Today's Feature

Committee Discussed Improvements.

The City Council Public Works committee met Tuesday afternoon in a regular session. The committee met for the first time at the Public Works/Street Department building, where modifications have made room for a conference room. The building and computer network contained therein allow easy access to blueprints and information that will be discussed during the committee meetings.

Items on the agenda included a discussion about possible site changes at the Carthage Recycling Center. The center had received a grant through Region M for improvements which included the erection of a pole barn. The pole barn would cover the recycling containers to make them more weather-proof. Public Works Director Chad Wampler showed the committee members two possible configurations for pole barns that the Department has been reviewing, one being approximately 30’ by 60’ and the other being 30’ by 30’. In one configuration the receptacles would be house under one roof, and in the other there would be two different structures. Wampler said that the Department had not obtained prices for the project yet, and that the prices would determine whether the project would need to be done in phases or whether it could be completed all at one time. Committee members asked several questions including which configuration was preferred. Wampler said that the Department was inclined to select the single structure configuration, which is "L" shaped.

Committee Chair Tom Flanigan also asked about whether or not the improvements would enable the Center to begin collecting Electronic Waste, a service which is currently outsourced. Wampler responded that it is a possibility, and that grant money may be available to begin that process.

Wampler also noted that the new chipper is in use at the Center and that free mulch is available for citizens who are interested. Those citizens must be able to haul the mulch themselves, but can collect it for free at the center. Compost is also available to citizens for free at the Center.

The committee also discussed trash pickup in alleyways. Citizen complaints about damage to driveways in the alleys prompted an investigation into the trash pickup situation. Through communications between the Public Works Department and Allied Waste, the City solid waste collector, it was discovered that some of the alleys where trash is collected are very narrow and do not allow enough room for the pickup trucks. In one instance, the truck had to swerve into a driveway to avoid a tree which was hanging low.

Wampler told the committee that in the future there may need to be tighter enforcement on restrictions to the tree growth in alleys, and added that Allied Waste will soon be switching to front-load dumpsters which require even more clearance than the current dumpsters. The committee asked several questions and agreed to continue discussions and see if any more input is received from the public or from Allied Waste.

Contact Information for City Council Representatives.
Due to a recent surge in requests, the Mornin’ Mail is posting the contact information for the members of Carthage City Council.

Ward 1:
Larry Ross - 358-5116
Claude Newport - 358-1307

Ward 2:
Bill Fortune - 358-3036
Mike Harris - 358-5940

Ward 3:
Diane Sharits - 793-2305
Cyndi Curry - 358-2860

Ward 4:
Bill Welch - 358-6181
Bill Johnson - 358-2552

Ward 5:
Dan Rife - 358-5692
Tom Flanigan - 358-2729

Mayor’s Office
Jim Woestman
237-7000

In general I’d have ta say it means the decidin’ is done. Nothin’ more to be accomplished, just the rumble that follows a lightin’ strike in the distance. But where the different meanin’s might be is dependin’ on whether you happened to be sittin’ under the tree the lightin’ hit, or if ya just happened to see the streak from your back porch.

From a distance, ya might be shoutin’ ‘bout how beautiful nature is in it’s wildest form. From under the tree, the shoutin’ would be more likely heard as a curse of such dastardly power and the wrath it brings to man.

‘Course that brings us to the consideration that any shoutin’ at all doesn’t change the result.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

I am 12 years old and love your column and radio show so much! We have a 2006 Honda Fit. I heard one time on your show that if you use a lighter oil, you will get better mileage. Is that true? Will using a lighter oil increase our mileage? - DJ

RAY: Yes, and we recommend switching to Newman’s Own Light Italian.

TOM: In theory, if you use a lighter oil, you will get better mileage, DJ. That’s because oil has a certain viscosity, or thickness. And the moving parts of the engine have to push the oil out of the way as they move.

RAY: The lower the viscosity (the thinner the oil), the easier it is for the parts to do the pushing.

TOM: Imagine that you have two saucepans. One is full of pancake syrup, and the other one is full of water. You take a fork, you put it in the saucepan, and you try to move the fork from one side to the other.

RAY: Obviously, the fork is going to be harder to move in the saucepan full of syrup. Because it takes more energy to move the fork through the syrup, if you were an engine, you’d use more gasoline doing it.

TOM: But the viscosity of the oil is related to the protection it provides to the moving parts of the engine. That’s the oil’s primary job. Honda, which is warranting this engine for five years or 60,000 miles, has decided that the thinnest oil that’s safe to use is 5W20.

RAY: If Honda felt it could use a thinner oil, and be able to advertise higher mileage, it surely would.

TOM: So we suggest that you use only the grade of oil recommended by the manufacturer, and no thinner.

RAY: Of course, if you want to switch to a thinner syrup for your pancakes, DJ, that’s fine with us.