Today's Feature

Safety Committee Meets Today.

The City Council Public Safety Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Carthage Fire Department. Items on the agenda include the discussion of proposed changes to the animal licensing fee.

This item is brought by committee member Bill Welch. Welch is proposing a two-tier licensing plan which would increase the cost of licenses for non-neutered and non-spayed cats and dogs to $5.00. In the proposal neutered and spayed animals would receive licenses for free. A similar two-tier fee structure is used in Joplin.

This item was presented originally to the Safety committee during last month’s meeting and was referred to the Budget/Ways and Means committee. Safety committee chair Mike Harris said he felt that any proposal that could have a potential impact on the City Budget should be heard by that committee first.

On Monday of last week the Budget Committee reviewed the proposal and deemed it to be revenue neutral for the City. The committee approved the proposal in a 3 to 1 vote, committee member Ronnie Wells dissenting. The item will now return to the Public Safety committee for further discussion.

Welch has said that the proposal is an attempt to reduce the number of stray and neglected cats and dogs in the City by acting as an incentive for pet owners to get their pets neutered or spayed.

Collecting Holiday Event Information.

News release

The Carthage Chamber of Commerce, Carthage Convention and Visitors Bureau and several local retailers have joined forces to help promote the holiday season in Carthage. ‘Carthage’s Grand Old Christmas’ is a special holiday promotional campaign that is scheduled to begin this November.

"The purpose of Carthage’s Grand Old Christmas is to generate excitement and interest in what Carthage has to offer during the holidays," said Aimee Smith, CVB Director. "Ultimately the goal is to promote our local holiday events along with our various attractions and retail outlets well enough to draw not only visitors from nearby areas, but from larger markets like Kansas City and Tulsa."

The event’s planning committee, which consists of community members, business leaders and current holiday event planners, have worked to develop a multi-year plan.

"When the planning committee first met to discuss the possibility of enhancing the holidays in Carthage," said Karen Perkins, Committee Member and Office Manager of Barrister Title. "We each had some really good ideas. It didn’t take long to realize that what we were lacking was enough time and energy to accomplish them all. So, we developed a multi-year plan with specific goals for the next few years. The plan’s structure shows not only our individual investment to this project, but also our collective commitment to its success."

Carthage’s Grand Old Christmas will kick off this holiday season, but only through the support of the local community organizations and businesses.

"We’re asking for area attractions, community organizations and businesses who host holiday events to send us that information." said Debra Smith, Director of Member Services of the Carthage Chamber of Commerce. "We want all holiday-oriented activities to be part of this promotional package, but we first need to create a detailed calendar of what celebrations and activities are already planned for Carthage."

The committee will write grants to fund promotions for the Carthage’s Grand Old Christmas campaign which will include a promotional brochure, possible inserts in local newspaper and magazines, and advertising in regional media outlets. The dates for the promotional campaign stretch from November 1 through December 31.

To submit holiday events or seasonal activities for Carthage’s Grand Old Christmas promotional campaign, send the event, date, time, location, sponsor and any additional details (logos, photos, etc.) to:

"Christmas Committee"

402 South Garrison Avenue

Carthage, Missouri 64836

Submitted items are subject to approval by the planning committee.

For more information about Carthage’s Grand Old Christmas or to learn how you can volunteer to help, please contact the Carthage Convention and Visitors Bureau, 359-8181.

Stench Report:
Friday,
8/18/06

No Stench Reported on Carthage Square.

I suppose I’ll get back into my "winter" routine soon. By spring I’ll likely be avoidin’ the congestion around the schools altogether. I’ve never clipped a kid steppin’ out from behind a parked car, but I’ve seen the time where I could’ve if I wasn’t payin’ attention. Makes me a little nervous to the point that I pretty much try to avoid bein’ in that situation.

Even at 15 mph a car can do some real damage. Be safe out there.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Marble Landscape Chips Stained by Mildew

Q: We have a 2-foot border of marble chips around our house. On the backside of the house, the marble chips have become tarnished to a dark brown by mold and mildew. Tilex seems to kill the mold/mildew, but doesn’t return the color. Obviously, I can’t clean each individual stone by hand. Are there any products or methods available to kill the mold/mildew and return the marble chips to their original white luster? Thanks. -- Bob G. in West Virginia

A: You could have a tough job ahead, because you just might have to clean each stone by hand. However, before we go to that extreme, let’s try a couple of other tricks first.

A bathroom tile cleaner may not be the best thing for cleaning marble. As you mentioned, the cleaner killed the mold and mildew but didn’t get rid of the tarnish. The next step is to test a few different cleaners on one or two of the marble chips to see what the results are.

Put away the name-brand cleaner (which may contribute to the staining problem rather than solve it) and pick up some plain old Borax, a stain fighter and fungicide (and a heckuva pest-control solution, but that’s for another column). Mix the powder with water at the ratio recommended on the package and sponge it onto one of the stained marble chips. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, then rinse the stone. Do the same with a half-and-half solution of vinegar and water, and then a one-third to two-thirds solution of bleach and water. Let the chips dry and note the results.

If you find a good solution, apply it either by hand with a thick sponge (wear rubber gloves to protect your skin) and rinse with a garden hose, or look into renting a pressure washer and spraying on the solution at low pressure and then rinsing it off at a higher pressure to speed up the job.

Professional marble cleaners are also available at home-improvement and flooring stores. These will cost more than the household solutions and may only be applicable by hand, but if nothing else works, these may do the trick -- remove the mildew and restore the color.

HOME TIP: Spray exterior masonry facing at least twice a year with the garden hose to prevent mold and mildew from taking hold.