Today's Feature

"Palettes & Palates"

News release

ArtCentral’s "Palettes & Palates" annual fund-raiser will be held Sunday, October 10 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the art center in Carthage.

This is the kickoff to the Maple Leaf Festival and will include wine tasting, a silent auction, Oktoberfest Bier garten with big screen TV and culinary delights. Also, live entertainment, and art exhibit of pottery and paintings by Brad and Jane Kleindl, and door prizes.

Tickets purchased by October 2 are $20 each. If purchased after October 2, they are $25 each. Call (417) 358-4404 for hours and any further information. Must be 21 to attend.

ArtCentral is a non-profit art organization whose mission is to promote, teach and foster the appreciation of art in the community. Donations support daily operations, exhibits and receptions, children’s summer art camps, adult workshops, a video/book library, and a pottery/glazing facility.

Had a friend who when asked how a job was goin’ would always reply, "I’m all done ‘cept for finishin’ up."

‘Course no matter what stage of a particular project you’re in, I suppose your always in the state of "finishin’ up."

I saw on onea those fix-it up shows where a kitchen remodel took five months. I don’t care who ya are, that’s a long time to be cookin’ food in a microwave with sawdust in it.

Had another friend who was about a year and a few months into buildin’ a new house. Not bein’ the handy type, he had contracted all the work. He ran into another friend who had been workin’ weekends and evenin’s with his dad to build a home. They got it done in a little over six months. Suppose they were just faster in finishin’ up.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

Thyroid Inflammation Can Mimic Sore Throat

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I took two full courses of antibiotics for what was supposedly a sore throat. Then I consulted another doctor. Guess what: I didn’t have a sore throat. I had thyroiditis. How and why did I get this? Does it permanently hurt the gland? — Anon.

ANSWER: To get oriented anatomically: If readers put their hands around the lower neck as though they were trying to choke themselves, they have located the thyroid gland. It’s a gland of many functions, but its chief purpose is to keep body cells and organs running at peak efficiency. Without thyroid hormone, body processes slow and eventually stop.

Thyroiditis is gland inflammation. What causes the inflammation is disputed, but it often occurs after a simple viral infection, like a common cold.

Pain in the lower neck, in the region of the gland, is a prominent symptom. Or swallowing can be painful, and that gives rises to confusion and a misdiagnosis of sore throat. Pain can also radiate to one or both ears.

Furthermore, the gland is swollen and tender to the touch. People often have a fever. Their white blood cell count rises, as does their sedimentation rate. The latter is a blood test that indicates inflammation is taking place somewhere in the body.

When all of the above information is in place, the diagnosis is relatively simple. When only some of the symptoms and signs are present, the condition can easily be mislabeled.

How and why you got it are questions that are not likely ever to be answered. It just happens.

For most people, everything quiets down on its own, with aspirin being the only medicine needed. For severe symptoms, prednisone (a cortisone drug) quickly suppresses inflammation. Rarely, if ever, does this kind of thyroiditis cause permanent gland damage.