Did Ya Know... Pre-registration discounts are offered for those signing before October 10th for the Maple Leaf Auto Show. For information, call Kenny Adams at 358-9337.

Did Ya Know... Advance discount tickets are available for the Cruise Night Dinner and Dance Concert on Saturday, October 18th at Red Oak II.

Did Ya Know... "Accessorizing Your Fall Wardrobe" and "Retirement Planning - What You Should Know About The New Tax Payer Relief Act" will be at Northpark Mall today beginning at 10 a.m. by The VantAge Point and Area Agency on Aging.

Did Ya Know... Carthage Train Crew will have a fish fry on Sat., October 4th at 6:30 p.m. at the Train Barn on west Mound Street across from the Old Cabin Shop. For information, call Buddy Garner at 358-7898.

If you live in a house full of teenagers, it is not necessary to ask for whom the bell tolls. It’s not for you.

"Here is something that will make you feel really grown up," a father said to his daughter. "Your own phone bill."

Q: What is the strongest day of the week? A: Sunday. The rest are weekdays.

Tact is what you think but don’t say.

Third Monthly Stock Sale.

There was a large crowd of farmers at the third monthly auction sale of stock, etc., held at Tangner & Parker’s barn this afternoon. A number of mules, horses, cows, etc. were sold as well as some harness and a buggy. B. F. Boland cried the sale and the articles brought good prices.

Celebrated Her Tenth Birthday.

Myrtle Means entertained friends Friday honoring her 10th anniversary at her home on South Garrison. Merry games were played and refreshments served. Invited guests were: Myrtle Irwin, Kitty Kendall, Lena White, Elsie McElroy, Katie and Nellie Terry, Ruth Whitney, Goldie Porter, Cora Purcell, Myrtle Crawford, Gladdis Myers, Belle and Hattie Davison, Esther Evans, Esta Stith, Maud Magoffin, Hazel Jennings, Meda and Maud Ballard, Lydia Goldstein, Oren Irwin, Oliver Evans, Herbert Turner, Dwight Kellogg, Carl Purcell, Julius Goldstein and Roscoe Myers.

Civil War Road Bids Opened.

Bids for the Civil War Road widening project were opened yesterday afternoon by the Engineering Department. There were 2 bids; one for $113,795 and one for $126,634.

Those bids cover the costs of widening Civil War Road using asphalt and making drainage improvements. If concrete is used to widen the road, the bids move to $120,515 and $153,479, respectively. The location of the project is from Tuckers Ford Road north to the diamond interchange with Highway 71.

According to Joe Butler, Assistant to the City Engineer, the department will take the bids under advisement and make a recommendation to the Public Works Committee next week.

An earlier bid for the project was rejected by the Council because it exceeded the engineer’s estimate of $140,000.

Consultant for Memorial Hall.

At the last Council meeting, Council member Jackie Boyer raised the question of hiring a consultant to evaluate community needs before proceeding with renovation plans for Memorial Hall.

Boyer chairs the Special Services Committee charged with developing a long-range plan for the renovation and use of Memorial Hall.

Committee member Nolan Henry opposed hiring a consultant. He said the committee has already focused discussion on the development of a multipurpose building.

"I don’t see why we need to spend money for somebody to tell us how to use it [Memorial Hall]," Henry said.

Boyer pointed out that a study was conducted for the Steadley trust before the development of Fair Acres and that the recommendations were used in the development.

"We can’t determine where we’re going or how we’re going to get there til we know what needs that building will serve," said Boyer.

The Council voted to research the availability and cost of a consultant to conduct a community assessment prior to the renovation of Memorial Hall. Charlie Bastin and Henry voted against the motion.

Boyer will come back to the Council with information about consulting firms and fees.

"I think the committee and Council ought to handle it themselves," Henry said later. "Surely if they can run a city they can decide how they want to use Memorial Hall."

Commentary

Release by Congressman Roy Blunt

Welfare Reform: A Continuing Success

It’s been a year since the Congress’ welfare reforms were enacted into law, and the results are silencing the critics. One years’ worth of state flexibility, an emphasis on work requirements, a healthy economy and changed attitudes and goals in welfare offices has produced what 30 years of "big government’s War on Poverty" could not; welfare rolls are getting smaller.

The percentage of people on welfare is now at its lowest level since 1970 with 48 states reporting sharp declines in their welfare lists since the passage last year of the welfare law. The Washington Post calls the decline of 200,000 a month "the deepest and most sustained in U. S. history."

In Missouri, during the last year more than 13,600 families (62,000 people) have left the welfare rolls. The Department of Social Services says more than 26,000 families (39% of those who remain) have been drawing welfare benefits for more than five continuous years. These are the cases that will be the hardest to break away from government dependency and move to work.

Behind those declining numbers are real people with real aspirations, dreams, and hopes for a better life for themselves and their children. Their success story is unfolding not in Washington, but in neighborhoods across the country that have been given the flexibility, power and money to lift their residents out of the poverty trap.

Initially critics, including President Clinton, predicted a "race to the bottom" if states were given complete power to move their residents from welfare to work as they best saw fit. They believed states would be stingy and negligent in helping their residents in need, choosing to use their valuable resources in other areas. But just the opposite has happened. Even Washington critics concede that states are doing more than expected to move people off the welfare rolls and onto payrolls.

The gruesome and horrible pictures that opponents drew have yet to come to life. In their place are moving and inspiring personal success stories of people who have found triumph, not tragedy, in welfare reform.

Melissa Podschun of Goodman is a second-generation welfare mother of four who recently completed a three-year journey from welfare to education to work. But the best government programs cannot supply all the support needed. Melissa told the Neosho Daily News that prayer and support from her church was a key part in helping her find success. "There is always someone out there who is worse off than you," she said.

Podschun won a national award in recognition of her struggle to obtain a college degree with magna cum laude honors, buy a home, and secure a full-time job.

Podschun, along with Cathy Cruz of Springfield, is a "Future’s Program" graduate. Both Podschun and Cruz received state help to obtain their GED, job counseling and pay educational costs. There was also financial aid with transportation and childcare.

Cruz had drawn welfare for three of her seven years in Springfield to help support her two teenage children. Today she is an assistant manager at an apartment complex with a certificate in Office Occupations from Ozarks Technical College.

People can escape welfare with determination and hard work. The welfare reforms ended the "something for nothing attitude" that originated in Washington and held two generations hostage to poverty. Far too long we discouraged work and personal responsibility while promoting loitering at taxpayer expense.

Regrettably, the work requirements I support that were imposed by the 104th Congress for welfare recipients were comprised this year as part of the President’s demands for a balanced budget. We now face returning to a system that offers cash rewards without demands for work or community service.

While the new federal welfare law provided the motivation to get the ball rolling, the states, as well as welfare recipients themselves and the many private charities, churches and businesses who have held out helping hands to those in need, deserve the credit for the success of welfare reform.

Some folks watch for the changin’ of the leaves as a signal that fall is under way. Even before that however, the leaf burners start to appear on the lawns throughout town.

There is an interestin’ mix of construction and style in the leaf burnin’ receptacle. Those purchased have a similar arrangement of wheels and a handle with some sort of lid of course. They are functional and handy to move around. ‘Course my eye seems ta gravitate to the more innovative inventions of the homemade variety.

Some are as simple as some hog wire formed in a circle seem to work with little fanfare. The disadvantage of havin’ to clean up the ashes is still little improved, but at least the pile stays in one place.

I have learned that burnin’ is not supposed ta be goin’ on after 7 p.m. if ya want to keep the fire trucks from linin’ your driveway.

I suppose havin’ a wiseguy for a neighbor doesn’t figure into the likelihood of that happenin’ much.

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

Natural Nutrition

by Mari An Willis

School's been in session for a month or so now and we are beginning to see an upsurge of the contagious conditions often associated with daily gatherings of large groups of people who share the same furniture, bathrooms, air and drinking facilities. We cannot be too careful these days. Certainly an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Wash hands frequently and keep them out of your mouth. If biting nails keeps them in your mouth, add some extra B-vitamins to your diet and some hot stuff under the nails for a few days. Don't lay your head on the desk for a quick nap!!! Realistically, students are not the biggest reader of this column so you, as parents or grandparents must pass the word. I know that as a child we were reminded frequently to wash hands, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. I notice that many adults and children alike do not practice that easy prevention technique. Bathroom. .. well, it is important to put paper around the seat if you happen to be a sitter! Much more important than one may think. Wouldn't it be nice id ALL bathrooms had to have those handy "seat covers"? Of course, wash hands!!!

This all sounds so simple, but our country as a whole has forgotten to teach the basics of health. We are coming around because so many are getting sick. Hepatitis is more prevalent than we would like as is tuberculosis. These are certainly much easier to prevent than to cure.

Unfortunately head lice are very prevalent this year. Skip trying on that cute hat that maybe thirty others have tried on. Don't share hair brushes and if you do happen to feel a critter crawling in your scalp try a mixture of 3 tbsp. thyme boiled with 1 cup of water and rinse hair. Do this each time you shampoo. If you wash them out before they lay eggs (nits) you can save your family a lot of grief. Again, don't lay your head on the desks and sue some measure of sense when trying on hats and clothes. Lice have no boundary lines and will spread in a family quite quickly.