Concerns by the director of the Health Department about patient health and compliance with provisions associated with federal funding spurred the Phelps County Commission to take action Thursday.

The Commission approved banning smoking within 25 feet of any public entrance at the courthouse.

Word of the Day

Voluble VAHL-yuh-bul (adj.) Easily rolling or turning, rotating; characterized by ready or rapid speech; glib, fluent -- www.merriam-webster.com

Web Site of the Day

Gruvr
gruvr.com

Live-music lovers will never miss a show on gruvr.com, which detects your location and maps upcoming shows. Set e-mail concert alerts or follow an artist around the country. There are also links to buy tickets and to bands’ Web pages.

Number to Know

0: Amount of money the SETI Institute gets from the government. SETI – which was founded on this date in 1984 – is a program to search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and many people believe it receives government funds.

This Day in History

Nov. 20, 1985: Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.

Today’s Featured Birthday

Smothers Brother Dick Smothers (70)

Daily Quote

“The unthankful heart ... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!” - Henry Ward Beecher
 

Word of the Day

Disavow dis-uh-VOW (verb) To deny responsibility for, repudiate; to refuse to acknowledge or accept, disclaim -- www.merriam-webster.com

Web Site of the Day

Visuwords
www.visuwords.com

This unique version of a dictionary uses a fascinating visual approach to show word definitions, synonyms, concepts and associations. The diagrams are similar to a neural network; showing the complexity of the English language.

Number to Know

2.6 billion: Number of people worldwide who don’t have access to basic sanitation, according to www.worldtoilet.org. Today is World Toilet Day, a day to raise awareness of sanitation issues around the globe.

This Day in History

Nov. 19, 1990: Pop group Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award because the duo did not sing at all on the “Girl You Know It’s True” album. Session musicians had provided all the vocals.

Today’s Featured Birthday

Actress Meg Ryan (48)

Daily Quote

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” - Irv Kupcinet

Eight southeast Missouri men were charged Tuesday in connection with a conspiracy to illegally hunt deer in the Mark Twain National Forest with the assistance of dogs.

Rolla Public Library is moving forward on a number of fronts this month, as the Library Board discussed a key issues during its meeting Thursday.

Having anxiously anticipated additional federal emergency-management reimbursements since the multiple flooding events of May, Phelps County finally received some assistance.