It's time to clean up the streets

To the editor:

I was born and raised in Cape Girardeau. I went away for college, learned a good trade and moved back to Cape to raise my family. I am furious to think that a bunch of two-bit thugs can come to Cape and wreak havoc on the neighborhoods of this beautiful city. The rude behavior of these gun-toting criminals has to be stopped.

I know that the city police and county sheriff's department have the personnel to handle this problem. I think that full pressure from the authorities in these neighborhoods would drive these criminals out and force them to relocate. I feel that Cape has become a safe haven for the criminals because of its geographical location and lack of law enforcement. For example, take your family on a drive on South Hanover Street in Cape, and you will see how it has become a war zone in middle America. If you drove through East St. Louis and certain parts of Cape, you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. Just read the local news. It's amazing that a town this size has gun shootings, drug busts and fighting among large crowds of people so frequently.

The majority of people in town do not condone and are not the ones participating in these acts. Cape officials need to quit burying their heads in the sand and meet with local law enforcement to spearhead an effort to clean up the streets of this beautiful city.

CHRIS HUCKSTEP, Cape Girardeau