No Easy Answers on the County Budget.

The Jasper County Financial Advisory Committee met Monday evening to bring together final reports from four subcommittees that will be condensed into a final full Committee recommendation to the Jasper County Commissioners. The three County Commissioners and several county elected officials were in attendance. The subcommittee reports held no easy answers to the perceived squeeze on the County budget in the near future. It has been estimated that by the end of fiscal year 1999 the County will have less that $270,000 in reserves. The budget of $11.2 million is projected to be over $2 million more than revenues for the year.

The Committee was formed by the Commission in hopes that a broad based financial experience of the members might come up with some suggestions to keep the budget in balance according to Presiding Commissioner Danny Hensley.

Some of the subcommittees long term ideas include some type of job classification/pay scale that would apply to all County employees and consideration of a County Charter form of government. A final report is scheduled in about a month.

Friend of the Square Passes.

Funeral services for Bob Sade of Oldies and Oddities Mall in Carthage will be held Thursday at 11 A.M. at the Ulmer Funeral Home in Carthage. Visitation will be Wednesday from 7 P.M. until 8 P.M.

Sade and his wife Roberta have operated their antique mall on the Carthage Square for many years. He passed away on August 8th at his residence in Joplin after a long struggle with cancer.

Graphic Art Opportunities

Due to our recent purchase of additional equipment and expansion of our Carthage, Missouri facility, we are currently taking applications for the following positions:

Press Operator. Must have experience operating an A.B. Dick 360, Chief 117, Heidelberg windmill, power cutter, and folding equipment. Dark room and layout experience.

Pre Press: Experience with Pagemaker, Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, Coral Draw. Design and typesetting. Mac and PC. Four Color process experience a plus.

Customer Rep: Need strong organizational skills, computer skills, and be service oriented. Knowledge of current paper trends and printing background.

Bindery: General bindery, padding, stitching, booklet assembly and binding. Some lifting involved.

General Office: Phone skills and computer skills. Experience with Quickbooks, Excel, Access and page layout programs.

Pick up an application at 213 Lyon, Carthage, Missouri, or call for appointment. 417-358-5174 Fax 417-358-3168 email: mmail@morninmail.com

Carthage Printing Services

"Latest technology, Old fashioned values."

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

I’ve always heard that bein’ a half-wit is better than havin’ no wit at all. I’ve wondered what ya get when two half-wits have a conversation. ‘Course you could have a battle of wits between two unarmed opponents.

I’ve never looked up exactly what wit is. I suppose ya have ta know it when ya see it. My mom seemed to appreciate wit when I was growin’ up. I’d hear comments about this person or that bein’ "witty." Especially valued was the person with "quick wit." Someone lackin’ the skills, however defined, of course was referred to as a "dim wit."

Wit seems to somehow combine insight with humor and timing, but the exact formula is heavily reliant on the circumstance and personal taste, or compete lack thereof.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

by Donna Erickson

If you ask my kids about ice cream, they are more likely to associate it with the cold, hazy cloud coming out of the supermarket freezer than with the cranking of an ice cream maker on a hot evening in August. You don’t have to have an old ice cream maker to make the real thing. Just use coffee cans and an old-fashioned recipe.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of whole milk, 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup sugar and a pinch of salt. Let your kids help choose added fruits or nuts. Our favorite this time of year is sliced strawberries. We add about 1/2 cup to this recipe.

Pour the mixture into a clean, dry 12-ounce coffee can. Be sure you have checked to be sure it has a tight-fitting, leakproof lid.

Snap the lid on the can. Set the can inside a larger 39-ounce size coffee can. Pack crushed ice around the smaller can. Sprinkle rock salt over the ice and snap the lid on the larger can. Let your child roll the can back and forth to you or a friend on your driveway, sidewalk or porch. After about 10 minutes, remove the lid of the larger can to drain any water. Carefully remove the lid on the smaller can and stir the thickening ice cream mixture. Replace the lid. Add more ice and salt to the larger can, replace that lid and roll for about 10 more minutes.

Serve the ice cream for a snack or for dessert. It has that hurry-up-and-eat-it now quality no one can resist. It’s the real stuff!