Tuesday Mayor Kenneth Johnson proclaimed the week of July 20th-26th as Christmas in July for the Salvation Army.

"Everything has doubled; the pantry, the families, everything has doubled since a year ago," said Captain Kelley Buhrle of the Salvation Army, "We did reach our Christmas goal, but it’s diminishing because the need has doubled."

According to Captain Buhrle, a minister for 11 years and working with the Salvation Army for 20 years, they need a larger amount of money and a greater variety of food.

"There’s a lot of vegetables, but we need a lot of canned meats and nonperishable whole meals," said Buhrle.

The Salvation Army also provides a free lunch program Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. An average of 50-75 people come for the lunch.

The goal of the Salvation Army during the Christmas in July week is $15,000.

Donations of food or cash can be made between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the Salvation Army, 125 E.Fairview Avenue.

NASCAR to the Max

This weekend will mark the start of a long, hot summer for the NASCAR contingent. Last weekend marked the last off weekend the teams will experience until the season ends on November 16th; a stretch of twenty straight weekends of racing.

The stretch of races between this weekend’s Pepsi 400 and the Labor Day Weekend Southern 500 usually sets the tone for the stretch run to the season championship. The extra heat generated by the summer temperatures puts an extra strain on the tires, engines and driver’s endurance. With no free weekends, the crews are stressed to repair engines, body damage and prepare for future races.

There will be several driver changes in the next few weeks. Several drivers are reportedly on thin ice because of sub-par performance and the next few weeks will be very trying for them as they seek to improve their fortunes.

As the season nears the midway point, Matt Kenseth continues to lead the point’s standings. Kenseth has a 174-point lead over Jeff Gordon. Gordon leads Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by only two markers. Bobby Labonte and Michael Waltrip round out the top five and trail Kenseth my 260 and 372 tallies respectively. Though there are several serious challengers rounding out the top-ten, only those in the top five at this point will likely have a legitimate shot at catching Kenseth. Kenseth’s most likely challenger could be Gordon who as a four-time champion knows what it takes to win the championship.

This week’s race will take place on Saturday at the 2.5-mile high banked tri-oval Daytona (FL) International Speedway. The event marks the second visit to the track this season and will be run at night. The speedway installed lights a few years ago to aid in driver and fan comfort. Prior to that, the event was run with a late morning start. Michael Waltrip has dominated at Daytona winning three of the last five races at the track. Waltrip’s teammate, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has one win in the last five making the teammates favorites among the 43 starters.

Hurry up and wait.

While I was growin’ up, the family seldom went to anything where we had ta stand in line. Mom always said Dad never liked to stand in line ever since he got back from bein’ in the Air Corps durin’ the War.

As a kid, there were some things I thought were worth waitin’ on for a while. I’ve got to admit that the older I get, I find fewer and fewer things worth standin’ in line for.

I really don’t think Dad ever liked bein’ in a line, but talk of the time he was in the South Pacific didn’t come up much, so we accepted this without much question.

I’ve never come up with a good excuse for not standin’ in line. I just don’t like it much. ‘Course there are times it’s unavoidable, especially in the "express" lane at the grocery store.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Click & Clack
TALK CARS

By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Sponsored by Metcalf Auto Supply

Dear Tom and Ray:

I have a ‘99 VW New Beetle that I’ve recently learned from Volkswagon is SUPPOSED to use a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. That seems excessive to me. I was never informed of this by the dealership — until last month, when I reported it as a problem. My car has only 28,000 miles on it, has received all scheduled maintenance services and has never indicated a problem (via the warning lights). Now I have to check the oil every time I fill up, as VW has suggested. Does this amount of oil burning seem excessive to you? — Cindie

TOM: To me, yes, it seems excessive. But not to VW of America/

RAY: If you said you had 78,000 miles on the car instead of 28,000, we’d say, "Well, a quart every 1,000 miles is not that big a deal for a car that age — just keep an eye on it." But you don’t expect this on a practically new car. And, like you, I would be bent if my new car did that.

TOM: My guess is that it’s a manufacturing quality issue. Lots of Beetles and Jettas that we see in the shop burn oil like this. And we’ve gotten many letters from owners with the same complaint. It’s just my opinion, but I suspect that VW is well aware of the problem but can’t replace tens of thousands of engines without going bankrupt. So it tells owners: "It’s normal. They’re supposed to do that." I say, "Supposed to do that, my foot."

RAY: The good news is that this condition won’t necessarily hurt your engine, as long as you DO check the oil regularly and don’t let the oil level run low. And that’s a pain in the butt.

Natural Nutrition

By Mari An Willis

Sponsored by Oak Street health & herb

I have been blessed with my family visiting from Texas...just wish they would have left the hot weather behind!!

As an American, I believe in our right to hear the truth and base our decisions on truthful facts.As I have gotten older and wiser, I know that all I see or hear is not always the truth and that I must investigate an issue more deeply and certainly not make decisions based upon what I see on news programs. You know this is leading to me jumping on my soapbox! A bill has been introduced by IL Sen. Dick Durbin that would give the FDA more sweeping power to regulate supplements. I have read this bill and the one that it will overturn and I urge you to do the same. S.722 to view it go to http://www.nnfa.org/services/government/pdf/s722.pdf

As you will see the FDA already has the authority to do what it needs to do with any food or supplement without the loophole of one complaint allowing for the removal of a product. What I have noticed is this is a political and dollar issue rather than a "we the people" issue and our right to choose is again at stake.

Example: I am watching a news broadcast. First story how awful Vit E "may be" and other anti-oxidants" may be" and you "may be" throwing your money away because they do not have proof that they do work. Hummm. did they not think we are aware there is much research? Immediately following first story....how Botox is a cure for migranes in addition to shooting it into your face to reduce wrinkles. Hummm...now that sounds scary to me! do you know what Botox is? If it comes to taking a plant as opposed to a pig virus, well....I want the right to choose and have easy access to an herb for my migrane and as Dr. Perricone points out nutrients to keep wrinkles at bay. This issue has been turned into an ephedra media issue:which it is not. The FDA can make full use of its current and adequate authority as granted by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.

I urge you to look into this and BE HEARD or you may wake up one morning to find yourself waiting for your prescription for Vit. C

* This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Sources available by request.