Monday May 12, 1997 Volume V, Number 230
Did Ya Know... Today from 7 to 9 p.m. Main Street Carthage will recognize volunteers with an Open House at 137 Grant.
Did Ya Know... The Summer Reading Club has begun in the Young People's Library. Sign-ups for the Club will continue throughout the summer.
Did Ya Know... Beginning May 14, a Master Gardener will be available to answer your questions on Weds. from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. The Helpline will run through Aug. 13. Call 358-2158 or stop by the Jasper County University Extension Center to contact a Master Gardener.
Parking space: Unoccupied space on the other side of the street.
Two women met at the golf club.
"My," said the first woman, "isn't that a new golf bag and set of clubs you have there?"
"It sure is," said the second woman. "I caught my husband fooling around with the maid."
"Why, that's terrible!" said the first. "You're leaving him, of course?"
"Certainly not," said the second woman. "I'm holding out for a brand new cart!"
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.Gave a Concert at Galena. Miss Emma Johns, Miss Clara Evans, Ruth Myers and the Schubert quartet of this city gave a concert at the M. E. church in Galena, Kansas, last night. The concert was very successful and very satisfactory to the audience.
The church people gave the concert to raise money for the purchase of an organ for the church and a neat sum was cleared. The party went down on the 4 o'clock car and returned on the 1:10 Missouri Pacific train this morning.
Butcher Shop Sold Out.
Mr. J. J. Raymaker, the north Main street butcher, has secured a position as a traveling salesman for a large packing house and yesterday closed out his stock and disposed of his fixtures. His family is still in Carthage.
Mornin',
I was walkin’ the other day and a car was waitin’ to pull out of the parkin’ lot. I aimed to the rear of the car to let the driver know I was clear and the car went ahead and pulled out. No since in a car havin’ to wait on my pace.
I was drivin’ and a teenager stopped in the middle of a cross walk and just stood there as if to dare me to hit him. He and his buddy seemed to get a big kick outa makin’ the vehicle slow to a stop.
Now I’m not sayin’ that I didn’t have a right to my piece of the sidewalk when I was walkin’, or the kid didn’t have a right to be safe in the side walk. As a pedestrian the law protects us against automobiles.
It just appears to me that sometimes folks get to thinkin’ just because they have a right, and sometimes even if they are right, they want to flaunt it to the world.
I suppose most of the time it’s easy to forget that even though ya got a right, sometimes it’s better to just do what’s right.
This is some fact, but mostly, Just Jake Talkin’.
by Al Carrell and Kelly Carrell
Sponsored by Carthage Farm & Home Supply, Inc.
Dear Al & Kelly: We lived with our wobbly table for years. We put all sorts of things under the legs, trying to steady it, but it always ended up rocking again. My wife finally fixed it with a button and her ever-popular glue gun. She said it took about 10 seconds to glue the button under the short leg, and the table hasn't wobbled since - G.B.
A SUPER HINT - If you are installing a roof fan or vent or another project that requires you to saw through asphalt shingles, try spraying the saw blade with a little wax or lubricating oil first. That can keep the asphalt from sticking to the blade and getting it all caked up.
Dear Al: The wood screw that keeps my weather vane in place kept backing out. I finally fixed it by putting a staple right over the head of the wood screw. The metal crosspiece fits down into the groove in the top of the screw, and keeps it in place just great. It has been months, and it's still a tight fit. I know that if I ever need to remove the screw, I can do it without much trouble, too - C.K.
Dear Carrells: If you use clamps to hold a meal straightedge along the cutting line on paneling, you can run your saw along the straightedge for perfect cut. - S.H.
Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 26
This week's column is probably going to be incomplete as well as being late. We usually come home on Thursday evenings, but this week, as well as next, we are staying Friday. By order of the Constitution we have to have a budget done by today (May 9). Since we still haven't hammered out all the details, I won't be able to include them in this column.
One of the hang-ups early on was the money for emissions reduction contained in the appropriations bill House Bill 6. The federal government, some years ago, mandated certain pollution standards for cities and St. Louis has been above that. Now this is disturbing for a couple of reasons.
First is that Washington has no business telling the State of Missouri what it can do and then threatening them with withholding highway funds. We already send in more money from fuel taxes than we get back. To threaten to withhold our own money is just wrong. The other thing is who is to say what level of pollution is harmful? Look at Times Beach. After spending millions of dollars to buy up and clean out the town, there is now a question of whether or not it was that harmful after all.
The Highway Department Chief Engineer, Joe Mickes, came around asking for votes in favor of House Bill 6. When he got to my office I gave him my wish list. One of the items was that I wanted him to authorize mowing our road ditches at a height of four inches instead of eight to ten inches. Now keep in mind the mowers are running over the ditches anyway. I just wanted him to mow it closer. In a very rude and arrogant way he told me that wasn't going to happen. He said that would be scalping them!
I guess we'd still rather have enough brush in the ditches so critters can easier hide close to the road so we can more easily hit them with our vehicle.
Oh well, what do I know? I'm just a plain country boy and he's an ivory tower bureaucrat. He surely knows more than I do!
As usual, I can be reached at: House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101 or 1-800-878-7126 or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments and advice.
The question of the City’s role in the funding of a park system came into play last week when the Budget/Ways and Means Committee voted to withdraw support for the maintenance of the Fair Acres Sports Complex.
A request by the Park Board for $36,725 to pay for the maintenance was voted down on a motion by Council member Lujene Clark and a second by member Jackie Boyer. Committee member Mike Harris, who is the Council Liaison to the Park Board was the only opposing vote.
During last year’s budget requests, the Board had convinced the Council that a commitment by the City to fund maintenance of the facility was needed to secure future funding from, among others, the Steadley Trust, which has donated funds for nearly all capital improvements on the site.
During the last year, negotiations and plans were made by the Board to approach Steadley with a plan to add four girls softball fields, similar to the Little League fields already in place, to the complex in the near future. Sandy Spradling, Park Board President for the last two years, has pushed for such an expansion since she was elected.
“I would love to get the girls out her to Fair Acres,” Spradling said in an interview after being elected two years ago. “How do you divide a family, decide which ball game you’re going to? How do you decide whether it’s your daughter’s or your son’s? Or your granddaughter’s or grandson’s. We know that. It’s just finding the money and maybe the labor getting it all done.
“But this is high on my list and I really would like to see us get this. We’re moving that way, but I’d like to push harder to get that accomplished for the girls.”
The Park Board attempted to enlist the efforts of the National Guard earlier this year to assist in the dirt work that will be necessary to level portions of the unused land at Fair Acres. They were notified that scheduling will not allow the Guard’s involvement at this time.
The Board also has to eventually address the fact that as the Myers Park Development begins, soccer practice fields located on the property will have to be replaced. A master plan for Fair Acres has been developed which includes additional practice fields, but funding is still the main issue.
The Budget Committee was reminded at last week’s meeting of the failed attempt by the Park Board in years past to gain the approval of the voters for a tax levy increase for the Parks. As a private citizen, Police Chief Ed Ellefsen told the committee he opposes the City giving additional funding to the Parks in light of that levy defeat.
Ellefsen has been consistent in his beliefs. During a meeting with the Budget Committee in February of 1995 he also spoke against the City funding the parks from general revenue.
“I was opposed to that because it was shorting the general revenue side and not giving any justification or reason for the citizens to vote for an increase in the tax levy,” said Ellefsen. “What’s the motivation for voting to increase the taxes for something that needs improvement when the money is going to come from another source?”
“Our system that is falling into disrepair, like our water and wastewater, has to be dealt with,” Ellefsen continued. “That should be the same litmus test for the park system that’s funded through the taxpayer by a tax levy. If the citizens voted it down the parks should go into such disrepair until they realize they made a mistake and now they will increase the tax levy for the parks. Otherwise, why would we have a park levy to begin with? It’s only there for part of the big pie.”
Comments made at last week’s meeting by Committee member Jackie Boyer concerning the possibility of charging a user fee of some sort for those living outside city limits has resulted in reported phone calls to several City leaders. Committee member Lujene Clark also proposed some sort of fee for use of sports facilities or spectator fees to increase revenues for the Park System. Although the Park Board has investigated such plans, the scheme has never gathered noticeable support among Board members.
A special meeting called by the Park Board last Friday night indicates that there will be some attempt by the group to work out some compromise with the Budget Committee when it meets next Wednesday night at City Hall. There is also some indication that some private citizens are planning to show support for the Park Board’s efforts at the meeting.