Did Ya Know... The Carthage Municipal Pool is closed for the 1997 season.

Did Ya Know... Preschool Storytimes for the public will begin October 1. New times are 6:30 Tuesday evenings and 10:15 Wednesday mornings. Interested parents can contact the Young People’s Library to sign up.

Did Ya Know... Walktoberfest will be held Sun., Oct. 5th in Carthage to help in the fight against diabetes. For information, call the American Diabetes Association at 800-254-9255.

Did Ya Know... An interdenominational study of God’s Word begins today at the First Church of the Nazarene at 2000 Grand. Class times offered are Mon. 6:15 p.m., Tues. 9:00 a.m., and Wed. 6:15 p.m.

Did Ya Know... The Carthage Soccer League will take additional registrations for the Fall 97 / Spring 98 season til Tues., Sept. 9th. For information, call Roy Mason 358-8786, Stanley Walker 358-8302, or Diana Nordstrom 358-6778.

Kid: Mama, can I go out and play? Mama: With those two holes in your socks? Kid: No, with the kids across the street.

I heard one father state that Juvenile Delinquency is the result of parents trying to train children without starting at the bottom.

Fifteen Per Cent on the Present Rate

Would be Lower but for the Water Co.

The rate of insurance on all dwellings and contents, brick buildings, churches, public buildings, and, in fact, everything except special hazards, in the city of Carthage was reduced 15 per cent of the present rate. This will be a big thing to the property owners and save them thousands of dollars annually. The reduction would have been 25 per cent of the present rate, but for the fact that the Carthage Water Works Co. does not furnish sufficient fire pressure. Springfield and Clinton got the 25 per cent reduction, but Carthage will have to content herself with 15 until her water service is better.

Fred Wilson, a young man employed at the Chautauqua grounds in tearing down the auditorium, painfully crushed the third and fourth fingers of his right hand while at work this morning.

Boylan Check Presented to City.

A presentation to the City of a check for $20,000 was made at last Thursday night's Budget/Ways and Means Committee meeting. Carthage Chamber Director Heather Kelly and Boylan Foundation President Jim Spradling turned the check over to Committee Chair Bill Johnson. The Boylan Foundation recently committed the funds to pay for architectural and acoustical planning for Memorial Hall at the request of the Chamber.

Kelly read a letter to the City from the Foundation and Spradling said that the funds came "with no strings attached," but the Foundation would like to see the money used to plan improvements for Memorial Hall.

Curb and Gutters Recommended.

The Budget/Ways and Means Committee voted to recommend that the City contribute up to $153,000 for curb and gutter construction for the housing development proposed by Precious Moments. The development will be located just west of Myers Park on Hazel and plans are for the construction of up to two hundred thirty $75,000 to $85,000 homes.

Precious Moments representatives Carter Bearinger and Terri Heckmaster told the committee that the project would be implemented in two stages. The commitment recommended by the vote of the Committee would be for the first phase of approximately one hundred thirty homes.

The City has frequently paid for curb and gutters on new developments in the past if the funds were available.

Committee member Bill Fortune was the lone dissenting vote on the action. Fortune questioned whether the project was dependent on the City's participation. Heckmaster said she could not answer that question, but felt there were other options that could have been initiated.

"I think everyone would agree that the highest and best use for the land is as commercial property," said Heckmaster. But added that Precious Moments would rather it be developed for housing.

Committee member Mike Harris said that the City should not have excessive reserves and use funds available for worthwhile improvements for the community. City Clerk Barbara Welch verified that unrestricted reserves are approximately $1.2 million at this time. This is above the required approximate $1.6 million that is held for unforeseen emergencies.

City Engineer Steve Lett said the City policy is to pay up to $9 per lineal foot of curb and guttering if funds are available.

The Mayor found little support from the Budget/Ways and Means Committee last week for his proposal to eliminate the informal "round table" discussion currently allowed Council members.

In a memo to the Committee, the Mayor mentions "recent criticism of subject matter discussed" durin' Council meetin's. He proposed that Council members wishing to address the Council provide the City Clerk, in writing, notice of their intent before 10 o'clock on the Friday preceding the Council meetin'.

After considerable discussion by the Committee, none of it favorable to the proposal, a unanimous vote was delivered opposing the idea.

I'd suppose that there is somethin' here that goes with the old sayin' 'bout defendin' the right to disagree. That's one thing the Council seems to agree on.

Most of the Council members have been reelected after speakin' their mind for a term or more. The voters must like it that way.

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

Super Handyman

by All Carrell and Kelly Carrell

Sponsored by Carthage Farm and Home Supply

Q: Our house is on a pier-and-beam foundation, and we plan to add another room to the house. We were thinking of putting the addition on a slab. Is there any reason why we should not do this? - P. L. & W. L.

A: Many room additions are built on a slab, though the rest of the house might be on a pier-and-beam foundation. The new pour should be separated from the rest of the house by an expansion strip. At the same time, it could be joined to the house by drilling holes in the old foundation to accept rebar pieces that extend into the new slab. Let a structural engineer or foundation specialist tell you how thick the slab should be, whether it should be a tensioned slab and how best to prepare the soil underneath.

Shoptalk - Of the various products available to help make slippery surfaces safer to walk on, Skid-Tex is one of the easiest to use. It’s a spray-on acrylic finish designed to adhere to wood, concrete, metal, ceramic tile and even glossy painted surfaces. It’s clear, so it can be used just about anywhere and it will hardly show. You get a uniform coating that is stronger than spray epoxies and lasts a long time.

Super Hint - Cleaning up after a painting project can be tough. This can be easier by spraying a light coating of WD-40 on your tools and other vulnerable surfaces before you start painting.

Commentary

"Bubs" Hohulin

State Representative, District 26

Next week we head back to Jefferson City for a combination Veto / Special Session. This is when we go back to consider trying to override any of the Governor's vetoes. Usually we are only up there on the second Wednesday and Thursday of September. This year, however, since the Special Session is to run concurrently with the veto Session, we will be up there all week.

Whenever a Special Session is called, it is up to the Governor to define what issues will be addressed. This year the governor has asked that we address two issues, one of which is the Branson Tax that was declared unconstitutional and the other is the Omnibus economic Development Bill that he vetoed. Special Session is intended to address issues which are of grave concern to the State that for some reason or other could not be addressed during the legislative session and can not wait until the next legislative session. The Branson Tax issue clearly falls into this category. The court found that the wording which authorized the tax to be placed on the ballot in the city of Branson was unconstitutional. The tax itself passed by an overwhelming majority of the voters; the main issue is the constitutionality of the wording. Without this tax, Branson would probably default on its bonds thus damaging its bond rating as well as tainting the bond rating of the State of Missouri. If we wait until next session to address the issue, by the time it passed the legislature and was then submitted to a vote of the people, it would most likely be too late. This is a perfect example of what Special Sessions are to be used for. The other issue is not so clear cut.

Every year in the legislature, we have what is known as an Economic Development Bill. It involves many different programs that include grants, loans, tax credits, tax abatements, etc. to various public and private entities. For the most part, I am not usually a big fan of this legislation. That may come as a surprise since I have always stated there is never a bad time to lower somebody's taxes but these bills underscore that point. We give tax breaks to businesses in certain areas to stimulate economic growth. Doesn't that sound familiar? I think in the 1980's it was called "Trickle-Down Economics" or "Supply-side Economics." And you know what? It must have worked because now a decade later we are still using that very method to stimulate economic growth. As Ronald Reagan said back in the 80's, "a rising tide lifts all boats." Tax cuts don't just benefit the rich. The flaw of this annual legislation is that it is only done in piece meal. If we were serious about economic growth, we would be giving large broad based tax cuts instead of just a targeted few.

Anyway, the Governor vetoed this bill and now wants to include it in the call of the Special Session. He said it is urgent that we pass a bill to his liking so that he can sign it and economic development in the State can go on. That is not what Special Sessions are for. The legislature passed a bill. The Governor vetoed it. The way the system works, we should try to override the veto. If we can't, then we address it in the next session. It is bad precedent to start using Special Sessions as negotiating sessions with the Governor.

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