Today's Feature

Wayfinding Signage Program.

The Carthage Public Works Committee marked their approval and support of a proposed City-wide wayfinding signage program as presented by Carthage Convention and Visitor Bureau Executive Director Theresa Gilliam at the Public Works Committee at the meeting Tuesday.

Gilliam told the committee that the Convention and Visitor Bureau has been researching wayfinding signage systems which are used in several surrounding cities to direct tourists to tourist sites. Gilliam said that according to her studies, tourist direction is a weakness in Carthage and these signs would not only be useful in resolving this, but would give Carthage a comprehensive system and unified appearance.

Gilliam recommended a three-component plan which would consist of pedestrian kiosks with community maps, vehicular directional signs to be systematically placed in various right-of-ways providing directions to historic locations and other points of interest, and site specific signs to mark arrival at these places. The implementation of these components could take a number of years, according to Gilliam and local funding could be sought for the project.

"It is a need in this community," said Gilliam.

The committee was in favor of the idea, pending funding solutions and further research by the Budget/Ways and Means Committee and City Council.

Committee Chair Bill Johnson said that Public Works could assist the project by providing a recommendation of the plan.

"We should support the concept," said Johnson.

Public Works Director Chad Wampler with Gilliam have been in correspondence with the Missouri Department of Transportation researching the regulations for the placement of signs. Gilliam has also made contact with the Chamber of Commerce in Independence, MO which has successfully implemented a similar system.

Well, I got the topper the other day. The call came in with a different twist. They were sellin’ a service that was supposed ta put an end to harassin’ phone calls.

Now I suppose the best way for someone ta find out who gets upset with irritatin’ calls is ta call and irritate someone. The person on the other end of the line seemed real upset that there wasn’t any interest in the service at this location.

We have, over the years, tried to come up with polite ways to get these callers off our line. But recently, the most effective response was initiated. Ya hang up. It ain’t too polite, but they seem ta get the message.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin.

Dear Tom and Ray:

My new Honda Civic did something different today. After a 10-mile drive, I parked the car in my garage, and noticed smelly smoke coming from the rear, passenger-side tire. When I felt the tire, it was not hot, but the wheel WAS very hot, and the smoke seemed to be coming from the holes in the wheel. I felt the other tires, and the other rear wheel was hot too. What could be the problem? Is it dangerous to drive now? - Dolat

P.S. Please hurry with an answer; I need to go shopping!

RAY: Dolat, I apologize for the delay in responding. I hope you’ve at least ordered takeout while you’ve been stranded in your house waiting for our answer these past 7 years.

TOM: Actually, we’re going to recommend that you take the car back to the dealer and have your brakes checked.

RAY: My guess is that you drove with your parking brake partially applied, or might have released it only partway.

TOM: The parking brake applies the rear brakes on this car. And if you drive 10 miles with the brakes partially applied, you’ll certainly heat up the brakes enough to make smoke. The danger is that if you heat them even more you could boil your brake fluid.

RAY: Another possibility is that you DID release the parking brake, but either the cable of the caliper remained stuck in the "on" position. This seems unlikely, since it’s a new car. But you never know.

TOM: A third possibility is that it was just the rust preventative that they apply to new cars. They spray this stuff on the drums, and it quickly wears off - or burns off.

RAY: So first, make sure the parking brake is off before you drive, then ask the dealer to take a look at the parking brake and rear brake. And then, shop ‘til you drop, kiddo.

RACING
By Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive

NASCAR Fed Up With Cheating

Q: Do you feel the drivers who are found cheating by NASCAR should lose the points they are now being penalized? It’s been 25 points recently, but I think the crew chief is responsible, not the driver. — Clare P., Conshohocken, Pa.

A: I disagree, Clare, for one major reason. The cars on the track are the product of a race team, including the driver. As for those 25-point fines, NASCAR is letting everyone know subliminally that in the future, teams caught cheating (especially repeat offenders) might have all race points, the win and all the money that goes with it stripped from both the owner and the driver.

This comes on the heels of many team members saying it’s worth it to win a race and be fined 25 points and maybe $50,000. That’s all going to change, and the teams that cheat will be severely penalized.

Senior News
By Matilda Charles
Sponsored by Generations

Treating Depression the Old-Fashioned Way

As we’ve discussed many times, depression is becoming far too common in our older population. More drugs are being prescribed to deal with the problem. However, some neurologists say chemicals are not the answer, and that putting a mechanical mood lifter into the brain may be the way to go.

Meanwhile, there is another call for applying some good old-fashioned loving attention to our older folks — whether they’re depressed or not — and reminding them that we love them and need them, and want them to remain connected to us.

I recently went to a meeting of some dozen or so people in their 70s and older, all of whom had experienced depression on various levels over the years. All also found, to their surprise, that the frequency of attacks didn’t necessarily grow during periods when they were most involved in crises concerning their finances, family matters or their health.

Two factors stood out: First, those crisis periods forced them to act. When they went beyond simply feeling anxious about the problems to actually doing something about them, they were mobilizing their mental energies toward finding a solution.

Another factor was the presence of other people. For various reasons — friends die and children move away, for example — older folks feel more alone and cut off from the outside world. This can often trigger long-lasting periods of depression. But having to deal with their problems meant having to deal with other people. There a lesson here that we might learn about elder depression? Can it be avoided by something so wonderfully simple as making sure older folks remain linked to the rest of the world by showing them we love them and need them?