Hard Cash vs. Soft Cash.

The Jasper County Commissioners have been trading other counties hard cash for soft cash. The past month over $300,000 of Jasper Counties soft cash has been traded for over $180,000 of their counties hard cash.

Soft cash is federal credit earned by building bridges 20 feet long or longer. Soft cash can be used to build up to 20% of a new bridge. Soft cash funds have to be matched with either cash or hard cash. Soft cash accumulates every time a county builds a bridge.

Hard cash is federal grant money given to counties with deficient bridges. Hard cash can be used as cash for up to 80% of the cost of building bridges.

Jasper County has been building bridges so their soft cash account has been accumulating. Other surrounding counties have not been building bridges so their soft cash is low. By trading with these other counties Jasper is building its hard cash account which will give them enough funds to match their soft cash with 80% hard cash. With the right amount of hard cash and soft cash a county can build a bridge that is 100% funded by federal money.

A typical phone call at the office:

"Hello."

"Hello, this is Maria from the psychic benevolent support group for the organization of united brotherhood of unicorn revivalists."

"That’s amazing," I respond, "I was just thinking of your work."

"We have been receiving mental inquiries from your office and are calling to open the channels of telepathy for your convenience and contribution to our cause."

"That’s unreal," I continue, "I’m sitting here with $10,000 burning a hole in my pocket and was just wonderin’ where I could spend it. I’m elated that you took the time out of your busy day just to contact me."

"This is a recorded message," I hear. "For more information press pound."

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have had ulcers around my ankle for six months. They are painful and seep through their wrappings. I have read your columns and think it might be peripheral vascular disease. How long does it take for a cure? — C.D.

ANSWER: Peripheral vascular disease often is the cause of leg ulcers. It encompasses problems with arteries or veins in the periphery — the legs or arms. The trouble can lie with clogged arteries or with incompetent, dilated veins. Nerve problems are another contributor to such ulcers.

The most common cause is vein incompetence. Flabby, dilated leg veins leak fluid into the surrounding tissues. That’s the swelling invariably seen with such ulcers. As swelling grows, circulation to the skin diminishes due to compression of the small arteries that nourish the skin. A deficient blood supply leads to skin breakdown and ulcer formation. If people with leg ulcers are overweight, weight loss aids healing.

Treatment of these ulcers is time-consuming. Leg elevation is a must. Leg elevation does not mean resting the legs on a stool while you sit. It means lying down with legs elevated above heart level for 30 minutes four times a day. During the night the bedposts at the foot of your bed should be propped up on wooden blocks, or pillows should be placed under your feet and legs so they are lying in a plane above chest level.