2003 Year End Report.

Carthage Police Chief Dennis Veach presented copies of the 2003 police department report to Council members and City officials at Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting. He stated that the annual report was put together by Lt. William Barksdale. The report consists of statistics on reported crimes from 1993 to 2003; traffic citation history for 2001-2003; two year comparative report on major crimes and minor crimes; and officer training hours.

Veach reported that major crimes were down 14% and 16% down on minor crimes from the prior year. He stated that overall crimes were down 37% from 1998.

"But we had four murders last year," said Veach.

The report shows a 50% increase in rapes for 2003 with 8 reported, 4 were reported in 2002.

There were 3633 arrests made in 2003 compared to 3473 in 2002.

Veach stated that the department hopes these enforcement efforts have an impact on crime in the City and may account, in part, for the continued decrease in reported crimes.

There were 44 residential buglaries in 2003 with $58,053 in value reported taken and 37 non- residential with $38,431 in value reported taken. The number of reported auto theft was 26 compared to 17 in 2002.

The number of motor vehicle accidents for 2003 were 288 with 120 injuries sustained in the accidents. There were 2072 traffic citations issued in 2003, speed was the largest number issued at 301 citations.

StringFling 2004.

StringFling 2004, an all-day event of old-time music concerts and workshops, will be held at the Elsie Plaster Community Center, Crowder College, Neosho, on Saturday, February 28, from 10 AM to 9 PM.

The event, which is sponsored by the Ozark Wilderness Dulcimer Club and The Newton County Historical Society, will feature Scott Odena, the Lindseys, Doug Felt, the Hammer Sisters, the Cowboy Poets, the Harrall Family, Homemade Jam, and many more local and regional artists.

There will be workshops for fiddle, autoharp, penny whistle, bodhran, clawhammer banjo, mountain and hammered dulcimer, shaped-note singing, and clogging.

Admission, which includes all concerts, is just $5.00, or $15, which includes all workshops as well as concerts. Children under 12 are free.

For further information, call Kathy at 417-389-0839 or Christina at

417-358-9679.

Mornin'

Visits to my grandparent’s place always included a variety of "toys" that ya didn’t see down at Woolworth’s. One I remember is a metal hoop and a couple a sticks nailed together in a "T." I don’t know that there is a name for this particular contraption, but the idea was to get the hoop rollin’ and then push it along with the stick.

The rural setting of the place meant there were no sidewalks so the gravel road made the feat a little more challenging.

‘Course the kids didn’t understand at the time the laws of physics that were at play as the hoop rolled down that country road. The skills needed to control the hoop did leave a lastin’ impression. The application of a small amount of pressure at the appropriate time was what kept things rollin.’

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Oak Street health & herb

Natural Nutrition

By Mari An Willis

Glucosol is an herbal extract from the herb Lagerstroemia speciosa.

Its’ active ingredient, corosolic acid, is responsible for its blood sugar lowering and normalizing effect.

Numerous animal and human studies have shown that Glucosol improves glucose tolerance, lowers serum blood sugar levels and improves insulin resistance very much like chromium. The most remarkable thing about Glucosol is that it can blunt the rise in blood sugar associated with high-glycemic foods. In some of the studies, a modest weight reduction occurred without the use of a restricted diet.

Since glucosol sugnificantly blunts the blood sugar rise associated with high glucose foods, insulin levels are also blunted.

This would prevent the metabolic switching to the storage of body fat associated with elevated glucose and insulin levels. It appears that both Glucosol and chromium may help dieters to better tolerate carbohydrates and help control blood sugar and insulin levels.

Spring IS in the air!

* This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. References available by request. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.