| Today's Feature Proposed County Plan Progress.
The County Planning Commission
met Tuesday to put finishing touches on the
proposed County Plan. Simpson and Associates
representative Tom Simpson indicated the final
draft of the proposed County Comprehensive Plan
2000 will be delivered to Board Members in 10
days which in turn will allow members time to
study the Plan before the July meeting.
Simpson and Board Member Dennis
Brasfeld entered into a prolonged discussion over
specific wording in the Plan describing Farm or
Agricultural versus Residential and Industrial
useage. Some areas are thought of as a
combination area. Brasfeld cited growth on
Dogwood Road as an example.
The term ‘Rural
Residential’ was suggested as an alternative
discriptive phrase. Simpson suggested that the
defination as used by the State Legislature would
be acceptible too, but neither suggestion was
discussed by the members.
The question of when and where
future Township Public Meetings will be held to
expain the Plan are undecided except the Board
agreed that the first meeting would not begin
before September. The final schedule will be
presented at the July meeting. The original
schedule called for public meetings to begin in
early August. Simpson argued sucessfully to delay
the meeting to a time nearer November 2nd when
voters go to the polls.
Simpson also announced the
Joplin Globe is going to host an Internet website
where the entire Plan can be viewed online. All
pertinent information will be released to media
at the appropriate time.
In other business Chairman
Loren Grieggs said the fifteen member-county
Southwest Missouri Resource, Conservation and
Development (RC&D) will hold an informational
meeting in July. They are committed to the areas
of grasslands, resources, water quality, forests
and rural fire protection Griegs feels a
particular concern to the County is
‘dry’ hydrants in regard to fire
protection and how that ultimately affects County
fire insurance rates.
Jasper County is not currently
represented at RC&D. Griegs said Western
District Commissioner Anna Ruth Crampton
suggested someone should attend the meeting.
Griegs said he had been invited to the meeting by
"another concern" and would attend as a
County representative. The luncheon which is
scheduled July 26 in Joplin at Ryan’s
Restaurant is open to the public.
Letters to the Editor
Opinions expressed reflect
those of the writer and not necessarily those of
the Mornin' Mail.
We thoroughly enjoy reading the
"Mornin’ Mail" via the internet
and in paper form when we visit Carthage. The
coverage of current and historical events in the
area is informative and entertaining. Keep up the
good work!
Spence Jackson and Staff of
U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Springfield District
Office
High Cost of Curb Side
Recycling
Since the City opened the
recycling center at the old landfill in November
of 1998, there have been about 550 drops of
various plastics, cans and paper products. I
would have to assume that number represents at
least some of the same citizens making a second
or third visit. I applaud those who are taking
advantage of this free service offered by the
City. The City has received a grant that even
pays for the cost of hauling off those
recyclables. The system is working.
The proposed curb side program
would cost the community approximately $6,000 per
month, and be mandatory for the next four years.
The danger is that the average family would
probably not notice the $1.29 tacked onto their
monthly utility bill. The result would be over a
quarter of a million dollars being sucked out of
this community over the next four years with no
benefit except to save a relatively few people
the effort of driving to the old landfill.
Even assuming that all 550
drops were by separate households, over the last
six month period the proposed curb side recycling
program would have cost the community
approximately $60 for each of those drops. This
is the reason I oppose the proposed plan. Even if
the number of recyclables picked up as a result
of curb side convenience would double or even
triple, the cost for the community as a whole is
prohibitive.
If recycling is worthwhile,
it’s worth the effort to get to the free
recycling station. The Council will have the last
opportunity next Tuesday to stop the proposed
curb side recycling mandatory charge. I urge you
to contact your Council and express your opinion
about this issue.
H.J. Johnson
Council member, 1st Ward
Good morning,
I have been reading about the
City Council's ongoing debate about mandatory
recycling. I agree with the editor of your
publication, making the citizens pay for
recycling whether they want to or not doesn't
seem right to me.
I have heard how the recycling
center at the landfill is working very well, if
this is true, that should take care of those who
feel that recycling is the correct thing to do.
From my point of view, my rates
are going to go up, and I am not getting anything
for it. My trash will continue to picked as
always, but it will cost me more.
I also would like the City
Council to be careful thinking they are there to
mandate things to the citizens. I do not like the
word or concept of "mandatory," we are
not children who need to be commanded by the
Council.
Thanks for listening,
Mike Harris
(former 1st Ward Council
member)
Bill
Snow’s Sculpture wins Best of Show !!
by Robin Putnam, artCentral
We had a wonderful turnout and
a great time at the opening last Friday evening
!! We have some very talented members so this
show is a must see !!
We awarded a cash prize for
Best of Show and are very pleased to say it was
Bill Snow’s latest sculpture called Play
Time. It’s two dolphins...and when you
consider it’s made of stone....hand
carved...it’s truly awesome !! Our
congratulations to Bill !!
We have some of the best work
ever in this show !! Paula Giltner’s
watercolor painting is absolutely stunning !! She
is a very talented artist !! Donna Roberts has a
piece that is a fairly new style for
her.....it’s acrylic and done in very light
layers...really beautiful !!
Then from there we have some of
the most beautiful pastels !! It is truly amazing
what these talented artists can do !! Come by and
see for yourself !!
We also have lots of prints and
some original drawings for sale in our Library.
These are the artwork of our membership, also.
Our new and regular hours are
Tuesday through Saturday 9am - 3pm. We’re so
excited to finally be regular !! That
doesn’t sound quite right.........anyway
this is a schedule that’s much easier for
everyone to remember !!
We have another artist to add
to our list of teachers for our artCamp 99. Devin
Berryhill will be teaching charcoal drawing !!
Yea !! We want to thank all of the teachers for
sharing their time and talents !!
We’re gearing up for our
annual membership drive. In August we will be
sending out membership forms and hope everyone
will consider joining. It’s an opportunity
to keep art alive in Carthage !!
As the weather gets warmer we
are working on getting our pottery room set up.
If anyone out there would like to help just let
us know. There’s everything to do from
painting to getting these wooden hose holders off
the walls !! Those hose things are really
attached....I can’t budge them at
all.....not even a smidge !! Ugh. There’s
also a bit of heavy lifting, too. We need some
muscle !!
As soon as we can get the room
organized and some juice for the kilns we will
offer a clay workshop....and as usual our members
will have unlimited access to the equipment in
there.
Right now we are in need of a
computer monitor. We have a very old 386 and
would need an older monitor to work with
it....right ? Anyway....if anyone has an old
color monitor they would like to donate...or loan
we would greatly appreciate it
Hope you’ll come out soon
and see the show !!
More...................next
week.
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