Letters to the Editor

Last night the officers and several members, of both VFW Post 3838 and its Auxiliary met to discuss the reopening of its Canteen (bar and restaurant). After the Governor of Missouri decided to continue the States reopening plan to remain in phase one, the Post determined that it could not meet the social distancing guidance and be profitable to help our fellow veterans. ...

I was involved with the formation of the original Transportation Trust Fund initiative back in 1995. Now, 25 years later, the City of Cape Girardeau has committed over $125 million toward upgrading the city’s transportation system. These dollars have been designated for new street routes, reconstruction of existing artilleries and collector streets, repair of existing streets (both concrete and asphalt), sidewalks and improved street lighting. ...

I am Nathan Thomas, the current Ward 3 City Council representative. I was appointed to this position to fill the Ward 3 vacancy in fall 2019. I am honored and privileged to serve Cape Girardeau and my Ward, and I humbly ask for your vote on June 2 so I may continue serving...

The year 2020 has been declared as the Year of the Nurse. National Nurses Week was celebrated May 6-12 and coincides with the bicentennial of Florence Nightingale's birth on May 12, 1820. Florence Nightingale once said: "I think one's feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions...actions which bring results." Words were important to her evidenced by the more than 200 books, pamphlets and over 14,000 letters she wrote! "Notes on Nursing" published in 1860 is still one of the most popular compilations of her work done.. ...

Our language is dynamic and word meanings can change, often due to misuse. Take the word awesome. It did mean extremely impressive, but misuse has caused it to mean slightly better than average, as in she's awesome, or these cookies are awesome. But beware! If preceded by so, the meaning is diluted even more. So is like water. It dilutes everything it gets close to. She's so awesome means she's not too hot, but let's pretend she is...

Southeast Missouri is home to many rural Missourians and rural medical centers that are often under threat of closure. If there were something Missourians could do to ensure those individuals would have access to care, shouldn't we do it? If there were a way to help keep those hospitals open, shouldn't we look for it?...

A huge Libertarian experiment will play out this fall in Cape Girardeau. (Libertarian -- a political system emphasizing limited government.) The experiment: What happens to a community after 20 years of budget cuts to its hometown university? No one knows exactly how the latest round of state budget cuts will impact Southeast Missouri State University. ...

National Police Week May 11--17, honored the service and sacrifice of U.S. law enforcement officers. This sacrifice is almost beyond belief, in that on average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 54 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1786, more than 22,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice...

May is a very meaningful month for my family, as it is both Mental Health Awareness Month and NF (Neurofibromatosis) Awareness Month. In 2014 I lost my sister, Renee, to suicide. Suicide is an unfortunate death that many people struggle to understand. ...

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country, we have a new appreciation for our nation's health care workers. These professionals are working nonstop to diligently protect the vulnerable in our community. While our local nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals continue to ensure our health and safety, let us take the time to commemorate and honor their dedication and sacrifice during this year's National Nurses Week, which runs from May 6-12...

I am disappointed that Holly Rehder's campaign has not joined the rest of the region in obeying the governor's "Stay at Home" order. Her team has even put up a number of signs, including several that were put up without permission, on state property, or in areas where they are not allowed due to local laws-instead of staying at home and setting an example...

At the time I am writing this letter the Missouri Legislature is in the process of creating a budget for Fiscal Year 2021. It is not an easy task. Due to the declining economy daily projections show tax revenue is down 5.2%, or about $400 million, compared with the same time last year. As a result the budget that passed the Missouri House of Representatives contains $700 million less than what Gov. Parson proposed in January...

For a long time the health industry has enjoyed a high level of public trust, and for good reason. The U.S. has the best health care system in the world and is full of very talented and committed people. But like any other industry, that trust can be called into question. The medical community's response to Covid-19 has done just that...

If you were to ask anyone in Missouri right now what the top priority of our government should be in 2020, there's a few answers you could expect to hear: COVID-19 relief, health care, the economy. But one of the current top priorities of legislators in Jefferson City is not one of these things. The legislature is moving to undermine Amendment 1 -- Clean Missouri...

Evangelical leaders anointed President Donald Trump as "The Chosen One" and "Installed by God" because he promised to reverse Barrack Hussein Obama's "anti-Christian immoral policies" on contraception, abortion, LGBTQ, etc. When Trump moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, they likened him to King Cyrus. ...

For about 50 years the Scott City R-1 School has taken part in a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with bike-a-thons or marathons and successfully raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for them. As a director for most of them, I had finally someone to continue in this great cause. Then a virus hit and shot it down...

I was distressed by the recent action of Missouri's Attorney General. On April 22, he filed a lawsuit against the government of China saying, in effect, that they are responsible for the damage done by Covid 19. Eric Schmitt cannot believe this specious lawsuit has any real merit beyond trying to supports the President's campaign allegations that the Chinese and World Health Organization are responsible for his inactivity through February and into March. ...

Governor Mike Parson has asked Missourians to stay at home to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. As a survivor of intimate partner violence, I worry about those who are isolated in spaces that could put them at increased risk of domestic and intimate partner violence. ...

When our nation was paralyzed by the Great Depression, the federal government launched and managed massive programs to bring relief. After Pearl Harbor, our federal government mobilized industry to make America the great arsenal of democracy, with miracles of production becoming the norm overnight. When we were threatened by a Soviet dominance in space, our federal government mobilized the scientific community and created NASA which met the threat with dazzling scientific achievement...

I am enjoying reading the newspaper online. It has become part of the new norm in the Davis household. Thanks for working through the crossword puzzle solution. But more importantly thanks for reporting the good news. I just read the articles on the two COVID-19 survivors and the healing power of prayer. I taught one of them and work with the spouse of the other...

The COVID-19 virus has caused all of us to make significant changes in the way we live, work and worship. Now, more than ever, we are reminded of the importance of faith, family and friends. I have found your words to be insightful, educational, humorous and comforting...

I was planning to take a "listening" sabbatical during this season of Lent, and little did I know what my ears and senses would be hearing and experiencing. The months prior to COVID-19 had been wearing on me. Contention and antagonism everywhere has been a "virus" difficult to avoid, definitely contagious without protection. The reality that daily encouragement is essential has been a lesson to be relearned by all of us in the battle to ward off contagious "bad" spirit!...

Though our nation is facing the unknown of COVID-19, that doesn't mean that nature takes a break. There is always the risk of further floods or disasters striking, even when it would be most inconvenient to us. While this pandemic may have hit pause on our national economy, recovery from the 2019 floods still continue...

I had to go to the Neighborhood Walmart today to buy Claritin tablets for allergy relief. When leaving my car after parking, a very kind lady approached me. I was wearing a silk scarf around my nose and mouth and leather gloves for COVID-19 protection. She asked if I would like to have one of her handmade masks for protection and removed one from a sealed plastic bag. I said, "How kind of you," and then asked if I might also have one for my husband. She most kindly gave me another one for him...

On Jan. 22, there was one COVID-19 case in the USA. Come March 1, there were 64 of them. As I write this letter on the morning of Monday, March 30 there are 142,000. I am angry. I am angry because this country had years of warnings that we needed to prepare for a pandemic. By 2016, this country had a set of contingency plans for this type of a situation, but no one bothered to look at them as we drifted into our present problem...

Today Americans are facing one of the most dangerous crises in America's history due to the ravages of coronavirus pandemic. Crisis such as this will certainly test the wisdom and mettle of America's leaders. History teaches us that there are wise leaders and unwise leaders. ...

During World War II, our parents and grandparents vanquished a horrific regime that placed no value on human life. A regime that exterminated the "defective", slaughtered millions they considered inferior racially, and wantonly murdered civilians, especially the elderly who got in the way of their ambitions. ...

Presidents can be largely defined by how they deal with crises or disasters: FDR during World War II, JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis, George W. Bush after 9/11. I think the coronavirus crisis will go a long way to define President Trump. At first he seemed slow to respond, in part, I think, because he saw it as another attempt by some to make mountains out of molehills, as with the Russian collusion investigation and his recent impeachment. ...

Kudos to Cape County Clerk, Kara Summers. Kara always goes above and beyond in her desire to serve our citizens in a timely, effective and ethical manner as she administers all voter registration, elections and absentee voting in Cape Girardeau County. Our recent presidential preference voting was another example of her servant leadership...

When India won independence from Great Britain in 1947, Jawahar Lal Nehru became free India's first prime minister. He was a great admirer of Soviet Union and a confirmed Socialist. He took charge of a huge bureaucracy left behind by the British and run by Indians...

I was very disappointed when reading the sports page in the Southeast Missourian on Feb. 28. The Delta boys won their District over Oak Ridge in a very even and well played game by both teams. The Delta girls also won their District over Scott County Central, also in a well played game by both schools. However, my disappointment was in the fact that there was a very nice article about the boys game and no article about the girls game. And we wonder why women speak out about unfair treatment...

Senator Mitt Romney's declaration on the Senate floor on Feb. 5, 2020 will be immortalized as one of the most significant speeches of the 21st century. History will prove how dark these days truly are and what a travesty of justice occurred. It will co-anchor Dec.7, 1941 -- Day of Infamy -- self-destruction by partisanship...

We need to talk about the upcoming Missouri legislative resolutions that seek to undo the Clean Missouri Amendment. This amendment passed with 62% of the vote in 2018. More than half of voting citizens in Missouri believe in increasing transparency, open records, and eliminating big money and partisan gerrymandering. It passed in every single state senate district...