Today's Feature

Backhoe Bids.

Street Commissioner Tom Shelley spoke with the Public Works Committee on Tuesday afternoon concerning the bids received for a new backhoe. The department received bids from 5 different companies, and Shelley recommended the Caterpillar 416D from Fabick Cat in Joplin for $42,365 including the trade-in of the current backhoe. Shelley said the Street Department has been using a Caterpillar for the past 18 years and has been pleased with its performance and longevity. The Committee approved a motion to recommend the bid to City Council.

City Administrator Tom Short spoke about the progress of the Sediment and Erosion Control Ordinance. Short said that local contractors had been given copies of the latest draft of the ordinance and asked to submit any problems they had, and no complaints had been filed. There was some discussion about the size of lot to which the ordinance would be applied and the Committee decided upon one acre. A motion was made to accept an acre as the size and draft a Council Bill to present at the next Council meeting.

It’s always hard ta get in the mood for turkey-day when it’s a balmy 72 degrees outside. Just doesn’t feel right.

As a kid we’d always go to my grandparents on Thanksgivin’ and sometimes go out with the grown-ups huntin’ for quail.

One uncle always used his double barreled 410. Some jokes were always made about the small bore, but he usually got his share of the game. No one ever doubted his shootin’ ability.

Us kids were more like retrievers than hunters. We were kept well behind the shotguns and were made to attempt some sort of silence. With the dried leafs and deadwood cracklin’ under our feet, and the cold wind blowin’ up the hill side, it made a hot turkey dinner with potato bread and laughter from the kitchen pretty appealin’.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack Talk Cars

By Tom and Ray Magliozz

Dear Tom and Ray,

When do you put money into a high mileage car? I have a 1991 Toyota Previa that has 401,000 miles. The car is still in fairly good shape, provided you don’t need an air conditioner or working front struts. My question is, how do you decide whether to put repair dollars into an older, high-mileage vehicle? I am considering replacing the front struts and then giving the car to my daughter, who is about to start driving. I figure if I don’t fix the air conditioner, it will reduce her desire to drive so much, at least during the Mississippi summers.

RAY: Well, Bill, my standard answer for when you should stop putting money into a car is: When you fall out of love with it. Because that’s when you stop taking good care of it and subconsciously let it turn into a junk box.

TOM: And my standard answer is: When your feet go through the floorboards and the buzzards start circling.

RAY: Economically speaking, you’re almost always better off fixing an old car than buying a new one. If the car is otherwise in good shape, even if you spend $5,000 on a new engine and transmission, that’s still a lot less than $20,000 for a new car, right?

TOM: So, if your need is simply for transportation, and your ego doesn’t care, then fix the old heap and keep driving it.

RAY: But when a car has this many miles on it, Bill, the key issue becomes, is it safe? So, before you give it to your daughter, take it to a mechanic and have him check it out as if you were going to buy it now as a used car. If it passes the basic safety test and the engine and transmission are OK, then you can feel free to dump some money into it and give it to your daughter.