My oldest son, Dr. Steven Hackley, is a psychology professor at the University of Missouri at Columbia. He does research and also teaches. My daughter, Jackie Sommer, lives in Independence and is an attorney, working in the Jackson County Counselors Office. Take either one of them out of their profession, they would probably have a hard time making a living. My youngest son John is just the opposite, he was one of those kids who could do anything. He attended vo-tech school at Fort Osage and is now one of the top salespersons for Office Depot after having educated himself in computers and sales. He sells to corporate clients and teaches them how to order online.
When John was eleven years old, I gave him a 135 Massey Ferguson tractor and rotary mower. He called the railroad and got the job cleaning up and mowing the railroad right of way through Oak Grove. He also mowed weeds around the local home builders developments. He made so much money with that tractor and mower that when he was sixteen years old he bought himself a brand new pickup truck. At that time he also owned twenty head of brood sows and was loaning money to his older sister and brother.
One day the railroad called me up and said they wanted to come down to Oak Grove and talk to John Hackley. He had done such a good job on the right of way going through town that they wanted him to give them a price on cleaning up and mowing sixteen miles of right of way in Independence. I told them he was terribly busy and there was just no way he could do the job at this time. I failed to tell them he was only twelve years old.
Jack can be reached at PO Box 40, Oak Grove, MO 64075 or jackremembers@aol.com
Saturday, November 29, 2008
More Ways to Save During the Holidays
More Ways to Save During the Holidays
You can never have too many tips on how to save money during the holidays. Dr. Rebecca J. Travnichek, Family Financial Education Specialist with University of Missouri Extension shares additional tips on how to spend less and get more over the holiday season.
Set some reasonable ground rules regarding gifts for relatives. It’s easy to lose control when it comes to family gift-giving. If you’ve always given a gift to your sister, but now she’s married with children, don’t get trapped into giving many gifts. You’ll end up spending a king’s ransom on present. Instead, suggest to family members that ground rules be set as to who will receive gifts and who won’t. One gift to each family, rather than one gift to each family member, would be an appropriate way to keep a financial lid on things.
Do your Christmas shopping early, when gifts are on sale. Draw up a Christmas shopping game plan well ahead of time. Your efforts will be amply rewarded. Once you know who is getting what, you can purchase gift items when they go on sale. Why fight frenzied last-minute Christmas shoppers for the privilege of paying full price?
Don’t go overboard when giving young children holiday gifts. Amid the general chaos and excitement that usually accompany major holidays, individual gifts receive only fleeting attention. Young children have short attention spans, which makes it unlikely that they will lavish much attention on most of their presents.
Don’t buy gifts that require batteries. Unless you want to bankrupt the recipient slowly.
Organize a "Secret Santa" at your office. If holiday gift-giving is getting out of hand at the office, organize a "Secret Santa." Each participant draws out of a hat a name of a coworker to whom he or she must anonymously give one present. Everyone is assured of getting a gift, and more importantly, each person has to buy only one gift.
Make your own wreaths. Rather than buying a wreath, why not make your own? It’s a fun family project, and it saves money. The best Christmas tree decorations are the homemade variety. If there are children about, take advantage of that no-cost source of enthusiastic labor to reduce the expense of adorning your tree.
Reuse tinsel. We use tinsel that has been used on the tree for the past several years. While the savings may be small, recycling tinsel sends an important message to the younger generation: Waste is wasteful.
Don’t spend a fortune in outdoor lighting. Drive around some neighborhoods during the holiday season and you will think that you’re in Las Vegas or Times Square. There must be some sort of no-holds-barred competition among the residents of these neighborhoods. Someday a jet is going to mistake these Xmas-happy locales for an international airport and attempt to land on someone’s front lawn. You don’t need a "thousand points of light" to celebrate the season, unless you own a large block of stock in your local utility company.
For more information on this or any other family or personal finance topic, contact Dr. Rebecca J. Travnichek at the Andrew County Extension Center (816) 324-3147.
You can never have too many tips on how to save money during the holidays. Dr. Rebecca J. Travnichek, Family Financial Education Specialist with University of Missouri Extension shares additional tips on how to spend less and get more over the holiday season.
Set some reasonable ground rules regarding gifts for relatives. It’s easy to lose control when it comes to family gift-giving. If you’ve always given a gift to your sister, but now she’s married with children, don’t get trapped into giving many gifts. You’ll end up spending a king’s ransom on present. Instead, suggest to family members that ground rules be set as to who will receive gifts and who won’t. One gift to each family, rather than one gift to each family member, would be an appropriate way to keep a financial lid on things.
Do your Christmas shopping early, when gifts are on sale. Draw up a Christmas shopping game plan well ahead of time. Your efforts will be amply rewarded. Once you know who is getting what, you can purchase gift items when they go on sale. Why fight frenzied last-minute Christmas shoppers for the privilege of paying full price?
Don’t go overboard when giving young children holiday gifts. Amid the general chaos and excitement that usually accompany major holidays, individual gifts receive only fleeting attention. Young children have short attention spans, which makes it unlikely that they will lavish much attention on most of their presents.
Don’t buy gifts that require batteries. Unless you want to bankrupt the recipient slowly.
Organize a "Secret Santa" at your office. If holiday gift-giving is getting out of hand at the office, organize a "Secret Santa." Each participant draws out of a hat a name of a coworker to whom he or she must anonymously give one present. Everyone is assured of getting a gift, and more importantly, each person has to buy only one gift.
Make your own wreaths. Rather than buying a wreath, why not make your own? It’s a fun family project, and it saves money. The best Christmas tree decorations are the homemade variety. If there are children about, take advantage of that no-cost source of enthusiastic labor to reduce the expense of adorning your tree.
Reuse tinsel. We use tinsel that has been used on the tree for the past several years. While the savings may be small, recycling tinsel sends an important message to the younger generation: Waste is wasteful.
Don’t spend a fortune in outdoor lighting. Drive around some neighborhoods during the holiday season and you will think that you’re in Las Vegas or Times Square. There must be some sort of no-holds-barred competition among the residents of these neighborhoods. Someday a jet is going to mistake these Xmas-happy locales for an international airport and attempt to land on someone’s front lawn. You don’t need a "thousand points of light" to celebrate the season, unless you own a large block of stock in your local utility company.
For more information on this or any other family or personal finance topic, contact Dr. Rebecca J. Travnichek at the Andrew County Extension Center (816) 324-3147.
Four-State Beef Conference
Area Cattlemen Should Make Plans to Attend
The 25th Annual 4-State Beef Conference
Area cattlemen should mark the dates of January 14th and 15th on their calendars and make plans to attend the 25th Annual 4-State Beef Conference. The conference planning committee has designed an excellent program that should have something of interest to all beef producers. Speakers and their topics for the 2009 conference are as follows: Dr. Rick Rasby, University of Nebraska – "Update on Storing Co-Products."; Dr. Darrel Mark, University of Nebraska – "Economics of Storing Co-Products."; Dr. Vern Anderson, North Dakota State University – "Drylotting Beef Cows."; Dr. Barry Dunn, Executive Director of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A&M, Kingsville – "Whole Herd Management Strategies for Tough Times".
The conference is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th and Thursday, January 15th, 2009. The Wednesday morning session will begin at 10:00 a.m. in Washington, Kansas at the First National Bank, and the afternoon session will begin at 4:00 p.m. in Tecumseh, Nebraska at the Community Building. The Thursday morning session will also begin at 10:00 a.m. in Lewis, Iowa at the ISU Armstrong Research Farm, and the afternoon session will start at 4:00 p.m. in King City, Missouri at the Eiberger Building.
The 4-State Beef Conferences are designed to give beef cattle producers in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska an annual update on current cow-calf and stocker topics. The conferences provide a forum of Extension Specialists from four of the USA’s leading beef cattle land grant universities.
The registration fee is $25.00 per person and reservations are requested by, Friday, January 9th, 2009. The fee includes a beef meal and a copy of the conference proceedings. To keep registration fees affordable in the future, please help us by calling in your reservations. For more information or to register for the conference, contact your regional livestock specialist, or call the Andrew County Extension Center at (816) 324-3147, or visit our website at: www.extension.iastate.edu/feci/4StBeef/.
The 25th Annual 4-State Beef Conference
Area cattlemen should mark the dates of January 14th and 15th on their calendars and make plans to attend the 25th Annual 4-State Beef Conference. The conference planning committee has designed an excellent program that should have something of interest to all beef producers. Speakers and their topics for the 2009 conference are as follows: Dr. Rick Rasby, University of Nebraska – "Update on Storing Co-Products."; Dr. Darrel Mark, University of Nebraska – "Economics of Storing Co-Products."; Dr. Vern Anderson, North Dakota State University – "Drylotting Beef Cows."; Dr. Barry Dunn, Executive Director of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A&M, Kingsville – "Whole Herd Management Strategies for Tough Times".
The conference is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th and Thursday, January 15th, 2009. The Wednesday morning session will begin at 10:00 a.m. in Washington, Kansas at the First National Bank, and the afternoon session will begin at 4:00 p.m. in Tecumseh, Nebraska at the Community Building. The Thursday morning session will also begin at 10:00 a.m. in Lewis, Iowa at the ISU Armstrong Research Farm, and the afternoon session will start at 4:00 p.m. in King City, Missouri at the Eiberger Building.
The 4-State Beef Conferences are designed to give beef cattle producers in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska an annual update on current cow-calf and stocker topics. The conferences provide a forum of Extension Specialists from four of the USA’s leading beef cattle land grant universities.
The registration fee is $25.00 per person and reservations are requested by, Friday, January 9th, 2009. The fee includes a beef meal and a copy of the conference proceedings. To keep registration fees affordable in the future, please help us by calling in your reservations. For more information or to register for the conference, contact your regional livestock specialist, or call the Andrew County Extension Center at (816) 324-3147, or visit our website at: www.extension.iastate.edu/feci/4StBeef/.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Blackwood Gospel Quarter Performs
On Nov. 22, the Grant City Baptist and Allendale Baptist Churches sponsored a concert by the Blackwood Gospel Quartet. People came from miles around to hear them sing some new songs and also old songs; some of them being songs that the original Blackwood Brothers had recorded. There were even a couple people from northern Iowa! A love offering was taken and then the group took requests. Everyone received a blessing from worshipping God through their singing and humor. Fellowship continued after the concert with cookies, coffee and punch. The Blackwood Gospel Quartet members are Mark Blackwood, Dustin Bearden, Dave Mann, and Brad Smith.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Jack Remembers for 11-26-08
A group of prominent businessmen in Lee’s Summit had a high stakes poker game every Wednesday night. Everyone knew about the game including a small time criminal by the name of Bobby Ash who robbed the game at gunpoint. In court, he was defended by an attorney by the name of Robert Duncan. Robert and I were drafted on the same day and spent two years together in the infantry. He was a brilliant and colorful criminal attorney. They tried Bobby for robbing one man, and he was acquitted. They then tried him for robbing each of the poker players and he was found guilty each time, sent to prison under the habitual criminal act. Robert appealed the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and lo and behold, they heard the case, reversed the decision saying it was double jeopardy since he had committed only one crime, which was robbing the poker game. Bobby was freed from prison and later killed by a prostitute in Kansas City.
In the meantime, Robert became famous, wrote a textbook for law students, traveled around to law universities on the lecture circuit, and became wealthy. He would call me when he came through on his way to St. Louis or Jefferson City and we would meet at Union 76 for coffee. When Robert went in a bar or restaurant before the waitress could say, "My name is Sally and I’ll be your waitress for the evening", he would say, "Hi, My name is Robert, and I’ll be your customer for the evening."
Robert bought a big complex in the Bahamas and was going to start seminars for continuing education for lawyers, and went broke. Almost everybody in our army outfit came home alcoholics. Robert and I were no exceptions, only I stopped before it got me. Robert had requested a pair of glasses, his favorite book, a flashlight, and a quart of bourbon be put in his casket when they buried him a few years ago.
In the meantime, Robert became famous, wrote a textbook for law students, traveled around to law universities on the lecture circuit, and became wealthy. He would call me when he came through on his way to St. Louis or Jefferson City and we would meet at Union 76 for coffee. When Robert went in a bar or restaurant before the waitress could say, "My name is Sally and I’ll be your waitress for the evening", he would say, "Hi, My name is Robert, and I’ll be your customer for the evening."
Robert bought a big complex in the Bahamas and was going to start seminars for continuing education for lawyers, and went broke. Almost everybody in our army outfit came home alcoholics. Robert and I were no exceptions, only I stopped before it got me. Robert had requested a pair of glasses, his favorite book, a flashlight, and a quart of bourbon be put in his casket when they buried him a few years ago.
McCaskill, Grassley Sponsor Bill to Strengthen Oversight
U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today moved to tighten government oversight of the financial rescue plan approved by Congress in October. The senators introduced a bill that would put in place provisions to better monitor how the $700 billion dollars are spent by increasing the power and authority of the Special Inspector General created to oversee the program.
The law was written based on the plan spelled out by the Treasury Department at the time, to buy up troubled, toxic assets. Now that the Treasury plan has changed, the authority of the Special Inspector General needs to be broadened. The McCaskill-Grassley bill will provide the necessary fixes to ensure there is strong oversight in place.
“We voted on this measure thinking there would be responsible oversight of how the tax dollars are being spent,” McCaskill said. “Instead, almost half the money has been doled out but no one is watching to make sure that the government is spending it wisely. We need to fix this before another cent is spent unsupervised.”
“The stronger the watchdog, the better, given the enormous stakes for the taxpayers with this bailout package. Congress, the current administration and the new administration need to take every step possible to make sure the sensibilities of Main Street are not violated as the $700 billion is used,” Grassley said.
The legislation will:
Give the IG temporary hiring power. This will allow the IG to quickly begin hiring staff without going thorough the normal civil service process which could cause a lengthy delay in beginning oversight work. The temporary hiring power is modeled after the provisions created for the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) and will only last for six months.
Expand the authority of the IG to cover any and all action conducted as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, including assistance to homeowners and foreclosure mitigation efforts. Under the current language of the law, the IG’s authority would cover only two sections of the relief program.
The senators are hopeful the legislation will pass the Senate unanimously before Congress recesses for the year. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are co-sponsors.
The law was written based on the plan spelled out by the Treasury Department at the time, to buy up troubled, toxic assets. Now that the Treasury plan has changed, the authority of the Special Inspector General needs to be broadened. The McCaskill-Grassley bill will provide the necessary fixes to ensure there is strong oversight in place.
“We voted on this measure thinking there would be responsible oversight of how the tax dollars are being spent,” McCaskill said. “Instead, almost half the money has been doled out but no one is watching to make sure that the government is spending it wisely. We need to fix this before another cent is spent unsupervised.”
“The stronger the watchdog, the better, given the enormous stakes for the taxpayers with this bailout package. Congress, the current administration and the new administration need to take every step possible to make sure the sensibilities of Main Street are not violated as the $700 billion is used,” Grassley said.
The legislation will:
Give the IG temporary hiring power. This will allow the IG to quickly begin hiring staff without going thorough the normal civil service process which could cause a lengthy delay in beginning oversight work. The temporary hiring power is modeled after the provisions created for the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) and will only last for six months.
Expand the authority of the IG to cover any and all action conducted as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, including assistance to homeowners and foreclosure mitigation efforts. Under the current language of the law, the IG’s authority would cover only two sections of the relief program.
The senators are hopeful the legislation will pass the Senate unanimously before Congress recesses for the year. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are co-sponsors.
DOT: Salt Shortage Will Not Affect Missouri Roads
When the first snowfall of winter hits this year, MoDOT is prepared with enough salt and equipment to maintain the level of service we have provided in previous years. Safety is always our highest priority. While some towns and municipalities in Missouri may be concerned about salt supplies, MoDOT will not have trouble keeping highways drivable.
Last year's particularly harsh winter depleted much of the country's salt supply causing prices to rise. This, coupled with a strong hurricane season and high Mississippi River levels, has made delivery of salt via river barges slow.
MoDOT takes salt bids in May and is virtually unaffected by the supply decline that happened late this summer. The department received its first salt shipment over the summer in order to pre-fill and prepare for the first snow in Missouri. During the winter, as salt supplies are used, part of the agency's contract agreement with suppliers is to provide for a replenishment order sometime between Nov. 1 and April 30.
"Trying to keep salt throughout the winter and not run out is tricky," Maintenance Liaison Engineer Tim Jackson said. "Conserving as much salt as possible is the best method. You have to keep the strength of the storm in mind and use the right amount at the right time, while still maintaining road safety."
MoDOT reminds you, "In Ice and Snow, Take It Slow."
Here are some tips for driving in winter weather:
Slow down for wet, snowy, icy conditions.
Avoid quick braking or acceleration.
Find out about driving conditions before you go.
Every time you travel - Buckle Up to Arrive Alive.
Turn signals, brake lights and windows need to be clear of snow.
You should never use cruise control in winter weather conditions. Find out more at www.modot.org/newsroom.
Last year's particularly harsh winter depleted much of the country's salt supply causing prices to rise. This, coupled with a strong hurricane season and high Mississippi River levels, has made delivery of salt via river barges slow.
MoDOT takes salt bids in May and is virtually unaffected by the supply decline that happened late this summer. The department received its first salt shipment over the summer in order to pre-fill and prepare for the first snow in Missouri. During the winter, as salt supplies are used, part of the agency's contract agreement with suppliers is to provide for a replenishment order sometime between Nov. 1 and April 30.
"Trying to keep salt throughout the winter and not run out is tricky," Maintenance Liaison Engineer Tim Jackson said. "Conserving as much salt as possible is the best method. You have to keep the strength of the storm in mind and use the right amount at the right time, while still maintaining road safety."
MoDOT reminds you, "In Ice and Snow, Take It Slow."
Here are some tips for driving in winter weather:
Slow down for wet, snowy, icy conditions.
Avoid quick braking or acceleration.
Find out about driving conditions before you go.
Every time you travel - Buckle Up to Arrive Alive.
Turn signals, brake lights and windows need to be clear of snow.
You should never use cruise control in winter weather conditions. Find out more at www.modot.org/newsroom.
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