Today's Feature
Annexing and Rezoning.

Carthage City Council will meet Thursday September 16 instead of the regular Tuesday meeting due to the Missouri Municipal League Meeting ending the 15th. Items on the agenda include the first reading of an ordinance annexing and rezoning to Heavy Industrial a territory south of Fairview Avenue between Baker and Industrial Drive. City Administrator Tom Short said the rezoning is at the request of Dr. Catron and Schriebers.

Short said the annexation is not directly related to plans for a proposed Fairview/I-71 Interchange. The plan to add an interchange was inspired partly by heavy industrial traffic on Fairviews’ connecting roads.

The construction of an interchange as planned would cost an estimated $3 million. Carthage has accumulated $300,000 for the project. Further funding would be provided by the State and a Community Development Block Grant, which will be applied for by the City after obtaining a commitment from economic development prospects and the creation of new jobs.

In broad daylight a small group in their early teens decided to spray paint a couple of business buildin’s near the Square with graffiti last Thursday. They also broke in a basement door and sprayed a vehicle parked nearby. Looks like they were just out havin’ fun at the expense of local business owners.

Hopefully the parents of these perpetrators want to know what their kids are up to. I’m guessin’ with the amount of gold spray paint that was applied, a portion of it got on clothes or skin and would be obvious. If you remember seein’ such evidence, I’m sure the local police would be interested in hearin’ from ya.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthag Printing

This Is A Hammer

By Samantha Mazzotta

Raccoon Wars

It must be fall. After a long summer without them, the raccoons are back, prowling around the house, searching for any entrance they can find. For many months I thought they were gone from the neighborhood for good, but last week on a cool, misty morning I saw their telltale paw prints along the roof deck.

Two nights later I saw them: four young raccoons, obviously part of the litter I saw the adult raccoons carrying one by one through the snowy back yard last year. They were cute rascals, crowded together on the top step of the fire escape and gazing at me with wide brown eyes, their paws outstretched as if waiting for treats. And that’s the trouble: Those wide, innocent faces mask their surprisingly clever and opportunistic personalities.

Raccoons and suburbanites are finding themselves ever more at odds these days, as open lands are replaced by new houses and some displaced wildlife discovers that convenience foods taste great.

Last year’s battle, against these youngsters’ parents, was a pitched and bitter affair as I tried to find ways to deter them from the garbage cans, the flowers, and the inside of the house.

This year, we’re taking the usual precautions: not allowing the cat out at night, bringing my favorite plants in, and keeping the garbage cans inside the garage, the lids on tight, until trash day. The windowsills are spritzed daily with ammonia. And the live traps will be back in place next week. Then we’ll see how smart this generation of suburban commandos really is.

HOME TIP: Raccoons can be difficult to outwit once they’ve located a source of food. Don’t leave garbage outside for them to get into, and by all means don’t feed them.