Today's Feature

Reports From Public Works.

The Public Works Committee met Tuesday afternoon in Council Chambers with no new or old business on the agenda.

Street Commissioner Tom Shelley reported that the City landfill had cut up and bundled a multitude of trees and limbs that had been blown or cut down, resulting in a large amount of firewood that the landfill is selling for $25 a rick. The wood used amounted to approximately fifty ricks when chopped.

Public Works Director Chad Wampler gave the monthly building permit report for the month of January which showed the total permit fees and miscellaneous fees for January at $1,944.00. The total construction costs for the month were $788,080.17 with a total of 33 permits issued.

Wampler further reported that the date for the City-wide cleanup had been set for April 23rd, which is coordinated to follow the week of the City-wide rummage sale on April 16th. Wampler said that this year the landfill will not accept tires or appliances so the recycling center has made arrangements to accept those items for free from April 16 to April 30.

‘Course he was onea the first to have the big satellite dish when they were introduced a few years back.

I see the editor of the evenin’ paper is upset with the local stations and cable company for actin’ childish in their negotiations. He suggested just turnin’ off the tv may be the answer. Always an option even when their isn’t a squabble.

Maybe folks will start relyin’ more on the print for their local news. I’m thinkin’ all print media should be free like broadcast tv. It’s hard ta stuff paper in a cable line.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Dear Tom and Ray:

My college roommate, Kathryn, and I are avid fans of your column and radio show, and now I have a question. I have always been interested in purchasing a pre 1998 VW Beetle convertible. Is this a dumb idea, or do you think I can find a reliable old Beetle that I can love and take care of? I was wondering if you could give me a few pointers on what I should look for in an older Beetle and what to avoid. Thanks! - Charli

RAY: What should avoid? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is a pre-1998 Beetle, Charli.

TOM: Yeah, I hate to burst your bubble here, but the old Beetle was a dangerous little heap. Even on the day it rolled off the assembly line, it had lousy brakes, lousy handling and barely any crash protection. So, an older Beetle is not a car I’d want my college-age daughter driving around in, Charli.

RAY: We should explain to everyone else that in the case of the Beetle, pre 1998 equals 1977 or older. The original Beetle was sold in the United states from 1949 (two were sold that year) until 1977.

TOM: Then in 1998, in a fit of nostalgia, VW introduced the New Beetle, which looks like the old Beetle but is really a modern VW Golf with a cuter, rounder body. It has front-wheel drive, air bags, disc brakes, reinforced doors, a ventilation system, etc., etc. If you’re going to get a Beetle, I’d strongly suggest that you get a New Beetle.

RAY: I know it’s not a cool, or as historic, Charli. But you’re too young to have your obituary read "Crushed by a Daewoo."

TOM: If you can look for a 1998-2000 model, you can certainly find one for less than 10 grand. And if you don’t quite have that much, isn’t that what student loans - and parents - are for?

Racing
With Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive

Champ Car’s Loss Is Busch Series’ Gain

Q: It looks like the Champ Car series got more bad news now that Michel Jourdain Jr. is leaving to join NASCAR’s Busch series. What’s the inside news on this move? — Paul P., Pennsylvania

A: There’s nothing really "inside" here, Paul. Simply put, Michel Jourdain Jr., 28, through help from Ford Motorsports, decided to leave Champ Car (formerly CART) and sign on to run the entire Busch series in 2005. Jourdain will drive a Ford Taurus for PPC Racing and will become the first Hispanic to compete for a full season in a top NASCAR division. Jourdain finished 12th in the points last year on the Champ Car circuit.

Ford’s race director, Dan Davis, receives much of the credit for putting this deal together. Jourdain’s career stats include 152 Champ Car/CART starts, two wins and 25 top-10s. His best championship point finish was third in 2003 when he raced for Bobby Rahal and David Letterman.

He will run a series of Busch "rookie" tests at Daytona prior to his trying to qualify for the season-opening event during Daytona’s Speedweeks in February.

Jourdain joins new teammates John Andretti, who drives for PPC in the Nextel Cup series, Kenny Wallace in the Busch Series and Terry Cook in the Craftsman Truck division. We expect him to do well after a learning curve.