City Engineer Starts Work.

City of Carthage Director of Engineering Sam Crawford has started work after a rough couple of weeks due to the recent tornados. He was at the Council meeting Tuesday evening and thanked the Carthage for the warm reception he’s received.

During the meeting Street Commissioner Tom Shelly reported that his department will spray for mosquitos May 19 - 23, in preparation for Memorial Day weekend.

The state of Missouri is in the process of discussing Senate Bill 11, a new holiday. The proposed Sales Tax holiday would be a three day event in August during Marian Days. On the proposed holiday there would be no sales tax in the city for clothes, school supplies and personal computers. According to City Administrator Tom Short the holiday would fall on one of the city’s busiest times, and would cost the city approximately $14,300 a day. The Council voted to not participate in the event.

The Council approved a bid from Fire Works Spectacular for the Fourth of July fire works show held at the golf course. The show last year cost $20,000 but due to budget cuts this year’s show will cost $15,000.

NASCAR to the Max

After taking last weekend off in honor of Mother’s Day, NASCAR’s premier series resumes action this weekend at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS) in Charlotte, NC. LMS is a 1.5-mile tri-oval with moderate banking through the turns.

This weekend’s event serves as the series’ All-Star game and is called "The Winston." The field for the Winston is compiled through several criteria. The method that qualifies the majority of the entries is winning a race in the preceding or current year. Next, any previous Winston Cup Series Champions are eligible in addition to any driver who has won The Winston in the past five years. The final entry into the field is made immediately before The Winston and is awarded to the winner of The Winston Open (The Open.)

The Open field is comprised of Winston Cup teams that competed in a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event in 2002 or 2003 and are not already eligible for The Winston. The Open Consists of 30 laps; a 20 laps segment and a 10 lap segment. The top 14 finishers in the 20 lap segment will compete in the final 10 lap segment with the winner getting the transfer spot to The Winston.

This year 24 drivers will square off in The Winston; 21 winners from 2002 and so far in 2003, 2 previous champions and The Open winner. The Winston is also run in segments with the first segment running 40 laps. The top twenty finishers advance to the second segment which will consist of 30 laps. The top fourteen finishers of the second segment will advance to the final 20 lap segment. Some portion of the field for the final segment will be inverted by fan vote. Look for all fourteen positions to be inverted; i.e., fourteenth will start first, thirteenth second and so forth.

The Winston is a non-points paying event with $1,000,000.00 cash going to the winner. This usually leads to a no holds barred battle to the finish where an "every man for himself" attitude usually prevails. Kurt Busch’s driving style could prevail.

There are some things ya just don’t wanna hear.

Had a gentleman walk in the shop the other day. I heard our little door bell ring as the door opened and came to the front. He was standin’ with the door still open.

"Guess you don’t need a doorbell," he said. The one thing he was hopin’ for when he walked in was silence.

Then there are things some folks wanna hear. The guy in the muffler business hears opportunity in what most look at as annoying rumble comin’ from an automobile. It’s all in your point of view.

‘Course ever’one has a change a heart ever’ now and then, but most just seem ta hear what they want to no matter what the circumstances.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack
TALK CARS

By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom & Ray:

I have a 1997 Honda Civic that just received its 37,500-mile service. The dealer said that I also needed a transmission flush ($140), coolant flush ($120), fuel-injector cleaning ($109) and my clutch checked and bled ($80). Does my car really need all that flushing and cleaning? — Judith.

RAY: It sounds like the dealer gave you a wallet flush and a bank-account cleaning, Judith.

TOM: Some of the stuff is legit. Even though your car has low mileage, it IS 6 years old. And at that age, a transmission-fluid flush and coolant flush can’t hurt. So I’m OK with those two.

RAY: The fuel-injector cleaning and clutch bleeding, on the other hand, would come under the category known as ADP: Additional Dealer Profit.

TOM: A fuel-injector cleaning is something we only recommend if you are experiencing a problem with fuel delivery. It’s not like having your teeth cleaned, which is preventative maintenance. It’s more like a drain unclogging — something you do only when the drain starts backing up.

RAY: And I’m not sure why he bled your clutch, either. You bleed the clutch when there’s air in the system. And the only way air gets into the system is if you have a leak. So why he would bleed the clutch and not address the leak is a mystery.

TOM: You might want to go back and ask the mechanic why he bled the clutch. And if there is a leak, have him apply the $80 to the clutch repair, because we always bleed the clutch for free after we do clutch work.