Drillers Baseball.

The Public Service committee met Monday evening in the Parks Administration Office. The agenda included a discussion on the possible use of the old ball fields at Municipal Park by a traveling baseball team named the Drillers. The manager of the team Tom Gibson presented the committee with an agreement for the use. Gibson stated that the traveling team consists of nine and ten year old boys and that all improvements to the ball fields would be made and paid for by their organization.

Gibson explained that the team was not wanting to use the fields exclusively for their games.

"We don’t want to close them down," said Gibson. "We will let others practice on the fields. I’d rather see them used than not used. We want to add improvements and up grade the fields and hold three to four tournaments this year. We want to bring the teams we travel to, to this area. We want to bring tournament ball to Carthage, it will create more revenue for Carthage."

Gibson also reported that the team may start a fall league that would end in November and would hold two games per week.

The committee agreed that they liked the idea, but some changes needed to be made to the agreement before they could go any further. City Administrator Tom Short stated that the agreement needed to include that any and all improvements to the fields must be approved in writing by the City. Committee member Ron Ferguson said that the age bracket needed to be included also.

Committee Chair Jim Woestman stated that he didn’t believe the City Council would approve the agreement until it was finalized and all corrections were made.

"You should have been here three months ago," said Woestman. "We want to work with you, it’s a win, win situation, but we can’t take this to Council until we have all our ducks in a row."

The committee agreed the hold a special meeting in May after Alan Bull makes the changes to the agreement.

Parks Department Manager Alan Bull reported that the golf course’s revenues are down from what they had projected.

"The course is not doing as well as we would like," said Bull. "This last month (April) has been a real disappointment and it is due to one thing, the weather. It has rained almost every weekend this month. We can’t predict it and it’s killing us."

Bull also stated that the course is looking better than it has since the renovation.

"The course looks great," said Bull. "We still have a good feeling about this season."

In other business, the committee agreed to accept the bid of $15,000 from Fireworks Spectacular for the fireworks show at the Municipal Park on the Forth of July.

The committee also voted unanimously in favor of continuing the agreement with the Carthage R-9 School District for the use of the golf course, the baseball field at Municipal Park, the girls softball field and soccer field at Fair Acres.

If you remember last summer a film crew was in town to shoot footage of Carthage for the Discover America Show. Accordin’ to the Convention and Visitors Bureau the final product is ready to be aired. The specific time of broadcast has not been determined, but it looks like the effort will give Carthage a national showcase.

The Carthage CVB is funded by the lodging tax and it’s primary function is to promote overnight stays in the City. The idea is for more folks to come to stay and therefore generate more lodgin’ tax so we can get more folks in to stay. The community benefits by the sales tax generated and the money spent while folks are in town.

This tourist season should start to show returns for the last year or two of effort. This is their (tourists) tax dollars at work.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

HERE’S A TIP

By JoAnn Derson

• "A few years ago, I had a wedding shower at my home and went to an awful amount of trouble to make an easily readable map. Several months ago, I needed to give out-of-town guests directions to my home, and I remembered the map I had made. I found a copy and have had several printed. I even carry a few in my purse for when I invite someone over for dinner who has not been to my home before. It makes things much simpler." — Glade B. in Webster Groves, Mo.

• "To increase the amount of dust picked up by your air filter, spray it with a light layer of furniture polish." — A reader via e-mail

• "I save the Tyvek envelopes from Federal Express and other mailings to make cheap, sturdy aprons to use during my children’s art projects. The material is really durable, and it doesn’t cost me a thing, so I can throw it away without washing if I have a mind to. It is washable, though, as well as being waterproof. Just cut the envelope open, and cut it out in the fashion of a cooking apron. Or cut a hole in the center for a smock." — Ben U. in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

• Now is a great time to discuss summer chores with children. Knowing what to expect ahead of time will help pave the road to less battles once school lets out.

• Turn corduroy pants inside out before each washing to reduce wear and discourage lint.

• "My friends and I have a summer vegetable club. Each week, one of us goes to the farmer’s market and buys several varieties of fruits and vegetables. We then split it up among us. Since many of us are in single households, it makes getting a small amount of fresh produce possible, and it is always a great surprise to see what we will be getting for the week." — Carolanne in Charlottesville, Va.