Today's Feature

Funding for Carver Monument.

News release

George Washington Carver National Monument Superintendent Scott J. Bentley announced today that just before midnight on Saturday, November 20, 2004, President George W. Bush signed into law the 2005 Omnibus Appropriation bill that provides the last $3.187 million necessary for the Monument to move forward with the final stage of the Carver Discovery Center Project.

The need for expanded educational facilities was identified at the Monument as far back as 1963, but the project received little attention until United States Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond and United States Congressman Roy Blunt stepped in to ensure its success. As a result of their efforts, Congress has passed and the President has signed into law the third of three appropriations necessary to make this project a reality.

Planning and design work has been underway over the past two years and the Monument will soon be ready to seek proposals to complete the project. The project includes renovating the existing 1960 visitor center to include a new expanded theater, improved museum exhibit area, and a new sales area for the George Washington Carver Birthplace District Association. The expansion portion of the project includes building a new visitor center lobby, adding approximately 2,000 square feet of new interactive exhibit space, approximately 3,500 square feet of interactive classroom space including a terrarium and walk-in greenhouse, a new Carver Archives, a new Carver Library, a multi-purpose room, an observation deck, expanded restroom facilities, and administrative areas for the National Park Service and park partners.

As a part of the new visitor experience, the Visitor Center entrance will be relocated, new exhibits are under development, the Carver Bust will be relocated to a more scenic setting, and a new landscape plan has been developed.

In addition to the many expanded visitor opportunities, the new facility has been designed to include approximately 2,300 square feet of space that meets FEMA requirements for a tornado shelter, the entire facility will be equipped with an automatic fire suppression system, and a new emergency access drive has been developed to improve emergency crew access to the entire facility. These new features will help ensure the safety of the thousands of school students and visitors that come to the Monument from all over the United States.

Many sustainable features will be included in the new expanded facility including the installation of a Ground Source Heat and Air-conditioning System, a new septic system and leach field, and more.

Superintendent Bentley said "I am extremely thankful for all of the park’s tremendous community support that has culminated in making this project a reality. Once completed, the Carver Discovery Center will provide outstanding opportunities for visitors to experience the powerful legacy of Dr. Carver in a new, powerful, and very interactive way. The new Science Focus Area will stimulate the curiosity and creativity of students and adults to pursue scientific explorations. As Dr. Carver once said ‘Since new developments are the products of a creative mind, we must therefore stimulate and encourage that type of mind in every way possible.’ We are extremely excited to have the resources necessary to provide this outstanding new facility and programs for area communities and the Nation."

Carver had a timeless message for humanity. Yet he became famous not for his great wisdom, nor for his brilliance as an educator, but for outstanding accomplishments as a scientist and most notably for transforming peanuts into products such as ink, paper, soap, glue, dyes, massage oil, milk, cosmetics, and more. Every facet of Carver’s life and his teaching, including his peanut work, can be traced inward to reveal a genius whose source is the deep creative fountain of the inner spirit. The new Carver Discovery Center will introduce visitors to this humble man whose love of God and agriculture became a ministry to benefit humanity.

Administered by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, George Washington Carver National Monument preserves the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver, scientist, educator, and humanitarian.

The monument is located two miles west of Diamond, Missouri, on Highway V, then ½ mile south on Carver Road. For more information, please call the park at (417) 325-4151 between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Last Sunday musta been just about a perfect fall day.

The drizzle all day, with spurts of actual rain, made it impossible to do any real yard work. Leafs were too wet for rakin’ or pilin’, let alone baggin’ or burnin’.

It never got so ya couldn’t get outside for a few minutes without gettin’ really wet, but it kept ya from doin’ anything productive for any length of time.

Gettin’ on a ladder to clean out the rain gutters could’ve been disastrous, washin’ the car was useless, and there was no way paint would stick to any exterior surface.

It was the perfect sittin’ around the house, not feelin’ guilty day.

Since there just aren’t enough of those days in any given year, it was best to take advantage of it.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

McCune- Brooks Hospital

To Your Good Health

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: The edge of my toenail is growing into the skin. It hurts. How do I take care of it? — C.G.

ANSWER: That’s an ingrown toenail, and it’s a very common problem. Quite often, improper nail cutting leads to it. Toenails should be cut straight across.

Your first order of business for treatment and prevention is to wear shoes and socks that give the toes plenty of room.

Your second order of business is to gently pry the ingrown nail out of the skin. Soak the foot in warm, soapy water for 20 minutes three times a day. After drying the foot and toes, carefully wedge a slip of cotton between the nail edge and the skin. Daily treatment for a week ought to free the trapped nail edge. If it doesn’t, let your doctor handle the problem. Many readers ask if cutting a V-slit in the top center of the nail will allow the nail edge to work its way free. It doesn’t.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had a cancer lump removed from my left breast, and the doctor said all the cancer was caught. He wants me to take the drug tamoxifen. Why, if all the cancer is gone? And should the entire breast have been removed? - R.T.

ANSWER: Your doctor recommends taking tamoxifen because it has been shown to prevent cancer recurrence if a cancer lump is of a certain size and if it is the kind of cancer whose growth is influenced by female hormones. Some microscopic cancer cells could still be left in the breast. Tamoxifen blocks the effect of estrogen on those cells.