Today's Feature

Seeking Board Members.

The following news release was received from Carthage Humane Society Board Secretary Connie Shull;

The Carthage Humane Society Board of Directors will be electing at least 2 new board members at the next board meeting. Any persons interested in serving on the board of directors should attend the meeting and be prepared to make a brief statement as to why they would like to be on the board. The next meeting will be held Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. in the Carthage City Hall.

Spraying for Mosquitoes.

Carthage Street Commissioner Tom Shelley has released an advisory that the Street Department will be spraying for mosquitoes Monday, July 23 through Friday, July 27th. Areas will be sprayed in the evening of the day of regular trash pickup, between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and midnight. It is recommended that citizens turn off attic or window fans when the sprayer is in the immediate area.

During a recent Public Works committee meeting, committee member Dan Rife told Shelley that he had received calls concerning high mosquito population in certain areas, and asked if there was anything that could be done. Shelley made note of the areas and said that the department could try to spray the areas twice. Shelley added that standing water and tall grass contribute to a high mosquito population, and recommended that if those conditions are present that they be rectified additionally.

Used ta be, when things broke, you could take ‘em apart and get a pretty good idea of what was wrong. Like a TV, for instance. You could take out the tubes, put a piece a maskin’ tape on ‘em ta mark where they went and take ‘em down to the corner drug store to test ‘em.

Those 8mm movie projectors could usually be figured out too. Keep a spare bulb and drive belt around and you could almost always keep the show goin’.

These DVD players are a different story. The mechanical part of the tray that loads the disc is pretty complicated with gears and gadgets goin’ here and there. Beyond that, there’s no tellin’ what goes on in there. There’s this "eye" and it moves while the disc spins around, and somehow "reads" the disc. No light bulb, no tubes, no luck.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

This Is A Hammer
By Samantha Mazzotta

Give Oil Stains the Brush Off

Q: In a recent column, a reader wrote in about an oil leak on the floor of his shed. My experience was with a rather large stain from a 1984 Ford Ranger on my garage floor. I used the old-fashioned floor dry found at the auto store. Sprinkle it on liberally, and let it set for a week or two; it will suck the oil right out of the cement. I have no trouble with stains on my garage floor since finding that solution.

The floor dry is the blue clay, chunky style. I don’t know if the newfangled "fine-cut" stuff works or not. Hope this works! -- Kevin N., via e-mail

A.: Thanks, Kevin! Floor-Dry, as Kevin said above, can be found at auto parts stores and equipment suppliers. It’s a clay-based absorbent sold in bags that can be sprinkled over oil stains and swept away.

Q: The way I clean oil drips and stains on concrete is to saturate the stain with brake cleaner, then cover it with kitty litter or a product called Oil-Dry. I let it sit overnight, then sweep it up. Generally, the stain is all gone with the first application. For a persistent stain, I repeat the process with a vigorous brooming of the absorbent material. -- Bob C., Colorado Springs, Colo.

A. Good stuff! Thanks to my readers for looking out for each other. Oil-Dry (or Oil-Dri) is a spill absorption product, mostly sold as absorbent pads, found at auto stores and equipment suppliers.

HOME TIP: Saturate motor oil stains on clothing with dry-cleaning solvent and blot away; the oil should rinse out easily.