Today's Feature

City Hall Open New Years Eve.

Carthage City Hall will be closed on Thursday, December 23rd and Friday, December 24th for Christmas, however it will be open on New Year’s Eve, Friday, December 31st from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for tax payers. Vicki Melugin, City Collector and Lynn Campbell, City Clerk decided not to take the holiday off, partially because the County is also planning on being open to collect taxes on New Year’s Eve. Considering the possibility that people might want to pay county and city taxes in one pass, the two City employees didn’t want to let anyone down.

The Public Works Committee will meet on Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 in Council Chambers. Items on the agenda include the discussion of dump truck bids led by Street Commissioner Tom Shelley.

Two Council Members have filed for candidacy for the upcoming general election to be held on April 5, 2005. Those who have filed are First Ward David Woods and Fifth Ward Jim Woestman. There will be 6 Council seats available due to the mid term resignation of Don Stearnes which resulted in an unexpired term.

I have an aunt that always is optimistic. "Ever’thing will work out," she is fond of sayin’.

I suppose it is a leap of faith to some extent, but also years of seein’ that things typically aren’t as bad as we think.

On a trip home from grandma’s house, my mother was gettin’ upset ‘cause Dad hadn’t filled up the car before leavin’ town. She was worried that she and us kids would be sittin’, waitin’ for Dad to hitch to town for gas. The more she squirmed, the quieter Dad was. After passin’ several stations that were closed the tension was risin’.

Finally Dad pulled to the side of the road, opened the trunk and pulled out a five gallon can of gas. I slept the remainder of the trip. ‘Course at that age, it was all part of the Holiday spirit for me.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

By Paul Donohue, M.D.

Endometriosis Can Cause Pain, Infertility

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Does endometriosis prevent pregnancy? After a hysterectomy in my 40s, I was told I could never have become pregnant because I was full of cysts due to endometriosis. — E.E.

ANSWER: Endometriosis is the condition where bits of the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, have migrated to places where they should not be — e.g., on the ovaries, or pelvic ligaments, or the bladder or large intestine. This displaced endometrium responds to the monthly rise and fall of hormones like the endometrium in the uterus does. It grows in order to foster the implantation of a fertilized egg and dries up when fertilization does not take place. Unlike endometrium in the uterus, it cannot exit the body during a menstrual period.

The transplanted endometrium causes crampy pain during the monthly period. It can also lead to heavy menstrual periods. As many as 40 percent of women with endometriosis are infertile because of it. Endometrial tissue in the pelvis can form cysts and can cause scar tissue formation, both of which disrupt normal anatomy, and that can be the reason for the inability to conceive.

This disorder can occur at any age after menstruation begins, but it more commonly happens past the teenage years.

Sometimes the only medicine needed is an anti-inflammatory, like Naprosyn, for pain control. The birth control pill can create an environment similar to pregnancy, and that can shrivel the transplanted endometrium. Medicines that stop hormone production — Lupron and Synarel, for example — are other treatment options. Endometrial tissue can also be surgically removed, often through a scope, or vaporized with a laser.