| Today's Feature
Five Citizens Honored
Mayor Kenneth Johnson and
Police Chief Dennis Veach presented five people
with Citizens Commendations during the regular
City Council Meeting Tuesday evening in City
Hall.
The following are the stories
as told by Chief Veach.
"On March seventh, 2002 at
approximately 2:30 a.m. Mr. and Ms. John and
Brenda Vaile became aware that the lights were
still on at their neighbor’s home which was
unusual. Normally there was only one light left
on during the night at the neighbors, the
residence of Ms. Winton.
"The Vailes became
concerned and decided to call the Police
Department. Police officers arrived and
eventually were able to hear a female inside the
residence weakly asking for help. The Carthage
Fire Department and the Carthage Ambulance
Service responded while Police officers forced
entry into the residence.
"Officers discovered Ms.
Winton, who had fallen just after her 10:00 a.m.
Phone Notification call from the Carthage Police
Department. She had been able to cover herself
with a blanket from a nearby closet she could
crawl to , but could not get up or make it to a
phone. Ms. Winton was treated at the scene and
then transported to McCune Brooks Hospital for
further observations.
"Had it not been for John
and Brenda Vaile looking out for their neighbor
and then taking the further step of calling the
Police, Ms. Winton would have laid on the floor
for at least another eight to ten hours.
"The City of Carthage and
its Citizens are proud of your actions and are
indebted to each of you."
"On February 22 Officers
of the Carthage Police Department were asked to
check on the Welfare of an 81 year old woman here
in Carthage.
"The woman had left her
vehicle at Grundy’s Bodyshop for repair
earlier in the week and had been adamant about
having it returned as soon as possible. Mr. Sid
Teel, an employee of Grundy’s asked Ms.
Betty Saferite, also an employee, to call the
lady so that she could have her car back. They
did not receive an answer to their repeated phone
calls and became worried. Saferite and Teel then
called the Tony Williams Insurance Agency and
spoke with Ms. Samantha Pugh, an employee, to see
if they had been in contact with the vehicle
owner. They had not and also became concerned.
Ms. Pugh then took it upon herself to go to the
person’s home and was unable to contact
anyone. All three, Teel, Saferite and Pugh
continued to confer by phone and decided to call
the Police Department.
"Officers arrived and
eventually, by removing part of a window
air-conditioning unit, established verbal contact
with the lady and found that she had fallen two
days before and clearly needed assistance.
Officers forced entry into the residence and the
lady was transported to the local hospital for
treatment.
"It is very clear that the
concerns, actions and persistence of Mr. Teel,
Ms. Saferite and Ms. Pugh very likely saved the
life of the injured party in this matter. The
City of Carthage and its citizens are proud of
your actions and are indebted to each of
you."
NASCAR
to the Max
The Texas 500 from Texas Motor
Speedway in Fort Worth, TX was postponed from
Sunday until Monday because of torrential
downpours throughout the weekend. The start of
Saturdays Busch Series race was delayed over
three hours because of rain and was eventually
shortened to 116 of the scheduled 200 laps.
When the race did get started
on Monday, youngster Matt Kenseth, who turned 30
less than a month ago, found the wait to be
worthwhile by claiming the win. The race was
dominated by Yates Racing teammates Dale Jarrett
and Ricky Rudd. Jarrett fell out of contention in
the latter stages of the race by running out of
gas and having to coast over a mile back to the
pits dropping him two laps to the leaders. Rudd
managed to salvage the team’s honor by
bringing home a 4th place finish. Kenseth trails series
points leader Sterling Marlin by only 70 points
and both have two wins this season. Dale
Earnhardt, Jr. retired from the race just past
halfway when he was spun by the series’ only
female driver, Shawna Robinson. Earnhardt, Jr.
did a masterful job when interviewed after the
accident. Though never spoken, the term
"woman driver" appeared to be on the
tip of his tongue but he remained politically
correct.
From last weeks race at one of
NASCAR’s fastest tracks the series heads to
one of it’s shortest and slowest. This
week’s race in Martinsville, VA will take
place on a relatively flat track that is just
over a half-mile in length.
The turns at Martinsville are
extremely tight with the layout closely
resembling a large paperclip. Qualifying speeds
will be in the 95-mph range, which is almost
100-mph less than those achieved at the
high-banked Texas Speedway. The long
straight-aways, tight turns and concrete surface
will put a premium on tire and brake maintenance.
Dale Jarrett won here last
spring with Ricky Craven claiming his first
NASCAR victory here in the fall. Short-track ace
Rusty Wallace and concrete specialist Tony
Stewart will also be among the frontrunners of
the 43 starters.
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