Today's Feature

Another Notice Filed.

Information received from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) states that another Notice of Excess Emissions has been issued to Renewable Environmental Solutions (RES). The notice was issued late last week and was prompted by complaint calls in the Industrial Bottoms area of Carthage on December 12.

The information received also offers more insight into the method used by the DNR to determine excess emissions. It states, "The department must document two exceedances within one hour, no less than 15 minutes apart using the scentometer before it is considered excess emissions." Last week the emissions were detected at 8:07 and 8:27 p.m.

The previous Notice of Excess Emissions was upgraded to an Odor Violation on Friday, December 8, resulting in a $25,000 fine. In the same manner that the previous notice was processed, RES now has 15 days to respond in writing to DNR concerning the latest notice. If the response contains acceptable causes including startup, shutdown or equipment malfunction then no further action may be taken. If the response does not meet requirements then the notice will be upgraded to an Odor Violation and another $25,000 fine will be issued.

To Continue CID Agreement Review.

The Carthage City Council Public Works Committee will meet this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. Items on the agenda include the discussion of the Peachtree Development Agreement.

This discussion is continued from the previous meeting when the committee discussed with development owner Dr. Michael Woody the agreement for the Community Improvement District (CID). Woody had requested three changes to the agreement including an alteration to the maximum expenditure. Woody said that some of the proposed expenditure figures used to calculate the numbers in the agreement were outdated. The committee asked that Woody provide new price information in order to better review the proposed changes.

Stench Report:

Monday,
12/18/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square

I’m thinkin’ it comes more from the fact that they enjoy not havin’ to answer to anyone. They may be responsible folks, but they don’t have to be responsible to any other person. If they live in a fire trap or raise pigs, only they have ta live with it.

Livin’ in a community brings the obligation for some responsibility to the health and welfare of the community. Folks tend ta locate in communities that match their level of that responsibility.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Macular Degeneration Blurs Vision Center

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What can a person do to prevent macular degeneration? Two women on my block have it, and they have had to curtail their activities drastically. They are both widows. So am I. If I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t survive. -- T.O.

ANSWER: Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of visual impairment for older people. The macula is a small, round area of the retina, the eye layer that transmits incoming images to the brain so that we can see. The macula is the place of fine, central vision -- the kind needed to drive, to read and to sew. When the macula deteriorates, it’s as if a thumb smudge blurs the center of vision.

The degeneration comes in two forms: wet and dry. Wet is the proliferation of leaky blood vessels beneath the macula. With the dry form, the kind that accounts for 85 percent to 90 percent of cases, causes are obscure, but the process is preceded by yellow deposits in the retina. Those deposits are drusen, and a doctor, looking into the eye with a handheld scope, can see them.

One prevention route is to protect the eye, the retina and the macula from the sun’s ultraviolet light by always wearing sunglasses that filter out UV rays. A second preventive step is to stop smoking.

A third way to ward off macular degeneration is to eat a diet that contains large amounts of vitamins E and C, beta carotene and zinc.