Ag Tour in Jasper County.

The 8th Annual Southwest Missouri Agriculture Tour, hosted by Southwest Missouri Congressman and Majority Whip Roy Blunt, will visit a dozen of the region’s most successful farms, ranches and Agri-businesses on August 9 and 10, 2004.

"Like past tours that had a strong emphasis on the history and culture of farming, the 2004 tour will be a learning experience about the leadership and innovation Southwest Missouri agricultural producers bring to the region’s economy," Blunt said.

During the first day, the tour will visit a rotational dairy near Avilla, a vineyard, an antique tractor farm and a modern row crop farm in northern Jasper County. Tucked away on a pasture north of Carthage is a 15-acre greenhouse filled with technology and seasonal plants that has created dozens of jobs for the area. The 70-person tour will visit the greenhouse and will also learn about how one Jasper County company is trying to harvest pollen for research on allergens.

On the second day of the tour: "We’ll see how a forest management program in northern Stone County is allowing new flowers and plants to emerge and new habitats for wild turkey and deer to develop. The tour will see a honey hive in operation and visit the Hiland Dairy plant in north Springfield," said Blunt. An Ozark organic beef farm and Agri-manufacturing plant will also be on the second day’s itinerary.

Missouri Senator Jim Talent will join Blunt’s Ag Tour on Tuesday. "It’s an honor for me to join Congressman Blunt for his eighth annual agriculture tour in Southwest Missouri," said Senator Jim Talent. "As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I realize how important Missouri’s agriculture industry is to our state. This tour is an opportunity for me to visit one-on-one with local producers and see first hand the innovative ways in which they are adding value to their products and Missouri’s economy.

"I look forward to discussing how the federal government can continue partnering with our farmers and ranchers to support value-added agriculture, open new markets and make certain we continue to have the safest, most abundant and most affordable food supply in the world."

Southwest Missouri State University President John Keiser and Ozarks Technical Community College President Norman Meyer will also participate on the first day of the tour.

It appears that patients have grown thin over the peculiar odor that seems to keep creepin’ up on the City from down in the bottoms.

Not only are the letters to the editor beginnin’ to flow, phone calls are beginnin’ to become one of the main avenues of recourse to complainin’ neighborhoods.

From what I understand, City Hall, CW&EP, the Fire Department, and various other agencies are gettin’ the message that folks don’t like the smell of things.

The idea of turnin’ various turkey parts into oil is no doubt a worthy endeavor, and I’m sure there are some kinks to be worked out in the sophisticated process. What comes floatin’ up Main Street is anything but sophisticated however. It creates a whole new meanin’ to the term "raisin’ a stink."

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

Hassle-Free Painting

Q: I’m planning to paint two rooms of my house over the weekend. How can I do the entire job quickly so that I’m not working late into the night on Sunday? — Hannah J., Chicago

A: The best way to get a paint job done quickly, with minimal hassle, is to spend as much time preparing beforehand as possible. In the days leading up to the painting weekend, try to complete the following tasks.

Clear furniture from the room (or cover with a dropcloth). Take pictures off the walls, including the hardware used to hang them and all nails or screws. Remove cover plates from outlets and switches. Loosen light fixtures so that you can paint underneath them, and cover them with plastic to protect them from stray paint drops.

Remove any hardware from windows and doors. This includes curtain rods and connectors, door latches and so on. Place a dropcloth on the floor for prep work and painting.

A few days before painting, scrape away loose paint or plaster from the areas to be painted. Locate nail holes and cracks, and fill them with spackling compound. Let the compound dry for a few hours, then sand. You should also sand down ridges or bumps, and if you’re painting a door as well, sand away previous layers of paint to prevent the new paint from sticking to the frame.

If you’ll be painting over wooden trim that has a glossy finish, rub it lightly with steel wool or fine-grade sandpaper to roughen the finish. This will help the new paint adhere to the old.

Clean grease spots and other stains — if a stain can’t be washed away, cover it with primer at the beginning of the painting stage. Dust the paint areas and then clean them with a cloth or sponge dipped in water and a low-phosphate household cleaner (or a wall cleaner). Let everything dry for 24 hours before painting.

Begin masking off areas that you don’t want to paint (such as baseboards) with painter’s tape the day before you start work. Gather all the paint and clean-up supplies you’ll need and place them in an accessible spot.

This seems like an awful lot of work for just a couple of rooms, but these preparatory tasks can be done bit by bit in the days beforehand. By the weekend, you’ll be confident that the walls are ready for the paintbrush, and you can complete the job quickly and efficiently, with a little time left for dinner!