Today's Feature

Examine Permit Fees.

The City Council Public Works Committee will meet Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. Items on the agenda include the discussion of permit fees.

At the previous meeting Public Works Director Chad Wampler informed the committee that the department is looking at potential modifications to existing fee structure. The changes would reflect the amount of paper work and man-hours required to complete each inspection. No action was taken at that meeting but Wampler asked the committee to examine the numbers for recommendations at the next meeting.

Other items on the agenda include the bids for continued improvement to the C.A.N. D.O. Over 60 Center.

Department Unveils TRAC.

News release

The Missouri Department of Revenue announced today that Missourians have a new way to check the status of their tax returns this year. The department’s new Interactive Voice Response system, called TRAC will give taxpayers the option of using the telephone to obtain information on the status of their tax return. Taxpayers can access TRAC by calling (573) 526-TAXX (8299).

"We are entering the busiest time of the year for the Department of Revenue and are doing all we can to help our customers," said the department director Trish Vincent. "I am happy we’ve expanded the options available to taypayers who want to track their return with a phone rather than log on to a computer. Last year Governor Blunt said our state has a ‘typewriter government in an internet age.’ Our ability to offer both online and telephone options gets us closer to his goal of making better use of technology."

TRAC joins the department’s Online Personal Tax Return inquiry system, available at www.dor.mo.gov. Both options are quick, easy ways for taxpayers to learn about the status of their tax returns - including the status of a refund check.

To use the online or telephone service, taxpayers will input the first social security on the tax return, the taxpayer’s filling status, and the expected refund or balance. Users of the phone inquiry system should expect the call to last about 3 minutes. The department has processed more than 112,000 returns thus far including more than 95,000 refunds. Last year, the department issued 1,858,535 refunds and processed 2,687,759 tax returns. Refunds totaled $752,295,803.

"We are receiving more tax returns every day, and I strongly urge Missourians to file early," said Vincent. "If you’re owed a refund, filing now can put that money back in your pocket sooner." She is confident that the department can continue mailing refund checks at a steady pace. "Governor Blunt’s common sense leadership has ended the practice of withholding your dollars to balance the state’s budget," she said.

Stench Report:
Friday,
2/3/06

No Stench Reported

Those who missed the truck would arrive at various intervals in their private vehicles.

I don’t remember ever havin’ an acutal house fire in town, mostly grass fires out in the country.

‘Course at the time I wasn’t old enough ta hitch a ride, but I’d run to the fire house and watch the trucks pull out with the lonesome red light on top slowly blinkin’ and the sirens singin’. When the truck pulled back in, folks would wander back to their regular jobs. Not real excitin’, but always a good sign.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Cost-Effective Shelving

Q: I rented a small studio near my college that has very little storage space, especially in the kitchen, which has only a couple of cabinets under the counter. My landlord gave the OK to put in cabinets, but I have no budget for that. Do you have any other ideas? -- Jack in New Hampshire

A: The best option for your wallet would be to add shelves to the kitchen. This can be done in place of cabinets, and later, should you or the landlord decide to upgrade, the shelves can easily be removed.

Home-improvement stores carry a fairly wide assortment of ready-made shelving, ranging from the most basic particle-board kits to attractive custom-designed materials. You’ll want to go with the former, which can be purchased for just a few dollars and need only basic tools to assemble and mount.

But before heading to the store, dig out the measuring tape, pencil and paper. Sketch out a rough design of how you want the shelves laid out.

Shelves consist of three basic items: standards, the vertical supports that attach directly to the wall; brackets, which fit into the standards and hold the shelves; and the shelves themselves. A bracket-standard assembly every 24 inches should support a shelf, and the shelf should never extend more than 8 inches past the last bracket.

Standards should ideally be screwed into wall studs to provide maximum support. Even placement of the standards is important, so that the brackets will line up correctly. So use a level as you set the standards. Once the standards are in place, you can snap in the brackets and set the shelves atop them.