Committees Work Boots.

The Public Works Committee held their regular meeting Tuesday in City Hall. During Citizens Participation City Council member Diane Sharits expressed concern over the rumored demolition of the Boots Motel. According to City Administrator Tom Short no demolition permit has been requested.

Shartis brought forth a letter she received from Certified Local Government Coordinator Jo Ann Radetic, of the State Historic Preservation Office. The letter stated that Articles II and IV of the Carthage Code were reviewed and that they meet the minimum requirements for participation in the Certified Local Government Program.

Radetic stated in the letter that the ordinance outlines the procedures for the City of Carthage to designate local landmarks and historic district without the consent of the owner. Radetic understood the ordinance to read that if the commission, Council or property owner proposed a designation to the Council, the City could delay destruction or inappropriate changes of a historic property up the 180 days.

Shartis stated that she feels the Boots Motel meets historic criteria and that it generated tourist and sales tax revenues.

"I feel we’re throwing out the baby with the bath water," said Shartis.

Public Works Committee Chair Bill Fortune recommended that this issue be taken to the Planning, Zoning and Historic Preservation Commission.

"I needed to start somewhere," said Sharits. "If we can’t save the Boots maybe we can protect other historic sites located outside the historic district."

Sharits expressed that this matter needs to be investigated to see whether or not a 90 day hold on demolition of the Boots can take place.

"That is why we are looking at these ordinances," said Sharits.

In other discussions Street Commissioner Tom Shelley commended his crew on clearing the streets after the resent snowfalls. Shelley reported that 242 hours of overtime was accrued over both snowfalls.

"Less than 50 hours will result in overtime pay and 192 hours in comp time," said Shelley.

City Administrator Tom Short reported that the City has received eight applications for the Public Works Director position. Deadlines for applications are Dec 29th.

Powers Museum Update.

The Powers Musuem will close for the 2003 year December 20th at 4:00 pm and re-open March 9, 2004 for its sixteenth season.

Piano students of Rebecca Leib will present a recital at 10:00 am on December 20th and in the afternoon, the museum will have its annual ornament make and take session. This year, paper ornaments from 1940s designs will be made by children on a come and go basis from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served. The public is invited.

Due to the inclement weather and the drop in visitors over the last week, museum staff have begun dismantling portions of the "Defense Begins at Home" exhibit; however, a replica of the Powers family 1943 Christmas tree is still on view as well as selected portions of the World War II home front exhibit.

After closing, the museum will be working on a special project, re-configuring the museum’s storage wing in order to make room for additional gifts to the artifact collection and to properly re-house the three archival collections processed in the the last year through a Missouri Historic Records Advisory Board/State Archives grant.

The three record groups were donated to the museum by the Marian Powers Winchester estate, the former Boatmen’s Bank and the former Home Federal Savings and Loan Association in previous years. A finding aid for these records is now online at www.powersmuseum.com/

Access to these records is by appointment only during the museum’s public schedule, although questions about these holdings may be made by email or calling 417-358-2667 during the shut-down period. Also, those needing access to the museum’s library or other archival resources for private research or student projects during January and February, must make appointments in advance of use as well.

When the museum opens in 2004, the main gallery will be featuring the traveling exhibit "What’s Cookin’? Two Centuries of American Foodways" from the Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, Arkansas.

The exhibit will be supplemented with items from the Powers Museum collections dealing with cooking, baking, entertaining. Carthage cooking schools, the Co-operative Kitchen and other related subjects. Families with old recipies, especially any from the 19th century and originating from this area, are encouraged to share them and their history with the museum for use with the exhibit and a possible booklet of historic recipies to be assembled after the exhibit closes. Mail recipies to Powers Museum, PO Box 593, attn: Cooking Exhibit, Carthage, MO 64836 or email to pmuseum@ecarthage.com.

SENIOR NEWS

by Matilda Charles

Sponsored by Linda Woody, Bankers Life & Casualty Company

Is the prescription-drug bill as bad as its detractors say? Or as good as its supporters claim? Or, as the AARP insists, not perfect but a step in the right direction?

The answer is, nobody knows how it will ultimately play out. In the meantime, here are a few of the provisions its opponents say will face serious scrutiny and possible revision as seniors (who make up the largest bloc of voters in the country) come to realize exactly what the bill holds for them beyond the glib promises of politicians:

1. As of 2006, the government and seniors would split costs 75/25 up to $2,200 a year, with a deductible of $275 and monthly premiums of $35. Seniors would pay the full amount from that level, up to a set limit (which, as I write this, hasn’t been determined, but could be $3,500 to $5,000). Only then would the government step in and pay 95 percent. Detractors say this would force seniors to incur added costs they hadn’t expected to pay.

2. The benefit would be available via private insurance plans. The government comes in only if there are not two plans to choose from in an area. This does not, as supporters claim, give seniors more choice, but rather forces them to make an unnecessary choice.

3. Buying lower cost drugs from Canada would either require government certification of drug safety (which doesn’t make sense, since most of the drugs were originally sold to Canada by American companies) or could be blocked entirely.

4. By 2010 Medicare would have to compete with private health care plans.

Accordin’ to discussion durin’ the Public Works Committee meet on Tuesday, the rumors continue to circulate about a drug chain purchasin’ the Boot’s Motel and other connected property. There is still not any official word on whether or not that rumor is correct. As is seen in today’s feature article, no demolition permit has been requested of the City Engineerin’ Department.

It was also noted that Eureka Pizza has closed business next door to the Boots. It is not clear whether this has anything to do with the rumored purchase of the property.

It is also unclear what could be done even if the City were to designate the Boot’s with some type of historical significance. It appears the only tactic would be to delay.

I’m guessin’ money talks and red tape walks.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack
Talk Cars

By Tom and Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

I’m sure you guys have heard them all, but I just about fell over when this one happened to me. About seven months ago, my wife dutifully took our 1999 Subaru Forrester in for its 60,000-mile service. When I recently decided to replace the air filter myself, I opened things up to find — no air filter at all! Looks like they forgot to put it back seven months ago. My questions are: 1) what kind of damage to the engine might have been done by driving for seven months with no air filter, and 2) what can/should I do about it? — Andy

RAY: Well, unfortunately, Andy, we haven’t heard anything about a ring of air-filter thieves in your area, so you’re probably right that the filter’s been missing for seven months.

TOM: The air filter’s job is to keep small, abrasive particles out of the engine’s cylinders. When the engine is running, air is continually sucked in. The air filter is supposed to catch everything but the air.

RAY: If your air filter’s missing and you suck in something flammable, like a piece ofa leaf, it’ll simply burn up in the cylinders and come out the tailpipe, and no damage will be done. But if you suck in something that’s not flammable, like a grain of sand or a hard piece of dirt, it could scratch up the walls of the cylinders. And that can lead to piston-ring damage and oil burning.

TOM: So, whawt are the chances you’ve done damage? Hard to say. First of all, some of these early Forresters had TWO air filters. Why? We have no idea. Why did Subaru switch back to one? No idea either. But if your Forrester happens to be one of the cars that uses two filters (ask your dealer), you might have lucked out.