Friday April 4, 1997 Volume V, Number 204
His wife came home from the practice range. "How was your lesson, dear?" he asked. "Great," she said, "I'm not missing the ball by nearly as much anymore!"
"Hey, man. That is gross! Don't you ever peel the banana before eating it?" "No. I already know what's inside."
An old lady was impressed by the sermons of the missioner and told one of her friends about his enthusiasm. "Do you know," she said, "he can preach about Hell as if he was born and reared in the place."
The Carthage Schrine Club will hold a Turkey Shoot Saturday April 5 and Sunday April 6 from 12 noon until dark. The public is invited to the location 1/4 mile east of 571 on "V" Highway north of Carthage. There will be Splatterboard and Trap, male and female. For more information, call Bill Dodson, 417-358-2428
Did Ya Know... The Rhoda Fairchild Chapter NSDAR is meeting Sat., April 5, at 1:00 p.m. at the Powers Museum.
Two issues raised by newly elected Council member Charlie Bastin in Wednesday's Carthage evening paper are probably moot points. Bastin suggested that the Council could rehire former City Administrator Mike Randall who resigned last month, and was reported as stating that he would recommend that Gary Mohr be appointed to the Third Ward Council seat vacated by Steve Ogle. Mohr lost an attempt to reclaim the position by seven votes last Tuesday.
Mayor Don RileyThe Mayor told the Mornin' Mail yesterday that he is actively searching for a candidate to bring to the Council for approval for the Third Ward, but that he won't be making that decision before next Tuesday's Council meeting. Legally Ogle must still officially resign from the position before anyone can be appointed. Ogle is in the process of moving to Nashville.
There is apparently no process in which either the rehiring or the appointment could be forced on the Mayor. Although the Council does have the power to refuse an appointee, there is no mechanism for members of the Council to force a candidate to be submitted. The hiring of a City Administrator requires a majority approval by the Council and the Mayor's approval. In both cases, the Mayor has the ultimate veto power, leaving the Council with no recourse.
Although the Mayor made no comments about either scenario yesterday, history would indicate that the Mayor is not favorable to either of Bastin's suggestions.
Gary MohrMohr resigned last year after serving three and a half years as Third Ward representative amid accusations the Council and the Mayor in particular asked for monetary compensation for the City after Mohr purchased a condemned property. A letter to Mohr, signed by the nine other Council members at the time, expressed "dismay and disapproval" of Mohr's actions that they felt "bring into question the ethics of the Council ."
According to the letter, Mohr voted to grant a thirty day extension on a demolition order and then purchased the property and obtained a building permit to restore the structure. Mohr denied any wrong doing and resigned. Mohr's resignation letter, first published in the Mornin' Mail, stated that the Mayor approached him immediately before the Council meeting on September 24, 1996 and told Mohr the Council wanted monetary compensation "of some sort to each and every one of you to prevent the letter (from the Council) from being written into the minutes of the council meeting."
The Mayor flatly denied any such request after the letter was published. He told the Mornin' Mail at the time he merely requested that Mohr make some sort of an apology to the Council. Several Council members, most of whom are still on the Council, were highly offended by the accusations also.
There is also little doubt of the Mayor's position concerning the rehiring of Randall. On at least two recorded occasions the Mayor asked the Council for Randall's dismissal. Randall resigned after a closed session of the Council in February during which six Council members agreed with the Mayor.
It was a short week this week because of the Easter holiday. We didn't start until Tuesday afternoon and finished as usual on Thursday afternoon. These column are getting harder and harder to write because we haven't gotten into anything real major for a couple weeks. But as I said last week, that is not all bad; if we aren't doing anything big, chances are your wallet, liberty and happiness are a lot safer than if we were.
Probably the most active issue we dealt with was yet another revisit to ethics laws for legislators and staff. I've said it before and I'll say it again; if your legislator is ethical to begin with, they will do a good job. If your legislator is not ethical to start with, no amount of laws or rules will make them ethical. I'm all for legislators being ethical and serving the public interest, but when what I or my wife and kids can or can't do because of my position, then that is too much to ask of anyone. What we finally wound up with in the House was increased and more convenient reporting of lobbyist activities so full disclosure will be more readily available to the public. This is, to my way of thinking, a better deal than more laws and rules. Make the information about who is lobbying who, and how, more available to the voting public, and let them decide who is and who isn't ethical.
We are also finishing up work on the budget in the House and getting ready to send it to the Senate. Although there were several amendments offered by Republicans to trim parts of the budget in areas where programs are either outdated or inflated, we were defeated mostly along party lines. The Democrats didn't stray very far from Gov. Carnahan's recommendations. This is just a continuation of the precedent that has been set the past five years of the Gov. getting his party to march in lock-step with him to keep increasing the size and cost of government. The state budget has grown from around 9 billion dollars to over 14 billion dollars in just 5 years. That is too much too fast. Our repeated attempts to rein it in has been consistently defeated right down party line votes. Oh well, we're not going to give up, but it would be nice to have some legislators from the governor's party voting their districts instead of the governor's wishes. As usual, I can be reached at 1-800-887-7126.
Sponsored by Computer Minded/On The Net
Who made the Internet?
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Internet, is that it was planned. The Internet was indirectly created back in the '60s by the US government during the Cold War. The government was tired of mailing magnetic tapes back and forth between computers. So they decided to devise a way to link computers together using cables. The first concern the government had in doing this, was that the system had to be very robust. Meaning, if one computer crashes, or was disconnected, the other computers needed to be able to stay working. They wanted a design whereby they could connect and disconnect computers all day without disturbing any of the other computers on the network. Any of you who have looked through Christmas tree lights for that one burned out bulb, can appreciate the design they were looking for. In order to manage this huge project, the government created an organization called Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA. Later this new network was called the ARPANET. I personally like Internet better. At the end of the '70s, and the seeming ease of the Cold War, this incredible network was losing its financial backing. At this time the government began to invite science organizations and universities to use the network for their purposes.
by Carolyn L. Wyatt, GRI
Welcome to a new column in the Mornin' Mail. I am Carolyn Wyatt, a native of Carthage and a licensed real estate agent and Realtor for almost 19 years. I am a G.R.I. in real estate, which means a Graduate of the Realtor Institute and I am experienced not only in selling real estate, but also in property management.
Why do most people want to buy a new home and are these the reasons you would like another home? Extra space is usually the answer. According to a survey in the Professional Builder magazine, extra space for a family room is the most desired addition in living space for consumers. A larger kitchen, followed by more room in a living room and finally master bedroom were the last requirements listed.
This survey was a surprise to me, by not listing more bathrooms. I guess the survey did not ask for more accommodations. You now find many extras in more modernized bathrooms. Those with whirlpool tubs, larger showers, sky lights and more cabinet and counter top space are usually well received when showing homes in the Carthage area.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.
THE WORK OF A FIRE BUG. The Blaze at Saylor's Barn Last Night of Incendiary Origin. The fire department was called out about 7:30 o'clock last evening to extinguish a blaze at the old Saylor livery barn on Meridian street. H. A. Jackson, who runs a grocery store near the barn, turned in the alarm. The fire department made a remarkably quick response and in a very few moments the blaze was out. The barn has been unoccupied for some weeks past, having been vacated shortly after the arrest of the proprietor, John Saylor, who is now in jail charged with stealing three mules from T. K. Wood.
Neighbors discovered the fire and did good work fighting it. Bob O'Brien, who boards with the family of Daniel Donovan next door to the barn, rushed into the barn with pails of water and he had the fire nearly under control when the firemen arrived.
by Mari An Willis
Spring has sprung, but don't let your guard down to colds and flu. Many people come down with serious cases of spring colds and sinus infections. The following are a few ways to increase your resistance. 1. Drink Plenty of liquids. Fluids support the body by preventing dehydration of the respiratory tract. Soups, warm beverages and water are the best choices. 2. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Most people catch a virus by rubbing their nose, eyes or mouth after touching something handled by a person who has a cold. There are convenient antibacterial lotion/soaps available which require no water. Excellent choice for those times when you are shopping or other times when washing is not convenient. 3. Increase your intake of Vitamins A, C and Zinc. 4. Increase your calcium intake. You get aches and pains when lack of calcium in the white blood cells causes calcium depletion in the bones. 5. Get plenty of rest and sleep, and defend your health with good food based supplements, minerals and vitamins.
For those of ya so inclined, the Mornin’ Mail is now available on the internet. We’ve been workin’ to get somethin’ up an goin’ for the last few weeks and are now able to update on a daily basis. This may be of particular interest to those of ya who have kin in other parts of the country who want to keep up with the daily goin’s on here in Carthage. Although we don’t pretend ta be wizards at puttin’ web pages together, those with an interest can read the mail ever’day no matter where they may be. I understand the Library is hooked up to the net so folks can get a feel for it and do some research if needed. We’ve got a pretty long address, but once ya get it in, just hit the bookmark. Still a fast read and we’re startin’ to store issues for those days ya might miss some of the latest poop. The address is: www/geocities.com/heartland/hills/4604. Our email address is mmail@getonthe.net. This is some fact, but mostly, Just Jake Talkin’.