Special Meeting for R-9 Tax Rate.

The Citizens for Fair Taxation, founded by Keith Spencer, want the Carthage R-9 Board of Education not to raise taxes this year.

Spencer says that district voters should have been informed that state funding would be increased in addition to the 67 cent maximum tax increase voted for in the election last April.

A special meeting was scheduled for August 9 by R-9 Board President Debbie Baugh during the board meeting last Monday. A meeting location is yet to be decided. Superintendent Gary Reed says that a large turnout seems likely and the board will have the meeting in a facility that can accommodate the expected attendance.

"This is an opportunity for community members to voice their opinion on the tax rate," said Reed.

At the June meeting the Board approved a preliminary budget for the year which was based on a 52 cent increase in the levy. However the rate will not be finalized until the board meeting on August 23.

They say that the worst thing about a cow bein’ at the back of a line is that the view never changes. ‘Course the good thing is ya don’t have ta do much thinkin’ as ya wonder through the pasture.

I prob’ly heard that story from some motivational speaker at one time or another over the last twenty years. Looks like they’d come up with an original way to illustrate the point.

I suppose they’re like most of us, we get used to ploddin’ along the path and don’t really wanna be bothered ta change. Even if the view isn’t that great.

I’ve walked a few cow paths. No matter where ya are in line, you still have ta watch your step.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’

by

Carthage Printing

HERE’S A TIP

By JoAnn Derson

• "To store onions for maximum freshness, tie each onion individually in the legs of a stocking or pantyhose. You can make a string of them that way, and it is easy to cut one off the bottom when you need an onion. They stay really fresh this way." — S.H.

• "When straightening up the house, I tie two plastic grocery-store bags to my belt loop. I use one for trash and the other for things that belong in another room. When I get to a new room, I check the bag to see if anything belongs there. It has been a real helper for me, because I don’t have to constantly go from room to room and back again." — Pete I. in Vermont

• If you plant dill near your tomatoes, it will ward off the caterpillars that sometimes get into the tomatoes and ruin them. It has worked for me; my tomatoes look great." — A reader, via e-mail

• Baking soda is a wonderfully versatile cleaner. Stir 1 tablespoon into a bowl of 2 cups warm water and use the mixture to wipe out the inside of your fridge. It freshens as you go, and the baking soda makes a gentle abrasive to remove sticky spills.

• Here’s a great magazine holder: Remove the rings from a three-ring binder, and cut a piece of cardboard to fit inside the binder when the sides are held open perpendicular to the spine. Tape the cardboard in place using clear packing tape. Now, you can slide magazines into the binder and it can sit on a shelf. The magazines won’t fall out from the bottom, since it is covered with cardboard.

• Add a tablespoon of jam to cookie recipes before baking. It will keep the cookies fresher longer.