Today's Feature

UPS Stuck in Sink Hole.

Street Commissioner Tom Shelley was called to the area just south of the railway station yesterday afternoon after a UPS truck sank it’s front wheel into a sink hole. The hole was not on City property but located on railroad land.

The opening was approximately three feet across, but according to Shelley the cavity opened up to a hole at least 20 feet deep and twenty feet across. About eight feet down there were two caverns leading off from the main body.

The UPS driver was heard saying he was looking for another pair of pants. No one was injured.

Shelley says it is the second largest sink hole he has seen in the City.

Curiosity Flares.

A passerby noticed two cartons of road flares piled in a ditch near the railroad tracks between Limestone and Vine yesterday. The Fire Department was taken to the site where eight more broken cases were found scattered on the ground near the original two.The Department recovered about ten cartons of loose, unused flares. Each carton contained seventy-two.

Trash Contract Changes Discussed.

At the City Council meeting this week the first reading was heard for the ordinance that would increase trash collection rates for Carthage citizens. The mid-contract changes have been requested by Allied Waste, the City trash collector, due in part to high diesel fuel prices and to compensate for high trash output.

Council member Tom Flanigan outlined the proposed changes, which include the elimination of the City-wide cleanup in exchange for the collection of one bulky item per week, the elimination of yard waste collection, the removal of the "single" rate and "family rate" in exchange for a "senior" rate at $6.50 and a rate for everyone else costing $8.00. Other changes include the consolidation of 5 available commercial handpick rates to one, and a commercial increase of 14 percent.

Flanigan mentioned that the Public Works Committee had reviewed these changes many times, and had agreed that the changes are necessary.

"We may not enthusiastically support this increase, but we have to go along with it," said Flanigan.

Council member Larry Ross asked for a clarification on the types of yard waste that would not be accepted. Public Works Director Chad Wampler said that bags of grass clippings and leaves were the primary items that would not be accepted. Wampler added that the Carthage Recycling and Compost Center will accept these types of waste free of charge. Ross noted that there is a charge to take fallen tree branches to the landfill.

Council member Claude Newport asked about how the registration of senior citizens would be conducted. Flanigan said that the details would still need to be worked out with Carthage Water and Electric company, through whom the trash collection is billed.

Council member Diane Sharits asked if there was any way to double-check the billing process to make sure that houses are being billed appropriately for the number of families using the trash service. Wampler responded that Allied Waste had agreed to do an audit with a representative from Carthage Water and Electric to check the billing status against the quantity of trash per house.

The second reading of the ordinance will be heard at the next Council meeting. If approved, the billing software will need to be changed to reflect the increases prior to November 1.

Stench Report:

Wednesday,
10/11/06

No Stench detected on the
Carthage Square

I was just catchin’ on to the elaborate signal system that my dad seemed to know. ‘Course it took me several years of drinkin’ "baby root beers" ‘fore I understood how those gals always knew when we were ready ta leave. (Dad never used the light on the menu board, he always turned on the parkin’ lights.)

I suppose the same signal was used when they showed up with a rag or extra napkins when a giggle over a belch caused a spilled drink. ‘Course, in a real emergency the horn could always be relied upon. But only if wa wanted the manager.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Dear Tom and Ray:

When I take my car in for service and the mechanic hands me a "doggie bag" on my way out - a sack that contains the used/faulty parts that have just been replaced (air filter, spark plugs, etc.) - what am I supposed to do with them? Should I examine them, and if so, what should I be looking for? Should I just throw them out, and are there any recycling or environmental concerns I should be aware of? Should I save them in case the new part fails and I need a quick fix? - Vicky

RAY: What a great idea. I’m going to start handing out doggie bags of old parts. I’ll save hundreds on my disposal fees!

TOM: Most mechanics will provide the "replaced" parts to customers upon request. In fact, they have to, by law, in some states. But few customers ever ask for them. Why? Because, like you, Vicky, they’d have no idea what to do with them!

RAY: It sounds like your mechanic is trying to demonstrate his honesty: By giving back the used parts with each repair, he’s deflecting any possible suggestion that he didn’t actually do the work you paid him to do.

TOM: But you’re under absolutely no obligation to accept the doggie bag. You can simply decline, like you might decline a cashier’s attempt to give you a paper receipt for a 50-cent pack of gum. You can just say, "Thanks; you can keep those."

RAY: Then he’ll simply toss them in the garbage. Or parcel them out in the next few customers’ doggie bags.

RACING
By Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive

High G-Forces Slam Funny Car Drivers

Q: Greg, how many G-forces do nitro Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster drivers have to endure during the takeoff? -- Kenneth P., Washington

A: Kenneth, we spoke recently with Tommy Johnson Jr., driver of Don Prudhomme’s Skoal Chevy Monte Carlo SS nitro Funny Car, at Maple Grove’s Toyo Tires Nationals near Reading, Pa. Since it rained all weekend and Tommy had some time to visit, he explained that his 7,000 horsepower Skoal Chevy Funny Car is capable of accelerating from zero to 330 mph in 4.6 seconds, and that the launch subjects his body to G-forces five times the norm.

However, Johnson Jr. stressed that slowing down from 330 mph with the aid of parachutes subjects the driver to an equally strong if not greater "negative five" G-force. He said it takes less than two seconds to cover the second half of a quarter-mile, 1320-foot run. As G-forces slowly back down after the first 1/8th mile’s huge 5 g "push" into the seat on initial acceleration, the driver is hit with a second, but negative, 5-Gs when the two massive chutes deploy. Tommy said the jolt slams the driver forward into his seat belts and safety apparatus in a now completely reversed lunge forward instead of back!

Johnson has won two NHRA PowerAde National events this year for his Skoal sponsored, Don "Snake" Prudhomme-owned team, and is the husband of Top Fuel world champion contender Melanie Troxel.