Today's Feature

New Guidelines Will Impact CVB.

Carthage Convention and Visitor Bureau Director Kate Massey recently told the City Council of some upcoming changes in the Missouri Department of Tourism’s guidelines that will impact the way Carthage is advertised.

The Convention and Visitor Bureau currently receives funding from the Department of Tourism for the purpose of advertising Carthage as a travel destination. The funding is received as a 50/50 matching grant, the CVB and the Department of Tourism each paying half. Upcoming changes in the guidelines for receiving the grant will not allow the CVB to advertise Carthage specifically. Instead, Carthage, Joplin and other area Convention and Visitor bureaus will have to market the entire area, known as the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). By the new guidelines, only one DMO is allowed per county. These changes are to begin in Missouri’s fiscal year 2009, which begins July first of this year.

Massey told Council that the CVB has written letters to Missouri legislators in an attempt to let them know how these changes will impact Carthage. Massey said that though the CVB is not opposed to the idea of promoting the DMO as a whole, she is concerned that Carthage will lose some of its identity due to the changes.

The CVB has participated in the grant program for six years, and has used the funding to pay for the printing of the Carthage Visitors Guides, the new website, billboards and print advertisements in national publications. This fiscal year the bureau was approved for $75,750, of which the Missouri Division of Tourism paid $37,875. With the guideline changes, the Division is offering an increased pool for various grants in the program. In fiscal year 2008 approximately $150,000 was available. In Fiscal year 2009, when the changes have taken effect roughly $210,000 will be available.

Shortly after its inception, the Carthage CVB along with the Joplin Convention and Visitor Bureau, helped to form the Southwest Missouri Tourism Alliance which helps promote regional attractions and smaller cities without the necessary resources to establish their own Convention and Visitor bureaus.

Would Remove Age Limit.

The Carthage City Council last week heard the first reading of an ordinance that would remove the 65-year age limit for active Police officers. Finance and Personnel committee chair Diane Sharits noted that the Department has some officers reaching that age who are still active and healthy. The section was replaced as follows; "No member of the police department shall serve as an officer until he has reached his twenty-first birthday. No person shall serve in the police department unless he or she possess and maintains a telephone and resides within a fifteen (15) mile radius of the intersection of 4th Street and Garrison Avenue in the city." Sharits also noted that the wording of the proposed section had been cleaned up from the original wording.

Mornin’

I heard ‘bout this gal that won a cookin’ contest. She said the secret to her roast was cuttin’ a little off each end ‘fore she put it ta cook. Said she didn’t know ‘xactly why it worked but her mother had always done it that way and that’s how she learned.

A snoopy reporter decided ta find out why this would make it taste any better. He went to the mother to uncover the secret. She told him that she never prepared a roast without first cuttin’ a little off each end. Her mother had always done that and it had always produced the finest roast in the country.

Finally the reporter went to the grandma. When asked why this made the roast taste better, the grandma replied: "I don’t know ‘bout it tastin’ better. Ma did it ‘cause we didn’t have a pan big enough to fit a full roast in."

Sometimes it takes someone lookin’ a things a little different ta find out what’s really goin’ on.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

This Is A Hammer
By Samantha Mazzotta

Easy-Lighting Pilot Lights

Q: I live down south and don’t have to use my gas room-heater much. To save money, I turn off the pilot light in the warm months. But it’s really difficult to relight the pilot. Any suggestions on making it easier? Should I clean the pilot light components? -- Larry T., Tallahassee, Fla.

A: The components that make a pilot light function are efficient and need very little maintenance, but they should be checked before every heating season. Turn off the gas supply to the unit and (after the pilot light has cooled) inspect the jet and thermocouple. To get a closer look you can unscrew the bracket that holds the components in place, being careful not to bend or damage the pilot gas line or the thermocouple line, and disconnect the pilot jet and thermocouple from the lines.

If the pilot jet looks dirty, clean it with a special pilot jet brush, being careful not to scratch the inside of the jet. Don’t try to widen the jet’s opening, either. A badly corroded pilot jet should be replaced.

Reattach the components to the supply line and bracket, and then reattach the bracket to the furnace.

Now, you say the pilot is difficult to light. More recent pilots can be lighted with the push of a button, but much older ones still need another flame to light them. I have an area heater dating from the 1950s in one room, and this is how I make it easier to light each winter. I heat up the thermocouple before attempting to light the pilot. Hold a lighted match or long-ended lighter to the thermocouple (the long metal stick next to the pilot jet) for about 20-30 seconds. Then, light the pilot as usual.

HOME TIP: A healthy pilot light should have a steady flame with a yellow tip, and should cover the top of the thermocouple next to it.