Today's Feature

A Brief Budget Meeting.

The City Council Budget Ways and Means Committee met Monday evening in a regular session. The committee reviewed an amendment to the budget for this fiscal year. City Administrator Tom Short told the committee that Municipal Golf Course was seeking additional funding, to be transferred from the General fund unreserved balance. Short said that the preliminary numbers had shown the need of approximately $10,000, but based on a "worst case scenario" projection up to $20,000 was being requested. Short added that the Golf Course staff was working to keep expenditures down to help compensate for a low number of rounds and lagging revenues. The committee approved the amendment to allow the transfer of up to $20,000.

The committee also reviewed several contracts with City agencies and discussed a change to the contract with the Chamber of Commerce. Short told the committee that a proposed revision to the contract would allow the Chamber of Commerce to install a search committee in the event of the departure of a director. The committee approved this change unanimously. The meeting lasted 15 minutes.

I’ve seen other reports that say no one can find a physical reason for sleep at all. The body does need to rest a certain amount of time ever’day, but sleepin’ is just one a the mechanisms that allow such rest.

Some research indicates that sleep is more of a mental rest that allows the brain to shut down for a while.

‘Course cat’s might have the right idea. They sleep about ninety percent of their life. I suppose if all humans had ta worry about was a portion of MeowMix and a clean cat box, we’d get a lot more sleep too.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here's A Tip
By JoAnn Derson

• "Here’s a simple tip both for saving money and helping out the environment: We all know that plastic cups are easy to misplace at a picnic. Invariably, you set your glass down, only to come back to a table filled with similar glasses. You can never tell which is yours. Take a permanent marker and put it by the cups. Then ask everyone to write his or her name on the cup before filling. There’s no mistaking that!" -- A Reader, via e-mail

• Every home should have a fire extinguisher, and I hope yours does. But do you know how old it is, or when it was last serviced? If not, replace it today. Date the outside of the extinguisher with a permanent pen, and have it serviced yearly. They last, on average, 10-12 years.

• "Being a little bit of a maniac about clutter -- both physical and visual -- I have settled on a fantastic way to maintain chore lists for each family member without having multiple paper lists on the fridge or counter. I had a photograph of each family member laminated. They hang in a nice presentation on a lower kitchen cabinet. On the backside, with a dry-erase marker, I write that person’s daily or weekly chores. They have only to turn their picture around to see their jobs. I can also attach Post-It reminders for appointments there. It looks so much better." -- S.L.R. in Missouri

• "You can use white vinegar to polish your patent-leather shoes. Just dampen a cloth with straight vinegar, shine and wipe with a dry cloth. They look great, and it really restores that shine!" -- D.L. in Tennessee

• "To freshen stuffed animals, wipe any dirty spots clean with a dampened towel, then put several together inside a pillowcase. Tie the case shut and add the pillowcase and a fabric softener sheet to the dryer. Fluff for 10 minutes on low heat, then remove. They look and smell great!" -- L.E. in Ohio