Mornin' Mail

The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Monday, November 9, 2002 Volume XI, Number 103

Did Ya Know?. . . "Children’s Book Week" is Nov. 18-23 and starts the Carthage Public Library’s winter reading clubs. "Cool Readers" and "Keep Your Cool: Read!" participants can pick up folders at the YPL desk beginning Monday, Nov. 18.

Did Ya Know?. . .The Carthage Salvation Army will be accepting applications for bell-ringers. Applicants should be able to stand for long periods of time and withstand cold weather. Applications will be taken Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. starting Mon., Nov. 11th at 125 E. Fairview. For more information please contact Crystal Thompson at 417-358-2262.

Did Ya Know?. . .Eminence Chapter #93 Order of the Eastern Star will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Tues., Nov. 12th at the Masonic Temple, 7th & Maple. It will be a regular meeting with election of 2003 officers.

today's laugh

Personnel man to trainee: "Or if you prefer, you may elect to skip coffee breaks entirely and retire three years early."

Little Suzie: My Sunday school teacher says we’re put on earth to help others. It that right, Mom?

Mother: Of course, dear.

Little Suzie: Then what are the others here for?

1902
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

TWO HORSES ELECTROCUTED.

A cab team driven by Ben Head met almost instant death by coming in contact with a live wire on the woolen mill hill on north Main street last night.

The electric line has been resetting a number of its poles on the lines to the depots the last few days and the workmen had dug most of the dirt from a pole next to the woolen mill and left it standing loosely in the hole, intending, no doubt, to replace it this morning with a new pole which lay beside it. The rain had softened the ground during the evening and allowed the pole to lean over which let the guy wire sag. This appears to have caught the horses under the throat, burning deep gashes. The jerk on the wire pulled the pole clear over, and it fell on the horses’ hips barely in front of Ben Head, who occupied the driver’s seat.

The guy wire is supposed not to be charged, but this one must have come directly in contact with the trolley wire in some way, and thus received the full current of electricity. Deep gashes were burned into the horses’ throats, cutting half way through the neck of one of them. Blood poured out in great quantities from the wounds and ran down the hill in a stream.

When the contact occurred, one of the horses dropped in its tracks, apparently dead before it reached the ground. The other struggled for a moment or two, and Ben Head jumped down off the hack and grabbed it by the bit to drag it away from the wire. He was immediately severely shocked, but as he had on rubber boots the force of the current was stayed somewhat, and he managed to stand up under it.

Brilliant scintillating sparks shot out from the live wire and from the iron parts of the harness lighting up the vicinity with a lurid light. Besides the burns on the throat, the horses were both burned deeply on the side and hips in great streaks the edges of which were lined with singed hair.

As soon as he recovered from his shock, Ben Head ran down to J. M. Burke’s store, on north Main street and tried to telephone to the power house to shut off the power. This phone had been burned out however and he came up the street to a residence where he telephoned uptown for a street car conductor. One came down in a few minutes in a cab and cut the wire, putting and end to the weird spectacle.

The electric line wrecking car arrived a little while afterwards and moved the horses to the side of the street and removed the fallen pole, thus clearing the highway.

The lucky thing about the whole incident is that it was only horses that were killed and that not a human being was injured. Such a dangerous wire might easily have killed someone had they happened to touch it in the dark. This morning the electric line wrecking crew removed the dead horses, repaired the guy wire, and set the new pole.

	Today's Feature Round & Round. The City Council is scheduled at tomorrow evening’s regular meeting to hear the first reading of an ordinance that would authorize an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for an easement to facilitate the construction of a roundabout at the Grand and Airport Drive intersection. The Council has set aside $100,000 as its portion of the matching grant to be used to finance the project. The State will cover the remainder of the cost which is expected to be approximately $300,000. The project is expected to go out for bids before year’s end and be completed by mid summer 2003. The roundabout will eliminate all stop lights from the intersection and the Missouri Department of Transportation calculates that the modification will handle much more traffic than the current configuration. The Council will hear first reading of a proposed zoning change for approximately 3.7 acres from Single Family to General Business. The property is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of HH and Chapel Road. The Planning, Zoning and Historic Preservation commission approved.
	Just Jake Talkin' Mornin', I’m still amazed that you can buy bread with no crust at the grocery. ‘Course I’ve known kids that wouldn’t eat bread with the crust on it. But even more amazin’ is the fact that I’ve seen mothers cut the crust off the bread so the kid wouldn’t have too. Then there was the fit my brother threw (once) ‘cause Mom wouldn’t make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the peanut butter on top. What I want is a loaf of nothin’ but the heals. If they took all the heals outa those loafs without any crust, it looks like there would be plenty of heals ta go around. They could prob’ly take the heals outa all loafs a bread and not cause much of a stir. ‘Cept for those who like heals, and they could buy the heal loafs. ‘Course when mixin’ heals and non-heals, the heal always goes on top. This is some fact, but mostly, Just Jake Talkin’.
Sponsored by Carthage Printing Services	Weekly Column THIS IS A HAMMER By Samantha Mazzotta Q: How do you clean the clear plastic windows on a Florida lanai (porch)? We read your article about vinegar and thought you might have an answer to our problem. — Mr. and Mrs. R. Hull, Bradenton, Fla. A: Ah, yes — those louvered windows are a fixture of porches in Florida (we called them Florida rooms when I was growing up). These narrow panes of glass (or sturdy plastic) enclose the porch on three sides in several horizontal rows (like slats), and are opened and closed with a hand crank. These windows serve a protective purpose, allowing the owner to quickly crank the windows shut when a hurricane approaches. The thick, overlapping glass panes can stop wind-tossed debris from entering the house. But, cleaning them — what a pain! The slats are difficult to reach between and there are dozens of them. Sand and dirt blow into the metal grooves and pulleys on either side and are nearly impossible to reach. Plastic panes can be even more difficult because of the way dirt adheres to them. But, I’ll tell you what I can about cleaning them, from my experience. Crank the windows to a horizontal position so you can reach the top and bottom surfaces. Bring a sturdy ladder into the room. If the Florida room is a true porch, with no carpeting or indoor furniture, consider using a garden hose for cleaning. Clear everything out of the porch temporarily and rinse the windows and frames. If your porch is being used as a room, avoid hosing it down. Instead, move items beside the windows to a safe place and lay a tarp along the floor. Run a duster along each windowpane, starting at the top, to remove loose debris. Then, use the vacuum with its corner attachment to suck up dirt from the corners, sides and bottom of each frame. Fill a bucket with warm water and household cleaner, and wash each pane, top and bottom. Rinse immediately with a clean sponge or cloth (or the hose, if possible). Clean one frame at a time so that the soap doesn’t dry on the plastic panes. Stains on the plastic are difficult to remove — these panes are much like the clear plastic on shower doors. Try using a solution of baking soda and water, rubbing it in gently with a toothbrush, then rinsing. If the stain cannot be removed, or a burn is etched into the plastic, replacing the pane may be a simpler option.