Today's Feature

Landfill Accepting Branches.

The ice storm that began on Sunday has since caused much damage in the form of falling trees and tree limbs in Carthage. The City landfill is accepting fallen limbs from the yards of Carthage citizens free of charge due to the severity of the storm.

The Carthage Streets Department has been exerting a great effort in trying to keep the streets clear for traffic. Street Commissioner Tom Shelley noted that the damage to the trees was far worse, and the buildup of ice on the streets far less than during the previous storm last January. Shelley said that the better driving conditions had allowed the Street Department to work more quickly on clearing the streets and alleys.

Carthage Water and Electric Plant has also been very busy attempting to restore power in areas where the falling branches have disconnected lines. A Carthage Water and Electric representative said on Tuesday evening that there were still hundreds of citizens without power. The CW&EP linemen were at that point preparing to work through the night. Additional electrical crews from Springfield are expected in Carthage to assist the plant in restoring power.

Books are hard for me to throw away. It seems that they just keep stackin’ up. Most of ‘em have been at least used for reference ever’ now and then, quite a few have been read at least once. I suppose that once they’ve been read their purpose has been served, but I always know there is somethin’ in there that I’ll forget or need to know at a later date.

Magazines with useful information are hard enough to throw away, but real, hard-bound books are near impossible. I’ve got one box full of ‘em that’s going to go on that someday-to-be-built book shelf, and another stack of ‘em that I’ve been meanin’ to read when I’ve got some spare time. Even the books I didn’t enjoy have some usefulness. They can serve as bad examples.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here's A Tip
By JoAnn Derson

• "Be sure to secure pets before you host a holiday party. Now is a great time to look into pet sitters and boarding facilities in your town. You wouldn’t want Fido or Fluffy to get hurt by unattended decorations or party food, or to be accidentally let out (or run over!) by your guests. Better to be safe than sorry!" -- C.L. in Missouri

• "I bought a fairly large and nice-looking outdoor rug over the summer. I almost packed it away with the outdoor furniture, but something made me hang on to it in our garage. I had a lot of guests for Thanksgiving, and I put it in the entryway, where people were coming in from a muddy outside. After everyone went home, up it came, and it was rinsed off good as new. I will bring it back whenever I expect more people than my mudroom can handle." -- K.B. in New Hampshire

• Line a measuring cup with a plastic sandwich bag or plastic wrap to keep it clean between uses if you know you will be using it for multiple ingredients.

• "At a home center recently, I saw a zip-up bag to store artificial Christmas trees. This bag looked like luggage, with wheels on one end. I have purchased two, and I use them under my bed to store off-season clothes. I can pull the handle and they wheel right out, and I no longer have to get down on the ground and tug them out, as I used to do. It’s a back-saver." -- I.W., via e-mail

• "A great way to make your home comfortable for guests is to print out a copy of the channel lineup for your cable service provider. You also can print out common remote control buttons or any remote control or TV instructions for playing a DVD, etc. This helps us older folks enjoy a few hours of TV time while the younger kids are out at work or school." -- H.P. in Nebraska