Voters Input Wanted.

The Board of Education of the Carthage R-9 has scheduled public meetings for the community to hear the facts regarding budget issues. The board is looking for ways to reduce the estimated $1.4 million deficit for the school year that begins in June. They are looking at options for cuts in the budget and putting a levy increase proposal on the election ballot in April. The board is seeking input from voters before deciding on the amount of the purposed levy increase.

The current Carthage operating levy is at $2.75 per $100 in property assessed value. The School Board has looked at revenues that would be generated if the R-9 School district’s property levy were increased anywhere from .25 cents to .67 cents per $100 in assessed value.

The public meetings on this issue are scheduled for January 6th at 7 p.m. in the High School Auditorium, January 8th at 7 p.m. in the Fairview Elementary Multipurpose Room and January 12th at 7 p.m. in the Columbian Elementary Multipurpose Room. The Board is also holding a meeting January 15th to discuss the wording for the ballot.

Blunt & Southwest Missouri Cattle Producers Embrace New Safeguards to Combat Mad Cow Disease in the Ozarks.

USDA Secretary Veneman Announces New Protections Against BSE.

Springfield, Missouri — The 150 Southwest Missouri cattle producers who attended an open forum with Congressman Roy Blunt got the reforms they requested to help restore credibility to their industry after a single cow in Washington State tested positive for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), commonly known as ‘mad cow disease.’ "They wanted fast action from the US Department of Agriculture," Blunt said, "and that is exactly what they got."

The new steps announced by Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman echo those discussed at the forum held at the Springfield Livestock Marketing Center. They include.

* An immediate ban on all "downer cattle" (animals that may suffer an illness or injury that renders them unable to stand upright) from the human food chain.

* The meat from all cattle tested for BSE must remain in holding until the tests are proven negative for BSE.

* A prohibition on the use of mechanically separated meat in human food.

The cow that tested positive in Washington State was a downer cow, but it’s meat was released into the marketplace before the tests for BSE came back as positive. Blunt said it made "good sense" to put the new rule in place immediately.

Blunt also embraced the ban on downer cattle. "In the short term, this will help establish credibility about the safety of beef in the market place. In the long term, it will mean cattle producers will have to make new decisions about the cattle they bring to market," he said. Cattlemen told Blunt that "downers" are not a major problem in the Ozarks and welcomed the ban that was announced by Veneman only hours after the forum.

Blunt added, "We must insist on zero-tolerance in enforcing the 1997 ban on the use of ‘meat and bone meal (MBM)’ in cattle feed to protect beef consumers and beef producers." As a result of the BSE outbreak in Britain we learned the only way BSE can transfer from one animal to another is through a protein in MBM.

"This confirmed case may be 1,700 miles away from Southwest Missouri, but it has already sent shivers through local cattle men and caused 28 nations to stop imports of US beef," Blunt said.

"As we learned in the 1980’s in the outbreak in Britain, this is a devastating disease that requires infected cattle or cattle using the same feed source to be destroyed. It can," Blunt explained, "destroy an $820 million dollar industry that is the lifeblood of rural Missouri if it ever infected a single cow here. We have to prevent that at all costs."

Southwest Missouri is cow-calf country. Within a one hundred mile radius of Springfield there are more cattle than in any comparable area of the United States—an estimated million cattle.

There are an estimated 700 dairy herds in southern Missouri alone. The beef industry in Southwest Missouri provides hundreds of jobs and incomes to countless families, who shop and trade for goods and services at countless stores and business in the region.

"We should never assume we are immune from this threat," Blunt said. "The American cattle industry is the world’s most fluid cattle market and Missouri ranks second in the number of cow-calf operations. We have to be prepared and ready to meet the risk. Too much is at stake to sit idly and wait," Blunt concluded.

Years of Service Much Appreciated.

by Lee Sours, artCentral

The director of artCentral, Robin Putnam, has resigned after many years of dedicated service to the gallery. For years she has booked shows, promoted the artists and their work, written press columns and newsletters, prepared the delicious hors d’oeuvres, painted and patched walls, hung the artwork, kept track of membership and renewals, attended board meetings, organized artCamp and stone carving weekend, etc., etc. etc. This is just a partial list. So in summation, nothing happens without someone to organize and make things happen and she was the one to do that.

She hasn’t died, or moved, or gotten mad. She has built a studio. She hopes to have more time to devote to her own sculptural endeavors. Her work has been shown locally and in Kansas City. There is also a gallery on the west coast that is wanting to carry her work. So now she is trying to get busy and fill that order. Stone carving, by the way, is a very slow, labor intensive process. It is a little easier to have the patience required if you don’t have other pressing demands. So THANKS a bunch for all the work!

I hear some complainin’ from time to time from folks who have more trouble rememberin’ than they used to. Some fear it might be caused by gettin’ older.

Although there is prob’ly some who loose ‘memberin’ capacity as the years go by, I’m more inclined to believe as ya get older, you’re just more picky as ta what ya store in the brain.

I’ve heard ya only use about 10% of our grey matter. Maybe the longer ya live, the less room ya have for stuff that isn’t really important to ya. Most folks have some really good memories tucked away that takes up precious head room. Plus, as we mature, we are better able to distinguish what we should remember and what isn’t really worth the effort. I’m sure there was a point to all this, but I lost it.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

...

Natural Nutrition

By Mari An Willis
Sponsored by Oak Street health & herb

One of our most precious gifts is our eyesight. Something most of us take for granted until something goes wrong. Prevention is a key to keeping our eyes healthy. Two of the main herbs used for nurturing the eyes are Eyebright and Bilberry.

Traditionally, Eyebright has been used for failing vision, inflammation, conjunctivitis, ulcers and eye strain. It helps the nerves and optic tissues stay supple and maintain their elasticity. It can be used as an eyewash or taken internally as a tea.

The use of Bilberry of blueberry was first documented during World War II when it was noted that British pilots had better records as night fliers than anyone else and they were the only ones consuming large amounts of blueberry jam. Research led to the connection between the high amount of flavonoid activity in this fruit which led to better night vision. Flavonoids act as free radical scavengers and have a collagen-stabilizing affect.

Collagen is the most abundant protein of the body and is responsible for maintaining the strength of the tissues. Collagen is destroyed during the inflammatory processes that occur in various forms of arthritis, periodontal disease, and other inflammatory conditions.

It has been noted that Bilberry can help normalize the strength of capillaries, it may assist in muscle relaxing and has several ophthalmological applications including improved night vision, quicker adjustment to darkness, and faster restoration of visual acuity after exposure to glare.

* This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. References available by request

Click & Clack
TALK CARS

By Tom & Ray Magliozzi
Sponsored by Metcalf Auto Supply

Dear Tom and Ray:

What are your thoughts on first-year-production models? I’m looking at the new 2004 GMC Canyon or its twin, the Chevy Colorado. Do you think it’s wise to buy a vehicle the first year it’s on the market? — Rian.

TOM: It depends on several factors, Rian. The most important of which is: How far is it to your nearest dealer for warranty work?

RAY: Actually, the new GM pickups might be very nice. We don’t know, because Chevy and GMC rarely send us cars to drive anymore. Ever since my brother "restyled" the front end of one of their Luminas back in 1994, they stopped returning our phone calls.

TOM: Buying a car in its first year used to be quite a risk. Back in the old days when the Big Three had 90 percent of the market, they could afford to put out a car that wasn’t quite "done" yet. And if the first-year customers all came back in with their front wheels hanging by one screw, they’d know that they needed to add a second screw the next year.

RAY: But now, with the automobile market so competitive, companies just can’t afford to make those kinds of big mistakes anymore. So, much more testing and quality control go into any new car these days before it hits the market.

TOM: That’s not to say it always works. During its first few years (2000-2002), the Ford Focus had an outrageous number of problems, including wheels that fell off. And even though it was basically a nice car, and the car has now improved to the point where Consumer Reports recommends it, those early customers got hammered. And Ford is still paying dearly for that hit to its reputation.