LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: CAIRO IS TRYING TO PULL ITSELF UP, SO GIVE US CREDIT

To the editor:

I am writing in response to the Aug. 3 letter to the editor concerning the ongoing dispute between Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri State University and Jim Drury. I have no comment to make concerning that problem. However, I do take exception to using our little town of Cairo, Ill., as a negative focal point. I would like to ask the gentleman who wrote the letter if he has been to Cairo lately. True enough, we have had our share of problems, but we have made some great strides in the past few years.

We have and are still working on our downtown area and have torn down a lot of dilapidated buildings and presently have more on our list. Not only that, we have come together as a community and are trying desperately to not only improve the look of our town, but also stop the negative vibes from out-of-town people who seemingly want to refer to us in that manner.

The people of Cairo are mostly good people and do not deserve that hard knock. We come to your fair city, and we spend our money. In turn, that is helping your city. Please come over and see our community. We have a lot of work to do, but our mayor and the City Council are at least trying very hard to address the problems, and we certainly do not have a lot of revenue to work with. We sit in our meetings and try to sort out the problems. Please give us a fair shake and don't always be so quick to judge our little town.

Thank you for letting me have a response. I appreciate that. Please don't knock us. Just pray for us.

CAROLYN PONTING

Commissioner of Parks

Cairo, Ill.