The good in Sikeston

While I respect and regularly read the Southeast Missourian, I have a legitimate complaint about the newspaper coverage -- stories that make it in the paper and those that don't.

Case in point: Coverage of the YMCA in Sikeston, Missouri, where police are looking for more victims related to the arrest of a young, part-time employee caught video taping other young men in the Y restroom.

Nowhere in your paper is coverage of the No.1-ranked Sikeston Bulldog basketball team that is 19-0, well-coached, well-behaved on and off the court and a pure example of what can be accomplished through teamwork. Most of those young men play ball at the Y year round.

The only time there is any coverage at all is when Sikeston plays Cape Central or Notre Dame. Last time I checked, we are less than 30 miles from Cape and we are essentially a big part of the economic region along the Interstate 55 corridor.

Unfortunately you have slipped into the same mode of our regional TV station: If the story is about a shooting, robbery or scandal we know we can count on you covering it -- but not the good stories.

The YMCA is one thing that brings our community together, and it spills over to the school and community in a very positive way.

Once in a while take a look at the good in our community and not just the bad!

STEVE MCPHEETERS, Sikeston, Missouri