Today's Feature

Committee Approved 3 Items.

The City Council Public Works committee during Tuesday’s meeting reviewed and approved an administrative re-plat of two lots in the Peachtree Subdivision. The change would combine lots 3 and 4 together making a larger single lot.

The committee also approved a motion to forward to Council the addition of a filing fee for vacations. Currently if a property owner requests the vacation of an alley, street or easement the item is passed through the Public Works department and the committee and, if approved, the vacation is free of charge. If this item is approved by Council a $50 fee will be applied.

The site plan for a new development at Myers park was presented to the committee for review by Public Works Director Chad Wampler. Wampler told the committee that the plan for a new restaurant at the corner of Hazel and Fir Road had already met his requirements and recommended its approval. The committee approved the plan.

It was also mentioned that there will be no City-wide cleanup this year. Allied Waste, the City trash disposal service currently allows the disposal of one bulky item per week.

Fixin’ a leaky faucet is one of those rainy day chores that can be extended for several rainy seasons for instance. If ya keep some of the tools necessary out in the barn, it can always be rainin’ too hard to get out. And if the weather does break a little, by the time you get the tool, it seems it is inevitably rainin’ too hard to get back to the house from the barn.

It really takes two or three rainy days to get most of those things taken care of. Like I said, those who grew up in these parts know how to work around those rainy days.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

My 1998 Subaru Outback with an automatic transmission has started not going into gear - sometimes. It started five days ago. I have driven only short trips of a mile or two during that time. About a third of the time when I start moving again from stop signs or traffic lights, the engine sounds like it’s straining, and it won’t go into second gear. I have to manually shift into second, afterward, I shift into drive. This situation worries me, especially because we are supposed to drive across the country, New York to Oregon in a few weeks. Any idea what it is? - Suzanne

TOM: Well, Suzanne, you’re probably reading this in a transmission-repair shop somewhere in the Midwest.

RAY: Actually, it might be relatively inexpensive to fix - as transmission repairs go. Since you can manually shift the car into second gear, that tells me the transmission itself is probably OK. But the electronic controls are causing the problem.

TOM: You didn’t mention whether the "AT Oil Temp" light on your dashboard is flashing. It should be. That means that the transmission’s computer has stored a fault code, which can be read by a mechanic.

RAY: This car has something called an "inhibitor switch," which tells the transmission’s computer what gear you’ve selected. If the setting for drive is not working for any reason, the computer will default into first gear. It sounds like that’s what’s happening.

TOM: So have a mechanic put a scanner on your car and check for fault codes. I suspect it’s the inhibitor switch. And believe it or not, Suzanne, when it comes to transmission repairs, this is extremely good news!

RACING
By Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive

Victory Junction Camp Is a Worthy Cause

It’s not often we pass along information received in press releases from racing teams, but when we receive something from the Petty family and the Victory Junction Gang Camp, we make exceptions.

The mission of the Victory Junction Gang Camp, located in Randleman, N.C., is to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. The camp provides life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically sound environment ... all free of charge.

I’m sure you can think of someone in your community who can benefit from an experience like this. So, please read on.

Founded by NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and his wife, Pattie, in honor of their late son Adam, the camp is a year-round facility serving children ages 7 to 15.

Each summer, children suffering from similar medical conditions -- including heart, lung and kidney disease, spina bifida, HIV, cancer, burn survivors, neurological disorders and a host of others -- gather to kick back, relax and have some fun together. The Victory Junction Camp recently announced the addition of three new disease groups: blind, deaf and Down Syndrome, bringing the total number of diseases served to 24.

Victory Junction has changed the lives of more than 4,500 campers since its opening in 2004, and is currently accepting camper applications for Summer Camp 2007.

If you are interested in sending a child to camp or volunteering, please visit www.victoryjunction.org, where you can also make an online donation. The mail address is Victory Junction Gang Camp, 4500 Adams Way, Randleman, NC 27317.