Memorial Hall Staffing.

Members of the Public Services Committee heard a recommendation from City Administrator Tom Short that a supervisory staff position be created to oversee operations at Memorial Hall. Short first broached the idea at a Budget Committee meeting last week and brought the idea to Public Services at their meeting Monday because of their oversight role in Memorial Hall operations.

Short cited current personnel shortfalls at the Hall and recommendations of the Memorial Hall Long Range Planning Committee as two reasons for pursuing the idea at this time.

"During our long range planning, we had always talked about the possibility of hiring additional staff...to oversee the operations of the Hall, to help promote it more, do all the marketing and possibly go into some other areas," said Short. "I would like to see if we could start that process now. Hire somebody at basically a supervisor level who would be housed at the Hall."

Short said such an employee would book all events, coordinate the staff, take care of deposits and other monies at the Hall, keep track of key distribution, maintain all inventories, schedule employees to insure adequate staff coverage at all events and any other oversight duties necessary. In addition, this person would oversee the Civil War Museum operations.

Currently, bookings for Memorial Hall are handled by the assistant in Short’s office, but she is out of the office on an extended injury leave. There are two full-time and one part-time maintenance positions at Memorial Hall, but staff turnover and medical problems have left the Hall understaffed.

"We talked during long range planning about how the building is deteriorating because there’s really noone down there telling the employees what to do," said Short. "If there were somebody down there actually supervising them daily, they could be doing some more proactive things maintenance-wise, patching holes and painting as opposed to just cleaning up after an event."

According to Short, should the Memorial Hall renovations go forward, this supervisory position would remain in place and an additional staff position would be created to handle the marketing and promotion of the Hall. The supervisor would then report to that person. Until that time, the supervisor would report to Short.

"I have no objection to creating a new position," said Committee Member Jackie Boyer. "Personnel is the most expensive thing we can do, but I think we can get a better return on that building. And if you improve the return $15,000, you’ve paid more than half the additional cost."

Short will present a detailed job description and recommend a salary level at the next Public Services meeting. He is looking at a salary range of $20,000 to $25,000.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

There are at least a couple a things that people don’t understand. They know what happens, they just can’t say why.

The scientists don’t know why clouds build up an electrical charge that eventually turns into lightnin.’ They can explain what happens from that point on, but they still can’t figure out why the charge is there in the first place.

When a small child it hooked up so they can see brain waves, the sound of their parent’s voice sets off an explosion of activity. Showin’ ‘em a favorite toy or food only activates a small portion of brain waves.

In this age of technological advance it somehow seems odd, but I suppose there is some comfort in knowin’ we don’t know it all.

This is some face, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

Pet Care

by Cleo & Brad Conrad

The following are travel tips for you and your pet:

Make sure all pets’ identification tags are intact and up to date. Have rabies vaccination certificates with you if crossing state or international borders.

Call your veterinarian before you leave to find out about any special precautions you can take to make the move easier on your pet.

If your pet has not traveled by car before, or is easily agitated in the car, take a few short trips before you go to help him get ready. Small pets may travel better in carrying cages.

Stick to your pet’s regular feeding schedule.

Taking favorite foods and toys along may prove helpful. If you’re traveling for more than a day, stock up on pet food and supplies like cat litter and dog biscuits.

Take a supply of your own water with you to keep the pet from developing a stomach ache.

DO NOT allow the pet to keep its head out the window. Dust particles may cause injury or infection.

DO NOT leave the pet unattended in the vehicle, even if the window is "cracked a little." Temperatures easily soar to fatal heights within minutes.

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