Housekeeping and Street Sweep.

The City Council meeting tomorrow evening at City Hall will consist of mainly "house keeping" measures. The final reading of an agreement to sell the old Police Department building is scheduled. The City will receive $75,000 for the property. Also in second reading is the agreement with Bucher, Willis and Ratliff for completion of the relocation study for the Carthage airport.

The Council will also be voting on a lease/purchase agreement with Midwest Bankers Group for a new street sweeper. During the Public Works meeting last Tuesday, Mike Roets of J&F Sweeping raised the issue of whether it would be more cost effective to contract street sweeping. His company currently contracts to clean several parking lots in Carthage and Joplin. Committee member Larry Ross said that in the future the City might consider a contract for street sweeping if the cost was reasonable. Roets said he could not give an accurate estimate because he could not obtain information about how many curb miles the sweeper covered.

The lease/purchase will cost approximately $30,000 per year for three years.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

I saw somethin' the other day that really ticked me off. Then I forgot what it was. Unfortunately, not knowin' why I was ticked off didn't alter the fact that I was ticked.

After a while, I started gettin' ticked that I couldn't remember why I was ticked in the first place. The resulting double tick stacked up to the point that I think I started lookin' for thick facts that might depict me bein' ticked. At that point I decided it just wasn't worth the effort and became deticked.

Most would have to agree that the natural unticked state is a more wholesome place ta be. The fact bein' that I usually don't have ta go lookin' for any particular ticker to tackle. I suppose a good measure for the level of displeasure would be a ticker tape, but that is usually reserved for parades.

I'm assumin' by now ya get the point. If ya need an excuse ta be ticked, you can always use this column.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin'.

by

Carthage Farm & Home Supply, Inc.

The Super Handyman

Q: The toilet tank is cracked. It does not leak as yet, but I'm afraid it might. What should I do?

A: First, shut off the water supply to the toilet tank. Then, drain it and dry the surfaces inside the tank. Use some epoxy adhesive and cover the crack both inside and outside the tank.

That should prevent the crack from leaking for a while. It might not prevent the crack from growing, however. So it behooves you to inspect the crack on a regular basis.

Dear Al & Kelly: I put new foam insulation on all our basement pipes this fall. I know I'm ready for winter now. I had leftover pieces of foam insulation and found some great uses for it. I put a piece on either side on the handles of my fertilizer spreader and push mower, so now the mechanical monsters will be much kinder on my hands. I placed some other foam scraps on the handles of my shovels and rake. Foam also helps you grip a wrench or crowbar easier.

Did you ever try to poke a skinny, wiggly replacement electrical cord up through the mazelike body of a lamp? It can be a challenge. But it doesn't have to be.

In fact, if you know our shortcut it's really easy. After disconnecting the plug and the light socket, attach the new wiring to the end of the old wiring with some electrical tape, then gently pull the new wiring into place as you remove the old.

ARCHIVES Index