Today's Feature

Budget Meeting.

The Carthage City Council Budget Ways and Means committee met Monday evening in a regular session. The agenda was light, with only one item for consideration. City Administrator Tom Short was not present at the meeting and City Clerk Lynn Campbell discussed with the Committee an appropriation of funds for repairs to the Kellogg Lake fountain.

Campbell said that funding has been donated over the years specifically for the Kellogg Lake Park fountain. This money goes to the City Civic Enhancement fund where it stays unappropriated until the fountain needs repairs. At that point the funds for the repair are appropriated. Currently the fountain needs repair, and the committee discussed a motion to appropriate $1,000 for that repair. It has been estimated that the repair work will cost $275. The committee discussed appropriating only the amount required for this repair, but agreed that if further repairs are needed this fiscal year it would be a sound idea to have additional funds ready.

A motion to recommend the $1,000 appropriation was unanimously approved by the committee.

In the rural setting of my childhood, the only thing that concerned us when building a playhouse was havin’ enough nails to hold the thing together. We didn’t care if it was painted, or even if it was structurally sound. We simply gathered all the scrap lumber available and built until we ran out. Usually there wasn’t any roof type materials and it didn’t matter much, ‘cause then the structure would just become a "fort."

Guys never had "playhouses" anyway. Anything resemblin’ a structure would be a "clubhouse" or a "hideout," even though there were no members and ever’one knew our location.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here's A Tip
By JoAnn Derson

• If you need to work with finishing nails, you might have the same problem I do: They are terrible to keep in place when first putting them in. I solved it by using a small but strong magnet in the shape of a thin rectangle. I can put the nail on the end of the magnet, tap it in place and then detach the magnet to drive the nail in all the way. This has saved me HOURS of aggravation and sore fingers through the years. -- C.A. in Florida

• Here’s a timesaver: Schedule repeat visits before you leave. This applies to doctors, dentists, hair stylists, veterinarians, etc.

• "I keep a pair of scissors and a lint roller in (almost) every room. I always seem to need them, and I never have to go far to get one." -- G.K. in Indiana

• "To make my morning oatmeal more interesting, I keep a supply of add-ins handy. Raisins, various nuts and different spices let me mix it up while still getting the healthy benefits of oatmeal." -- H.L. in New Mexico

• "I don’t have a dishwasher. It really used to annoy me to wash dishes, but now I just put on my hands-free headset that hooks up to my phone, and I wash dishes while chatting with my friends and family. It makes time go so quickly that I clean house while talking on the phone, too!" -- M.W. in Nebraska

• "I keep my checkbook and receipts in a small fabric zipper-top envelope I found at the store. I also keep a calculator and pen in the envelope, so I have everything I need to balance the checkbook at the drop of a hat (since I do it mostly online anyway)." -- P.R. in Virginia