. So keep your eyes peeled for the first signs of parking progress !!

There are the rumblings of a new project, art wise, on our grounds.......... artHenge..... you’ve heard of Stone Henge well we now have a 3 ton monolith sitting in our east yard !!

Bill Snow donated and delivered the stone in the hopes of getting a com-munity stone carving project under way. The plan is to get designs submitted, pick a design and then carve it out and place the masterpiece on a permanent base in the center of the turn-around in the driveway !!

Sounds like fun, huh ?!! There are a few rules such as if you submit a design you are agreeing to help with the carving and if your design is chosen you are agreeing to see the project through to the end ! Piece of cake !!

Anyway, the stone is out there so wander by and get a look then send us your ideas. The sooner we get going on this the sooner we will have our masterpiece !!

Next exhibit is October 26th.

We offer our prayers to those touched by last week’s tragedy and urge everyone to remember...we are a diverse cultural nation......united we stand, divided we fall. God bless America.

More......next week. 358-4404. 1110 E 13th www. ozarkartistscolony.com

Tues. - Sat 9am - 3pm.

Reservation Travel Plants Memorial Tree.

news release

Terry Littleton, president of Reservation Travel/Cruisemasters, has announced that 10% of their earnings for the next month will be donated to the Sept. 11th Attack on America Fund. Reservation Travel is deeply saddened by the tragic events and outraged that the mindless fanatics weapon of choice was a commercial airliner.

A memorial tree, Autumn Blaze Maple, will be planted in Campbell Parkway, across from Reservation Travel offices in Joplin. Terry encourages the caring residents of the Four-State Area to join in this living memorial to the victims by planting a tree at a location of their choice.

Please mail a picture of the donor(s) with the tree to Reservation Travel, 1102 Murphy Blvd., Joplin, MO 64801. Include the date planted, tree species, tree location, donor name(s), address and phone contact.

I hate it when an indecisive squirrel gets on the roadway. I’m not talkin’ ‘bout those behind the wheel, I’m talkin’ ‘bout real live little furry creatures that come down outa the trees.

I like the squirrel that is intent on gettin’ to the other side of the street and makes a beeline. It’s fairly easy to adjust the vehicle to avoid any unsightly mess on the pavement. The ones that are trouble are the ones that can’t decide where to go.

They zip this way a few feet, suddenly turn and run back the other way. Some just stop and stare at ya in bewilderment. MOVE!

There’s always that few seconds of anticipation when the critter disappears outa sight under the hood. I’ve been fortunate this year so far, I haven’t heard the dreaded thump.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Oak Street health & herbs

Natural Nutrition

by Mari An Willis

I take my cat to the vet to be dewormed at least once a year, if not twice and then I give him black walnut once a week just to keep down the parasites. Those who raise cattle, sheep, dogs, goats, etc. all are careful about ridding their animals of parasites or they may lose them to debilitating effects of the parasites. As much as we hate to talk about it, we are also potential hosts to parasites.

Although the most common cause for parasites can be poor sanitation, they may also be present in the fruits, vegetables, meats and water. Our pets and other people can pass us parasites. According to "Herbal Insights" Fall 2001, "once in the body, parasites can settle almost anywhere, causing damage to organs, and blocking and sapping nutrients from the host." Bitter herbs have been used in traditional herbalism to treat a body with parasites. Often cloves have been taken in conjunction with these herbs to reduce gas and bloating which may be present in deworming formulas. Clove powder has traditionally been used to calm the stomach, promote bowel movement and aid digestive function. Also garlic can be of assistance in controlling parasites.

Formulas are available which make this process less intimidating. One does not have to do things the hard way, capsules can make it easy. As unpleasant a subject as this may be, one may think of us as "good hosts" and realize that it is a natural occurrence to be handled as simply as we handle a similar situation with our pets.