Today's Feature

4/1 Distribution Day.

News release

The Carthage Crisis Center and area church youth groups will be sponsoring the 4/1 Distribution Day on April 1st at the First Nazarene Church at the corner of Fairview and Grand Avenue in Carthage, Missouri from 8 a.m. -2 p.m.

Good quality furniture and appliances will be distributed to needy families and individuals on that day. Items such as couches, desks, chairs, hideabeds, mattresses and box springs, dressers, washers, dryers, etc. will be available. The quality of the items is not guaranteed and no returns will be accepted. All interested individuals should come prepared to transport the items they have selected in their auto, truck, or trailer.

The Director of the Carthage Crisis Center Brian P. Bisbee has seen the need first hand. According to Bisbee, "Every week we get calls asking for furniture and appliances at the Carthage Crisis Center. There are some families out there who are lacking the basic essentials, and we felt that we needed to help in a greater way."

The Carthage Crisis Center has given out over 1,000 units of furniture and appliances over the last year. In a truck borrowed from Steve Beimdiek of Beimdiek Insurance Agency, Bisbee is often out on Saturdays with a work crew of three or four Crisis Center residents picking up furniture that has been donated. The furniture is then taken to a storage area in one of four Carthage churches and set aside for a needy family. Bisbee related, "We have had the opportunity to help Katrina and Rita hurricane families, area families, and our residents who are getting places of their own. In each case the furniture and appliances have made a significant difference in somebody’s life."

Late last year Bisbee shared with several youth pastors of local churches that there was a continuing need on the part of needy families for good quality furniture and appliances. From these discussions came the commitment on the part of the youth pastors and their youth groups to team up with the Crisis Center staff and residents in this endeavor. Bisbee said, "In a practical way we want to show needy families that God loves them and cares about their needs. We also want to have a good time working and serving together.

Good quality furniture and appliances are still being accepted. (No junk items, clothing or household items will be accepted.) Items may be dropped off at the First Church of the Nazarene on the 31st of March between 4 and 8 p.m. Pickup of items can be arranged by calling Brian or Marilyn Bisbee at the Carthage Crisis Center at 417-358-3533.

Stench Report:
Monday,
3/27/06

No Smells

I’d be guessin’, but the concept of the shirt button hasn’t see much improvement over the last couple a hundered years. Zippers have made some inroads to the garment fastenin’ business, but buttons still poke through a hole and seem ta be the choice for most consumers. Cheap and functional I suppose, but definitely low tech.

The down side is the amount of time wasted ever’day pushin’ buttons through those little reinforced holes in our clothes. Velcro has made some headway in replacin’ shoe laces, maybe buttons are the next market. ‘Course keepin’ your shoes on with a piece of string seems pretty crude too.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Atrial Fibrillation Can Lead to Stroke

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am 83 and have longevity on both sides of my family. Recently I had atrial fibrillation. I keep being advised to go on Coumadin. I am doing much research on it, and everything I find makes me decide against it and stick with one aspirin a day. Please advise your opinion of Coumadin. A 92-year-old cousin had it prescribed, took it in the evening and bled to death the next morning. Taking it would stress me out. I would worry about bleeding all the time. -- W.L.

ANSWER: Where are you doing the research? It’s not giving you the right answer. In atrial fibrillation, the atria, the upper heart chambers, are not contracting; they’re squirming -- fibrillating. Blood pools in fibrillating atria. Pooled blood forms clots. Pieces of those clots can break loose and be carried in the circulation to brain arteries. They block blood flow in brain arteries, and that’s a stroke. You don’t want to have a stroke.

Coumadin prevents clots from forming -- that’s its "blood-thinning" action. It truly lessens the risk of stroke. Aspirin is not as effective as Coumadin in preventing clots and strokes in people with atrial fibrillation.

Coumadin can cause serious bleeding. However, people on the medicine have their blood checked frequently to make sure they are not getting too much or too little medicine.

Your cousin’s story doesn’t ring true. It takes days for Coumadin’s blood-thinning effects to take hold.