Today's Feature

Hazardous Waste Bid Accepted.

The City Council Public Works Committee on Tuesday afternoon approved a bid for the collection of household hazardous waste from Haz-Mert, Inc. This company has conducted the previous two years’ hazardous waste collection days in Carthage and submitted the only bid this year.

As in previous years the hazardous waste collection site will be set up on the Fire Department parking lot and will be free for Carthage citizens.

Public Works Director Chad Wampler informed the committee that the price for mobilization and set-up had increased $150 from last year’s bid. The price quoted this year is $1,400. Example prices for materials in the bid are as follows; Alkaline batteries: .68¢ per lb., Fluorescent bulbs: .16 ¢ per foot, Oil based paint: $1.13 per lb., Latex paint: .25¢ per lb., Pesticides, $1.40 per lb., E-Waste: .39¢ per lb. These amounts are calculated as the collection takes place for a total collection cost.

The E-Waste, or electronic waste, is a new category offered this year which includes items such as televisions and old computer monitors.

Wampler said that the last year’s collection totalled approximately $8,937 in hazardous waste. The grant funding amount was increased this year, as it is anticipated that the new e-waste category may generate more traffic than in previous years.

The committee approved the date of May 19th for the collection day. The item will be forwarded to Council for approval at the next meeting.

It was also noted that the Carthage Recycling Center and Landfill will accept white goods (refrigerators, etc.) with compressors removed and up to 4 tires per household from May 12 through May 26. This service will also be free for Carthage citizens.

There was a popular sayin’ a few years back. Loosely interpreted, it said, "Stuff happens." Ya can’t always avoid it, but you can, after a little experience, start to recognize the symptoms of stuff startin’ to happen, and try to prepare for it.

A similar saying is attributed to the legendary Murphy. My recollection is somethin’ like this - Anything you do will take longer than you expect, cost more than you expect, and if anything can go wrong it will.

It’s a little like movin’ a piano. You do your best to keep it from tippin’ in the back of the pickup, but if it starts to fall, there’s a point you have to step back and let it crash. Otherwise, it’s gonna fall anyway, ‘cept you’ll be under it.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom and Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

I bought a 2003 Chevy S-10 for my stepdaughter. Today the truck has only 36,500 miles on it. The driver’s door fell off! It broke off at the welds and was hanging by electrical wires. The dealership refused to do warranty work. How can a girl who weighs 100 pounds soaking wet tear a door off a truck? Is it possible to shame Chevy into making this right? - Eric

RAY: We’ll see, Eric!

TOM: Actually, I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that a 100 pound girl CAN easily tear a door off an S-10 pickup. In fact, she can tear a door off of almost any car.

RAY: That’s right. If you try to open a car door beyond the point that it’s designed to open, you can easily break the hinges. And the hinges are all that hold the door on. Try it on your car, Eric. Sit in the driver’s seat, put your feet up against the door and give it a shove!

TOM: But in this case, I think your daughter got a major assist from Chevrolet. These S-10 pickups are known for their door problems. There are pins that go through the hinges. Those pins, and the bushings around them, wear out. Then the door starts to sag.

RAY: Now, if you catch the problem at that point, you can buy a replacement set of pins for 13 bucks and all will be right with the world. But if not, the pins will eventually fall out and the door will fall off.

TOM: She may have been operating on only one hinge for months before the door actually dropped off.

RAY: Or, she may have come out of a bar one night at 2 a.m., backed up with the door open and taken the door off with a parking meter. But I’m betting on the pins wearing out, Eric. If you (and we) can’t shame Chevrolet into helping you, a body shop is your best bet. Good Luck.

RACING
By Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive

Force Team Starts Healing Process

When Robert Hight won the recent NHRA PowerADE event held at Las Vegas, he loudly proclaimed John Force Racing’s return to competition following the death of team driver Eric Medlen.

As for the cars and making them safer, Force himself informed the national motorsports media at an April 10 teleconference of the updates to the cars.

"NHRA has a very high level of safety measures currently in place to make these cars as safe as possible," said Force.

Changes to the race cars thus far include more padding in the cockpit area of the driver and bigger roll cages, without getting too big. There is also a shield around the driver compartment, similar to what Top Fuel teams did in the aftermath of the Darrell Russell fatality.

Force admitted that there’s not much room to add the amount of padding you need, and the team is working on that. Securing the driver’s head is another area the teams are working on. The driver’s seven-point harness and neck braces will also be addressed to better protect in side impacts.

Said Force, "You can’t just make a big opening for the head because then you have no protection. What have you accomplished? It needs to be tested. NHRA was good enough to allow us to do that (extra testing)."

Force made runs of 200, 300 and 400 feet to check roll-cage clearances and determine the drivability of the Mustang after changes made by Murf McKinney.