Drake Grant Requested.

Last Tuesday the City Council passed a resolution to seek funding in the form of a block grant after hearing a presentation from the Economic Security Development group concerning the planned improvements to the Drake Building.

Economic Security Development wishes to renovate the structure at 406 Howard Street into a 32 unit senior housing complex. The group proposed to seek funding through a $200,000 maximum Community Development Block Grant which would be filed jointly with the City. The development is being done by Carlson Gardner, a corporation from Springfield that specializes in low income housing. Denise Ogan from Carlson Gardner Inc. said in the presentation that this resolution would not compromise or compete with any other block grants currently being processed. Council passed the resolution without discussion.

Council further approved all five of the ordinances in their second readings including the changes to the Floodplain Ordinance and the ordinance adding a new section to the Carthage Code to make solicitation for contributions illegal on public roadways.

Letter to the Editor

Opinions expressed reflect those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Mornin’ Mail

To Whom it May Concern:

I am writing in regards to Renewable Environmental Solutions and the odor problem that has recently become so prevalent in our town. When RES first proposed operating the rendering plant within our city limits, our town was promised there would be no odors emanating from the facility. Since this os not the first plant of this nature to exist, were the townspeople of Carthage lied to? Did not our city’s Mayor and Council members check into this type of facility before allowing it in our town?

The Joplin Globe ran a front-page article regarding this problem on Friday, August 6, 2004. This article quoted Carthage officials, spokespeople from RES and townspeople of Carthage. A casual reader would have thought this was the first time we had experienced this nauseating smell. It also made it appear that Mayor Johnson and Fire Chief Cooper took care of the problem immediately. What may be a truer picture is that several people living in the area and working at businesses on the square had already called RES by 8:30 Thursday morning in an attempt to get the plant shut down.

I myself have called RES on several occasions complaining. I have called the Mayor’s office only to be told he’s unavailable and given a cell phone number of some RES official in Chicago to call. I have called the fire station only to be told to call the Department of Natural Resources. DNR takes the complaint and now I have been told to contact the Environmental Protection Agency. When will someone, anyone, accept the responsibility for this problem? I live on south Main Street in a lovely historic neighborhood and my nine-year-old daughter cannot play outside when the plant is operating without becoming nauseous. I am unable to open the windows of my house due to the odor. At my place of business we must burn candles constantly to cover the smell when the plant is operating and still customers come in complaining.

My mother lives near the hospital and there have been several times the odor has extended clear over there. According to one person in the Mayor’s office, a few weeks ago, they had received more than 50 complaints within a couple of days and all our ineffectual Mayor was doing is handing out a cell phone number for someone else to deal with the problem. The citizens of Carthage recently voted in a tax increase to improve our schools, we are looking at building a new hospital and a multimillion dollar addition to our library. All this in an effort to attract new people to our town and keep the current citizens happy and moving forward into the future.

How much of a future does this town have when you can’t ride a bike, take a walk or shop our historic square due to the smell from Environmental Solutions?

Phone numbers that you can call are: Mayor Kenneth Johnson 417-237-7000; Res 417-358-4922 (when it asks for extension enter CONTROL#, this will give you the control room where they begin the shutdown process); Dept. Natural Resources 417-891-4300; PJ Sampson with RES 630-476-0521.

Maybe if everyone who’s complaining to each other would pick up the phone and complain to the ones in charge of this mess, something would finally be done.

Patricia Marston

Increased Fees for Vital Records.

News release

Effective August 28, 2004, House Bill 795 enacted by the 92nd General Assembly increased the fees for a certified copy of vital record.

Certified copies of birth records are increased to $15.00 each. Certified copies of a death record ordered at the same time for the same person are $13.00 for the first copy and $10.00 for each additional copy. Vital Chek services are also available by credit card by calling Vital Records in Jefferson City. A service charge to Vital Chek is $9.95 in addition to the cost of certificates.

Jasper County Health Department is able to provide birth certificates for anyone born in the state of Missouri after 1920 to present. There is the processing fee of $15.00. Death certificates are available for deaths occurring in Missouri after 1980 with a processing fee of $13.00 for the first copy and $10.00 for each additional copy of same person. If you come in to the office it takes only a few minutes. You may do this by mail or come to the office at 105 Lincoln, Carthage Mo., Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

For more information please contact Jasper County Health Dept. 417-358-3111 or toll free 877-879-9131. When you purchase the Birth or Death Certificates at the local health department the money stays in the county.

It’s been a while since I had to get ready for the new school year, but I can remember the excitement of that those new jeans, those pencils, those notebooks, that shoe.

‘Course back then no one was concerned about forkin’ out several hundred dollars for computers, back packs, or cell phones. We went the first day with a pencil box and a package of paper. Maybe a note book and a couple of erasers.

The idea of sometime havin’ a slide rule was as close to a computer we ever saw.

The idea of goin’ back to a simpler doesn’t make much sense with the need for skills changin’. Sometimes ya wonder if it’s still not a bad idea to be able to work out a division problem on a piece of paper, but it’s a pretty much a dead issue for most.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack
TALK CARS

By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

Am I safer in a bigger, older car that doesn’t handle particularly well and has no new safety features (i.e., my ‘92 Volvo 940 Sedan), or a newer compact car with side-curtain air bags that handles well and performs well in crash tests (i.e., a VW Jetta)? Does young but small trump big but old? — Ruby

RAY: So, you’ve got the hots for a new Jetta, huh, Ruby?

TOM: It’s not an easy question to answer. There are a number of things that factor into a car’s "safeness." Size is just one of them.

RAY: There’s also design. Some cars are designed to better protect their occupants with crumple zones, passenger roll cages and reinforced door beams. Some cars add electronics, like dynamic stability control and anti-lock brakes. And then there are air bags: front, side, head and even knee bags.

TOM: And finally, there’s active safety – how well a car handles in emergency situations, to help you avoid an accident in the first place. So, size is an important factor, but it’s only one factor.

RAY: In general, I’d have to say that newer cars tend to have more safety advantages than older cars. But your older Volvo might be an exception to this rule. Despite its lack of some of the modern electronics and additional air bags, it is a large car and was extremely well-designed to survive an accident. If you were comparing a ‘92 Chevy Lumina with a newer car, I’d give the nod to the newer car for safety. But the Volvos were pretty good, even back then.