The Five Year Improvement Plan.

The City Council Budget/Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to continue the review of City department five-year capital improvement recommendations Monday evening at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

The Committee reviewed the Police and Street Department presentations at their last meeting. Monday’s meeting will include reviews of the Parks Department and the Fire Department.

The five year plan was initiated several years ago in an attempt to bring some continuity to the annual budget process. The review of proposed capital improvements is primarily a tool to acquaint the Council with various projects that Department Heads feel are needed for sustaining or improving service. It also allows the Council to identify projects that will need funding outside the regular City revenues. Recent projects such as the Memorial Hall renovation and the Municipal Golf Course improvements have been listed for several years before grant funding was available.

Also scheduled for discussion is the fiscal year 2003 goals and objectives for the budget.

String Fling This Weekend at Neosho Crowder College.

The Ozark Wilderness Dulcimer Club and the Newton County Historical Society invite the public to attend String Fling and help celebrate acoustic folk music this Saturday at the Elsie Plaster Community Center on the Crowder College Campus in Neosho, Missouri.

Workshops on Mountain Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Autoharp, Guitar & Penny Whistle will be available. An open Acoustic Stage will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9th.

Admission is $10 for workshops, $5 w/student ID. Food concessions will be available.

Maureen Sellers, Cathy Barton & Dave Para will perform in concert at 7:00 p.m. The concert will be $5 Admission, $2.50 w/student ID.

For more information contact Kathy Friend at 417-455-2318, Ron Crosswhite at 417-781-3562, Christina Connell at 417-358-9679, or Jan Bryan at 417-358-6331.

2002 Is Going To Be a Great Year!

by Robin Putnam, artCentral

Winter.....winter everywhere........the last snowfall was beautiful ! And that it went away as fast as it came was even better!! As beautiful as snow can be.........we'd much prefer the white sandy beaches of some distant Caribbean island.......now that's the way to spend some quality time in the dead of winter !!! Anyway.....back to the real world !!

Things are fairly slow around here right now. The few weeks we have in between each show is usually a time for getting all the paperwork done and preparing for the next round. It certainly makes things easier when we have our calendar set a year in advance. No worries.....no scrambling to fill open spots.....just a nice, easy pace. Everyone has plenty of time to plan.....whether it's how many paintings will get finished in time......handmade invitations........even what foods will be served.

The ArtForum group exhibit "Unveiled" will run through February 22. If you haven't come by yet there is still plenty of time.

With over 20 artists participating and more than 60 pieces of art it is quite a show !! Everything from dancing trees to risqué gourds !! It is also a wonderful opportunity to see some of the best executed paintings, pastels, and sculptures we have had in a loooong time !!! So make the effort and stop in on your lunch hour.....you'll be glad you did !!

Coming up in the next few exhibits we'll have Clydine Ridenhour's oil paintings, the pottery of Jack Sours, watercolors by Tom Jones, hand woven textiles by Lee Ann Sours and Kansas City artist Janet Carpenter will exhibit her latest oil paintings including a detailed rendering of the Carthage Courthouse. That's just to name a few........2002 will bring you some of the area's finest and most talented artists !! Make plans to see it !! Our 2002 calendar of events can be picked up in the gallery so you can mark your own calendars !!

For more info just call 358-4404. Hours are Tues - Sat. 9am - 3pm. Or check out www.ozarkartistscolony.com.

I had a friend once that tried to operate his personal life on a five year plan. Any major decision would be viewed from the standpoint of whether or not it fit into the perimeters of the current outline.

He would try to use the end of the five year period to stop and evaluate whether the plan was workin’ or not. He would then either scrap the plan and draw up another one, or adjust and continue with a new modified model. Fortunately, he continued to include his wife and kids in all of the five year periods that I was acquainted with him. For some things, five years just isn’t really enough time to get a true evaluation.

But mostly, sometimes lookin’ back a few years can be the best guide for lookin’ ahead the next five.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Oak Street health & herbs

Natural Nutrition

by Mari An Willis

The following is from the hot off the press Prescription for HERBAL HEALING by the best selling author of Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Phyllis A. Balch, CNC. This combination of herbs has been tried by many as a kick-off to successful dieting.

• Triphala consists of three fruits: amalaki, bibhitaki, and haritaki. These are primarily used in ayurvedic formulas. They are sour, bitter and pungent herbs. This formula is often recommended for acne, constipation and obesity. "Animal testing indicates that the formula taken as a whole slows down production of cholesterol in the liver...and may lower serum cholesterol. There are reports in India that a few weeks’ use of the formula sometimes induces weight loss in obese people who also suffer from chronic constipation." In an article by Dr. David Williams, he suggests that Triphala is beneficial in failing sight.

• Slippery elm bark powder (one of my personal favorites) has a soothing and healing effect. It is used in the treatment of sore throats, indigestion and even stomach ulcers. Many are finding it effective if there are mild cases of acid-reflux. The bark is said to neutralize excess acids. This very mucilagenic herb soothes inflammation with most anything it touches.

• Yarrow, an indigenous plant has been used extensively in folk remedies as a blood cleanser and for use with colds, fevers, flu and lung disorders. It promotes perspiration and is said to improve the function of the liver.