Did Ya Know... The Board of Education employed Barbara McPheeters, Sarah Rush, Leslie Crow, Donna Anderson, C. Elaine Hartin, and Teri Schramm at the meeting on Sept. 16. The Board also authorized the Superintendent to proceed with the purchase of two carpentry class house lots in the Phelps Addition.

Did Ya Know... Constitution Week history -The Statehouse was comparatively cool when entering from the baking streets of an unusually hot summer. The east chamber was large, forty by forty with a twenty-foot ceiling and no supporting pillars to break the floor space. Tall, wide windows were on two sides, covered by slatted blinds to keep out the summer sun. Gravel had been strewn on the streets to deaden the sound of wheels and horses passing.

Did Ya Know... The VantAge Point and Area Agency On Aging will have health screening at Northpark Mall today.

Millionaire: What’s your name, driver?

Driver: Alfred, sir.

Millionaire: I always call my drivers by their last names.

Driver: It’s Sweetheart, sir.

Millionaire: Drive on, Alfred.

Newspaper misprint: Dead policeman on force 17 years.

Small Boys at the Jail.

Deputy Sheriff J. D. Plummer has two small boys at the county jail who constitute what he calls his kindergarten. They were brought up from Webb City recently to serve sentences, one of 10 days and the other 38 days. The oldest boy is 13, the younger 11. Both are bright appearing youngsters. Mr. Plummer is doing the best he can for them and lets them out with the trusties in preference to putting them inside with the worst criminals, but even with such consideration it will be strange if the lads do not become hardened.

Growing early potatoes for shipment may prove profitable for Jasper County farmers, as was suggested in a news item. It is worthy of consideration, at least. A diversified crop is what the farmers should strive for, but the range of diversity should not go beyond those products, which are marketable at profitable prices.

FP Back On The Burner.

The question of fire protection fees for annexed properties was raised at the Tuesday evening meeting of the Public Works Committee.

Council member Jackie Boyer opened the discussion.

"This is a subject that I have brought up in various committees," said Boyer, "and I don’t know if this is the appropriate one, but... when we annexed Precious Moments and when we annexed Carmar the one issue that we forgot is that neither of those entities is serviced by CW&EP and they pay absolutely not one red cent in fire protection. Now they no longer pay into the fire district - and I’ve talked to the Mayor about this and I can’t get anyone to say yes this is a problem....Now who does this?"

"We have an ongoing and increasingly large area that is being taken out of the fire protection area that pays into the City, and it’s just becoming a void. This is not a new topic... I’ll bring it up in Council again."

Committee Chair Bill Fortune agreed that there’s support for some action on this question but said, "nobody has a good idea as to how we proceed with it."

The issue raised by Boyer Tuesday night is the loss of general City revenues that helps offset the cost of fire protection when property is annexed by the City.

Members of the Carthage Rural Fire District pay a thirty-one-cent levy to the City. Once a property is annexed, this revenue disappears. Annexed properties serviced by Empire Electric do not pay a 6% City revenue which CW&EP collects from its in-city customers. This City revenue, while not specifically earmarked for fire protection, is transferred from CW&EP to the City General Fund from which fire protection services are budgeted. Even when CW&EP showed a Fire Protection (FP) tax on customer’s bills in the past, City Attorney David Dally told the Council that it had no direct relation to fire protection. He said the tax was nothing more than another source of general revenue.

When property is annexed, the City gains property tax revenue but loses the fire district levy. The City retains the responsibility for fire protection, and adds police and street service but can end up with less general revenue to cover the costs.

Boyer asserts that there should be some mechanism to collect funds from annexed properties who pay neither a fire district levy nor the CW&EP City revenue.

The loss of revenue for the City has been discussed at CW&EP board meetings as well. In addition, there is another related concern for CW&EP as deregulation looms ahead for the power industry. Including the 6% City revenue in CW&EP’s basic rates disrupts the competitive comparison of rates paid by CW&EP customers. A suggestion by Board member Jack Crusa is that the 6% City revenue be shown as a separate tax on all electric bills in the City.

Vernon Lawson of Allgeier, Martin and Associates, Inc. makes a similar suggestion regarding separating the City revenue from CW&EP’s rates. Lawson suggests that as the possibility of deregulation of the electric industry grows stronger, Carthage should consider a separate item on the bill so the City doesn’t experience loss of revenue and "cost of service" rates will be comparable to other communities.

The 9% FP tax was shown on electric bills until 1994. This was considered a hindrance by some when recruiting new industry. Former Mayor Herb Casteel promoted the idea of rolling the tax into the basic rate structure during negotiations preceding the Carmar annexation. An elaborate rearrangement of the collection of PILOT taxes, a discount for City used power, and other concessions were ultimately agreed upon. The amount of transfer from CW&EP is now negotiated on a year-to-year basis and currently remains at the originally negotiated level of 6% of gross power receipts. The total transfer to the City is calculated at approximately $1 million per year, about 20% of the City’s annual revenue.

The Committee agreed to bring the issue to the attention of the full Council and ask that it be assigned to a committee for research.

Boyer remembered that she will not be able to attend next Tuesday's regular Council meeting and Committee member Bill Johnson volunteered to raise the issue.

Maple Leaf 50's and 60's Cruise Night.

The first ever 50’s / 60’s Cruise Night for the Maple Leaf Festival will be held Saturday, October 18th at Red Oak II’s Black Hen Pub and Grill. Participants from the Maple Leaf Auto Show along with the general public are encouraged to cruise out to Red Oak II following the Maple Leaf Festival for a night of music, dancing, food, and fun! Night Train takes the stage from 7:30 to 11:00 for a live concert featuring the best in lively, upbeat vintage and contemporary dance music.

The dinner, to be served from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m., features a choice of brisket or turkey, deliciously smoked by Larry Cole from Christian Healthcare Center of Carthage. Complimenting the dinner will be potato salad, baked beans, and a cookie.

Advanced discount combo tickets for both events are available at Oak Street health and Herb, Red Oak II Black Hen Pub and Grill, the Carthage Chamber of Commerce, Poor Richard’s, The Fix, Bee Discount, and the Carthage Deli. In the event of rain, the events will be moved to Carthage Memorial Hall. The 50’s / 60’s Cruise Night is being co-sponsored by Red Oak II and the Carthage Chamber of Commerce for the 1997 Maple Leaf Festival.

Some things are just hard to explain. 'Course usually they aren't near as complicated as we make them out to be.

Explainin' about that broken lamp to the folks, or even tougher, how that figurine of a football player lost his head, those are things hard to explain. The hard part is gettin' through the explainin' without gettin' your britches warmed. That's what makes it hard.

I was fortunate that usually, it the act wasn't intentional, and the explainin' was exceptional, I'd get by with a stern lecture and maybe less freedom for a predetermined amount of time.

The football player was prob'ly the most unusual though. I was watchin' tv and was plannin' on goin' outside to shoot the BB gun. I took careful aim with the weapon and slowly pulled the trigger. Wham! I was impressed with the marksmanship, but totally surprised that the air rifle went off. I had no idea it was cocked. I didn't do any more shootin' for a while.

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

Natural Nutrition

by Mari An Willis

Good Fats, Bad Fats ... simple. You must have the good ones and do without the bad ones!!! Now, which are which? We will focus on the good ones ... this time, specifically the omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and more specifically the ones contained in plants such as evening primrose oil, borage oil, black current seed oil and flax seed oil and cold water fish oils. I don't mean catfish oil in the winter!!! I mean halibut or salmon or the like. Tuna is not included.

In a recent letter from Dr. Kruse, D. C., she states that some of the benefits of flax seed oil include:

• contains the world's highest percentage of essential Omega-3 fatty acids.

• significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

• over 60 health conditions can benefit from essential fatty acid supplement.

• essential fatty acids are important for normal growth, especially of the blood vessels and nerves and to keep the skin and other tissues youthful and supple.

• low levels in the body have been seen in such conditions as prostate enlargement, psoriasis, anorexia nervosa, hyperactivity and obesity. Deficiency problems of EFA's may include acne, diarrhea, dry skin, eczema, alopecia (hair loss), gallstones, slow growth and wound healing.

A nice thing about flax seed oil is that it can be used in cold dressing mixes, on cottage cheese, coleslaw, etc. Never heat it. It is also available in handy softgel form. Keep refrigerated.

This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.