Today's Feature

Improvements to Record Keeping.

The Budget/Ways and Means Committee met on Monday evening and discussed capital improvement requests and a grant application for upgrades to the City Hall offices.

One capital improvement was an upgrade for the records retention vault in the basement of City Hall including shelving for storing records, a microfilm reader/printer capable of reading 16mm and 35mm microfilm and the microfilming of records from 1993 to present. This upgrade is to keep the City records compatible with newer 35mm microfilm readers and to upgrade older 16mm records.

The Ultreya computer report for the City with a corresponding capital improvement request was also discussed. The Committee agreed to pay the remaining $4,000 to Ultreya for the completion of the report. The report included a sequence of implementation for updating the City’s software beginning with the City Clerk’s office. Depending on the availability of funding the Committee intends to begin by updating the software and hardware for the Clerk’s office including the payroll and accounts payable programs.

I’m always amazed ta know that what was considered just practical when I was a kid is now stylish.

We always put the heavy deep tread tires on our bikes. Not for better traction or ta be cool, but because they didn’t get flats as often from stickers. Stickers in our neighborhood were what some call goatheads. I didn’t care much at the time what they were called, they hurt if ya stepped on ‘em barefoot and would puncture one a those thin, "English" type tires in a heartbeat. We rode bikes ever’where. I suppose we were the trailblazers of the day.

I also see they have the traditional white wall tires on some "middle aged" models. Equipped with the larger, softer seat, I’m gettin’ interested in bikin’ again.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• "When you need to quickly clean the microwave and there is stuck-on food, thoroughly saturate a washcloth or dishrag with water and microwave it for about a minute. Leave it in the microwave for another minute and then use it to wipe away the food. It comes off like magic! (Always check the cloth to make sure it is not too hot to handle first.)" — N.C., via e-mail

• "Here’s a great discovery our family made after the recent snowstorms. It’s fun to paint on snow. Use wide paintbrushes and watercolors. Mist the snow with a water bottle to create a semi-hard surface, then paint away. We used sticks and leaves to create a border and took photos of our ‘creations.’ This way we have a memory of it after it melts away." — R.O. in Ohio

• "If I am going to fry up burger patties for hamburger night, I always do about a dozen extra. They freeze well and make an easy, quick supper on nights I don’t feel like cooking." — F.F. in Missouri

• "When I stored my summer clothes for the winter I also put away my summer shoes. I put the sandals in plastic newspaper bags with a fabric softener sheet. It keeps them nice and fresh all winter, and the fabric softener doesn’t get on any of the clothes that it might stain." — M.I. in Washington

• "I get a lot of magazines and always felt bad about getting rid of them. Now I take them to my local nursing-home facility. The residents appreciate them, and I have found that I enjoy the visit when I drop them off." — P.C. in Oklahoma

• Too many dishes and cups and not enough cabinet space? Try rotating your serving pieces as you would a wardrobe. Use different patterns for different seasons.