Today's Feature

Continued Fee Change Examination

The City Council Public Works Committee met Tuesday evening in a regular session. Committee members continued an ongoing discussion about restructuring the Public Works department permit fee list.

The committee took no action but did look at and discuss a draft of the proposed changes. Public Works Director Chad Wampler told the committee that one of the major changes would be the addition of a fee for plan reviews. Depending on project size the proposed fee would cost from $25 to 20% of the project cost, but not exceeding $2,500. The new list might also contain a penalty section for building without a permit. Wampler told the committee that the item is not yet ready for a Council bill. The committee agreed to consider the changes further.

The committee also looked at bids for the C.A.N. D.O. Over 60 Center project. The construction for the final phase of the project includes ceiling tile installation, light fixtures and fans. The committee approved a bid from Alumbaugh Construction in the amount of $14,750. The money for the project has been budgeted. The committee will recommend the bid to Council.

Stench Report:
Wednesday,
2/8/06

No Stench Reported

Now I’m not sayin’ it’s lost, it’s got to be within reach of some project that was completed or near completion, I just don’t know where.

Now I’ve got other screwdrivers. This one was just handy. Onea those with bits in the end that you could switch out for various sizes and styles of screw heads. It cost four or five bucks. It proved so handy that I got one ta carry in the truck. I know where that one is ‘cause I put it in the drawer where the one that is misplaced was supposed ta be.

As usual the answer to this dilemma will only be found if I purchase another identical driver. Within a day or two of the purchase I will no doubt find the missin’ driver.

But then, they’re so handy I guess I could always use three of ‘em.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Dear Tom and Ray:

I have a 1992 Nissan 240 SX coupe. It’s bruised and bettered yet soldiering on, with 177,600 miles on it. It burns about a quart of oil every 1,000 miles or so. My question; If I continually replace the lost oil and occasionally replace the filter, do I ever have to do an actual oil change? Aren’t I already doing something of a running oil change by letting the oil drain itself out a little at a time and then refilling the missing oil? The oil looks clean enough, the filter gets swapped every 4,000 miles or so, and besides, I’m running low on drainplug gaskets. Am I safe to continue "changing" the oil this way? - David

RAY: Well, normally, I’d say no. But given how little is at stake here - a ‘92 240 SX - you have my blessing, David.

TOM: The real answer is, no, David. When you replace only the oil you burn, some of the oldest oil never gets removed from the engine. It’s no like you can decide to burn only the oldest dirtiest oil every 1,000 miles. The engine burns some of everything.

RAY: So, if you have used this "method" from day one, for example, at least some small amount of oil from the day you bought the car would be in the crankcase today. As you can guess, that oil wouldn’t be lubricating your engine very well. In fact, it probably would have turned into congealed crud sometime during Clinton’s second term.

TOM: So, I know it seemed like a great timesaving revelation at the time, David, but it’s not. If you do the math, you’ll see that you’ll always be burning some of the brand new oil and always leaving some of the very old crud behind.

RAY: So buy some new drain-plug gaskets, David. Unless you think the 25 cents apiece that they cost is more than you want to put into the car that this point.

RACING
By Greg Zyla

Racing Ladies

Q: Greg, it seems to me that major-league auto racing is one of the few professional sports in which women can compete as equals against men, even though we haven’t had a NASCAR woman champ yet. Do you feel one day we’ll see a woman win the Daytona 500? -- Patti H., e-mail from Florida

A: Patti, that’s a great question, and although I don’t think it will happen anytime soon, I do feel a woman will be capable of winning the Daytona 500 in the future. The main reason I don’t see a woman winning anytime soon is that NASCAR racing is still male-dominated, with all the good teams signed on with male drivers for 2006 and years forward.

This doesn’t mean there aren’t any good females coming up in NASCAR, most notably Ray Evernham’s Erin Crocker and Childress Racing’s Sarah Fisher.

On the Indy-car ovals and road courses, Danica Patrick is atop the heap in the IRL, and should do very well in her second full season in 2006. Can she win a race? Maybe, but it won’t be easy. I predicted she would not win in 2005 after her strong Indy 500 performance, but her odds will improve this year, and every year thereafter. It all comes down to laps of racing and experience. She sure is capable.