Today's Feature

Tiny Cars In Carthage.

The American Austin Bantam Car Club will hold their 44th annual meeting in Carthage this week. Club members and cars were expected to arrive over the weekend from various locations as far away as Texas and Colorado. Club hosts Royce and Margaret Harber of Grandbury, Texas expect at least 30 cars to be present.

The show will begin today at the Best Western Precious Moments Hotel. Tuesday’s events include a driving tour around Carthage and a trip to Red Oak II.

The cars will be readily available for viewing on Tuesday at approximately 11:30 a.m. when they are to arrive at the historic Carthage Courthouse square. Permission has been granted to allow parking for the cars on the inside sidewalk of the square.

Convention and Visitor Bureau Director Kate Massey has noted that the cars should be visible throughout the week, as this meeting also constitutes a sightseeing vacation for many of the cars’ owners.

According to a news release from the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the American Austin Car Company was founded in 1929 to produce a car based on the popular Austin 7 of England, although the cars are dissimilar in many ways. Weighing just 1200 lbs. with a wheel base of a mere 75 inches the American Austins and Bantams can rightly be said to be America’s first compact or economy cars.

Example of American Austin Bantam car, pictured in New York.

Dedication Ceremony Scheduled. News release

Dr. W. Russell Smith

A dedication ceremony will be held at 12 noon on Monday, June 18 to honor the naming of a section of Garrison Avenue for Dr. W. Russell Smith, a prominent Carthage physician (now retired). The ceremony will be held at the Northwest corner of the new hospital property. The section of the avenue (previously 3125 S. Garrison) is in front of the new McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital and is to be designated Dr. Russell Smith Way. Dr. Smith joined the medical staff at McCune-Brooks in June 1937. He retired from active staff status in 1983. He is a member of the honorary staff for the hospital. The public is invited to attend the dedication ceremony.

So far the weather this year has provided folks quite a bit to complain about. Had a pretty nasty winter lingerin’ into January, plenty a rain and some hot days with plenty of humidity.

Most seem ta take some pride in the particular kind of weather in their region of the world. Opens up all kinds of conversations. Unpleasant weather allows us the chance ta get into the topic of back in "my day" when we really had rough weather. Nobody wants ta talk much about the years when nothin’ big happens. Folks just don’t like it when there’s nothin’ ta complain about.

This will be one a those good years. Plenty a bright spots for the cantankerous cuss who needs somethin’ out of the ordinary to remember.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

This Is A Hammer
By Samantha Mazzotta

Stain, Stain Go Away

Q: This spring I discovered that the compressor I had stored in my "garden shed" had sprung a leak in the tank and there was a large oil stain (wet) on the concrete floor. First I tried the "cat litter" treatment, but that did not lift all of the stain. Then I tried your idea of the ready-mix concrete and let it sit 24 hours. Still no removal. At wits’ end, I tried straight application of Clorox! Still nothing! Have I messed it up so much that now I am destined to live with that stain? -- Larry M., Spokane, Wash.

A: Never give up, Larry! Well, actually -- you might have to give up, eventually, but there are still some homegrown methods to try.

The bleach may have made the problem worse, but considering that it’s a large stain, maybe not.

Avoid really serious chemicals, like muriatic acid, which removes the top layer of concrete. That’s more useful when cleaning and resurfacing an entire floor or driveway.

Some folks swear by common household agents to take care of serious stains. In addition to kitty litter and ready-mix concrete, I’ve heard of using WD-40 to "float out" the oil stain on another oil-based liquid; spraying oven cleaner (a degreaser) over the stain; or soaking sawdust in white mineral spirits and covering the stain for a couple of days. Whatever you try, test a small section of the concrete first, and rinse the chemical away completely before trying something else.

Consider purchasing a concrete cleaner from the home-improvement store, or a heavy-duty degreaser from an automotive or home-improvement store. You still want to soak up as much oil as possible. Then, rent a pressure washer, which can literally drive the stain right out of the porous concrete.

HOME TIP: Always test cleaning products or chemicals on a section of stained concrete before going forward with all-over application.