Today's Feature

Skate Park Update.

The proposal for a City-owned skate park was discussed at the Public Services committee meeting this week.

City Administrator Tom Short provided an update on the status of the project, saying that grant applications had been submitted to the Steadley Trust and the Helen S. Boylan Foundation. The request submitted to the Steadley Trust was for the amount of $131,000 and the request to the Helen S. Boylan Foundation was for the amount of $34,000.

Short said that after the responses were received from these organizations the committee could decide how to proceed with the project and recommended establishing a committee to look at further details of the construction.

The current proposed location for the skate park is on an area of land near the Fair Acres Family YMCA. The committee asked if the YMCA was favorable to the idea and Short responded that he had heard supportive feedback so far, but no formal decision had been made at this point. Municipal Park and Greer Park have been mentioned as alternative locations.

Committee member Bill Welch asked about liability concerns for the City. Short said that it should not be an issue, saying that statistics show the activity to be less dangerous than football, softball and baseball. Committee Chair Claude Newport suggested posting a sign saying "skate at your own risk". The committee was agreeable to this idea and it was further proposed that signs recommending proper helmets and protective pads be posted.

The concept for construction currently includes pouring a concrete pad and placing modular ramps and half pipes on the structure. The original proposal included the pouring of concrete ramps, which Short said would be more difficult to remove at any future point. The currently proposed size for the park is 80 feet long by 80 feet wide.

The committee took no action on the project.

Parks Director Alan Bull presented bids for a park mower to the committee. The bid recommended was from Anderson Car and Tractor for a Kubota mower costing $8,442. This price includes the $2,000 trade-in of two older mowers. The bid was the lowest of three received although it was $442 over the amount budgeted for a new mower.

Bull said he felt it was a good deal and he could make the appropriate departmental budget adjustment to compensate for the purchase. The committee approved the bid and will present it to City Council during next week’s meeting.

Stench Report:

Thursday,
9/7/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square

With the completion of the interchange at 71 and Fairview a good portion of truck traffic should be eliminated from the area. Overall the "plan" for Myers Park seems ta be inchin’ along. It’s a pay-as-ya-go system so it’s not movin’ as fast as some might like, but it will eventually fill out.

As the park becomes a distinct shoppin’ district, the downtown has the opportunity to develop more of its distinct identity also. Hopefully any new "plan" would include City-wide consideration.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

What is germanium? No, not the lovely odd smelling flower. Germanium is a naturally occurring trace mineral, such as gold and silver. Research began in 1950 as an important trace nutrient.

I was first introduced to germanium several years ago when I was suffering from consistently cold hands and feet. This coldness was there in spite of exercise and even with the help of capsicum.

My chiropractor suggested I start taking germanium and within the next hour or two I noticed my hands were warmer. It was not like a niacin flush warm, but just warmer. This led me to check into this more closely and I found it was know for improving oxygenation to the cell. It is also known to help keep the immune system in good health while eliminating toxins.

It has been used to detoxify the liver and body from toxins. Viral infections have responded well to the germanium.

Germanium was first discovered to be beneficial to health by Dr. Kazuhiko Asai, a scientist and chemist. In studies with mice, he found that less oxygen was required to maintain respiration when those tissues were supplemented with germanium."

Today’s Herbal Health by Louise Tenney

Scientific Validation of Herbs by Mowery

artCentral
Art Notes from Hyde House
By Sally Armstrong, Director of artCentral

Alot of art opportunities this week! artCentral continues to show the work of Larry Oliver in our Main Gallery and this is a beautiful group of wood sculpture pieces that you won’t want to miss. This show will continue through September 23rd. In our smaller Member Gallery is work by local artist Mike Shelton, beautiful original watercolors and some ceramics, prints available of some originals. We had a nice visit this week by several art lovers who purchased some prints and note cards and such which we always have available for sale in our library. And of course Friday is the opening night of the Midwest Gathering of the Artists weekend with the big art auction at Memorial Hall and the art show all weekend there. We have tickets available at artCentral if you need some. This will be a fun evening for buyers and viewers alike. Don’t miss it, and artists, we hope you can get by Hyde House this Friday or weekend to see our show as well.

We begin preparations now for the next art show on our calendar, that being the fine detailed watercolors by Elizabeth Dedon Pauly that will begin the first week of October. Betsy’s pieces are small, beautiful landscapes of places she has visited and scenes she has remembered, many of them creeks, rivers and streams in this area as well as the Buffalo River. Her work is highlighted with beautiful fine-line ink detailing, a process she developed and which signifies her style. She and her husband have been residents of Carthage for quite a few years, having moved here from Dallas Texas, but both are original Minnesotians. Her tall blonde good looks hint at her Norwegian heritage and thus the play-off show title, a bit of a spoof ," THE VIKING EXHIBITION", which I named this show after receiving a postcard from Betsy last year which featured the Paris art show of the same name, and a joke from her that "maybe this is what we should title her show?" Well, this is NOT THAT Parisian exhibition which did actually feature Viking art, but we WILL be featuring our own blonde Viking, Betsy Pauly in October and look forward to it!

Lastly, I want to congratulate long-time artCentral Board of Directors president Don Knost and his bride Susan Steen Knost on their recent marriage. We and other friends celebrated with them this past weekend and enjoyed the time together very much. And sadly, our very long- time board member and former volunteer director of artCentral, Robin Putnam, has given me a vote of confidence, (I hope), by throwing in her towel and giving notice to remove her name from the Board at this time. Robin thinks we are on solid ground again and feels that her responsibility now is to her artwork and studio and we totally support her decision as long as she agrees to act as my third advisor, and she has! Thank you , Robin, for your many years of service to artCentral, and this is not a goodbye but a step-down. We will continue to see Robin at openings and workshops and as she has already been honored with a lifetime membership award we can’t do that, but intend to honor her with a small gift at our next board meeting. Happy trails, Robin, and good luck at the MGA Auction and show, where her work can be seen this weekend.