Today's Feature

Lipsync Competition Entries Wanted.

News release

The Carthage Chamber of Commerce, along with event sponsor Grundy’s Body and Frame Shop, will host the fifth annual Maple Leaf Three Minutes of Fame LipSync Competition on Thursday, October 19 at the Carthage High School Auditorium beginning at 7:00 p.m.

"The event is guaranteed to be a lot of fun, for both those competing and in the audience," said Beth Foust, Planning Committee Member. "Everyone is encouraged to form a team and create an entertaining routine; local businesses, civic and social organizations, even groups of friends or family members! Since it’s lip-sync only, even those musically challenged can participate!"

The competition is free and open to the public. All contestants must provide a copy of their selected lip-sync song, either on cassette or CD, cued and ready the night of the event. Competition entry forms are available at the Chamber office and Grundy’s Body & Frame Shop must be turned in by Monday, October 16. All song entries are subject to approval by the committee. Prizes will be awarded to first, second and third place in both adult and youth division.

Local singer Duke Mason will emcee the event. For more information or an entry form for the Three Minutes of Fame event, contact the Chamber office at 358-2373.

Mastering American History Grant.

News release

The Carthage R-9 School District is pleased to announce the receipt of a $995,429 Teaching American History grant that has been awarded by the United States Department of Education. The project, Mastering American History, will be implemented in partnership with Missouri Southern State University, University of Missouri - Saint Louis, the Historical Society of the State of Missouri, the Power’s Museum, and the Southwest Center for Educational Excellence.

Mastering American History is a three-year program to provide Masters degrees in American History free of cost to a cohort of 24 teachers from low-income and under-performing schools across the state. The project will promote National History Day with a series of statewide workshops, and sponsor a lecture series open to teachers and the public. Innovative lessons created by participating teachers will be made available to all Missouri teachers via the Missouri Department of Education’s SuccessLink website. Mastering American History will provide a model for a future joint graduate program in history between Missouri Southern State University and University of Missouri - Saint Louis, a degree program that will use distance learning to bring graduate history education to a new audience of students. Additionally, the grant provides the acquisition of materials for the libraries of partner institutions.

Stench Report:

Friday,
9/22/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square

The hitcher threw up his arms in disgust as I passed him by. I felt a little less guilty by seein’ him vent his frustration. Wasn’t the kind a person I wanted ridin’ anyway, I told myself.

There was a time when I’d hardly ever pass the opportunity to give someone a lift out on the road. Times are different, now. Whether justified or not, feelin’s of caution are always in the air.

I hope the guy got where he was goin’, but I doubt I’ll be givin’ in to the temptation to pick up any hikers anytime soon.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Interior Painting

Q: We’re helping a friend paint several rooms in the house he’s restoring, and we’re having an argument. Which should we paint first -- the walls or the trim? And, can you offer tips to make the work go faster? -- Joseph L., Eastport, Maine

A: The first answer is easy: Paint the walls first, and the trim last. Trim takes much more time to paint because of the level of detail involved, especially in older buildings, which still feature lots of molding.

The only way to make painting go faster, unfortunately, is to spend plenty of time prepping the rooms. This includes scraping away old paint, sanding bare wood, patching drywall and other damage, and replacing rotted wood and deteriorated fixtures.

First, scrape away old paint. If the paint is more than 30 years old, it may contain lead -- wear a respirator (not a filter mask) while scraping and cleaning up. Old enamel paint is difficult and time-consuming to scrape away, so budget plenty of time to this task.

Use spackling compound to cover nail holes and small dents or dings in drywall. Wood putty will fill gouges and small cracks in wood trim and fixtures.

Once the scraping and patching is done, sand the wood smooth with a medium-grade sandpaper, then finish with fine grade. Smooth spackled areas with fine-grade sandpaper as well, and run sandpaper over the walls and glossy trim to help new paint adhere more easily.

Mask off the walls with painter’s tape, available at home-improvement stores. Now that you’ve prepped the area, start painting. I recommend priming the walls first -- a primer with a base that matches the type of paint you’re using, such as oil or latex. Make sure the rooms are well-ventilated, and don’t reuse the brushes or rollers when applying the color coat.

Allow the primer to dry, then paint the walls. Make sure everyone agrees on the direction the brushes and rollers should take -- either up and down, or side to side. Let the base coat dry overnight, then apply a second coat if needed. Once all the coats are completely dry, remove the masking tape and begin masking off the trim.

Oil-based paints are best for wood trim, while latex works well on drywall. In either case, wood trim must be primed, especially if it is scraped bare of all paint layers. Prime the trim, just make sure it’s masked off from the walls and the windows -- and then begin painting, paying attention to fine details.