Did Ya Know... The Winter Reading Program will begin November 17th at the Carthage Library. Call 358-2939 to sign up.

Did Ya Know... An after school assistance program is available Monday through Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Call the Family Literacy Council at 358-5926 for details.

Did Ya Know... Affordable Tree Service is doing contract tree trimming in the City. Direct questions or special requests to Jerry Simmons or Jack Lounis at 358-5904.

Did Ya Know... Veterans Day services will be held at Memorial Hall today at 11 a.m.

Soldier: Do you know that ugly sap of an officer standing over there? He‘s the meanest egg I have ever seen.

Girl: Do you know who I am? I am that officer’s daughter.

Soldier: Do you know who I am?

Girl: No.

Soldier: Thank God.

"When you were playing golf, did you ever shoot a birdie?"

"No, but I once shot at a duck."

"Did you study your history?"

"Naw, I ain’t had no time for nothin’ but my English."

A Midnight Marriage.

Chas. B. Bumgartner, a miner at South Carthage, and Miss Honorah Read, who lives near the mines, were married about midnight last night in the recorder’s office at the court house. They came to Carthage about 11:30 and appealed to Howard Betebenner to help them out. He routed up Recorder J. A. Sigler and while the license was being procured Night Officer Asa Hurst went after Justice T. M. Garland who quickly made them man and wife in the presence of the night police, Howard Betebenner, Recorder Sigler and Chas. Hale. After congratulations, the witnesses celebrated the occasion fittingly at the invitation of Recorder Sigler and Justice Garland.

You ought to know when suffering kidney trouble a safe sure remedy is Foley’s Kidney Cure. Guaranteed or money refunded. Wells Drug Co., 316 east side of square.

Main Street Receives Grant.

Main Street Carthage announced a $5,000 donation from Nations Bank yesterday morning at a media conference. President of the Board, Louise Petersen accepted the check from Nations representative Cindy Harding. The organization is considering using a portion of the grant to upgrade its computer.

Executive director Diane Sharits also officially introduced the new owners of the building which is currently the home of The Ladies Peddler, Jack and Sue Vandergriff. The couple owns Bee Discount and Variety and plan to move that business into the new location in the spring of next year. The Ladies Peddler announced last week it is closing.

Sharits also said that Main Street Carthage had received a verbal approval of over $13,000 in funding for Victorian street signs from Jim Spradling of the Boylan Foundation. A past grant assisted in the purchase of signs now in the downtown historic district. This latest grant will be for signs in the residential historic district south of the Square.

letter from ma

I'm not supposed to make Pa mad. Anything you read about heart attack recovery points out that stress is to be avoided. So I try to walk softly around Pa.

But what the information doesn't say is that Pa should not make me angry so I won't have any need to raise my voice to him and stress him out.

How many ways are there to express anger besides gritting your teeth? Some people yell, of course. Some slam doors or throw things. Some clam up, while others spew out foul language.

My dad wore a path around the house where he stomped when he was mad. Cars are a frequent target. I saw a man slam a car door hard enough to shatter the glass. At least that stopped him from driving while angry.

I know a woman who kept a metal milk bucket under her sink. She gave that bucket many a whack with her foot when she was angry or frustrated. After twenty years of marriage it was shredded with just the wire handle and a piece of the rim recognizable.

I think I'll start sprinting outdoors around the house when Pa aggravates me. My tongue is getting chewed up from biting it, and gritting my teeth will just raise my dental bills.

Think how healthy I'll be this winter, getting all that fresh air and exercise.

Commentary

Martin "Bubs" Hohulin

State Representative, District 26

This week saw a new member elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. Up in the 3rd District in northern Missouri, David Klindt, a republican from Bethany was elected in a special election to replace democrat Phil Tate, a democrat from Gallatin. Tate recently resigned from the House to take an appointment in the Department of Economic Development. What, you ask, does an election in northern Missouri have to do with us in southwest Missouri? The answer is; plenty. First and foremost is the difference in the way Klindt will vote compared to Tate. Tate was a tax and spend social and fiscal liberal that voted for every tax increase and regulation that came along. Klindt on the other hand is a conservative that believes in a smaller and less intrusive government. This is important to people all over the state because as regular readers of this column will remember, we have lost several important votes over the years by only one vote. Some of these votes include cutting off welfare payments based on how many kids welfare moms can push out, reforming the worker’s compensation system so that injured workers would receive more money and employers would pay lower premiums, (the only losers in this plan would have been the trial lawyers), the attempt to oust Bob Griffin as Speaker of the House, an attempt to turn back legislation that is now making it incredibly tough to put in a septic tank system, the list could take up this entire column. If having another conservative, common sense vote in the legislature can help us swing just a few of the common sense issues our way, the whole state will benefit.

This makes a good story in itself, but there is another chapter to it. Trenton is the biggest town in the 3rd District and is one of the three finalists to have a new state prison built there. While it may seem strange to want a prison for a neighbor, northern Missouri is a financially depressed area and really needs the jobs and economic lift a prison would bring. Keep this in mind when you might think of opposing new businesses to our area. We are really lucky to have the industry we do in this area.

Anyway, it is a big issue in Trenton that they get this prison. The way the system is set up is that it is to be non-political for the selection process. There is a committee of Representatives and Senators that makes a recommendation to the governor whom then makes the final decision. The democrat candidate tried to intimate that his successful election would be vital to Trenton securing the prison. So much for a non-political process! Then after his defeat Tuesday night, he stated that because the people had elected a republican it was going to be difficult to get the prison. Non political indeed! How will all this play out? Tough to say.

I would like to think Governor Carnahan would be above partisan politics and put the prison where it will be best for the State regardless of who the local legislator is. Several years ago however, Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson, a democrat from Columbia stated during a special election campaign that if they voted for the republican, they would probably lose a veteran’s home that was to be built in the area. Sure enough, the republican won and within a year the home had been moved to a city represented by a democrat. The real outrage was not the fact that a democrat was favored over a republican, far from it. The real outrage is that 1, the voters were punished for voting their conscience in an election and 2, a building that was, and should have been, intended to provide for a group of folks that we can never adequately repay for what they have done for us was used as a pawn in a game of politics.

As usual, I can be reached at 1-800-878-7126 or House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101, or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments, or advice.

Letter to the editor

Who Is Running Carthage?

A burning question that has been growing over the past many months is, "Who is really running Carthage?"

The voters, obviously, are not running the City. They voted for a new airport and were ignored. The City Council, apparently, is not running the City. They voted for the reopening of the airport and the mayor vetoed that. Mayor Riley based his veto on phone calls from a few "Key People."

I think we have a right to know who our real leaders are.

So, how do we find out who the "Key" people are who actually run the city of Carthage so we can at least give our input, whatever it’s worth, to these people who make the decisions.

Or, do we need a Grand Jury in Carthage to see why we:

* Don’t operate according to the City Charter

* Find it necessary to continuously break the Sunshine Law

* Have so many "closed" sessions to begin with

* Why we can break an Initiative Ordinance which should be the strongest law there is

* Can’t find out who negotiated the price for the sale of land at Myers Park

* Have so much secrecy in our City Government

It’s time we started running the City according to our instructions, the City Charter. Our council people who vote their "conscience" need to be voting what their constituents are wanting, and our mayor should not allow a few "Key" people to tell the rest of us how it’s going to be.

Richard Barlet, Carthage

To: mmail @getonthe.net

Subject: Stop lights...

Would you put in a reminder that a car has to stop behind the crossbar to trip the light. So many people are pulling up too far especially at Wal-Mart and then get mad when the light won’t change. It takes another car to drive up behind them to trip the light.

Thanks ... Donita Mills

It’s definitely time ta get out the rake and begin the annual ritual of harvestin’ the bountiful crop of maple leafs. This year seems ta be an especially good one for the foliage.

I noticed that the rain gutters are especially full and may require some rakin’ as well.

I see those covers that they sell that are supposed ta keep the gutters clean. I suppose they must deflect some of the debris, but I’ve gotta wonder if they’re worth the effort. I suppose like most things, when ya think about ‘em is after you’ve already cleaned out the gutters for the year. Don’t need ‘em ‘till next fall, never get around to it.

I have often wondered if there is a equitable distribution of leafs among all properties. It seems that there is sometimes a disproportionate number of red leafs landing in my yard. ‘Course those who have no Maples get to also assist in rakin’ up some from the neighborin’ trees. I suppose it’s all part of the shared responsibility.

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

by McCune Brooks Hospital

Health Notes

ZINC ABOUT IT! Zinc has been a prime ingredient in healing ointments for centuries. It’s also a nutrient found in seafood, including oysters, which may account for that bivalve’s reputation for helping increase sexual performance.

In a recent study by the Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition at Tufts University School of Nutrition, it was found that zinc - which is essential for normal growth and brain development - is shockingly absent from the diets of millions of American children. A zinc deficiency not only affects brain development - which can lead to poor cognitive function and learning problems, but can also cause a condition known as stunting, in which a child is shorter than normal at a given age. This deficiency syndrome is more frequent among children in poorer circumstances. It may stem from a lack of nutritious foods either because the families are too poor to buy them, or because their families are unaware of proper nutrition. Whatever the cause may be for the deficiency, the effects can be damaging. Some of the foods containing zinc include eggs, lean ham, low-fat milk, bran cereal, tuna fish, whole wheat bread, baked beans, peas, broccoli, carrots, bananas, nuts and seeds, cheese, frozen yogurt, and bagels. Speak to your doctor or pediatrician if you suspect a zinc deficiency in your family.