Today's Feature

Public Services Meeting.

The City Council Public Services Committee will meet this evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Parks Department maintenance building, 720 Robert Ellis Young Drive, in Municipal Park.

Items on the agenda include the discussion of a proposed dog park. A group of interested citizens previously approached the committee with a proposal to construct a dog park. A dog park is a fenced area containing internal fenced areas for different sized dogs, ramps for agility and sometimes wading pools. Dogs are allowed to run without leashes inside the fenced area.

The group previously requested from the City a piece of land to establish the park, help with mowing the property and the pickup of waste containers from the property. Assistance with the construction of the fences and play areas would be sought by the group through grants and fundraisers.

Several areas were researched as potential locations including Freer park but no decision was ever made. Committee Chair Claude Newport reported at the previous Council meeting that the group had done further location research and would return to discuss the matter with the committee.

Now I don’t personally engage in such activities, although those ads do attract my attention from time to time. I don’t think the money saved would be significant enough for me to spend the time or energy. But I can understand why folks do it.

For those of us that don’t enjoy shoppin that much, we’ll have ta be content payin’ a little more and justifyin’ it by figurin’ it’s worth if for the convenience.

But for those who have plenty a free time and the inclination, there are always some bargains to be had.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

This Is A Hammer
By Samantha Mazzotta

This Home Needs Thorough Check-Up

Q: Please help! I have two strange problems in my home. First, the wooden countertop and table in my kitchen feel sticky. Same goes for the wooden paneling around the doorways and the chain from which my dining-room ceiling lamp hangs. Second, within the past few months the wooden floors in my home have been sinking in different areas and in different rooms. I’ve lived in this house 18 years and have not experienced these issues before. What is going on? Is it termites? -- Anna V., Roselle, N.J.

A: My first thought is not termites, but excess humidity throughout the house. The tacky surfaces and sinking floorboards, all occurring at around the same time, indicate that something has gone wacky with the home’s environmental system.

A house having an environmental system, you may ask? Yes -- homes are designed to keep occupants comfortable and remove or repel things that will make them uncomfortable. One of the biggest parts of that system is the airflow system -- not the air conditioner or heater so much as the attic and basement (or crawlspace) venting. These vents keep air moving through unoccupied sections of the house, an important factor in keeping structural elements dry and reducing overall humidity.

Go through a quick checklist of possible causes for this excess humidity. Was new insulation recently installed? Were windows, doors or other parts of the house weatherproofed? Have any major home appliances, including the heating system, washer and dryer, dishwasher or air conditioner, been repaired or serviced? Was the plumbing repaired recently? Did any extreme weather events (floods or heavy rains) occur in the past few months? Did the city perform any water main repairs or other work projects nearby?

Once you’ve been through the list, have a licensed general contractor check the house from rooftop to foundation, looking for any causes of humidity as well as any damage or deterioration. You may want to have a plumber inspect the pipe system, too. Get a written report and estimate from both before agreeing to any repairs.