Jail Medical Costs May Be Cut.

The County Commission held their regular meeting Thursday at the Carthage Courthouse. The County Commissioners plan to sign a contract with Dr. John Freitas next week. The contract is for a fixed rate of $3500 per month for medical exams and medications for inmates at the County Jail.

Eastern District County Commissioner Jim Honey reported to the media that Dr. Frietas negotiated a contract and will furnish the pharmaceuticals instead of using a pharmacy.

"It doesn’t matter if the jail needs one medication or one hundred (per month)," said Jim Honey. "It’s a fixed rate of $3500. It was running around $8000."

This fixed rate does not include pharmaceuticals for AIDS, chemotherapy patients, and medications administered elsewhere (hospitals).

In other discussions Jasper County Health Department Director Tony Moore was present. Moore reported that the Health Department would receive more flu vaccination for children late this week and that the they were unsuccessful at obtaining more for adults.

There are some things ya just don’t want to talk about.

My bother couldn’t eat chicken for years after he helped a farm wife round up supper one summer evenin’. He found that neck ringin’ wasn’t somethin’ he needed to know about.

I have trouble talkin’ about broken legs. After hobblin’ around for a couple of months waitin’ on a bone to heal a few years ago. I can’t hear about someone’s fracture without wincin’ a little.

Women who are pregnant always seem to spark conversations about troubles with child birth.

Knowledge maybe power, but sometimes there is a short circuit.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’

by

Carthage Printing

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

Fireplace Safety

Q: Our new home has a fireplace, which we haven’t used yet — in fact, we’ve never used a fireplace in our lives. We’d like to have a nice fire crackling in the hearth when guests visit during the holidays. How do we safely start one? — Charlie M., Plano, Texas

A: Once you’ve got the basics down, building a fire is relatively fast and safe. I’d recommend lighting a fire in the hearth on a couple of consecutive nights before your visitors arrive, to make sure you have the process down.

First things first, though. Even if the house is brand-new, have a chimney cleaner check the flue and chimney, inside and out, for obstructions and unseen damage. If you own an older house, the chimney should be checked for creosote buildup. In both cases, make sure that the damper opens and closes smoothly.

Now, if you’re completely in the dark about fireplaces and the above terminology was unfamiliar, here are a few definitions. The chimney, of course, carries smoke up and out of the house. The flue is the area just above the fireplace, where smoke and ash rise (and cool slightly) before entering the chimney. The firebox is the area in which the fire itself burns. Between the firebox and the flue is the damper, a vent that can be opened to let smoke out or closed to prevent cold air from flowing into the house. The damper must be opened before a fire is started, or smoke and ash will fill the room rapidly — not a pleasant situation.

To start a fire, bring firewood, kindling (often newspaper) and matches within arm’s reach as you work. Follow these steps:

• Open the damper.

• Stack your firewood in the grate, allowing plenty of space between each piece so that air flows through evenly. Use only four or five pieces of wood — one larger and the rest smaller — in the stack. (For the best fire, use well-seasoned hardwood, like oak, rather than pine or pressed fire logs.)

• Place kindling or tightly rolled newspaper under, over and amid the stack.

• Encourage proper airflow through the damper by lighting one rolled-up page and holding it up to the flue just prior to lighting the fire. The warm air will rise, starting the flow of air upward.

• Carefully light the kindling on as many sides of the stack as possible. The newspaper will burn quickly, creating plenty of flames, which will die down once the primary source of fuel is exhausted.