Two No's and a Yea.

The Public Safety Committee voted last Monday evening not to endorse a Council bill that would allow fireworks to be discharged in City limits. Committee Chair J.D. Whitledge and member Chuck Tobrock both voted against the proposed bill presented by member Bill Putnam.

Putnam told those present that he was certain member Jim Woestman was in favor of the ordinance and if he had been present the vote would have resulted in a 2-2 tie. Council members have the ability to present a Council bill to the full Council without a Committee recommendation and Putnam says that is what he will do.

He will also present a bill to the Council sponsored by himself that would reduce the existing 300 foot buffer between a church or place of worship and a business with a liquor license if the church was located on property zoned for business.

The vote on his motion that the Committee sponsor the bill was defeated 1-2.

The Committee did unanimously agree on a definition of a church, but removed any condition of ownership of property, long term lease, or having a board of directors..

My uncle thinks that there should be some way ta install a large, spring powered flywheel in a car. He figures it would work somethin’ like a clock, ya wind it up and it provides a constant, clean, inexpensive power. I suppose if it was positioned right, it would also act as a gyroscope to keep the vehicle from turnin’ over easily.

There would no doubt be some technical difficulties to be overcome. The basic premise, of course, is to take advantage of momentum. That mysterious source of energy that wants to continue motion once it is initiated. Momentum is not limited to the strict physical sciences, it seems to be a critical part of sports events, wars, and politics.

I’ve always worried that my uncle’s clockmobile would stop short of the top of a hill and reverse momentum would win.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Carthage Printing Services

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

by Donna Erickson

If things were always used for exactly what they were intended, life would be pretty dull. Remember the day you realized pipe cleaners were actually made to clean pipes?

Challenge yourself and your kids to think about products that are used for purposes no one would have dreamed of when they were originally created. Then try one of these activities that use ordinary objects in unexpected ways.

• Clip a standard clothespin to the center of a crayon. Grip the clothespin instead of the crayon and draw a picture or write your name on paper. Describe how it feels. Remove the clothespin and color as usual.

• At snacktime, use pretzel sticks for edible kabob skewers. Poke bite-size chunks of cheese, cold cuts and fresh fruit onto each pretzel stick. They’re fun to make and good for you, too.

• Make a painting activity extra fun when you use an old Kooshball in the place of a paintbrush. Pour liquid poster paint in a bowl. Hold one side of the Kooshball in your hand and dip the other side in the paint. Have fun plopping it on paper to make funny designs and patterns. When done, rinse paint off the Kooshball with water and use another time.

• When cooking pasta for dinner, set aside 10 or more lengths of uncooked linguine for a round or two of the traditional game of pick-up-sticks. Play the game at the kitchen counter using the linguine in the place of wooden sticks. The game will keep your kids amused until mealtime.

• Instead of blowing bubbles through a bubble wand, dip a plastic fly swatter in a bowl of bubble solution and wave the fly swatter gently in the air. You’ll make zillions of tiny bubbles! If you live in a cold climate where temperatures are below freezing, you’ll be surprised to see the bubbles sparkle as they freeze. They may even bounce when they hit ice or snow.