Today's Feature
Public Works Meeting.

The City Council Public Works Committee met Tuesday evening in a regular session. The committee approved an administrative lot split request for 945 E. Fairview. The item will be brought to City Council for final approval. According to Public Works Director Chad Wampler the two lots when split will equal one 7,600 square foot lot and one 7,800 square foot lot. Both lots will be above the square footage required by the City.

City Administrator Tom Short updated the committee on the status of a City-sponsored low interest loan program. The program is for the purpose of issuing home repair loans to citizens meeting income requirements. Loans are to be issued through UMB and the City’s role in the program would be to buy down interest rates. The maximum income for eligibility for a loan is tentatively set at approximately $37,000. The City has set aside $5,000 for this project. The minimum loan would be for $2,500 and the maximum loan would be $15,000.

Short, Wampler and representatives from UMB are in the process of finalizing the details of how the program would work.

Stench Report:
Wednesday,
11/16/05

No Stench Reported

I think it should be a safety consideration. I will run for long periods of time with the low beams to keep from constantly havin’ to reach up and flip the brights back on then off again in moderate traffic. I’ve gotta think I’m not the only one.

Of course a driver has to release the grip of the wheel to reach the switch also. That goes against the "both hands on the wheel" rule we all learned in driver’s ed.

If the floor switch is completely out of the question, then put a little thumb switch on the wheel. It’s such a simple request. I’m sure Detroit is listening.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Dear Tom and Ray:

I was trying to get into my dad’s car, which was locked, and I didn’t have the key. My brother told me to pick the lock. So I put a piece of wood in the lock, and broke it off. And now we can’t use the key in the lock. My dad says I have to pay for someone to fix it unless I can find a way to get it out. Do you have any suggestions? I am 13 and don’t have a job, so I really need your help. - Spencer.

TOM: Oh, Spencer. I hope that at the very least, you’ve learned one of life’s most important lessons; never listen to your younger brother about anything!

RAY: My brother’s just still miffed about the time I convinced him that he could get rid of his zits by painting them with a laundry marker.

TOM: I’m not sure I really have any good ideas for you, Spencer. I assume you’ve tried to fit a pair of tweezers in there.

RAY: Well, the solution is obvious to me: fire. Wood burns, right? You need to stick a lit match in the keyhole. It’ll burn up, turn to ash, and the problem will be solved.

TOM: Don’t listen to my brother, Spencer! He’s a younger brother, remember?

RAY: All right, here’s another idea. Get a long pin. Using needle-nose pliers, bend the tip of it 90 degrees. Then try to stick the end of the pin into the wood and fish it out.

TOM: Well, you can try it, Spencer, but I suspect, in the end, you’re going to have to call a locksmith. It’ll cost you $50, which you’ll have to work off by mowing lawns.

RAY: Or just break into your father’s wall safe and take the money. You can break in using a piece of wood, you know.

TOM: Spencer, go out and earn the money and get the lock fixed. And consider it a small price to pay for an important lesson about brotherly advice.

RACING
by Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive

Are short tracks across America becoming an "endangered species"?

Q: Greg, with the huge popularity of NASCAR Nextel Cup racing, and more and more televised races on Saturday night, do you think our nation’s short tracks are suffering? How does the future look for short-track racing in America? —Arlene, e-mail from Pennsylvania.

A: Arlene, I do feel that as major-league racing evolves, short-track racing will be hurt in some way, but there’s more to the story than just blaming NASCAR. I think short tracks are more endangered by business and housing expansion and less by NASCAR.

Here where I live in Pennsylvania, the Big Diamond track in Minersville recently announced that it would race no more, citing lack of fan support, high gas prices and an inability to attract new fans consistently. Big Diamond ran on Friday nights, when Nextel Cup racing was not on TV. So, you’ll have some of these stories, too.

In the future, I see more and more multipurpose facilities where short-track, drag and super-speedway fans have a place to see racing. There are many out there right now, so I guess we have to chalk all this up to progress. Sometimes, progress comes with a lousy taste to it.