Mornin' Mail

The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Tuesday, October 15, 2002 Volume XI, Number 84

did ya know?

Did Ya Know?. . .The McCune-Brooks Hospital will have free Friends and Family CPR classes starting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15th in the mbh cafeteria. Snacks provided. Call 359-2423 or 359-2432 to register.

today's laugh

It’s a school for hunting dogs. A man is watching a demonstration. The hunting dos he’s interested in is being put through its paces. It runs into a clump of bushes and returns and wags its tail once. The teacher explains, "There’s one bird in that clump." Sure enough, a bird flies up and out of the bush. The teacher points to a second clump. The dog returns and wags its tail twice. Sure enough, two birds fly out. After two other clumps, the dog returns from a fifth with stick, which he shakes and drops at his teacher’s feet. The customer says, "What does that mean?"
"It means that clump has more birds than you can shake a stick at."

Two Martians land on a golf course and watch a hacker work away. First, he gets in to the middle of the woods. He then gets caught in a sand trap. Another two swings and he’s at the edge of a water hazard. He manages to chip the ball, and it goes right into the hole. One Martian says to the other, "Oh, boy, now he’s really in trouble."

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

Carthage Has a Hospital.

Carthage at last has a hospital, and though a private enterprise is back of this, it is a worthy institution and one adequate to all the needs of an emergency or of protracted cases. Mrs. Mary Rickard, a trained nurse from Pittsburg came here some time ago and after considerable service as nurse here in the city has decided to locate. She has rented the Irvy Nall residence on Olive street west of the Missouri Pacific railway, and with her mother is living there and fitting up the place for use as a private hospital. The work of furnishing is as yet just begun, but when all is complete Mrs. Rickard expects to have seven rooms with a capacity of fifteen beds at the disposal of the public. One patient is already at the hospital, and the institution is being encouraged by the physicians of the city who expect it to fill a long-felt want in the way of a resting place for sick persons who may be transient in the city, may be injured on railroads,or for other good reasons.

	Today's Feature Springfield Looks Positive. Springfield, Mo. - Springfield, Mo., is flourishing according to the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. They say construction projects all over the city are bringing more and better amenities to the city, including an expo center set to open in 2003 and a wildlife museum that opened in 2001. Here's a sample of what's going on in Springfield: Downtown Revitalization Springfield's downtown is a vibrant, thriving area thanks to the vision, endurance and stamina of citizens and city leaders. Nightclubs, pubs, restaurants, shops, an ice arena, art galleries and much more have cropped up in recent years. The Jordan Valley Park project under construction adds momentum to downtown revitalization. Coming soon: an expo center, parking garage, baseball stadium and much more. Jordan Valley Park A new expo center is under construction at Jordan Valley Park and improvements to an existing trade center are under way. Plans call for 40,000 square feet of exhibition space and 13,000 square feet of pre-function space. The expo facility connected to the renovated Trade Center results in about 110,000 square feet of contiguous convention and exhibition space. The building can accommodate 280 booths and about 4,400 people with a seated capacity of 3,000. A 950-space parking garage also is under construction. The city broke ground in September 2002 and the project will be completed in September 2003. Jordan Valley Park is a major downtown development that includes a park, ice arena, parking garage, multi-purpose arena, expo center and more. The park opened in Spring 2002 and the Jordan Valley Ice Arena opened in Fall 2001. Hotels Developer John Q. Hammons announced plans to build a six-story hotel with up to 150 rooms near Jordan Valley Park and add about 80 to 130 rooms to University Plaza, a 276-room hotel adjacent to the project. Hammons also plans to upgrade University Plaza to Marriott or Hilton standards. The proposed hotel projects would nearly double the number of rooms within walking distance of the expo center. Arts Center The Springfield Regional Arts Council is renovating an old creamery for an arts and cultural center. Fundraising and renovation are under way at the 30,000-square-foot Creamery Arts Center in the Jordan Valley Park project. Baseball Stadium Hammons is building an 8,000-seat baseball stadium adjacent to Jordan Valley Park. The American National Fish And Wildlife Museum, Wonders of Wildlife This magnificent museum features a 220,000-gallon shark tank, 140,000-gallon freshwater pond, 160 species of live animals, a live otter pool, bobcats, a cave, limestone bluffs, giant oak trees, a giant walk-through bass, a Walk in the Ozarks exhibit and much more. The museum opened in 2001. Oasis Inn Renovations at the Oasis Inn, formerly the Atrium Inn, adds 30,000 square feet of meeting space to the city's mix. EPlex Expansion The EPlex at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds will see a 15,000-square-foot addition with operable folding partitions for changing the space into smaller breakout rooms. Additional storage and restrooms will be included in this project. The project is slated to begin construction this fall with completion in June 2003. The EPlex currently has 70,000 square feet of clear-span space and is the home of more than 40 events each year. Scouting Museum The Dr. Michael J. Clark Museum of Ozarks Scouting, 1616 S. Eastgate Ave. recently opened. The Boy Scouts of America Ozark Trails Council nonprofit museum features exhibits, photos, artifacts and archived collections of books and patches. Shackelton Exhibit The Discovery Center of Springfield will have on display "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition" traveling exhibit Oct. 7-Jan. 6. This exhibit from the American Museum of Natural History features 150 haunting photographs, rare color images and film footage and interactive multi-media highlighting Shackleton's legacy and triumph of human spirit over adversity. This is the ONLY midwest stop on this three-year tour. The Discovery Center of Springfield is an interactive, hands-on museum committed to inspiring people of all ages with a life-long love of learning and appreciation of the world and our place in it. Dickerson Park Zoo The biggest building project in the history of Springfield's Dickerson Park Zoo begins in 2002. The $5 million effort paid for with a parks and recreation tax approved by voters in 2001 will include projects that bring humans and animals closer together in areas free of the typical enclosures seen at many zoos, creating a feeling of being in the animals' environment. Projects include: Elephants - expanded and improved habitats, buildings and handling barn. Dickerson Park Zoo is world-renowned for its Asian elephant breeding program Tigers - expanded and improved habitats, including grassy areas similar to the big cats' natural environment. African habitat - a new exhibit area for gibbons will feature swings and play areas and a barn for hoofed animals. Missouri habitat - make room for mountain lions, wolves, deer and turkey. Infrastructure improvements, a new restroom and a building to house the tortoises for cold weather viewing. Springfield-Branson Regional Airport Springfield-Branson Regional Airport’s new Intermodal Facility allows indoor transfer of passengers and baggage from the plane directly to motor coach or rental car. The Intermodal Facility is the first of its kind in the United States. It is part of a $10 million airport improvement project that includes a major baggage claim expansion, additional parking and runway expansion. The Intermodal Facility opened Aug. 27. More jet service has been added along with non-stop service to Memphis with Northwest Airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration in 2000 approved $26.1 million over five years for runway improvements, and another $4 million grant will be used for planning and design of a midfield terminal. For more information, call 800-678-8767 or send e-mail to swade@springfieldmo.org. Letter to the Editor* Opinions expressed reflect those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Mornin' Mail. Dear Editor, The Carthage Square is preparing to greet thousands for the upcoming festivities this week. Businesses are stocking up and readying themselves for a wonderful, successful Maple Leaf Celebration and the retail experience of the year. Visitors will find new merchandise, new stores, remarkable gifts, food, clothing, antiques and collectibles and best of all, many satisfied merchants who will greet our guests with a friendly smile and a display of pride for their work, and their success, on the Carthage Square. So come one - come all . . . come often! We’re here and we’re ready to serve. Sincerely, Carol Green, Director of Main Street Carthage, Inc.
	Just Jake Talkin' Mornin', In case you’re livin’ in a cave, you’re prob’ly aware that it’s Maple Leaf week. Lots a stuff goin’on. ‘Course ‘sides all the organized activities, there are typically lots a private get-to-gathers across town. Old friends tellin’ the same old stories, with some new catchin’ up from time to time. I’m guessin’ that the most folks, aside from the parade, are attracted to the band contest and the car show. Seems like both get bigger each year. For the last few years, the Square has been holdin’ folks later into the afternoon with a variety of activities. I’ve never doubted the estimates of folks attendin’ Maple Leaf, just curious as to who’s countin’. Just count the legs and divide by two. This is some fact, but mostly, Just Jake Talkin’.
Sponsored by McCune- Brooks Hospital	Weekly Column *TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH* By Paul G. Donohue, M.D. DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have the old man’s curse. I must get up three times a night to urinate. My doctor tells me it’s because my prostate gland is enlarged. There is no cancer. I have had ultrasound pictures of the gland, and they showed no cancer. My doctor has me on a medicine, Flomax. Can medicine take care of the problem? Isn’t surgery the only cure? Does this medicine shrink the gland? — F.B. ANSWER: You might never need an operation. Some men can live with an enlarged gland using medicines to keep symptoms under wraps. Your medicine, Flomax, does not shrink the gland. It and its two brothers — Cardura and Hytrin — relax the muscles that surround the bladder outlet and the muscles found within the prostate gland. Contractions of those muscles make it impossible to completely empty the bladder. That’s why an enlarged gland makes a man run to the bathroom day and night. There is a medicine that shrinks the gland. It is Proscar. It blocks testosterone production. Testosterone promotes gland growth. A lack of the hormone shrinks the gland. Shrinkage can take six months. The newly written pamphlet on prostate disorders answers many questions. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 1001W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.50 along with the recipient’s printed name and address.