Healthy state: Community colleges, CHS reunion, candidate forum

Gov. Matt Blunt's recent news releases generate stories but not front-page headlines. After inheriting a $1.1 billion deficit budget when he came to office in 2005, Missouri has ended with a positive balance for the third year in a row obtained with no tax increases.

In fact, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported that Missouri is one of only 13 states projecting stable or optimistic revenue outlooks for 2009.

And while 20 states are predicting lower-than-estimated revenue for fiscal 2008 (which ended June 30) Missouri is one of only 15 states projecting higher revenue than estimated.

State Sen. Jason Crowell discussed a number of achievements, improvements and new legislation during his recent Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce First Friday breakfast talk.

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Mineral Area Community College in Park Hills and Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff can now officially call themselves "community colleges" instead of "junior colleges" after the governor signed a recently passed bill into law which authorized the name change.

Over the next two or three months there will be much attention addressed to the higher and technical education needs of the people of Southeast Missouri. An area committee is selecting a professional group to study the situation and issue a report. And the three area higher education presidents will be interviewed for the Aug. 3 issue of Business Today on the subject.

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More than 650 Central High School graduates attended the 1950s reunion this past weekend. It was a fine and nostalgic event. We had former newspaper carriers tour the Southeast Missourian.

A number of the group who served in the Korean War were understandably unhappy that we reported the 1950s "was a stable time." It certainly wasn't for them, and they deserved to be proud and remembered for their service.

A 50th wedding anniversary and a 50-year class reunion reminds us that time marches on.

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This Thursday an open-to-the-public forum of the three Republican candidates for Cape Girardeau's state representative district will be held at 7 p.m. at Dexter Bar-B-Que. Sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Pachyderm Club, this will be a good opportunity to evaluate Wayne Wallingford, Jeff Glenn and Clint Tracy, three well-qualified candidates.

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Over last weekend Sherm Smith had a very successful classic auto auction at the Show Me Center. Also, the Southeast Missouri Model Airplane Club's open House was successful. The acrobatics went beyond imagination for viewers and pilots who were from the local area, Arkansas and St. Louis. Cape Girardeau's original model airplane enthusiast, Bill Smirl, was in town and attended the event.

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I live on Highway 177 and can put up with the Mississippi River closing that state road during the flood stage, but raising the 50-yard section that goes under water and prevents direct traffic to Procter & Gamble, Nell Holcomb School and the many affected residents should be evaluated for cost and benefit.

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Live Aid's Bob Geldof praises Bush: Irish rocker and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof has high praise for President Bush's African relief efforts. He just wishes the media would do its job and report it.

Geldoff interviewed Bush for U.S. and European media outlets, including Time magazine. He also chatted with reporters after joining an Air Force One flight from Rwanda to Ghana.

Bush "has done more than any other president so far," Geldof said, according to The Washington Times. "It was expected of the nation, but not of the man, but both rose to the occasion."

He told reporters he's "p----- off" at them for largely ignoring the Bush administration's initiatives, which have totaled billions of dollars allocated to address famine, economic development and disease control.

"You guys didn't pay attention," he said. "What's in it for Bush? Absolutely nothing."

The president told Geldof that the news media "weren't much interested" in reporting on his progress on behalf of Africa, according to Time.

Geldof's African relief work, particularly 1985's Live Aid global concert event, has eclipsed his music career. He first gained fame fronting a successful Irish band, The Boontown Rats. — Newmax magazine

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Who are the 47 million with no medical insurance (nationally)? The answers may surprise you. Seventy percent of the uninsured are in families with at least one full-time worker. Ten percent have at least one part-time worker. The rest are retired or unemployed.

8.4 million are eligible for government programs but don't know they are, don't know how to sign up or don't have access to the documents that are required.

10.2 million are noncitizens. About 80 percent of them are legal residents, but many have low-income jobs and can't afford or don't have access to insurance.

9.2 million have household incomes of $75,000 or higher. Some are healthy and don't want coverage. Others can't get it because of pre-existing conditions.

7.5 million are aged 19-24 and either have no access to health care, lack money to pay for it or don't think they need it because they are in good health.

Gary Rust is chairman of Rust Communications.