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The Mornin' Mail is Published Daily - Friday, December 19, 1997 Volume 6, Number 130

Did Ya Know... Deadline entry for the Market Fair is January 6th. For details, call the Carthage Chamber at 358-2373.

Did Ya Know... Classes and tutoring in English are available from the Family Literacy Council. For details, call 358-5926.

Did Ya Know... The OATS Bus runs from Carthage to Joplin each Tues. To schedule rides, call 358-4662 on Mondays.

today's laugh

Diner: Is it customary to tip the waiter in this restaurant?

Waiter: Why...ah...yes, sir.

Diner: Then hand me a tip. I’ve waited almost an hour for that steak I ordered.

Pine Tree - A tree that mopes.

Postcard to Weather Bureau: "Sirs: I thought you would be interested in knowing that I have just shoveled three feet of partly cloudy from my front steps."

A man walked into a doctor’s office with a frog growing out of his ear.

Doctor: When did you first notice it?

Frog: It started with a wart.

Q: Why are there so few men with whiskers in heaven?

A: Because most men get in by a close shave.

1897
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

They Both Claim It.

From all accounts it seems that there has been a clash of authority among the bosses at Jefferson City over the position of stenographer in Attorney General Ed. C. Crow’s office.

It has been understood here that the position belonged to Thos. F. Roach, of the Carthage Morning Democrat, but it now develops that Miss Edith Hampton, also of Carthage, is already installed in the position, and has been for several days.

Miss Hampton has been employed lately in the Missouri Pacific offices at St. Louis, but her friends here say that she left her position there in response to a telegram from Judge Crow offering her the position of stenographer in his office at $75 per month and free transportation. She at once accepted and went to Jefferson City, returning to this city to spend Sunday at home, but again going to Jefferson City this morning.

A gentleman who is in a position to know stated that Miss Hampton had the position permanently and that the job had never been offered Mr. Roach.

Mr. Roach was seen this morning by a reporter and stated that Miss Hampton was only in Judge Crow’s office to assist during the rush of the next two months and that he would leave this week for Jefferson City to assume his position retaining Miss Hampton as an assistant until after the rush.

Mr. Roach further stated that he had been tendered the position by Judge Crow on condition of the judge’s nomination and election, and that there was no doubt about his getting it. He has been taking a course in stenography and type writing during the past two months to fit himself for the position.

There is another young man in the city that claims to have been tendered the position but he seems to be left out in the cold altogether.

The entire affair is a beautiful muddle, as both parties seem sincere in their belief that the position is theirs and the outcome will be watched with interest.

Today's Feature

Walnut Bottoms Discussed.

The Public Works Committee met for the last time this year on Wednesday evening.

The Walnut Bottoms trash situation which had been raised by Street Commissioner Tom Shelley at a November meeting was up for discussion.

Walnut Bottoms is a tract of land on the north side of Spring River which was deeded to the City in 1989 by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The area provides access to the river for fishing, but it has become a dumping ground for trash which the City is responsible for clearing.

Walnut Bottoms was annexed when deeded to the City, but the only way to access it is to leave the City limits and enter over a county bridge in need of repair.

Joe Butler, Assistant to the City Engineer, reported that there were no conditions imposed on the City by the Conservation Department at the time the deed was transferred and asked that the Committee consider selling the property.

There are utility easements which run across the property to which the City would retain access.

"I honestly think if the City could get rid of it, that would be the smartest thing to do," said Shelley. "You’ve got a lot of problems, access problems and so on. The actual part of the property that can be used is very small, probably not much more than an acre....the rest of it is just a wooded area."

"If we can’t get rid of it, the City is probably going to have to come up with better access, a way to control it, lighting and so on," Shelley continued.

Council Member Bill Johnson made a motion recommending that the Council declare the area surplus property and offer it for bids.

Council Member Nolan Henry was the only opposing vote, urging the Committee not to act in haste.

Henry said he would like to see access to the river retained since the area is used for fishing.

He also expressed concern that anyone who acquired the land might remove the top soil and cause additional flooding in the area.

Community Option Phone Service

Release by Senator Marvin Singleton

Like many of my constituents, I live in one community and work in another - and like many of my constituents, I was delighted at the implementation of COS - Community Option Service to help reduce long-distance telephone costs.

Under COS, telephone users can pay a small monthly fee that offsets both incoming and outgoing long-distance calls to neighboring communities. This is very helpful for parents, businesses and everyone with a keen understanding that while an adjacent community or even a neighbor is only a short distance away geographically, they can be rather long distances under our telephone systems.

As technology has developed that allows telemedicine, distance learning programs in our schools and access to the Internet, COS has been very helpful to those who want or need access to this technology. Through COS this information can be accessed without incurring rate-based long distance charges.

Unfortunately, COS is just about to end in outstate Missouri. Under a ruling quietly approved by the so-called Public Service Commission (PSC), COS service will end in March.

In all, the reasons the PSC have given are pretty lame. In much the same way most folks fail to see the logic in having to pay long distance charges to call a neighbor on an adjacent hilltop whose house they can see from their kitchen window. Good country horse sense is going to make it hard to understand why the PSC wants folks to pay more so they can turn around and try to save us money!

In recent years, the trend in our nation ahs been toward deregulation of major industries and utilities. The idea is sound: competition is a free market economy better serves consumer interests than state-regulated monopolies. However, sometimes bureaucrats take even a great idea like free market consumerism and mess it up with the same kind of central planning and confusing regulations that bogged the market in the first place.

The decision by the Public Service Commission to end COS is an excellent example of this. Big companies don’t mind losing a little money on long distance service under COS, because they can make up the difference elsewhere. But little companies - according to the Public Service Commission deep thinkers - need that long distance revenue to become profitable. Therefore, PSC wants to raise the long distance rates so small companies can make more money and start competing with big companies - who also will be charging more. Eventually, that is IF the PSC is correct, market competition will happen and prices will drop.

Meanwhile, the consumer - the same individual the PSC wants to charge more to establish a system that could cost less - is footing the bill for the inane, pie-in-the-sky liberal central committee experiment in controlled free market economic the PSC has undertaken.

I, and many of my colleagues in the Legislature, are not amused and would rather save consumers money by maintaining COS while market competition develops at its own pace and with its own capital venture risks. That way, the consumer saves now and the consumer saves later.

Consequently, I will be considering legislation to help preserve COS and hold down costs to consumers. And in the meantime, I will be signing petitions asking for a new docket on which PSC could reverse its silliness and protect consumers by maintaining the current system that has proved effective in saving costs.

Anyone who wants more information is welcome to call or write my Jefferson City office: State Capitol, Room 426, Jefferson City, MO 65101, (573) 751-2306, (573) 751-2894 fax, msingl01@services.state.mo.us.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

I see we’re in for another round of "what happened durin’ the last year that we can possibly talk about ta fill up space and time."

TV shows are already startin’ and some of the weekly magazines. Suppose it will happen in even the smallest of regular publications to some extent.

I suppose it’s not that bad ta stop for a few moments and consider the events of the past year, it just seems that ever’one wants ta talk about the same ones. It’s not enough that we are bombarded with instant news coverage of details of these events, now we have ta "relive" the whole ordeal.

Between that and the commercials tryin’ to sell Christmas specials, it’s hard to stay in the spirit.

Christmas is comin’ fast it seems this year. Suppose that has somethin’ ta do with the number of years of experience with the holiday. If we can live through the next phase of "predictions for the comin’ year," we’ll be well into spring.

This is some fact, but mostly, Just Jake Talkin’.