| Today's Feature Sidewalk Liability Exposes City.
The City Ordinance that
requires home and business owners to maintain
sidewalks that are adjacent to their property was
the subject of a letter distributed to Council
members prior to last night's regular meeting.
A letter from Carthage resident
Sandra Schuske called for a "commitment,
both private and public, in repairing and/or
installing new sidewalks throughout the
city."
Schuske says she became aware
of the current ordinance due to a potential
lawsuit brought by a woman who fell on the
sidewalk in front of her home.
"I am not sure whether I
am in agreement with this ordinance, but I do
know that it is not being enforced," stated
Schuske. "It would appear to me that by not
enforcing the ordinance the City becomes at least
partly or, possibly completely, responsible for
the sorry condition of our sidewalks and any
injuries suffered thereon."
Schuske told the Mornin'
Mail yesterday that her insurance company was
considering the position that the City would bear
some of the liability for not enforcing the
sidewalk ordinance. Her objective, she says, is
to use her situation to draw attention to the
fact that every Carthage home owner is exposed to
such liability, as is the City, if the sidewalks
are not maintained properly. She is making no
personal claim toward the City.
During Budget Hearings last
spring there was discussion about the sidewalk
liability for the City. A total of $50,000 was
included in the budget for City owned sidewalks,
but a proposed $30,000 to begin repairing other
sidewalks was eventually cut from the budget. The
depth of the City wide problem bogged down any
attempts to focus on where to begin. Besides the
vast amount of money needed if the City was to
pay for sidewalk replacement, other issues
clouded the discussion also. The question of how
areas currently without sidewalks would be
addressed was one such issue. Strictly enforcing
the ordinance would also be a massive
undertaking, and there were some who felt it
would be politically impossible to order the
community to repair all ailing sidewalks. The
question of dealing with sidewalks in the
historic district was also debated. Council
member Mike Harris called for a long term plan to
bring all sidewalks up to a reasonable standard.
There were also some attempts
last year by Main Street Carthage to obtain grant
funding to assist in replacing sidewalks in the
downtown area. Initial estimates ranged from a
several hundred thousand to over a million
dollars for that area alone.
Blunt Schedules Forum to Hear
"Ozarks Viewpoints"
press release
Seventh District Congressman
Roy Blunt will conduct a series of forums in each
of the 15 county seats, plus Joplin and Monett
during late August to listen to "Ozarks
Viewpoints." As part of the sessions,
Congressman Blunt will discuss the results of the
1998 Common Sense Questionnaire that was sent to
220,000 Southwest Missourians and review major
legislative initiatives completed this year and
what lies ahead for the final two months of the
105th Congress.
"These sessions are open
to the public and any viewpoint. I like to hear
what people are thinking and saying and share
ideas on issues," the Congressman said. The
fourth schedule of "Ozarks Viewpoints"
sessions will start August 26 in Springfield and
finishes on September 1, in Pineville. In
between, Blunt will visit with constituents in
sessions held in every county of the Seventh
District.
Blunt says the series of 17
"Ozarks Viewpoints" sessions are
"designed to exchange information and
suggestions that can be taken back to Washington
for the final weeks of debate for this Congress
and let the people in Southwest Missouri know
what is happening on Capitol Hill."
Blunt will make his appearence
in Carthage Friday, August 28 in the Carthage
Jasper County Courthouse Annex on Lincoln &
Central (Highway 96). It will be from 10-11 a.m.
Technical Classes Available
The Carthage Technical Center
has announced that there are still openings in
the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machinig
Operator classes. The classes are designed to
prepare individuals for high wage, high skill
precision maching employment as entry level CNC
Operator/ Programmers. Students are given
training certificate for completion of the
courses.
Classes available are Blue
Print reading, Inspection & Gaging to start
Agust 4th 6-9 p.m. Cost for the 24 hour course is
$100.00. CNC Fundamentals of Tooling and Setup
class will start August 3rd. Cost for the 36 hour
course is $150.00 Other classes available in
September and October will be CNC turning and
Milling Operations, G-Code Programming and CNC
Conversational Programming. For more information,
contact Carthage Technical Center at 359-7026.
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