The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Tuesday, January 19, 1998 Volume VII, Number 151

did ya know?

Did Ya Know?. . . The Jasper County Planning Commission will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 19,1999. All meetings are held at the Annex Buidling in Carthage and begin at 7 p.m. All meetings are open to the public. For more information call 417-358-1061.

 

Did Ya Know?. . .Sign ups for the Carthage Public Library Winter Reading Club will continue through February 1. There is plenty of time to read for incentives and drawing prizes before the end of the program March 15 .

today's laugh

What's all the commotion over there-a fire?

No-a fellow started to cross the bridge.

Well?

There wasn't no bridge.

 

My gosh, boy, what happened to you?

I threw a horseshoe over my shoulder.

And what happened?

There was a horse nailed on it.

 

That dentist wasn't painless.

Why, did he hurt you?

No, but he yelled when I bit his finger.

 

What do you do when you get a bite?

Scratch it.

What a fisherman you must be!

1899
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

It Was a Rough Storm.

The snow which began falling the other afternoon continued until late at night, and, with the sharp wind that blew, made it very disagreeable to be out. Shortly after going to the paper, Saturday evening, a special was received from the government weather bureau saying that the temperature would fall 20 degrees during the night.

The prediction was verified, although the bitter wind made the weather appear to be much colder than it really was. The government thermometer at Caffee's registered 19 1/2 above zero.

Death of Aged Woman.

Mrs. Letha Pyle, aged 90 years, died of old age yesterday morning at 10:45 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Thos. Gale, near Plew. She was buried this morning at 10 o'clock at the Pleasant Harp cemetary near Avilla. Mrs. Pyle leaves four children and was one of the oldest women in this area.

  Today's Feature

Capital Improvement Plans.

The Carthage City Council Budget/Ways and Means Committee met last Thursday evening to begin the process of setting the five year capital expense budget.

The Committee met together for 3 1/2 hours to discuss the budget and to read the five year capital improvement requests from the various City Departments.

Capital improvement which need Committee approval include any equipment purchased in excess of $2,500.

Budget Committee Chair Jackie Boyer explained the proposed expenses and revenues for the year 2000 alone do not match up on paper.

"That means that some of these projects aren't going to have the cost paid in one year," said Boyer.

"Sometimes making cuts of worthwhile projects are not very pleasant, but we need to live within our means even if we are starting out with a reserve."

The City will enter 2000 with approximately $3.5 million in reserves according to some estimations.

"We don't have $5 or $6 million in reserves and there are commitments against that $3.5 million of significant portions," Boyer continued.

The recommendations were submitted prior to the meeting by the various department heads.

The requests ranged from the future repair and renovation project at Memorial Hall, sidewalk and roadway repairs, renovations to the city golf course, renovations to the second floor of the City Hall, and equipment needs for both the police and fire departments.

"We want some continuity developed for the some of the projects," Boyer explained. "For example, we just don't want to fix Hazel street today, when in three years it is going to be torn up."

One example of a possible team approach to expenses that has been suggested is a city wide motor pool, shared between the Police, Fire, Parks and Streets Departments.

Proponents say this could allow tool requests to be centralized, and decrease the number of maintenance buildings being kept up around the city.

The Police department request for computers in response to the Y2K problem (as reported in Thursday's Mornin' Mail) has also been said to emphasized the need for interdepartmental cooperation.

City Administrator Tom Short said the department is working to make certain that the computers are compatible for possible city-wide networking in the future.

"We (The City) need to once again, not duplicate efforts," said Boyer. "And there are going to be some toes crunched (in the process)."

Short, reminded those present that this was the first of many brainstorming work meetings, and that the budget before them represented a "worst case scenario" in both the projected expenses and revenues.

This budget does not include possible grants to fund specific projects.

Due to the fact that some of the department reports were incomplete, and because the committee wanted some questions answered about some of the requests, the next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 2.


Extension Council Leadership.

New members of the Jasper County extension council will be elected from candidates nominated by county citizens.

"We need men and women who will give of their time and talent to see that the people of this county are served by higher education programs available to them through University Extension, and arm of the University of Missouri System and Lincoln University," said Lloyd Cooley, chairman of the council. "I think we have an outstanding slate of people who have indicated willingness to serve their fellow citizens."

The county extension council is the governing body for University activities in Jasper County. Council members work throughout the year with University Extension staff to determine the county's needs for higher education and continuing education programming and help plan activities to meet these needs.


 

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

This is the last day ta file for City Council or the School Board.

The First Ward and Third Ward still have no candidates for the Council. There is a possibility that Charlie Bastin will file late today for a return to the First Ward, but J.D. Whitledge has stated he will definitely not be runnin'.

The only race for a Council seat is in Fifth Ward between incumbent Donna Harlan and former Council member Lujene Clark.

Fourth Ward incumbent Art Dunaway is unopposed and first time First Ward candidate Just Jake Johnson is also unopposed as of about 4:30 yesterday afternoon.

If there is no candidate for a ward, the Mayor will have to find a willin' candidate for the Council to approve. The Citizens of those wards don't get much say that way.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin'.

Sponsored

by

Mike Lawrence, Investment Representative, Edward Jones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sponsored by McCune Brooks Hospital

Weekly Column

Financial Focus

submitted by Mike Lawarance

IMPEACHMENT AND THE STOCK MARKET.

Here are a few key points regarding the impeachment proceedings taking place in Washington:

The current efforts to remove President Clinton from office have largely been ignored by the stock market because it is viewed more as a political battle than something that will significantly hurt the economy. If the possibility of a transfer of power does increase, investors may begin to ask more questions like if Gore is pro-environment, does that mean that he's antibusiness? Would Treasury Secretary Rubin, a key figure in handling the international economic crisis leave? Investors don't like uncertainty, and when they have more questions than answers they tend to sell stocks.

But in the long run, fundamentals, such as growth in the economy, corporate profits, and inflation determine the course of stock prices. Economic forces are more powerful than political forces, and the stock market has survived many changes at the top. Scholars that claim that the current proceedings in Washington will "rock the foundation of our nation to the core" should remember in 1945, one of the greatest Presidents ever to serve suddenly died in office, in the middle of a World War. While President Roosevelt's passing was a great loss, it did not result in lasting damage to the nation, the economy or the financial markets.

Some pundits will compare Clinton's impeachment to the Watergate scandal in 1974. But the 1973-74 bear market in stocks was more attributable to the Arab Oil Embargo, which started in October, 1973. That action triggered a recession the following month and a leap in inflation from 3 percent to 11 percent. Yes, markets were hammered, but the economic fundamentals were much different than today.

In most cases, the Federal Reserve has a greater influence on the American economy than the White House. Exceptions to that rule would be the "Reagan Revolution" that included a dramatic change in fiscal policy which featured sharp tax cuts. If Gore became President, we do not believe he would pursue a domestic agenda considerably different from President Clinton. Our advice to investors is to stay the course, and use any pullback in stock prices as an opportunity to add to current holdings.

 

Health Notes.

I recently spoke with a young woman who was concerned about her children being overweight. I suggested she try getting the kids to walk.

The whole idea seemed so simple, she found it hard to accept that it would work. But I explained that human beings are designed to get around by walking. Nature has equipped us pretty well for it. Walking not only helps us lose weight, it helps keep the weight off. It also helps keep various body parts working. Walking increases circulation, and that means more blood gets to more places to nourish more cells. Walking helps reduce LDL (the bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (the good cholesterol).

There was a time when we moved from place to place on our own power. But several thousand years ago, that changed when we learned to hitch up horses or oxen to carry us around. When we do less walking, we pay the price in obesity, cardiovascular problems, and a general sense of sluggishness.

Too many youngsters are driven everywhere. Wherever possible, children should be allowed to walk to and from schools, libraries, movies, and other places. If they need to be taken by car or bus, why not arrange to drop them off at least half a mile from the destination and let them walk the rest of the way?


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