Today's Feature

Capital Improvements Reviewed.

The Budget Ways and Means Committee met Monday evening in a regular session. Items discussed included the 5 year Capital Improvement plan for the Public Works Department.

The committee reviewed items including the proposed leaf collection system which has received grant approval in the form of a Region M Solid Waste Grant. The total project cost is estimated at $73,862. The City portion of the grant is $8,765. Committee members inquired as to which department would be in charge of operating the leaf collection system, which must be mounted in the back of a dump truck. Public Works Director Chad Wampler said that this decision had not been made conclusively. City Administrator Tom Short said that it would either be the Public Works Department or the Parks and Recreation Department. Committee member Mike Harris said that he felt it should be decided prior to the installment of the system.

Other improvements from the Public Works Committee included several street repairs in conjunction with the upcoming interchange.

The committee also looked at the Public Services Department 5 year improvement plan which included the potential construction of a skate park. Committee members spoke of the advantages of having such a facility in town and asked about funding options including national grants. The Public Services Committee has recently been looking into the feasibility of a City owned skate park after several citizen requests and the presentment of a petition in support of the idea.

Department Sets Prevailing Wage Rate.

News release

The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Division of Labor Standards filed Annual Wage Order No. 13 with the Secretary of State’s office last Friday. The Annual Wage Order contains prevailing wage rates for each occupational title in each county and the city of St. Louis. The prevailing wage is the minimum rate that must be paid to workers on public works construction projects in Missouri, such as bridges, roads, schools and government buildings.

The Division of Labor Standards is responsible for gathering wage information from public and private commercial construction projects statewide on an ongoing basis from contractors, labor organizations and public entities. The wage information is used to determine wage rates for each of the 26 different occupational titles and their subgroups for every Missouri county and the city of St. Louis. The most hours reported for a given wage rate for the occupational title in the county becomes the prevailing wage rate. In other words, the prevailing wage is chosen by the mode method.

Annual Wage Order No. 13 will be effective no sooner than April 10, 2006, following a 30-day objection period. Objections are heard before the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission and must be finalized by July 1, 2006. Annual Wage Order No. 12 should be used until No. 13 becomes final.

To view Annual Wage Order No. 13, or for additional information, please visit the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ web site at http://www.dolir.mo.gov/ls/prevailingwage/annual_wage.asp or call (573) 751-3403.

Stench Report:
Tuesday,
3/14/06

No Stench Reported

It’s amazin’ how one person bein’ a jerk can mess up a day.

Made a quick stop at the local grocery on the way home from work the other day. Back out on the parkin’ lot, happened to notice a fresh scrape on the front fender. Not a big bang, just a little impression ‘bout ten inches long. The bumper on the car sittin’ in the next stall appeared to have a little fresh paint. What a pain.

The small insult prob’ly won’t warrant the hassle of goin’ to a body shop. A little extra rubbin’ durin’ the next wax job will prob’ly make the injury unnoticeable my most passersby, but ever’ time the car gets washed, there will be the reminder of the jerk who wouldn’t at least apologize for wreckin’ my day.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• If your dog’s tags are driving you crazy with the clinking and the clacking, wrap one of them in clear packing tape and cut off the excess. Now the tags can hit each other all night without making a sound.

• "My citrus tree really makes a mess at the end of its growing season, as fruit drops off by the bushel. I used to pick up each fruit individually, which is backbreaking. Now I just rake them into a wheeled garbage can that is lying on its side, wheel the can to the edge of my property and dump the fruit to compost. It keeps the fruit flies away from my house, since the tree is pretty close to it." -- D.L. in Florida

• "If you have a pair of shoelaces you need to shorten for a child, just lace the shoe and leave enough of the lace to tie the knot, then tie a very tight knot at the point where you want to cut off the excess. Cut it off and you’re done. The knot will keep the lace from fraying and also keep it from going through the top hole, even if it comes untied." -- C.O. in Pennsylvania

• "To ease shaving bumps, try soaking your razor in alcohol for about five minutes before you shave. It will kill the bacteria on the blade, and reduces the risk of irritating the skin." -- C.J. in Nebraska

• "For less cluttered cabinets -- especially the one that houses all your plastic leftover containers -- use a basket to corral the lids from all containers. Then you can stack the others according to size, shape, etc. You get a container, and the lid is easy to find and doesn’t create an avalanche when you’re looking for it. This works for pot lids, too." -- S.L. in California