Jay KernerPublisher/Hoarder

Everybody dies. Differing beliefs about what happens to you

after that, is the number one reason for war in the history of our species.

The number two reason is the fighting over your stuff after you’re gone.

Somebody is getting grandma’s buffet. And the china. And the silver.

Somebody has grandpa’s checkbook and safety deposit box key.

The jostling for position starts before the body cools to room temperature. Often, way before that.

I’ve seen families squabble over ratty old tables and chairs, causing rifts that never healed.

The toxic mixture of grief and greed brings out the worst in us all. I like to think that I’m immune to all that, but mostly I just don’t care

about the same items as most folks.When someone close passes, I get out of the way and let everybody

else do what they will. Then, once the “valuables” have all been claimed, I move in for the screwdrivers. And the scissors. And the garden tools.

I guess I like to remember people through the things they used.Like I’ll be turning a screw and suddenly wonder if I’ve finally used

the tool in my hand as many times as my grandfather did during his life. (In our time of cordless screwdrivers, not likely!)

Or I’ll dig a little flower planting spot for the Queen with her Aunt Sissy’s spade. It’s probably a century old, but still does the job it was made for, as dependably as it did when new.

I replace missing buttons from the big jar I got from grandma, who added to it over a lifetime, after getting it from her own mother who did the same. Now I’ve added to it myself with buttons from my mother-in-law and other relatives.

I like to think about all the garments held together by the contents of that jar. The petticoats and the school clothes. The flour sack dresses, the coats of many colors and the teddy-bear eyes.

I like to think about a time where folks of modest means held the simplest of appliances in such high regard. Back when home sewn clothes were handed down till they were only good as rags, but not before the but-tons were carefully salvaged for the next project.

I have a glass pie pan from my Aunt Roonie who made the second best lemon-meringue pie in the universe. (After her mother’s!) I tried to make one myself, and clearly the pie gene can skip generations.

I have my father-in-law’s rickety step ladder, every rung a testament to his life’s maintenance chores. Drips of white paint from every coat he put on the house. (Every five years, over as many decades.) Speckles here and there of the gray from their porch. I’ve added my own meager contributions, with the green from my garage door and a touch of blue from our guest room.

I have some of my late brother’s hand tools. His framing hammer is so big I have to use two hands to swing it unless I choke way up. I know he is making fun of me every time I use it, wherever he’s watching from.

I have so many carving knives I forget where they all came from. I couldn’t possibly have a use for them all, but I don’t like the idea of them passing from the family. I don’t get bogged down with the math, but just

think of all the Thanksgiving turkeys rendered by the implements in that drawer. All the Christmas hams.

I have my stepfather’s glass eyes in a tiny box in my desk. His good one and his backup. I wanted to put them on my baby granddaughter’s forehead and say, “Don’t you think she has great-grandpa’s eyes?” Daugh-ter was not amused.

I have everyone’s ice cream scoops. Silly I know, but once you have three, it’s a collection. From there it just kind of happens. You might be surprised to see how many different types there are. I love some of the most basic designs but some of the others are downright ingenious.

We own lots of hand-made family items. Intricate quilts from a century that didn’t touch this one.Needle-point and crochet projects from the middle of the last century.

Holiday scenes and days of the week, the most popular themes.Handmade lace doilies, out the wazoo. Because really, can you ever

have enough lace doilies?I picture generations of our family’s womenfolk, all in rockers by the

fire. Listening to the radio and embellishing their simple lives stitch by stitch. Each adding a layer of her own efforts to the ancient cedar chest that lives in our bedroom.

You can dig down through it like an archeologist and track the time-line of our ancestors, clear back to before they came to this country.

I suppose at my age, all of this should inspire me to be more proac-tive in how I deal with what I will eventually leave behind myself.

Probably, but I may just let the family divide my treasures however they want after I’m gone.

Seems a shame to break up the odd taxidermy collection but between that and the ugly sport-coats, there should be something for everyone.

Things I Take From the Dead

Under the Big Oak Tree (www.underthebigoaktree.net), St. Joseph’s own acoustic roots-music band, will present a unique concert downtown on October 30th.

The event, produced and hosted by the Paradox Theatre (www.paradox107.com), will feature special seasonal music by the band followed by a costume contest and dance party.

Under the Big Oak Tree is preparing a special set of music for the event including murder bal-lads (both traditional and original), and other songs shadowy and haunted. The band will be joined on mandolin and guitar by special guest Corey Clark of Missouri Homegrown.

The event will include the concert, followed by a costume contest and dance party.The costume contest will be judged by stylists from Edmond Street Parlor and staff from the

Griffey School for the Arts. Guests are asked to DRESS AS THEIR FAVORITEARTIST LIVING OR DEAD. Prizes for the best costumes will come from Twilight Gardens,

Paradox Coffee Shop, Edmond Street Parlor, The Tiger’s Den, and Under the Big Oak Tree.The Tiger’s Den will serve a selection of wine, spirits, and craft beer. In addition, the Paradox

Theatre will open its new Coffee Shop for the first time that evening.The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. and go until around 10:30 p.m. The Paradox Theater is located

at 107 South 6th Street. Tickets will be available at the door or in advance online at the “Buy Tick-ets” tab at www.facebook.com/underthebigoaktree or at www.universe.com/HalloweenBall. The event is 21 & over. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $6 for students with college ID.

Dear Joe,

The Regular Joephone 816-617-5850

read us online at www.theregularjoepaper.com

email us at email@theregularjoepaper.com

snail mail us at The Regular Joe

P.O. Box 1304 St. Joseph, Mo. 64502

Did you know the cracker we know as the “Premium” Saltine Cracker was created in Saint Joseph? It was, by a man named Frank L. Sommer. Like the Wy-eth’s, Tootle’s, Townsend’s, etc. Frank Sommer was an economic presence in the early days of Saint Joseph history.

* He came to St. Joseph in 1869 and apprenticed as a baker. He was let go for experimenting with his mentor’s recipe for “hard tack”.

* In 1873 he opened his own bakery at 112 S. 3rd (where the Holiday Inn is now). A year later he moved to 202-204 N. Main and was doing $50,000 worth of business making his rolled salted steamed soda cracker, selling to all going West.

* In 1876 he won the Blue Ribbon of Excellence for his “Premium” salted cracker at the Buchanan County Fair.

* By 1880 his factory was doing $400,000 in business and employed 100 people

* By 1885 he expanded his factory to cover the entire city block and had E.J. Eckels design it. This factory made crackers, cookies, fine choco-lates and other confections.

* By 1890 the large trust wars had begun which created mega compa-nies that still exist today. While Rockefeller was swallowing up the small oil companies to create Standard Oil, two bakery trusts were swallowing up small independent bakeries. One was the New York City Biscuit Com-pany and the other was the United States Baking Company.

* To fight the takeover, Frank Sommer formed his own trust called the American Biscuit Company in 1890. He met with independent bakers throughout the Midwest. Most of them joined his trust because it required the original owners to continue to run their own companies.

* By 1893 he decided to move the fight to New York City and take on the big boys. He built a six story state of the art factory that covered one city block in NYC. (The factory still stands today but has been repurposed as so many buildings have been.) By 1895 he had moved his family to New York City.

* In 1897, he and his son-in-law masterminded the merging of the three large baking trusts, forming the National Biscuit Company that we know as NABISCO today. (They have confirmed that Frank L. Som-mer’s cracker recipe is the recipe used today to make NABISCO Premium saltines.)

* NABISCO maintained a bakery at Francis and Main till 1946, and in St Joseph until 1957 at 1825 Frederick Ave., which is where Golden Glaze Donuts is today.

THE CRACKER HOUSE PROJECTThe Cracker House Project is a non-profit organization that is

trying to save the Frank L. Sommer house at 914 N. Main Street.Architecturally it is an elaborate example of the Italianate style

so popular in the late nineteenth century. It is believed to have been designed and built by E.J. Eckels, one of Saint Joseph’s internation-ally known architects. Frank Sommer purchased the lot in 1882 and was listed in the City Directory in 1883 as living with his family in the house.

In 2012 it was placed on the top ten most endangered historic properties in the City and the State. The Mission of the Cracker House Project is to save the home from demolition, stabilize the

structure by removing the roof, brace the interior walls, rebuild a portion of the foundation, tuck-point the entire brick house, and replace the roof. The Vision is to eventually completely rehab the house, repurpose it, and add it to the list of contributing architectural jewels in Saint Joseph, MO.

This house is significant not only for its architectural value, but for its historical significance. Frank L. Sommer accomplished in his baking industry what the Rockefeller’s did in the oil industry.

Join in saving this historical building by:> Donating money – write a check, or go on-line to GoFundMe.

com/crackerhouseproject> Buying a T-shirt for $15.00, sizes small to 5xl, contact Mike

Grimm below> Buying a geo–caching commemorative coin for $25.00 thru

Facebook at: this n that> Donating time> Donating materials> Donating expertiseContact Mike Grimm, President, 1810 S. 40th, 64507; phone

390-1703 Email: crackerhouseproject@hotmail.com Follow us and Friend us on Facebook – The Cracker House Project, our web site is: www.crackerhouse.org.

We clean them.We don’t cut corners,

At Merry Maids, we know precisely, meticulously, immediately, always the kind of clean you mean. You will receive the highest level of professional care. From the consultation to the expert cleaning and the follow-up, be completely satisfi ed every step of the way. Guaranteed.

merrymaids.com

Ready for a professional clean? Call us today.

St. Joseph

816-279-8855stjoemmaids@stjoelive.com

$30 Off$10 OFFeach of your first three cleanings.New or former customers only. Can't be combined with any other offer or discount. Additional restrictionsmay apply. Offers are non-transferable. Cash value 1/100 of 1 cent.

Let’s Talk Crackers – The Frank L. Sommer Story

It’s time to Fall in for fun at Toddler Storytime at the St. Joseph Public Library, Carnegie Branch during our upcoming fall storytime session. Not only do we offer wonderful stories, rhymes, finger plays, crafts and songs, we ready toddlers for the road to reading.

Storytime is offered Wednesday mornings at 10:30 a.m., beginning October 7, 2015. Children 18 months and up accompanied by an adult are welcome.

Registration is appreciated but not required. Please call 238-0526 to reg-ister or ask a question. The Carnegie library is located at 316 Massachusetts Street.

To better serve our patrons, the St. Joseph Public Library will offer storytime at one of our four branches each day, Mon-day through Thursday, into December. For more information about all our St. Joseph Public storytimes, please access our web-site at sjpl.lib.mo.us and click on “Kids” for specific locations, dates and times.

Storytimes are free and open to everyone through the support of the St. Joseph Public Library Foundation.

Persons with disabilities who wish to participate in the program should con-tact the ADA coordinator at 232-4038.

Toddler Storytime at the Carnegie Library

Danny PhillipsRegular Joe Music Guy

As a music journalist, I have been in the St. Joseph, Missouri music scene for 12 to 15 years (depending on whom you ask), writing about the scene, the great bands I’ve seen come and go and about the artists, many of whom I am proud now to call friends.

I’ve organized Rollin’ for Cerebral Palsy as a way to give back to the city and people that have been there through the thick and thin, helping me fine tune my writing style and to show my love for the music that has become so engrained in the fabric of our fair city. Why United Cerebral Palsy of St. Joseph, you may ask? Why not another organization? The answer is simple: Being born with Cerebral Palsy myself, I know the struggles and pain that could go along with CP.

In addition to the pain that comes with the mutual surgeries on my legs (I’ve had at least 13 surgeries in my 40 years), I know the stigma that comes along with the way I walk, the way people look at me when I strug-gling to walk through Wal-Mart, sometimes even going so far as to point and laugh at “the freak.” In polite society, we should not do such things; we should not look at people only on the outside but at the inside, the fiber of their character, what they bring to the world.

Another reason: I would have loved to have a place like UCP of St. Joseph when I was growing up. Maybe I would have had an easier time in school, maybe I would have walked before I was five years old, perhaps my self-image would have grown stronger and I would have known how to handle people that ridiculed me. Maybe I would be strong enough to stand up for who I am, something I even today have trouble doing. May-be, as my good friend Jay Claywell (also born with CP and my co-MC for the event) has said, “perhaps you would have accepted who you are and not let CP define you.”

Perhaps he’s right. Maybe this event will shine a little on a great orga-nization that helps people with disabilities outside of CP. United Cerebral Palsy of St. Joseph brings love, patience, understanding and good to an exceedingly dark and sad world.

The main reason I organized the event? The music, good lord the music! I had always wanted to organize a show, bands hand-picked by me; now is my chance. Starting at 1 pm, performers such as Missouri Homegrown, Tracy Huffman and the Walking Sticks, Tyler Harman, Zale Bledsoe, Freight Train Rabbit Killer, Beacons and many more will fill the air with electricity, music and excitement; all playing for free, all more than happy to help such a great organization. The night’s headliner is Scruffy and the Janitors.

It gives me hope to know all of these musicians (9 in all) are willing to spend their Saturday volunteering without hesitation, without stipula-

tions, without letting personal ego or problems get in the way of charity. This, this is the true soul of St. Joseph: giving, supporting one another and having a good time doing it.

$5 gets you in the door all day for the event. Raffle prizes have been donated by Twilight Gardens, Flying Pig Tattoo, Bliss, Regis, Edmond Street Parlor, Skateboard Everything, Fosters Martini Bar, Stay True Tat-too and many more.

For more info visit the Rollin’ For Cerebral Palsy event page on Face-book or look for the bright yellow posters around town.

Rollin’ For Cerebral Palsy: A Benefit for United Cerebral Palsy of St. Joseph.

Saturday October 17, 2015Magoons Famous Delicatessen1pm to close$5 at the doorAll proceeds go to United Cerebral Palsy of St. Joseph

Rollin’ for Cerebral Palsy - Oct 17th at Magoon’s

Dr. Michael Heiser, a scholar in the fields of biblical studies and the ancient near east, will present a series of lectures as part of an academic colloquium titled “Biblical Context and Worldview of Biblical Authors” at Missouri Western State University on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2 and 3. The colloquium is sponsored by Missouri Western’s Campus Navigators club. It is free and open to the public.

Dr. Heiser is a scholar-in-residence at Faithlife Corporation, the mak-ers of Logos Bible Software. He studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, has a Master of Arts in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylva-nia, and a Master of Arts and PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languag-es from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has published widely in scholarly journals and popular periodicals.

There is little doubt that the Bible has been the most influential book in Western civilization. But those who hold the book most sacred have had its content filtered by traditions that are far removed from the cogni-tive frame of reference of the biblical writers. Dr. Heiser’s lectures will illustrate how the Bible reads when understood through the pre-modern mind of the biblical writers and provide an overview of biblical theology on its own terms, unfiltered by subsequent traditions. He will also illustrate the fallacies behind some modern instances of taking the Bible out of its own context, both by those who embrace the Bible as sacred and those who consider its teachings fictitious.

The schedule of the colloquium is below.

Day One, “The Bible Unfiltered”Friday, Oct. 2, Kemper Recital Hall,

Spratt 1016 p.m.: Lecture 1, “The Supernatural

Worldview of the Old Testament”

7 p.m.: Lecture 2, “The Godhead of the Old Testament”8 p.m.: Lecture 3, “The Supernatural Worldview of the New Testa-

ment”9 p.m.: Question and Answer SessionDay 2, “How to Take the Bible Out of Context”Saturday, Oct. 3, Hearnes Center, Room 1029 a.m.: Lecture 4, “The Pagan Christ: Correlation and Causation Re-

ally Aren’t the Same Thing”10 a.m.: Lecture 5, “The Gnostic Christ: The DaVinci Code Really is

Fiction”11 a.m.: Lecture 6, “Cinematic/Scientific Theology”Noon: Lunch break1 p.m.: Lecture 7, “Liberating the Bible from Science, Part 1 (Why

Genesis 1:1-3 Doesn’t Help Young Earth Creationism)”2 p.m.: Lecture 8, “Liberating the Bible from Science, Part 2: Biblical

Racism (The Side-Effect of Presuming the Bible Teaches Science that You Won’t Hear in Church)”

3 p.m.: Question and Answer Session

Scholar to Lecture on Biblical Context Oct. 2 and 3

Make plans to be at the Mutually Agreeable a Cappella concert set for Sunday, Oc-tober 4, at 6:00 p.m. at the Restoration Church in downtown St. Joseph. This concert will feature St. Joseph’s award winning a Cappella choruses the Voices of America and River-Song along with special international guests Vocality. Vocality, a phenomenal international quartet sensation from Sweden, will be concluding their North American tour with their performance in St. Joseph as they’ve prepared for the international quartet competition in Las Vegas in October. Other featured guest performers will include the ever popular and loved BassLine quartet along with a newly formed quartet, Vox Populi, which promises to be a crowd pleaser with their strong, close harmonies.

Set at Restoration Church, in their the newly open downtown location at 117 Francis, St. Joseph, a reclaimed warehouse built in the late 1800’s, it’s a perfect venue for singing and performing. Restoration Church in restoring this building has maintained its original beauty, while giving it a modern rustic and welcoming charm and feel.

Working together for the first time in nearly 3 decades; Voices of America and River-Song have produced MUTUALLY AGREEABLE a Cappella., a concert that promises to be an unbelievable a Cappella experience for audience members.

Get your tickets today at the following locations: Allied Arts Council Office, 118 S. 8th Street in St Joseph; from chorus members of both Voice of America and RiverSong or online at: www.vchorus.com or http://www.riversongchorus.com Ticket Prices: Adults $15 in advance, $20 at the door; Students $10 in advance, $15 at the door. An Afterglow will be held at the landing following the concert for a nominal fee.

The audience will be thrilled with incredible harmonies, ringing chords, the rustic feel of the building as they enjoy the wonders of the voice singing a Cappella music.

aCappella Downtown

The Saint Joseph Symphony unveils its programs for the 2015/16 Concert Season under the baton of Music Director Rico McNeela.

Four concerts at the Missouri Theater feature the entire orchestra as well as outstanding soloists. Opening the season on October 31 is “A Clas-sical Halloween” and will feature favorite music from movies like Harry Potter and Ghost Busters, as well as Isle of the Dead, Flight of the Bumble Bee, and Night on Bald Mountain. The annual holiday concert on Decem-ber 5 will take on a Broadway flair with guest vocalists for “Broadway Holiday.” In the spring on March 26, 2016, award-winning and interna-tionally known Fountain City Brass Band will join the orchestra for “Out Like A Lion.” Closing the season on April 30, 2016 “Heroes and Villains” brings tenor Ben Gulley and bass-baritone Tim Hill back to our stage for a theatrical night of music by Mozart, Puccini and Verdi.

The three concerts in the Symphony’s Chamber Series are held at vari-ous venues around St. Joseph. Small ensembles of some of the finest musi-cians from the Symphony play a wide range of repertoire in Classical and Contemporary styles. These events are scheduled for November 8, January 17, and a Valentine’s concert on February 14.

Several season ticket options are available for adults and students from $24 to $180. Single ticket prices range from $10 - $43. Children and stu-dents are half price.

Order tickets online at saintjosephsymphony.org, by phone at 816-233-7701, or at the Symphony’s business office at 120 South 8th Street in St. Joseph. Symphony business office hours are Monday through Friday 9am-5pm.

Symphony Announces 2015/16 Concert Season

Cafe’ Acoustic 2605 FrederickALL SHOWS 9:30pm unless noted Oct 2 Broken Avenue reunuion show + Phantom Creeps @10pmOct 3 Radial Red & Sweep the Leg @9:30pmOct 7 OPEN MIC hosted by Nick FitzpatrickOct 8 IllucidOct 9 SoulfulFitz + Razorwire Halo @10pmOct 10 Absence of Despair & Fires of edenOct 14 OPEN MIC hosted by Nick FitzpatrickOct 15 Electric Cellist, Solo looper Chris BellOct 16 CARBON (below)Oct 17 CoverBoy @10pmOct 21 OPEN MIC hosted by Nick FitzpatrickOct 23 Moosebite & Until the Worlds End 10pOct 24 Alice Cooper Tribute band Strictly Alice Halloween bashOct 28 OPEN MIC hosted by Nick FitzpatrickOct 30 Rockin’ Horror Picture Show LIVE MUSIC soundtrack production $5 admission + $5 prop bag 2 shows- @6:30pm & 9:30pm

Magoon’s Deli 8th & LocustThurs Oct. 1 Ben ConstableFri Oct 2 Them Pickless Fools & Whiskey for the LadySat Oct 3 SJMF/Magoon’sSun Oct 4, Legacy FestMon Oct 5, Amalgam JazzTues Oct 6, Jam with Colby, Drew & DavidWed Oct 7, Walking SticksThurs Oct 8 Jason RileyFri Oct 9, Nace BrothersSat Oct 10, Side Show Drifters w/Brad King and Ty YoungSun Oct 11, Jerry Forney BandTues Oct 13th Jam w/Colby, Drew and David.Wed Oct 14th Jon Wayne & the PainThurs Oct 15, Jeff LuxFri Oct 16 Backroads NavigatorSat Oct 17th UCP Benefit w/Danny PhillipsSun Oct 18, Jerry Forney BandTues Oct 20th Jam with Colby, Drew & DavidWed Oct 21, Andy FrascoThurs Oct 22, Dennis EadsFri Oct 23, Roll Your OwnSat Oct 24, Amanda FishSun Oct 25, Jerry Forney BandTues Oct 27, Jam with Colby, Drew & DavidWed Oct 28, Walking SticksThurs Oct 29, Matt ComanFri Oct 30 Page IISat Oct 31 Motors Halloween Party

The Lucky Tiger718 FrancisFirst Saturday with live music all afternoon.

Eagles Lodge N. Belt Hwy.Sat. Oct 10, No LimitsSat Oct 17, Rev’d UpSat Oct 24, Dixie Cadillac (below)Sat Oct 31, Friends

Live Music Hi-Lites

“St. Joe has a woodworkers guild?” It’s not unusual to hear that when answering questions about the beautiful jewelry boxes, bowls, toys and other wood pieces on display at Tobiason Stu-dio. Apparently SJWWG is one of the best kept secrets around. They have been in existence since 1994 and now boast close to 100 members. The member-ship includes beginners to master craftspersons, men and women with ages ranging from 15 to 90. It costs a whopping $10.00 a year to be a member, there are monthly meetings where members share new work and teach their skills, but the best part is what the group is about. They help those less fortunate. For years they have made toys for different organizations such as Toys for

Tots and the current recipient - AFL-CIO’s Adopt-a-Family program. They hold work sessions to get hundreds of cars, puzzles and boxes ready for the holiday program as well as donating items for an auction where all proceeds go to the Adopt-a-Family program.

This year the auction will be held Decem-ber 5th at East Hills Mall, time to be deter-mined. Keep an eye out for more details.

So take this opportunity to meet some of the members, watch demonstrations and see the wide range of work created by this talented group. Kids are always welcome! In fact, the Guild would love some help putting their cars together. As a thank you, if you put 4 cars together you get to choose one to take home with you! What a great way to have fun and help others in the community.

What: 2015 St. Joseph Woodworkers Guild Open House

When: Saturday, October 10th, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Where: Tobiason Studio, 302 S. 8th St.Light refreshments will be served.

St. Joseph Woodworkers Guild Open House Oct. 10th

There’s no question that one of the hottest hot-button topics in agricul-ture and nutrition today is that of GMOs, or genetically modified organ-isms. Genetically modified plants are ones that have been bioengineered with the genes of another species in a laboratory to produce traits that the original plant does not inherently posess, such as resistance to drought or to heavy doses of chemical herbicides. Biotech companies claim that GMO crops produce greater yields and thus are beneficial in helping to feed the world’s hungry. The price that farmers pay for planting these crops is that they are not allowed to save their seeds for future planting as farmers have done for millenia, but are required to buy their seeds from the monopolistic GMO seed companies regardless of what kind of harvest they yield. It is reported that many farmers in India, for example, have committed suicide when their GMO crops failed and they had no alternative but to purchase more GMO seed. Farmers in Haiti banded together and burned GMO crops as a pro-test. Some farmers in Canada and the United States were sued by a lead-ing GMO company because winddrift caused GMO seeds to infiltrate their fields and they were accused of growing the plants without a contract! It is amazing that our Supreme Court ruled in the early 80s that nature’s seeds could be patented..... Many consumers are opposed to GMOS, feeling that they are harmful to the environment or to human health.In fact, the majority of Americans today support the label-ing of foods with GMOs. And although at least one state, Vermont, has passed such a law, it may be nullified in Congress if the GMO companies get their way. They have spent millions of dollars opposing labeling, claiming that it would drive up the cost of our food bills, but it is likely because they would lose millions in profit if consumers chose non-GMO foods instead. The truth is, we don’t know for sure what the longterm environmental or health effects of GMOS are because they have only been in the food supply chain for the last two decades or so. 60 countries in the world have labeling laws and Russia has reportedly outlawed GMO crops entirely. The majority of Americans support labeling laws, but they do not have the corporate

political clout of the biotech companies and their lobbyists. The genie, as they say, is out of the bottle, and there’s probably nothing we can do to stop the proliferation of GMOs. Already, 80 percent of corn and soybeans are GMO, and these crops are ubiquitous in our food supply in everything from corn syrup to beef. So what can concerned consumers do? First, we can support the ef-forts of organic farmers since organic foods cannot by law contain GMOs. Secondly, even if foods are not organically produced we can buy ones that have the distinctive butterfly label of the NON-GMO Project, a third-party watchdog organization dedicated to verifying non-GMO foods in the marketplace. We cannot control what the Supreme Court or Congress does but we can choose what we consume and vote with our dollars. And by doing so we will ensure that farmers will Grow More Organics!

Yours for a Non-GMO future ,James FlyCertified Health Coach

GMOS: Grow More Organics!12 Joe Health

Mug Shots

Problem with alcohol? We have a solution. AA info: district2@wamo-aa.org

816-471-7229

Now Open 4 Lunch!

Woods & Bruce Electric“No job too small!”

David Bruce, Master Electrician816-617-1152

Nick’s PaintingOver 40 Years Experience

(816) 232-3258Interior