Today's Feature

Public Safety Meeting.

The Carthage City Council Public Safety Committee will meet this evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Police Department building. The meeting would normally have been held on the previous Monday but was rescheduled due to Presidents’ Day.

Items on the agenda include two requests for Council bills; one authorizing the first amendment to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission agreement and the other authorizing the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Capital Assistance Grant Agreement.

Both of these items concern the City taxi service. The amendment request is due to a statewide taxi grant fund increase. With this increase the City is eligible for approximately $1,200 additional reimbursement.

The Capital Assistance Grant Agreement concerns the purchase of a new taxi vehicle for the City scheduled for this year. If approved the State would pay for 80 percent of the vehicle cost with the City paying 20 percent.

Other items on the agenda include a citizen request for a change in parking in the 700 block of Howard Street.

Stench Report:

Friday,
2/23/07

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square.

As a kid I always wished we lived in a two story house. Not because of any status or even the extra amount of room, but because I never had a decent place to work my Slinky. The metal spring lookin’ contraption would walk down our three steps on the front porch, but it wasn’t very impressive.

I longed for a real staircase where the slinky would slither forever on it’s downward trek. We even built an extension of levels for the life like wound metal to descend.

Like most of the toys that got attention from youngsters, our slinkys would eventually get a kink. Just one kink would ruin the effectiveness and forever limit the execution of acrobatics.

As I’ve grown older, I’m startin’ to have a kink or two myself. And I’m far less attracted to long stretches of stairs.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

High Electric Bills Frustrate Homeowner

Q: I need help! We have a 1,750 square-foot house and very high electric bills, despite installing a solar water heater and a solar system to heat the pool. We have replaced almost everything to help with the consumption. All lights are fluorescent, and we put Icynene spray insulation in the attic. The air conditioning unit was replaced but is only a 10 SEER, and I know this does use some electricity.

Maybe you can recommend an electrician to check to see if there is anything that is taking loads that aren’t supposed to be there? Our neighbor has a 2,600 square-foot house, and his electric usage is 300 kWh less than ours. We both have four people in the house and both have pools. -- Paying Through the Nose in Virginia

A: While I can’t recommend a specific electrician, I do recommend that you contact a professional certified by a recognized organization such as Independent Electrical Contractors (www.ieci.org) and licensed to operate in your state. The electrician can do an energy-use survey and check all systems in your home to make sure they are wired up correctly.

Locating the cause of high kilowatt usage can sometimes be very difficult, but you may be on the right track in looking at high-usage systems such as the air conditioner. I experienced a similar kilowatt-usage issue last year that turned out to be a problem with the heating unit. Contact the company that installed your air conditioner (or an independent A/C contractor if necessary) to make sure this unit is working properly and was installed correctly.

Review your power bill for the past year or longer, paying specific attention to the kilowatt-hours used each month. While these numbers tend to jump during very cold or very hot months, look for very big jumps in usage or unusual upward trends. Contact the electric utility about any unusual usage. It can recommend additional steps to take, typically offer a free energy-audit kit, and can assist with paying prohibitively high bills.

HOME TIP: Annual maintenance of home heating and air-conditioning units can save on energy costs and prolong the life of these important systems.