Today's Feature
Public Works to Meet.

The Public Works Committee will meet this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

Street Commissioner Tom Shelley will discuss contract paving with the committee and Public Works Director Chad Wampler will discuss the sale of surplus property.

The agenda includes one item under old business; the discussion of the annexation policy by City Administrator Tom Short.

At the previous meeting the committee made amendments to an ordinance establishing administrative exemptions in the platting process. The ordinance was approved by Council as amended. The bill would shorten the length of time it takes to process split plats and boundary adjustments by reassigning the review process to a committee specially designated for that purpose. If an item is approved by the new committee items are then to be forwarded to the Public Works committee for approval and then brought to Council. In conjunction with this ordinance Council passed an ordinance adding a fee of $200 for plats, replats, boundary adjustments and lot splits.

State Senator Gary Nodler
News release

Already Paying Off

It is one thing to pass a law with good intentions. It is quite another to see those good intentions pay off. This past session, the state Legislature passed legislation aimed at curbing the production of methamphetamine, the prevalence of which has reached epidemic proportions in the Show-Me State. Judging from the significant decrease in meth-related incidents since the comprehensive meth bill was signed into law in July, it is clear that the legislation is working.

This month, the governor reported findings from the Missouri Highway Patrol proving our move to combat meth use and abuse was worth the efforts. The numbers reveal that this past August, there was a 55-percent reduction in meth-related incidents as compared to August of 2004. This marks important progress in our mission to cut off meth cooks’ access to the key ingredients in making the highly addictive drug. We have restricted the sale of over-the-counter dry-tablet medicines containing pseudoephedrine, which can now only be purchased from pharmacists or certified technicians, and no more than nine grams of the medicine can be bought within a 30-day period.

To purchase the pills, customers must show ID, and their name is then logged in a database, which the police can access. The Highway Patrol reports that this portion of the new law is helping to make law enforcement agencies aware of potential meth cooks.

Although there are other states in the process of mirroring Missouri’s laws, the war against meth cannot be won without a nation-wide effort. The federal government is doing its part by moving to restore funding to local law enforcement agencies to be used to fight meth. Congress is also trying to advance the Combat Meth Act, which would move cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter and limit how much one person could buy to 7.5 grams a month in every state. It is the most comprehensive anti-meth measure ever considered by Congress, and because it would be a federal law if passed, all 50 states could join forces to make our streets and neighborhoods safer.

Stench Report:
Friday,
10/3/05

No Odors

The latest edition of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary has added over a dozen new words/phrases that are defined. They say it typically takes about ten years for a new catch phrase to make it to the publication.

Some of the latest are "chick flick," "brain freeze," and "bikini wax," and about fifteen others.

I’m glad to hear there is a recognition of a brain freeze (the pain caused by eatin’ cold food too fast), and I’d say it was a long time comin’.

Some might scoff at the idea of takin’ what seems ta be slang and givin’ it the credibility of a formal definition. I’m not personally opposed. If we hadn’t defined a hipster, then who would have been hip enough to define the hippies.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here’s the Scoop on Decaf Coffee

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I wonder if you could help me with some information about decaf coffee. I asked for decaf, and a woman said: "Oh, you’re not going to drink that, are you? It’s filled with chemicals." Now I wonder how safe it is. Can you enlighten us on the process and its safety? — P.S.

ANSWER: There are three ways of removing caffeine from coffee. One entails the use of what are called organic solvents, and one of those solvents is methylene chloride. Some lab animals that inhaled methylene chloride came down with cancer. No cancer was found in animals that ingested it. In decaf made in the methylene-chloride process, the chemical residue is practically nil. No evidence of danger to humans has been associated with it. It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The methylene-chloride process is seldom used anymore. Ethyl acetate, derived from fruits, is another solvent used in decaffeinating coffee. It, too, is safe.

Another decaffeination process entails dripping the coffee along with water through a carbon filter. It carries no risk.

The third method employs carbon dioxide. No demonstrable harm is associated with this method.

You don’t have to fear drinking decaf coffee. On this I put my money where my mouth is. I drink it daily.