Today's Feature

Capital Improvement Requests.

The Budget/Ways and Means Committee discussed the five year capital improvement requests for the 2005/2006 fiscal year at their meeting on Monday evening. A representative from each City department was present and spoke with the committee concerning the priority of equipment upgrades and replacements for the next five years.

The committee made a point of asking each representative about computer hardware and software upgrades for the purpose of making the departments compliant for integration with the upcoming overhaul of the City computer and network system.

Police Chief Dennis Veach reported that the Police Department had found a deal on Dell computers for approximately $300 each and showed in his capital improvement documents a plan to purchase 10 per year for two years in order to have the majority of the department workstations replaced. Veach added that the software upgrades listed in the request would be compatible for communication with other City departments.

Chief Veach listed several items for replacement, including in car video systems, vests and light bars for the cars.

With all the talk about pollutants out in the air and the water, ya don’t hear much about anything pure anymore. I’m thinkin’ bout the only thing left is pure luck. ‘Course we’ve all heard that it’s usually better to be lucky than good. And pure luck is that kind of lucky. Nothin’ you do or know has anything to do with the outcome.

As you might remember I collided with a deer a few weeks back. We all tend to remember when we were on the wrong side of luck. What we don’t know for sure is how many times we were on the good side.

Drivin’ last weekend at night I noticed a deer standin’ bout ten feet off the highway ‘bout a hunderd feet in front of us. For some reason he just stood there as we passed by. Not only my pure luck, but also for the three cars followin’ close behind me. Score 1 to 1.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

These beautiful words of encouragement were sent to me by a Cherokee friend of mine entitled: THE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN

*For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

*For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

*For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

*For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once daily.

*For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.

*People, even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anybody.

*Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

*As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, and one for helping others.

*The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

*The beauty of a woman must be seen from her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart. The place where love resides.

*The beauty of a woman is not in a facial feature, but true beauty is reflected in her soul.

*It is the caring that she lovingly gives and the passion that she shows.

*The beauty of a woman with passing years-only grows.

artCentral

Visual delights offered at art shows, opening Sunday, 2-4pm

The paintings and photographs are hung and all is ready for the opening reception on Sunday, 2-4pm, for Dan McWilliams exhibit "A Different Kind of Eye", and Koral Martin’s show "Vivaldi’s Song."

Dan, a Jasper resident, is a brave soul who left a successful 20-year career in illustration to pursue his passion for painting. The work in the Main Gallery shows what Dan’s been up to during the past three years, as he explores a wide range of subject matter while developing his own color palette and style. From edgy street scenes to waterlilies standing in a shimmering pond, Dan’s images are visually exciting, rendered with raw energy and rich color.

While most of us look at flowers, Koral Martin offers a close-up experience of flowers through her digital photography work. A gardener and photographer, Koral lives in Carthage, just around the corner from artCentral. Her 14 photographs on display in the upstairs Members Gallery capture the essence of Nature’s colors, shapes, and textures in all seasons.

If you can’t join us on Sunday to see the show and meet the artists, then come by for a sneak preview on Friday or Saturday, noon-5pm, or sometime before April 22, when both exhibits end.

Also: "The Colorful Color Pencil" I am teaching on Saturday mornings in April still has spaces available. Horse lovers can sign up for Peggy Dyke’s one-day painting workshop on April 23. And summer ArtCamp for Kids is in the planning! Call 358-4404.