Did Ya Know... Friends of the Library Book Sale will be Sat., Nov. 1st 8 to noon.

Did Ya Know... The VantAge Point and Area Agency on Aging Friday Fair at Northpark Mall will begin at 10 a.m. with Make-it Take-it Halloween Craft followed by Blood Pressure Checks and Hospice Helps.

Did Ya Know... Economic Security Corp. has a Weatherization Program for homeowners. For details, call the Carthage office at 358-3521.

Did Ya Know... Old telephone books will be collected through November 15th. Drop off containers are at Bob’s IGA and Tapjac Do-It Center.

Sign above an antique shop. "Old furniture and junk bought. Genuine antiques sold."

"Now, this plant," explained the horticulturist patiently, "belongs to the begonia family."

"Ah, yes," chirped the sweet old lady, "and you’re looking after it for them while they’re away on a holiday?"

A lot of people ask me why I keep my left hand in one spot on this guitar, when other guitar players move it all around. Well, you see they’re looking for a chord. I found it.

Central Building Settling.

The Central school building is settling. The bare statement is sufficient to cause a good deal of uneasiness on the part of parents, but there seems to be no immediate need for alarm.

A reporter on his rounds today, noticed that the west wall of the building was cracked and stopped to investigate. The wall is in very bad shape and long cracks extend up and down. A part of the wall has settled considerably. The stone sill of one of the windows on the second floor has been broken squarely in two by the settling and the arch over another one of the windows has been forced outward several inches. The board of education has been informed of the settling and will have an architect inspect the building at once.

The Central building was erected in 1870 and its days of usefulness are about over, as it will soon be torn down to make room for a larger high school building.

Airport to Reopen.

Preparations to reopen Myers Park Memorial Airport will begin as soon as the Halloween spook house is closed according to Council member Art Dunaway.

The City Council voted Tuesday night to reopen the airport on November 3. Council members Nolan Henry, Bill Fortune, Bill Johnson and Lujene Clark voted against.

In response to concerns raised by Clark, the bill was amended prior to passage to address the cost of reopening the airport, the steps necessary to reopen and procedures to follow should land in Myers Park be developed or sold.

"Talking about money to open it...we can open the airport for less than $224, that includes the paint, that includes the sock," said Dunaway Tuesday night. "The airport has a bean crop out there and we can get the money off of that bean crop, between $1200-$1500. That money could go in to help support the airport at the present time. All we want to do is get the airport open and then try for funding to get out of the way so that you can sell the land."

Dunaway included this information in the bill, but Clark was still not satisfied with the amended language, saying the bill’s supporters had not done their homework in providing specific information about procedures and costs.

The bill did not provide any guidelines for the day-to-day administration of the airport and did not specify who would maintain the airport.

According to Dunaway, there will be no administrative personnel at the airport and it will be administered by the City Council. The Council Bill passed Tuesday night provides that hanger rent will be paid at City Hall. Dunaway said the City Clerk’s office will handle the bookkeeping involved.

The underground tanks at the airfield are slated for removal. This is noted in the Council Bill and will continue as planned.

"We just want a runway open, there will be no services offered, " said Dunaway.

Dunaway said the work required to reopen the airport will be done by volunteers, mostly local pilots. Work will begin next week with volunteers cutting the grass and painting over the Xs on the runway. Once a new meter is installed, they will work on reconnecting the landing lights.

According to Dunaway, the only service the City might be asked to provide is mowing when it becomes necessary again in the spring. Pilots will continue to maintain the landing lights once they are in service.

One task the volunteers cannot perform is the removal of a CW&EP power pole from the end of runway 21/3 as specified in the Council Bill.

This was discussed at Council, with Clark asking who would bear the cost and if CW&EP had been consulted about the removal.

"That’s not our problem, we didn’t tell them (CW&EP) to put it there," responded Dunaway.

According to Marge Housh, Business Manager of CW&EP, there are two poles which might interfere with the flight path. The Engineering Department measured the area on Wednesday, and CW&EP will make a determination about moving the poles based on those figures.

Housh said if it is necessary to remove just one pole it can be done without much expense. If the second pole must be moved, it could require boring under the highway and, if so, would be much more costly.

Housh said these expenses have not been budgeted and that, although the situation has been discussed, no determination has been made as to whether the City or CW&EP will bear the cost of moving one or both poles.

Once the airport is reopened, the City retains the right to close it in order to proceed with the Myers Park development. The Myers Park Development Committee has been fine-tuning the development plan and hopes to have it to Council members prior to the next Council meeting. One option includes developing a street and circle through the center of the property which will bisect the runway.

I suppose its just a sign of the times. Carthage is becomin' the cultural and intellectual center of the universe and the flood gates have opened to the outside world.

I have no problem with the political interaction of our City Council with other similar persons of some far off community. There are no doubt things to learn and people to see. However, the vote for a $2,000 expenditure for a trip to Philadelphia for one or more Council members seems to have raised some eyebrows. Even the Mayor was tugged into the tie vote and gave his approval.

The result of other Council member trips closer to home resulted in the retainin' of a consultant and the formation of a task force.

In the foothills of the Ozarks, wives tales say that grand ideas are commonly conceived with travel and the further the better. This latest trip should result in a whoppin' shoppin' bag full of collaborative wisdom.

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

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Click and Clack Talk Cars.

Dear Tom and Ray: I am putting a 1968 383 big-block car engine into a 1973 Dodge pickup truck. So far, I have run into two problems. One is the oil pan. The sump, or deep end, was in the wrong place. The second problem was the motor mounts; they were too small. I have managed to fix these two problems, but I’m wondering what other problems I’m going to run into. Your help would be great. Thanks. - Jon

Ray: Actually, I have no idea what specific problems you’re going to run into with this particular engine/chassis configuration, but I know you’re going to run into a lot of them.

Tom: Whenever you install an engine that’s not the same exact size, model and year as the one you’re replacing, you run into all kinds of stuff that doesn’t fit. And you’re off by FIVE years here, Jon.

Ray: You can expect to find all kinds of parts that just don’t fit, like the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe, hoses that are too long or too short, brackets that don’t mount in the right places. Basically, you’re going to have to do what you did with the oil pump and motor mounts.

Tom: You’re just going to have to use whatever tools and parts you have at your disposal to make things fit. (Hint: you might want to confiscate your kid’s Erector Set for the remainder of this project.)