Today's Feature

Williams Gives An Update.

The Carthage City Council met Tuesday evening in a regular session. Carthage Water and Electric Plant General Manager Bob Williams was present at the meeting and gave a brief update on the plant’s ongoing effort to restore power to Carthage citizens.

Williams outlined the priorities for CW&EP in restoring power as follows: The feeders, which supply power to thousands of homes, are the first priority; the tap feeds, which supply power to hundreds of homes, are the second priority; power lines at individual homes are the third priority.

Williams said that since Sunday, the CW&EP crews have restored power to 4 feeders, which supplied power to 50 or 60 percent of the City. Now the crews are in a position to begin working on individual homes, according to Williams. Assistance is being received by crew members from Springfield, members of the Missouri Utilities Association. Williams said that Carthage utility crews have previously offered assistance in other Cities as a part of the Association.

It was noted that some instances of power failure at citizens’ homes requires the work of a licensed electrician. Williams said that the lines from the weather head down to the homes are the responsibility of the property owner, not CW&EP. If damage has occurred to that area, citizens must call an electrician to reconnect those wires prior to having power reconnected by the plant.

The Council heard other updates from staff members concerning post-storm cleanup efforts. City Administrator Tom Short said that the City is working with DNR in an attempt to allow curbside pickup of branches, but that nothing had been confirmed yet. Short said that media releases would be issued as soon as the City had definite instructions.

Fire Chief John Cooper noted that Fairview Christian Church has been established by the Red Cross as an emergency shelter for those in need of shelter.

Not Affiliated with CW&EP.

A report was received by the Mornin’ Mail on Wedensday afternoon concerning a possible scam involving M.G. Electrical, a company that has been operating in Carthage. A representative from Carthage Water & Electric Plant clarified that the CW&EP is not affiliated in any way with the company, nor have they been authorized by the Plant.

A release recieved from CW&EP says, "... an individual impersonating as a company hired by CW&EP to work ahead of line crews may be attempting to scam citizens stating that their utility service might be disconnected if fees aren’t paid to make corrections."

As of Wednesday afternoon the Carthage Police Department and CW&EP were seeking more information in the case.

I grew up ‘round folks that were always tinkerin’. Onea my uncles put together a "mud bogger" back in the twenties. My granddad hauled mail through the back roads and when it rained, he usually got the kids and spent all day just tryin’ ta get where he was goin’.

These folks didn’t think much ‘bout sellin’ their inventions, they just needed somethin’ done and would try to figure out a way to make it happen.

I got a friend that’s a tinkerer. When it gets cold he’ll put an electric heater in his car and run an extension cord in the house. When he gets up in the mornin’ he plugs in the cord, and by the time he makes it to the car it’s toasty warm. Oh, sure, he could just pull the car in the garage, but then where would he put all the stuff he tinkers with?

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

My Ford diesel has a warning about not overfilling the fuel tank. Precisely what would happen if you did this? Would damage to the engine or other systems occur? Most of us tend to "double-click" the automatic-shutoff fuel nozzle after it stops. Is this too much? Does this adversely affect performance? - Ray

TOM: I don’t think it has any effect on your truck’s performance, Ray. But it might affect the performance of your pants. If you spill diesel fuel on them, they probably won’t last long. Plus, with that smell on your clothes, you’ll never get a date.

RAY: In gasoline-powered cars, you’re not supposed to overfill your tank because the excess gasoline can enter the charcoal canister that’s part of the emissions system and render it ineffective. But I can’t remember ever seeing a diesel with an evaporative emissions system.

TOM: So I’m guessing that they want to prevent you from sending diesel fuel out through the overflow vent of the fuel tank. For obvious reasons, nobody wants to see diesel fuel spilled, nor do you want to pay for fuel that’s on the ground under your truck.

RAY: So for all kinds of cars, it’s best to trust the fuel pump. When it clicks off, that’s it.

TOM: Right. If you top it off every time you refuel, you might save yourself one extra trip to the gas station during the course of your lifetime. That’s hardly worth it.

RAY: But you’ll be likely to spill some fuel or ruin your emissions system at some point. Or a perfectly good pair of chinos.