Today's Feature

Safety Committee Meeting.

The Public Safety Committee met Monday evening in a regular session. Items discussed included the request for a temporary truck route on Hazel Avenue. The committee approved the designation of Hazel as a temporary truck route and will be read before Council for final approval.

This item was forwarded to the Safety committee from the Public Works Committee. Due to projections of the future traffic impact on Fairview Ave., the Public Works Committee recommended designating Hazel Avenue the temporary truck route until the completion of the upcoming Fairview and I-71 interchange construction.

Representatives from Schrieber Foods and D&D Sexton were present at the meeting and supported the idea of using Hazel as the temporary route.

Fire Chief John Cooper spoke to the committee concerning a Fire Department Sub-Station. A portion of land North of the Precious Moments motel has been secured by the Fire Department for the possibility of a southern sub-station. The land will be returned to its original owner if it is not used by the City before 2007. The committee looked at the possibilities, also having an option to house a sub-station in the new McCune-Brooks Hospital Building.

Cooper presented the committee with a possible floor plan for a sub-station. The floor plan shows a 2,400 square foot building with enough room for two trucks and two to four Fire officials. The estimated cost of this floor plan is approximately $250,000 according to Cooper. The proposal from McCune-Brooks listed a 3,700 square foot building with bunk rooms and an extra bay. This sub-station would also house ambulances for the hospital in addition to the Fire trucks.

The committee will continue discussions on the matter, and asked Cooper to look into the details of the 2007 expiration date on the land option to be sure that if construction is started but not complete by 2007 the ownership would not revert.

The committee also discussed scheduling a special meeting on the matter where all interested parties could attend and voice opinions.

Citizen participant Melanie Grundy of Central Pet Care spoke to the committee about the possibility of changing the City’s codes on licensing pets. Grundy cited the abundance of un-spayed and un-neutered animals around the Carthage Square and proposed as a possible solution that the City could offer free licensing with the spay/neuter operations on pets. The committee agreed to look into the matter further at its next meeting.

Stench Report:
Tuesday,
3/21/06

No Stench Reported

I goes back ta one a Murphy’s observation: "Why is there always to fix somethin’ when there wasn’t time ta do it right the first time?"

I learned as a youngster to always close the gate. Nothin’ worse than tryin’ to round up a stray cow that wandered out of a gate ya left open. Ya not only waste the time, typically ya fall in a ditch and skin your shin while endin’ up in a pile a fresh manure. More problems. Then ya forget and climb in the farmers truck and have to smell your mistake all the way home ‘fore ya end up cleanin’ up the mess ya made tryin’ to solve the original problem. Don’t take many times like that ‘fore ya understand the importance of gate closin’.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

• To clean strong odors -- such as fish or onion -- try rubbing your hands with a little salt. Or, you can use a leftover lemon wedge or used coffee grounds.

• Got a run in your pantyhose? Use a cut portion to scrub stains off of delicate porcelain or countertops.

• Ever oversalted soup? Not to worry -- just cut a single potato into several large slices. Add them to the soup, and they will soak up the extra salt. Remove before serving.

• After a night of overindulgence, try this headache-rescue remedy: a cold glass of soy milk. The natural isoflavones help to repair damage to liver cells bombarded with alcohol.

• Spam is becoming more and more intrusive these days. But every time you surf the Internet and enter an e-mail address for more information or to access a Web page, you open yourself up to more spam (from the Web sites you visit, and more). Try opening a "throw-away" e-mail account for this purpose only. Go to any free Web mail provider (like Hotmail or Yahoo!) and sign up for a free e-mail account. When you have to enter your e-mail to get info online, use this free account. Then, when it gets too clogged with spam, just close the account and open another.

• Banish facial shine with a cotton ball dipped in Milk of Magnesia. Wipe off your T-zone (forehead, down the nose and on the chin), then wipe lightly with a damp paper towel or washcloth.

• The best shade of shades to wear in the early morning or at dusk? Yellow. Yellow lenses brighten low light.